Culross Close (K15) – Forgotten Ones [Esencia]

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As a sidekick to our Times and Tunes interview with K15 planned next week, the founder and keys player of jazz quintet, Culross Close, we’re thrilled to premiere the eponymous track of the band’s LP, Forgotten Ones.

Only Esencia’s third release, this one is due out next week on March 15, and we strongly recommend putting aside 30minutes to do nothing but listen to the full six tracks in succession, because this album is a bonafide manifestation of top class musicianship. It’s an album of two distinct halves: the first is deep, melancholic, brooding and beautiful, while the second is lively and up-beat. A half for thinking and a half for dancing.

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Ambient-jazz is how one could feasibly describe the opener, Fractured. Three minutes of swirling textures move around the listener’s head, coming close then moving away until seamlessly sliding into our premiere, Forgotten Ones. Our favourite on the record, this track shows off Culross Close’s top-class instrumentation. They all come together – the drums, the bass, the keys, the vocals – as tight and synergetic as you’re likely to find after digging for an hour for today’s best and freshest jazz. Acceptance is similar, but happier to put K15’s keys in the spotlight for much of it.

And the contrast really is striking when track four, Mood, begins. The LP’s chaotic outlier, just over a minute of dissonant strings and frantic drums will wake you back up if you, understandably, slipped deep into daydream during the album’s first half. Then, some convention is restored: it’s by no means textbook stuff with The Tiniest Lights Still Shine’s 5/4 rhythms or the rogue synthesiser of the closing track, Healing, but it’s clear that the album’s close could lure listeners of various tastes to a dancefloor.

Culross Close:
Bass – Eli Emmanuel 
Keys – Anthony Kieron 
Drums – May Goode
Synthesizers – Nathaniel Jiddu
Percussion & Incense – Hasani


Jacob