by S. Victor Aaron
A side project of hip-hop artist Madlib, the music is pretty much what the ensemble’s name advertises. It’s loose, trippy and stretched out. There isn’t a whole lot of standout improvisation going on, because this is more of a groovy vibe based affair. But as far as groovy vibes go, it does those things rather well. The meshing of disparate instruments such as sitar, harp and vibes gives it a psychedelica sound without resorting to electronic trickery. Instead, it’s organic and warm. The songs each pay tribute to a different musical inspiration, although one of them, Roy Ayers, comes to mind on nearly every track (probably because anytime the vibraphone is used in funky-jazzy music, I think of Roy Ayers). This is more like what I expected ALO to sound like, put I was pleasantly surprised how either of these records turned out.
- Angell & Crane, “Himalayan Dial-Up” from ‘Angell & Crane’ (2024): Video Premiere - November 22, 2024
- Michael Attias, “Avrils” from ‘Quartet Music Vol. II- Kardamon Fall’ (2024): Streaming premiere - October 11, 2024
- Bryn Roberts, “Aloft” from ‘Aloft’ (2024): Video Premiere - September 20, 2024
