Romaria

Andy Sheppard's quartet extends the musical explorations begun on the 2015 release Surrounded By Sea. In this new program, the drones and washes of Aarset's guitar and electronics help to establish a climate in which improvisation can take place. There's a highly atmospheric, ambient drift to the music which Sheppard clearly finds liberating, as do Michel Benita and Seb Rochford, free to move in and out of conventional rhythm section roles and to make impassioned statements of their own.