Light From Old Stars

Kit Downes, a Mercury prize-nominated pianist, presents his third album as a leader, capturing the magical and fantastic through earthy ideas.

After meeting astrobiologist Daniella Scalice at the Cheltenham Science Festival, Downes became intrigued by the concept that the stars we see are often dead, and that stargazing is "a form of time travel without moving". This celestial scale may seem incomprehensible, but there are ways to understand it.

Inspired by ideas of scale and the meeting with Scalice, Downes found a strong conceptual framework for the music on Light From Old Stars. The pieces in the album explore the realms of the magical and fantastic through grounded and earthy ideas, all captured in complete, live takes without the use of editing.

This album marks Downes' first recording entirely with the quintet line-up, building upon the arrangements initiated on Quiet Tiger. The compositions are carefully structured with elements of chaos built in, reflecting Downes' diverse musical interests from early American blues masters to European classical music.

References to pianists Paul Bley and Jan Johansson can be heard in the compositions, as well as the raw, urgent quality of blues from guitarists like Skip James, Blind Willie McTell, and Howlin' Wolf. The album's inspirations are escapist yet reflective of reality, with tracks like "What's The Rumpus" and "Owls" drawing from movies like Miller's Crossing and Twin Peaks.

The brief interlude "Falling Dancing" was inspired by a ballet performance, showcasing Downes' collaborations with visual artist Lesley Barnes to emphasize the connections with other art forms.