Troyka
Album: Ornithophobia
Label: Niam Jazz
Tracks: 9
Website: http://www.troyka.co.uk/

This is the third studio album from this trio, following on from their eponymous debut Troyka in 2009, and 2012's Moxxy. Whilst it certainly represents a development of their writing and playing, it is also instantly familiar as their style - what has been described as a visceral mash-up of rock, jazz and dance music.

Troyka (the name is Russian for trio) consists of Chris Montague (guitars), Kit Downes (Hammond organ/synths) and Josh Blackmore (drums) - and as their name suggests, they take a radical, even left-field approach to improvisation. Their style is one of short pieces with intense solos, collective jams and frequent stop-start switches of tempo, tone and volume. Simple accessible themes suddenly change direction into new riffs, creating a kaleidoscopic swirl of sounds and emotions. As Kit's website describes themselves:

" A multi-textured trio with a febrile imagination where no role is pre-defined, their music twists and mutates in an ongoing dialogue inspired by a shared love of Aphex Twin, the angular world of iconclastic New York saxophonist Tim Berne and the blues-jazz-rock groove of legendary Steely Dan and Billy Cobham guitarist Wayne Krantz."

Like their previous albums, Ornithophobia (fear of birds!) is an album you have to listen to. This is not background music or cocktail jazz. The title track starts with a gentle, rhythmically ragged theme, before changing tempo and suddenly building into a freeform wailing guitar burst (can you call it a solo?) then lapsing back into the ragged-time riff. Magpies begins with a repetitive theme then slows, before veering off into jagged repetitive organ and guitar noise and stabbed, short riffs. Just as suddenly it ends with a brief, gentle theme. As other writers have noted, this kind of piece is reminiscent of the late 60's work of Tony Williams Lifetime.

Troyka Smash is a good example of the pivotal role played by drummer Joshua Blackmore. He drives this trance-like, almost theme-less piece along with his constantly shifting rhythmic patterns, leaving space for swirling organ and guitar washes underneath: then it all comes to a sudden halt. Opening track Arcades similarly uses the delicacy and swing of Kit Downes piano playing to create a flowing theme which is then broken up by a staccato counter-rhythm, and then by a minimal note guitar groove, which leads Kit into a repeated Hammond riff, with a guitar solo buried underneath. The piece also works as a sound poem describing - what else - a walk through a games arcade!

The General - the longest track at just under 7 minutes - is another typical cut-and-paste collage. Sections sound like early Frank Zappa themes (parts of Uncle Meat?) intercut with muted guitar thrashes; other sections sound like slowed down Hendrix (the intro to Voodoo Chile?). The whole is a constantly shifting, yet organic, sonic exploration. Written by Kit, it mostly features Chris in a very 70's jazz-rock mode. Other pieces are co-written by the two, by Josh (Thopter) and by Producer Petter Eldh (Life Was Transient and Troyka Smash). But it is Chris who writes or co-writes the bulk of the material: Bamburgh opens with the organ on the verge of feedback - a shapeless tone gradually growing and mutating into new notes, before dying down again and fading away: a minimalist gem! One of most intriguing compositions, the closing track Seahouses, has a more tune-like quality; its gently evolving themes are nudged forward by Chris' guitar loops in an almost music-box sound. It is nearly 3 minutes before the drums come in with a gentle snare beat and rustle of percussion, with a slight final crescendo of swirling organ.

What more can I say? You really have to hear this CD to appreciate the variety and complexity of the work, which, at the same time, is deceptively simple and accessible. Better still, try to see Troyka live on their new year tour! And don't forget to check out their back-catalogue, including their award-winning big-band album Troykestra 'Live At Cheltenham 13 Jazz Festival' (Parliamentary Jazz Awards - Jazz Album of the Year 2014).

Martin Price