Vibration Black Finger - Blackism

The ghost of Miles Davis (mid 1970s edition) hangs over much of the proceedings, thanks mainly to the presence of Andy Knight's quicksilver, effects drenched trumpet; the opening title track is a slow burning slice of dystopian funk laced with lysergic electronic touches and gurgling electric bass. 'In Rhythm' is a deep, funky,
juggernaut that doesn't really let up for much of its 7 minutes. Powered by Lascelle and Frank Byng's twin drum attack (part Can, part James Brown), the track feels like a distant cousin to the Art Ensemble's 'Theme de Yoyo'.

Underpinned by fat globs of synth bass, the extraordinary Maggie Nicols riffs, chants and eventually lets rip with a series of whoops and shrieks before the track fades out. Recorded by Primal Scream/My Bloody Valentine engineer Brian O'Shaughnessy pretty much live in one room, it's an intense ride.

Elsewhere VBF hint at the airy, open spaces of early Weather Report or Joe Henderson's mid 70s dates for Milestone - 'Sawalha' features Heliocentrics saxophonist James Arben's airy tenor tracing sweetly oblique
lines over a ticking afro-jazz percussive matrix. 'Ofilli' mashes up abstract electronic bursts and choppy organ pileups over an urgent, punkish groove before collapsing into a delicate, free conversation between flute, tuned percussion and bass. The shorter tracks are more abstract, personal affairs, flecked with Lascelles's trademark percussive inventiveness and some squelchy electronic touches, like a more cosmically inclined Art Ensemble of Chicago maybe, or Sun Ra crashing an Airto session with a malfunctioning moog under his arm. Stylophone and even a broken zither make fleeting appearances. All gates are open.