UK’s Musique Machine reviewed two of our new releases with some great ratings ! COLIN WEBSTER & ANDREW LISLE – ‘New Invention’ 3 out of 5 stars and RUBICON QUARTET – ‘Crosscurrents’ 4 out of 5 stars ! You can still order them from our store.

“4 out of 5 rating ! Crosscurrents is an extremely apt title for this recent CD release from the Rubicon Quartet. As the album, often rapidly, shifts and swings between playful ‘n’ harmonic edged free jazz, and noised- up to angular improv. All making for a decidedly invigorating, yet often memorable record. The Rubicon Quartet brings together several respected figures from the Belgian improv/ experimental jazz scene taking in Patrick De Groote- trumpet & flugelhorn, Cel Overberghe- alto sax, Dirk Serries- acoustic guitar, and  Martina Verhoeven- piano. Seemingly Crosscurrents is the group’s debut release, which appears on Belgium label New Wave Of Jazz. In all the release takes in seven tracks, and slides in with a full runtime of fifty-six minutes. The album moves between the jarringly throaty horn calls, and bounding-to- funked guitar/ piano runs of “Verbatim”. Through to the lose-at-points suddenly darting structure of “Airs Out”- which mangers to nicely shift between smoothly melodic & jarringly taut. Onto the strutting ‘n’ picking guitar strum meets compressed & seared wails ‘n’ honks of “Rubicon”. The album wraps-up with the longest track here the near eleven and a half minutes of “Caught By A Flying Ghost”- which finds locked & bounding piano key patterns, alongside playful-to-rapidly waving horn play, and darting guitar strums. I very much enjoy the blend of shifting angularity, playful-at-times harmonic interplays, and the general unpredictability of Crosscurrents. And I must say I’ve often found my self playing the album, and can most certainly say that it’s a record I’ll be returning to in the future again.” Musique Machine – UK

“3 out of 5 stars rating ! New Invention is a visceral and often highly intense jazz record- that barely ever lets-up, in either its pace nor attack. The seven-track album brings together alto sax player Colin Webster, and percussionist Andrew Lisle. The CD release appears on the Belgium label New Wave Of Jazz and comes in their house style white & grey boxed mini gatefold.  In the release two page write-up, which sits in the middle of the gatefold, Guy Peters talks about raging punk spirit, and that’s very much the key to this record- as both Webster & Lisle truly batter & bay their instruments, with only a few moments of respite in the release entire forty five minute runtime.
We kick off as we mean to go on with near eight-minute barrage that is “Knucklas”- here we find violently honking & sputtering honks meeting rapidly shuffling and bonding drums. For the first half, it’s a raging all attack, but in the second half the pair are playing brutally volley ‘n’ snake. As we move on we come from one of the shorter & manically cheeky tracks in the form of “Knill”- which severs up just over three and half minutes of locked & rapid seesaw sax harmonics, with speedily circling chime & kit runs.  Towards the latter half of the album we come the most lengthy attack here- the nearing twelve-minute darting & twisting of “Yardro”- which pairs cluttering & smashing percussion runs with searing and speed twists of horn bay, wail & scream- with along the way some nicely manic just horn break downs.  If your after a  jazz record that sonically batters & bruises, yet at the same pumps you up & exhilarates you too- then I’d say New Invention will be for you. And I’ll be most certainly looking out for future releases from both Webster & Lisle, as both players are as energetic as they are creative.” Musique Machine – UK