Blessing in disguise

When a band’s been together for fifteen years, as Get The Blessing has, it’s easy to assume they know what they’re doing and that you know what to expect from them. But once the dirty bass and space trumpet of opening track Phaenomena come growling out of the speakers, with the ponderous sleaze of distorted saxophone overlaying scattershot drumming, it’s clear that the fifth GTB CD Astronautilus (Naim) is going to be something surprising.

Astonishingly, the tight and moody track was improvised in the studio rather than pre-written and rehearsed, and its success reflects the band’s new-found willingness to ‘go for it’.

“This album and (previous recording) Antilope are the most improvised we’ve made, but this time we were more comfortable,” bassist Jim Barr explains. “Last time we were not confident in playing freely. Antilope was slippery, like soap in a bath, but this time I think we nailed it.” 

Listening to Astronautilus, which will be launched at The Lantern on September 13, it seems they have. The album is a blast of assured electro-jazz music covering a range of style and mood, from the spacious explorations of Conch and lush harmonies of Hayk to Sepia’s deep electronica and the jazzy roll of Nautilus.

Particularly impressive is Cornish Native, a filmic number that rattles along propelled by electronic wave-washes, a remorseless bass riff and insistent processed trumpet. There’s a cool darkness running through the album, perhaps reflected in the band’s choice of blue cellophane in place of their previous jauntier orange disguises .

Impressively, the whole package was put together in just four days in the lounge of a Cornish holiday cottage, a speedy process that, according to Jim, was as much to do with business obligation as it was to musical choice: “18 months between albums is the music industry standard: they start to book the next tour to launch the new album before you’ve even written a note and then it’s a deadline you have to meet. You’re painted into a corner, really.”

So, with enough scraps of ideas for about half an album the band headed off for the seaside and got to work inspired by the wild coastline and massive star-filled night skies and a commitment to spontaneity. Saxophonist Jake McMurchie recalls the working process: “In the past we’ve put stuff through the wringer – it’s a tortuous process – but this time we were coming out with a version we liked and then moving on. We started on Phaenomena one morning and it was in the bag before lunch. Pretty efficient!”

And drummer Clive Deamer feels that the short recording time helped clarify matters when it came to finalising the album: “Sometimes the amount of stuff you produce starts to get in the way: you’re building a bigger haystack on top of the needles you want to find. We’ve been working together long enough to say ‘let’s just get on with it’.” And a man who’s participated in making Portishead albums would know all about that, of course.

All this high-speed spontaneity is all very well, but what happens when you have to perform the music live? Jake’s response is pragmatic: “It’s already starting to change when we do gigs. We’ve all got shaky memories so, inevitably, we have to simplify. All that electronic wizardry with pedals and effects, for instance: I’ve got no idea what I did in that room in Cornwall! But we rehearsed last week and we were surprised how easy it was to play the new stuff.”

Easy for them, perhaps, but maybe it takes fifteen years of preparation to be that spontaneous and that good at the same time? Jim grins his trademark mischief: “Maybe, but then again, I think we’re just brilliant now!”

And, on the showing of Astronautilus, that’s just what they are.

Get The Blessing launch Astronautilus at The Lantern on Sunday September 13. For more information and tickets, visit www.colstonhall.org/shows/get-the-blessing-album-launch.