Bugs in Amber
Encyclopedia
Bugs in Amber is the second album by the Bristol
based jazz rock
quartet Get the Blessing
, released in 2009 (see 2008 in music
).
The tracks are all instrumental, although other versions of "The Unnameable" and "Bugs in Amber" (re-titled "Moot") have been performed with vocals live, and recorded in session for the BBC 6Music Freakzone programme.
The album was favourably received by the British broadsheets. The Sunday Times
stated that "Get the Blessing care little for the rule book: “wonky rock-jazz” is how the Bristol quartet sum up the sax and trumpet interplay. There’s a cool intelligence at work... Deamer lays down the firmest of beats without drowning his colleagues in the backwash. One of the quirkiest British releases of the year". The Guardian
noted that "this follow-up... cuts the excellent Judge and McMurchie a lot more solo slack, while sustaining the strength of the composing, the deafening dancefloor drive and the ensemble inventiveness", and summed up with "This is a really varied and inventive genre-crossing set". The Independent
felt the band "sound even more live and dangerous on this follow-up" and "like Big Air
, the horns now take their thrashy/delicate influences from the Balkans as much as free jazz".
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
based jazz rock
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
quartet Get the Blessing
Get the Blessing
Get the Blessing is a jazz rock quartet based in Bristol, England, active since 2000. They were formed when Jim Barr and Clive Deamer , the rhythm section from the trip hop group Portishead, teamed up with Jake McMurchie and Pete Judge over their mutual appreciation of Ornette Coleman...
, released in 2009 (see 2008 in music
2008 in music
2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...
).
The tracks are all instrumental, although other versions of "The Unnameable" and "Bugs in Amber" (re-titled "Moot") have been performed with vocals live, and recorded in session for the BBC 6Music Freakzone programme.
The album was favourably received by the British broadsheets. The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
stated that "Get the Blessing care little for the rule book: “wonky rock-jazz” is how the Bristol quartet sum up the sax and trumpet interplay. There’s a cool intelligence at work... Deamer lays down the firmest of beats without drowning his colleagues in the backwash. One of the quirkiest British releases of the year". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted that "this follow-up... cuts the excellent Judge and McMurchie a lot more solo slack, while sustaining the strength of the composing, the deafening dancefloor drive and the ensemble inventiveness", and summed up with "This is a really varied and inventive genre-crossing set". The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
felt the band "sound even more live and dangerous on this follow-up" and "like Big Air
Big air
Big air is a sports discipline where the competitor rides a vehicle down a hill and perform tricks after launching off very large jumps. It is an extreme version of slopestyle. Competitors perform complex tricks in the air, aiming to attain sizable height and distance as well, all while securing a...
, the horns now take their thrashy/delicate influences from the Balkans as much as free jazz".
Track listing
- "Music Style Product" – 3:56
- "The Word For Moonlight Is Moonlight" – 4:22
- "The Unnameable" – 6:33
- "Bugs in Amber" – 4:41
- "Tarp" – 7:00
- "Einstein Action Figure" – 4:09
- "The Speed Of Dark" – 5:23
- "So It Goes" – 3:08
- "Yes I Said Yes I Will Yes" – 2:09
- "Trapdoor" – 1:21
Personnel
- Jake McMurchie – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, treated pianoPrepared pianoA prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers....
, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, effectsEffects unitEffects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...
, bellsBell (instrument)A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck... - Pete Judge – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, celesteCeleste- People :* Celeste Holm , US actress* Madame Céleste , French dancer and actress* Celeste , American former pornographic actress* Dick Celeste , governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991...
, effects, bells - Jim Barr – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, baritone guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, effects, bells - Clive Deamer – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, maracasMaracásMaracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...
, bells
Guests
- Adrian UtleyAdrian UtleyAdrian Francis Utley is an English musician and a member of the band Portishead.-Biography:Utley is self-taught on guitar, bass and keyboards, and played professionally from the age of 18 in working men's clubs, night clubs, holiday camps, and in cabaret, backing soul artists...
– electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Tammy Payne – backing vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
("Music Style Product") - Beth Porter – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
("The Unnameable") - Jeff Spencer – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
("Music Style Product")
Technical
- Produced by Jim Barr and Get the Blessing
- Engineered by Jim Barr and Rik Dowding
- Mixed by Jim Barr and Get the Blessing
- Mastered by Shawn Joseph, Optimum Studios