{"title":"Openthebox Trio feat. Kit Downes","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"unperfect-buildings","title":"Unperfect Buildings","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe trio combines familiar sounds with new rhythms and influences and creates independent, organic soundscapes in the field of tension between composition and improvisation. The \u003cstrong\u003eOPENTHEBOX\u003c\/strong\u003e trio moves mainly within the chamber music framework - sometimes delicate, sometimes fragile, but also edgy and idiosyncratic.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Double Moon","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50393999933771,"sku":"2052004","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/0608917143027_20d49eb0_thumbnail_4096.webp?v=1726430684"},{"product_id":"light-from-old-stars","title":"Light From Old Stars","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKit Downes\u003c\/strong\u003e, a Mercury prize-nominated pianist, presents his third album as a leader, capturing the magical and fantastic through earthy ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInspired by ideas of scale and the meeting with Scalice, Downes found a strong conceptual framework for the music on \u003cem\u003eLight From Old Stars\u003c\/em\u003e. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReferences 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50439068647755,"sku":"362160","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b7c83b32-59be-4abc-9752-6c6e0d34d962_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726950765"},{"product_id":"quiet-tiger","title":"Quiet Tiger","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuiet Tiger\u003c\/em\u003e is the second album from BBC award-winning, 24-year-old pianist\/composer \u003cstrong\u003eKit Downes\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the follow-up to his Mercury Prize-nominated debut album \u003cem\u003eGolden\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDownes is one of the most brilliant musicians of his generation. A gifted composer and sparkling improviser, he brings an understated verve and earthy brilliance to the music. Inspired by artists as diverse as Bill Frisell, Bartok, Skip James, Paul Bley, and Bjork, as well as singer-songwriters Elliot Smith and Nick Drake, his compositions have a cinematic, storytelling quality that draws the listener in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuiet Tiger\u003c\/em\u003e is aptly titled, capturing the gentle charisma of Downes' playing and his thoughtful brilliance. Darker and more textured than its predecessor, \u003cem\u003eQuiet Tiger\u003c\/em\u003e again features the Kit Downes Trio - bassist Calum Gourlay, drummer James Maddren - as well as special guests Adrien Dennefeld on cello and James Allsopp on tenor saxophone and bass-clarinet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe rapport between the trio is clear (they've been playing together for six years now), but the extra voicings really bring Downes' music into focus, expanding his musical palate with a richer, deeper, more expressive sound that perfectly complements his evocative narratives and explosive improvisational journeys.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50439073071435,"sku":"337380","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/dc42908b-0ec0-477d-b57b-43e65d70326e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726950786"},{"product_id":"outpost-of-dreams-2","title":"Outpost of Dreams","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNorma Winstone\u003c\/strong\u003e, as always quietly innovative as jazz singer and lyricist, brings her vocal subtlety and poetic sensibility to new pieces by pianist \u003cstrong\u003eKit Downes\u003c\/strong\u003e, and to compositions by \u003cstrong\u003eCarla Bley\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eRalph Towner\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Taylor\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe programme is completed with fresh perspectives on two traditional tunes, \"\u003cem\u003eBlack Is The Colour\u003c\/em\u003e\" and \"\u003cem\u003eRowing Home\u003c\/em\u003e.\" Throughout Downes offers elegantly phrased accompaniment and adventurous interjections.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ECM","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50440792899915,"sku":"2203470","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_14a5e6f1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726967553"},{"product_id":"breaking-the-shell-2","title":"Breaking the Shell","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBreaking the Shell\u003c\/em\u003e is a groundbreaking new album from guitar icon \u003cstrong\u003eBill Frisell\u003c\/strong\u003e, pipe organist \u003cstrong\u003eKit Downes\u003c\/strong\u003e, and drummer \u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Cyrille\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Red Hook Records","offers":[{"title":"Clear LP","offer_id":50448753623371,"sku":"2219100","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50448758014283,"sku":"2219103","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_9f21a3ea_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727095607"},{"product_id":"dreamlife-of-debris","title":"Dreamlife of Debris","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDreamlife of Debris\u003c\/em\u003e carries forward the story begun on Kit Downes’s \u003cem\u003eObsidian\u003c\/em\u003e (ECM, 2018), extending and developing its processes and core ideas. But where \u003cem\u003eObsidian\u003c\/em\u003e was (almost exclusively) a solo church organ album, part of Kit’s plan for \u003cem\u003eDreamlife\u003c\/em\u003e was to put the organ in a broader context, and also to bring the piano into the larger compositional picture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMusicians in the project are primarily players with whom \u003cstrong\u003eKit Downes\u003c\/strong\u003e has had long associations- saxophonist \u003cstrong\u003eTom Challenger\u003c\/strong\u003e, cellist \u003cstrong\u003eLucy Railton\u003c\/strong\u003e, drummer \u003cstrong\u003eSeb Rochford\u003c\/strong\u003e - and there is also a first musical encounter with Norwegian guitarist \u003cstrong\u003eStian Westerhus\u003c\/strong\u003e. \"\u003cem\u003eI was interested to see how bringing in different people would change the direction of the recording.\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe album is drawn from sessions recorded at two UK locations- the 13th century church of St John the Baptist in Snape in the Suffolk countryside and St Paul’s Hall (a converted 19th-century church) at Huddersfield University - where the musicians arrived to variously interact with Downes. The instrumentalists meet, as Downes puts it, \"\u003cem\u003ein a space with no singular character\u003c\/em\u003e\", with a dream-like ambience being created through overdubs and collage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough the players do not come together as an ensemble, their appearance as individuals in changing constellations influences the direction of the shape-shifting music triggered by Downes’s improvising, arranging, and composing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePersonnel:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kit Downes (piano, organ), Tom Challenger (tenor saxophone), Stian Westerhus (guitar), Lucy Railton (cello), Sebastian Rochford (drums)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ECM","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50464518930763,"sku":"1078080","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/77a45b7c-365d-493b-b46f-4057743877d9_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727275913"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/collections\/openthebox-trio-feat-kit-downes.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}