London drummer
Tom Skinner's work since coming onto the scene in the late 2000s has been continuous and wide-ranging, but the six exploratory tunes that make up
Voices of Bishara are the first music released under his own name.
Skinner's drumming resume includes credits on songs by
Floating Points, being one-third of
Radiohead spinoff band
the Smile, extensive work with
Sons of Kemet, and more, but with
Voices of Bishara,
Skinner assumes a central role as he leads an incredible band through his emotionally vivid songs of hope, contemplation, and upheaval. Joined by bassist
Tom Herbert, cellist
Kareem Dayes, the always stunning
Nubya Garcia on tenor sax and flute, and
Sons of Kemet bandmate
Shabaka Hutchings on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet,
Skinner collages his songs into subtle little avalanches of expression. The album's editing process becomes an instrument of its own, with
Skinner taking raw live-in-the-room recordings and looping certain sections, accentuating or deleting parts, bringing in touches of reverb or delay to create a haunted atmosphere, and otherwise rendering a fairly straightforward jazz session otherworldly and hypnotizing. The moments of free playing are controlled to begin with, and reined in further by the editing. Tracks like opener "Bishara" make ample space for simple string figures to dance around declarative horns and
Skinner's rolling waves of percussion. Tunes like "The Journey" and the lightly skipping "Voices (Of the Past)" are anchored by tight grooves, with
Skinner looping certain sections like a hip-hop producer selects the perfect sample from an old record when working on a new beat. Though he never showboats or pushes his drumming to the front of the mix, the songs are at their best when
Skinner's drums are gently steering the ship. Every aspect of
Voices of Bishara is understated, never hitting the listener over the head with garish editing choices, demanding performances, or obvious moves. Instead, the album drifts by beautifully and mysteriously, its swim of different sounds and executions quietly creating a world of its own. It joins a long line of inventive jazz records that goes from the groundbreaking studio practices of
Miles Davis'
Bitches Brew era and
Wayne Shorter's transportive 1971 set
Odyssey of Iska right up to
International Anthem labelmate
Makaya McCraven's experiments with creating new songs from chopping up studio sessions. Like these albums,
Voices of Bishara never overtly announces its intentions or tells us where it's going, but when it's over we realize we've just been taken along on an incredible journey. ~ Fred Thomas