There are times when a “you may like this” recommendation pays off and you find a little gem, this has happened for me in the case of Ill Considered. The Bandcamp recommendation was spot on, the music capturing my musical interest in the most exciting way, having that wonderful way of speaking to you so that you immediately connect with it.
Ill Considered hail from London and consist of bass, drums, percussion and saxophone, with some bass clarinet thrown in for good measure, providing an almost free-form jazz feel. This pair of albums, V and VI, were recorded just over a year after their first, and with two live albums being released in between it has been a productive year for the band. V and VI were recorded, mixed and mastered by drummer Emre Ramazanoglu, creating a lovingly put together sound for the band. They took sketches of the songs into the studio and recorded them over two days in a mostly improvised way, but they have still created some great grooves and melodies with a polished end result.
The band give us a slow melodic groove, with some darker touches, that worms its way into your brain, with the saxophone occasionally on the edge but always just holding it together, melodically intercut with some angry stabs of notes holding your attention. The bass lays down some great lines, driving and somewhat leading things along, the drums holding the groove, supplemented by interesting percussion. The drums and percussion link together and play off each other, occasionally adding middle-eastern or Indian style rhythms. As noted earlier, there is a free form feel to the music, however delving further into the listening experience reveals structure and an almost telepathic link between the players.
V consists of seven tracks, VI providing a further nine, but they link together well, giving a natural flow and rhythm with melodies and textures developing throughout the songs as they progress. Opening track Calling begins with some great bass work, the sax at first adding sparse notes, accompanied by drums and percussion. The sax slowly increases its influence to provide a song of intent for the rest of the album. The songs develop through the albums in an interesting and adventurous way; they begin to catch your attention, causing you to really take notice of their invention. There are moments of wild and almost unrestrained sound, but always retaining direction. The final song, Percolator, just bubbles and fizzes along, giving a perfect ending to the listening experience.
This is a wonderful collection of ideas and creative input, the way these albums were created show a band who have a universal understanding of where they want to take their music. The sound is great, still retaining that improvised feel that they set out to achieve, and I’d love to see this performed live.
A big sound that deserves to be listened to, this is not background music as it jumps up to grab you, time and time again on each repeated play.
TRACK LISTING
Ill Considered V
01. Calling (5:19)
02. Observant (7:47)
03. Lift Off (2:50)
04. Incandescent Rage (3:09)
05. Unicorn (5:22)
06. Northern Spiral (4:07)
07. Professor (4:06)
Time – 32:40
Ill Considered VI
01. Lies (2:46)
02. Gunning (5:01)
03. Ward (6:16)
04. Waterfall (0:54)
05. Amber (4:08)
06. I Didn’t (4:48)
07. One Single (3:31)
08. Predator (5:19)
09. Percolator (2:53)
Time – 35:36
Total time – 68:16
MUSICIANS
Iris Rahman – Saxophone, Bass Clarinet
Leon Brichard – Electric & Upright Bass
Emre Ramazanoglu – Drums, Nord Drums
Satin Singh – Percussion
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Independent
Catalogue#: STACLPO6
Country of Origin: U.K.
Date of Release: 15th January 2019