NATURE, MAN & WOMAN OUT DECEMBER 6 VIA TELEPHONE EXPLOSION
LISTEN AND SHARE “BADGE THEME”
BANDCAMP / SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC
“It's heartening to hear a Toronto band like Badge Époque Ensemble cutting an album that's just an instant stone cold classic.” - Exclaim (9/10)
“Groove oriented wah wah odysseys — instrumentals that push you and pull you, that chip away at the walls we put up, that urge your primal soul to dance like no one could film you for their social feeds.” - Dominionated
“The set of seasoned improvisers glide gracefully on the murky waters of an almost instrumental album.“ - Le Devoir
Photo Credit : Colin Medley // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
It’s been a few short months since Badge Époque Ensemble released their self titled debut, an ambiguous collection of woozy, narcotized funk. And yet already we have Nature, Man & Woman - a simmering new platter containing 3 songs, producing 26 minutes of dank flute-oriented atmosphere.
The disco-sleeved 12” EP provides a revealing glimpse of a musically omnivorous approach. On “Badge Theme” we find the group upping the ante of the sound of their debut, unspooling 14 minutes of sensual Ike Hayes indebted oomph, sure to thrill future generations of loop diggers (cut live off the floor no less!).
LISTEN AND SHARE “BADGE THEME”
BANDCAMP / SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC
The A side contains 2 songs, which seem to hint at diverging future directions this eclectic combo might take moving forward. Opener “Zealous Child” comes as something of a sequel to the debut LP’s sole vocal featuring track “Undressed In Solitude”. This go round BÉE have teamed up with Toronto singer Dorothea Paas to ruminate on notions of spiritual wisdom overtop a progressive and climactically bombastic homebrew. Title track “Nature, Man & Woman” closes out the side with 6 ominous minutes of mysterious provenance. Somewhere between a live performance and a collaged tapestry, the group make more explicit than ever before their affinity for beat- centric loop music. Sounding like Lonnie Liston Smith gone trip-hop for a broadcast prohibited episode of Law & Order, BÉE posit themselves here as amongst the moodiest of contemporary instrumental collectives. Little wonder that library music enthusiasts around the world have made emphatic note of the Ensemble.
2020 will see the group returning to the studio, refining new arrangements. Until then we have a generous and unusual second helping to help us puzzle over what sounds Badge Époque Ensemble may investigate next.
MORE PRAISE FOR BADGE ÉPOQUE ENSEMBLE
"The jazzy, progressive instrumental sextet are experts in groove, building each one as a vessel for adventurous melodies that snake from restless funk to wild explosions of dramatic psych"
- NOW Magazine
“Twig’s writing is sure to appeal to anyone who likes late-’60s prog from the Canterbury scene”
- Vancouver Sun
“...trippy groovefest...that takes more twists and turns than a bag of pretzels” - Tinnitist
"Will throw you back into a time when pop orchestration was king"
- Laurie Brown’s Pondercast
NATURE, MAN & WOMAN TRACKLIST
A1. Zealous Child: 5:45
A2. Nature, Man & Woman: 6:10
B1. Badge Theme: 14:39
BADGE ÉPOQUE ENSEMBLE IS:
Jay Anderson - Drums & Percussion
Chris Bezant - Guitar, Electric Sitar
Alia O’Brien - Flute Ed Squires - Congas, Percussion
Giosue Rosati - Bass
Maximillian “Twig” Turnbull - Clavinet, Rhodes
BADGE ÉPOQUE ENSEMBLE LIVE
Dec 12 – Toronto, ON – Lula Lounge with André Ethier