GoGo Penguin are a powerful jazz-electronica-fusion trio out of Manchester, UK although apparently they don’t care to be pigeon-holed into any genre. I originally picked up on them looking for bands with a Snarky Puppy-like sound and indeed I could envision a Bill Laurance-Michael League-Robert “Sput” Searight sounding like this. The band is comprised of pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka and drummer Rob Turner. Their multiple layers and tilt towards electronica are also reminiscent of another favorite, Lotus.
Some personal favorities off the album are Raven which starts off with an initially haunting piano melody with a superfast backbeat, Transient State with its frequent direction changes, and Reactor with a nice funky bass intro segueing into neo-classical piano fugue. I can wholeheatedly recommend this disc for all FunkCity.net followers and music lovers everywhere.
A Humdrum Star – Listener’s Choice on YouTube
- Prayer
- Raven
- Bardo
- A Hundred Moons
- Strid
- Transient State
- Return to Text
- Reactor
- Window
- So It Begins
- A Hundred Moons (Alternative Version)