Ambient Jazz Ensemble
Ambient Jazz Ensemble announce forthcoming new album London Fields due out 8th July via Here & Now Recording and share atmospheric first taste Ensoul.
Photography Credit: Tim Cantrell
For forthcoming album London Fields, Composer, writer and producer Colin Baldry AKA Ambient Jazz Ensemble enlists support from saxophonist Ollie Weston, Exploring Birdsong’s Lynsey Ward on vocals, Sam Crowe on piano/rhodes along with Baldry’s son Sam on drums. Taking influence from the likes of Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man, Marlena Shaw’s California Soul, Curtis Mayfield, Minnie Ripperton, early Weather Report records and Bacharach recordings; it adopts a atmospheric palette of sounds utilizing strings, brass, wind & rhythm section and despite having a jazz ensemble at the heart of it all, the music owes much to orchestral and electronic influences.
Centring on Baldry’s relationship with London and refinding love for the capital again having moved away from the city after living and working there for over twenty years with Baldry explains: “I've been walking the streets, rediscovering it’s parks, canals, the architecture, the river, plus experiencing new music in London is always a joy”. The album’s concept stemmed from both Baldry’s favourite fiction novel London Fields by Martin Amis as well as his time spent in London Fields, when recording keyboards for the album's predecessor Aura, Baldry adds “The 'London Fields’ have recaptured my imagination”.
Lead single Ensoul, meaning to cherish within the soul, is an ambient, electronic track that utilises felt piano and the vocal interjections from Lynsey Ward. The single was birthed whilst Baldry was experimenting with the grand piano, fitting various grades of felt with gaffer tape and pipe cleaners between the hammers and strings of the piano. Colin adds “The correct velocity of playing was critical but the sound was worth the effort”. In the track’s final stages, Baldry encouraged vocalist Lynsey to release her ‘inner Kate Bush’, bringing a human touch to the single, giving it an identity which befits the title.
