Gyratory System
Encyclopedia
Gyratory System is a three-piece music band based in London
. It is fronted by producer/trumpet player Andrew Blick. Blick was a session musician in the 1990s and previously a member of One More Grain
. His trumpet-playing style, which involves the heavy use of electronic treatments, has been likened to 'Miles Davis
circa On The Corner
, Andy Diagram
or Jon Hassell
'. Another journalist has written: 'A British experimental legend, producer Andrew Blick’s three piece must be the UK’s only acid-fried, horn-led electronic marching band'.
Gyratory System's music is created using a technique called 'The Process'. The resulting sound has been compared to electronica
, krautrock
, post-punk
and avant-garde
classical music. Paul Lester
of the Guardian
wrote: 'You may be able to detect the influence of composers such as Steve Reich
here, and it may sound ultra cerebral, but...this is seriously danceable stuff...If anything, this music recalls the experimental early-80s "avant-funk" of the likes of A Certain Ratio
and, in particular, 23 Skidoo'. Also in the Guardian, Alex MIller
, awarding the band's release 'Sea Containers House' 'single of the week' on 19 September 2009 stated: 'Maybe when the industry catches up with them and 2011 is rammed with music that sounds like a neurotic death rave of farting Klangers I'll resent them, but until then this is what I'm all about. Sing along everybody! Fart, clunk, parp!'
The debut Gyratory System album, The Sound-Board Breathes, was released in October 2009. It was praised by critics, John Doran for the BBC
describing it as a 'superb album, sounding like little else released this year'. NME
rated it 8/10. In 2010 Dazed Digital
described the album as 'one of last year’s most essential records'.
Gyratory System has received strong radio support, including sessions for XFM
and BBC 6Music.
The band has toured the UK as a headline act and supported Soulwax
/2manydjs.
Gyratory System's second album, New Harmony, is released on 16 April January 2011, on Angular Recording Corporation
. On 24 January 2011 NME rated 'Pamplona', taken from New Harmony, as one of its '10 tracks you have to hear this week', describing Gyratory System as 'wonderfully warped electronica...allow your neurons to be frazzled'. In an early review of New Harmony the music critic Everett True wrote 'I love this music...it bounces and quirks like a wind-up set of chattering teeth'.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It is fronted by producer/trumpet player Andrew Blick. Blick was a session musician in the 1990s and previously a member of One More Grain
One More Grain
One More Grain was a four piece band based in London.Fronted by Daniel Patrick Quinn, often compared to the Fall frontman, Mark E. Smith. Quinn hails from the small northern city of Lancaster, where he attended the Royal Grammar School...
. His trumpet-playing style, which involves the heavy use of electronic treatments, has been likened to 'Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
circa On The Corner
On the Corner
On the Corner is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, recorded in June and July 1972 and released later that year on Columbia Records. It was scorned by critics at the time of its release and was one of Davis's worst-selling recordings...
, Andy Diagram
Andy Diagram
Andy Diagram is a British musician and trumpet player. He has worked with the instrument in a variety bands and contexts ranging from pop and rock to experimental jazz, art rock and dance music...
or Jon Hassell
Jon Hassell
Jon Hassell is an American trumpet player and composer. He is known for his influence in the world music scene and his unusual electronic manipulation of the trumpet sound.-Life and career:...
'. Another journalist has written: 'A British experimental legend, producer Andrew Blick’s three piece must be the UK’s only acid-fried, horn-led electronic marching band'.
Gyratory System's music is created using a technique called 'The Process'. The resulting sound has been compared to electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
, post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
classical music. Paul Lester
Paul Lester
Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London.- Career :He began his career as a freelance, writing for Melody Maker in the early 1990s, as well as City Limits, 20/20 , Sky Magazine and The Jewish Chronicle...
of the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote: 'You may be able to detect the influence of composers such as Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
here, and it may sound ultra cerebral, but...this is seriously danceable stuff...If anything, this music recalls the experimental early-80s "avant-funk" of the likes of A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio are a Post-punk band formed in 1977 in Manchester, England. While originally part of the punk rock movement, they soon added funk and dance elements to their sound. They are sometimes referred to as "post punk funk"...
and, in particular, 23 Skidoo'. Also in the Guardian, Alex MIller
Alex Miller
Alex Miller is a Scottish association football coach and former player. As a player, he had a 15 year career with Rangers. As a manager, he won the 1991 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian...
, awarding the band's release 'Sea Containers House' 'single of the week' on 19 September 2009 stated: 'Maybe when the industry catches up with them and 2011 is rammed with music that sounds like a neurotic death rave of farting Klangers I'll resent them, but until then this is what I'm all about. Sing along everybody! Fart, clunk, parp!'
The debut Gyratory System album, The Sound-Board Breathes, was released in October 2009. It was praised by critics, John Doran for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
describing it as a 'superb album, sounding like little else released this year'. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
rated it 8/10. In 2010 Dazed Digital
Dazed Digital
In November 2006 Dazed Group launched a new web based strand of the magazine titled DazedDigital.com, which delivers fashion, film, music and art news and special online events.In 2010 Dazed Group confirmed its digital leading position of the magazine...
described the album as 'one of last year’s most essential records'.
Gyratory System has received strong radio support, including sessions for XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
and BBC 6Music.
The band has toured the UK as a headline act and supported Soulwax
Soulwax
Soulwax, headed by David and Stephen Dewaele, are an alternative rock/electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Next to the Dewaele brothers, Soulwax consists of bassist Stefaan Van Leuven and drummer Steve Slingeneyer. They were first noticed after the release of their album Much Against Everyone's...
/2manydjs.
Gyratory System's second album, New Harmony, is released on 16 April January 2011, on Angular Recording Corporation
Angular Recording Corporation
Angular Recording Corporation is an independent record label originally based in New Cross, South East London. Set up in June 2003 by two ex-Goldsmiths College students, Joe Daniel and Joe Margetts, who reclaimed a local Ordnance Survey Triangulation Station and made it their first artefact: ARC 001...
. On 24 January 2011 NME rated 'Pamplona', taken from New Harmony, as one of its '10 tracks you have to hear this week', describing Gyratory System as 'wonderfully warped electronica...allow your neurons to be frazzled'. In an early review of New Harmony the music critic Everett True wrote 'I love this music...it bounces and quirks like a wind-up set of chattering teeth'.