Come With Fierce Grace (2023)

"Angus Fairbairn, the London-based musician who records as Alabaster Deplume, makes music that is extremely hard to classify. His albums feature some of Britain’s top jazz musicians, but the music is an odd mix of creaky chamber music, clunky post-punk, lo-fi Afrobeat, avant-garde folk and English whimsy. The self-taught saxophonist plays his sax out of the side of his mouth in a breathy murmur and fluttering. He sings in mantras, occasionally lapsing into quite funny Robert Wyatt-ish spoken-word. The fine musicians push him into challenging territory. There is a heavy African influence: Guinean musician Falle Nioke brings his high-pitched, wordless vocals to several tracks. Some are quite spartan: "To That Voice" and "Say" sees Fairbairn squawking out morse code on the sax while Tom Skinner sounds like a drum kit falling down an endless staircase. Best of all is "Naked Like Water": a gentle West African funk groove, featuring gospel singer Donna Thompson’s wordless voice. Sublime."(Guardian; 4 uit 5 sterren)

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