{"title":"Group Listening","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGroup Listening is a musical duo consisting of Stephen Black and Paul Jones. Their unique sound combines elements of ambient, jazz, and classical music to create a captivating listening experience. With their debut album \"Clarinet \u0026amp; Piano: Selected Works Vol. 1,\" Group Listening showcases their exceptional talent and ability to create beautiful, atmospheric compositions. Their music has been praised for its emotive qualities and intricate arrangements, making them a must-listen for fans of experimental and genre-blending music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStephen Black is an accomplished clarinetist known for his versatility and innovative approach to playing the instrument. His skillful performances bring a rich depth to Group Listening's music, adding layers of texture and emotion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Jones is a talented pianist who brings his technical expertise and creative flair to Group Listening's compositions. His intricate piano melodies perfectly complement the clarinet, resulting in harmonious pieces that are both soothing and thought-provoking.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"clarinet-and-piano-selected-works-vol-2","title":"Clarinet and Piano: Selected Works, Vol. 2","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhereas their first record was put together over an intense three-day period in a hired-out studio, Vol. 2 saw the pair having to work around various pandemic lockdowns. This meant taking over Jones’ living room, where they gradually put its ten tracks together between September last year until March of this. They would record one or two songs over a couple of days then pause for the week, building and ruminating on ideas; it allowed the music take on a more ambitious nature – albeit within the chosen pairing of piano and clarinet – but also took in all the bits of chat, traffic noise and other creaks and squeaks of a home recording. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaken as a whole, there’s a gorgeous ambience to the record but that shouldn’t be confused for Volume 2 being an ambient listen. The organic understanding that Black and Jones have of each other’s processes as musicians means that the music sounds incredibly fluid, but the overall tranquillity of the record is made up of dozens of small nuances. It’s a puzzle that’s been put together just below the surface as the duo react with a warm emotion to the songs they’ve chosen. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s in the way that Group Listening are able to prod, probe and contort the self-defined parameters that they’ve set themselves that makes \u003ci\u003eClarinet and Piano: Selected Works Vol.2\u003c\/i\u003e such an intriguing listen – and it’s the love and care they’ve taken over it that makes these versions entirely their own. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Prah Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Gold | LP.","offer_id":50423648452939,"sku":"1142487","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Clear | LP","offer_id":50423649698123,"sku":"1157408","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Gold | LP","offer_id":50423649206603,"sku":"1131794","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a85e2985-4d06-4dc7-9cff-3261d037c841_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1726770454"},{"product_id":"what-s-a-girl-to-do-ep","title":"What's A Girl To Do EP","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing on from last year's \u003ci\u003eClarinet and Piano: Selected Works Vol. 1\u003c\/i\u003e - which saw Group Listening covering ambient classics such as works by Roedelius, Arthur Russell, Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt, the duo return with a new offering for 2019 - a sultry and smoky remake of Fatima Yamaha's slow-burn classic What's A Girl To Do backed with a double header of the Durutti Column songs Messidor \/ Danny.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Prah Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Black | 12\"","offer_id":50442504765771,"sku":"1079905","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/ba114feb-0410-4b94-bcad-b1c1c4029683_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1726999930"},{"product_id":"walks","title":"Walks","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe monument’s acid-ambient architects are Paul Jones and Stephen Black — known jointly as the woodwind-and-key-wielding, sculptural-papier-mâché-hat-wearing Group Listening — and the bright cube is \u003ci\u003eWalks\u003c\/i\u003e, the duo’s third album. Following renegade reinterpretation records \u003ci\u003eClarinet and Piano: Selected Works Vol. 1\u003c\/i\u003e (2018) and\u003ci\u003e Vol. 2\u003c\/i\u003e (2022), which pulled apart, pondered, and re-shaped cult ambient classics by the likes of Robert Wyatt, Arthur Russell and Beverly Glenn-Copeland, \u003ci\u003eWalks\u003c\/i\u003e is Group Listening’s first volume of completely original compositions. Slipping out of their analogue skins, they have “embraced our electronic selves” says Black. Jones adds: “There’s no acoustic piano on the new record, and Steve’s playing an EWI, wind synth…our electronic avatars have risen.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Prah Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Green LP","offer_id":50444680167755,"sku":"2178035","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Red | LP","offer_id":50447065645387,"sku":"1160759","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50444678725963,"sku":"2178034","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2fd6bf95-4e1e-5d4a-2bef-91a610aee514_57177e1b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727029257"},{"product_id":"clarinet-and-piano-selected-works-vol-1","title":"Clarinet and Piano: Selected Works Vol. 1","description":"\u003cp\u003eNow on blue vinyl. Group Listening is a new project by Steve Black and Paul Jones. \u003ci\u003ePiano and Clarinet: Selected Works Vol. 1\u003c\/i\u003e is a collection of ambient works - from the likes of Brian Eno, Arthur Russell, Roedelius and Robert Wyatt - arranged for clarinet and piano. \u003ci\u003ePiano and Clarinet: Selected Works Vol. 1\u003c\/i\u003e is the spontaneous, beguiling culmination of this friendship. Cutting out the post production and keeping overdubs to a minimum, the clarinet and piano were passed through guitar stomp boxes and other analogue effects to enable processing and manipulation directly in performance. The result hums with the ghostly energy of sound pioneers Joe Meek and Martin Hannett, while mbira and drum machines are sparingly deployed amid enveloping folds of space echo.\u003cbr\u003eLike Virginia Astley or Simon Jeffes, Group Listening tread the overlap between classical and experimental music. Perhaps most startling here is the breadth of material arranged as one atmospheric whole. The pieces range from the ever-spiralling, fractal phrases of German composer Roedelius to the haunting rasps of game and Hollywood soundtracker Diasaster piece and the pioneering sonics of early electronic inventor Raymond Scott. Somehow, shot together through Group Listening's electro-acoustic lens, these works evolve into something supremely calming, poignant and new.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Prah Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Blue | LP","offer_id":50525603529035,"sku":"1035010","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1d370050-3d07-4b1b-b35b-97b696d2fc27_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1728035144"},{"product_id":"tell-everyone-everything","title":"Tell Everyone Everything","description":"\u003cp\u003eMusical collaborators for the past decade, Paul Jones and Stephen Black are together known as the woodwind-and-key-wielding, sculptural-papier-mâché-hat-wearing Group Listening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The title comes from a music festival that happened a few years back in Bristol. A really small DIY festival, called Tell Everyone Everything. I really liked the title - so I stole it. The name stuck in my mind as something very open and positive - a radical action. It could be taken as a proposal for progressive change, or a revolutionary art manifesto,” explains Paul Jones.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The cover art is a photo that I took a long time ago somewhere on a beach in Sir Benfro (Pembrokeshire). The colours are all weird because it was taken on a very expired roll of Kodachrome. It’s sort of eerie. The bucket and spade had just been left there. It was one of the last ever rolls of Kodachrome to be processed, I snuck it into the developers on the last month they were still open, just before the very last processing plant was shut down forever.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe release features remixes by both Ancient Plastix (who the duo toured with in 2024) and Loggsplitter. The band were delighted with the results: “I loved watching Ancient Plastix every night and was thrilled when he agreed to remix our song. It turned out great too”, says Stephen. Of the Loggsplitter remix Paul says: “It’s like a hot blast of compressed air travelling across the downs from a ravers airhorn. Lush”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Prah Recordings","offers":[{"title":"12\" - Red","offer_id":51422931878219,"sku":"R7549-0235","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/PRAH079LP_GroupListening-TellEveryoneEverything-12.jpg?v=1741684132"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_6e386c41_thumbnail_4096_80ac30f9-0163-4fd8-b935-2f36a1ed4412.jpg?v=1726770407","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/group-listening.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}