- Label: 'Clonmell Jazz Social'
- Genre: 'Soul'
- Release Date: '19th September 2025'
Our Rating:
This exceptional debut album was composed by London-based singer and guitarist Georgia Duncan but developed collaboratively with a group of improvising musicians: Ruth Goller (bass),Yusuf Ahmed (drums) and Harry Christelis (guitar).
Improvisation suggests something loose and spontaneous but that is not the mood of this record at all. Instead it feels self-contained and rigorously controlled. With lesser artists this might produce something stiff, self-indulgent and overly formal. In the case of these exceptional musicians it facilitates a sensual and inclusive set of ten intimate tunes.
The grace and warmth of Duncan’s vocals form a central part of the sound and the flowing instrumental arrangements fuse effortlessly with her voice to create a distinctively cohesive atmosphere. The band’s instrumental range can be heard to best effect in The Walls.
The explorative and interrogative songs express life’s catalogue of uncertainties. In Linger, she asks ”What makes you empty? What fills you up?
The standout track Mud Slick & Feather draws upon imagery from the natural world and Duncan’s fine flute playing on What You Thought Was Missing adds another texture to the sonic palette.
The closing track Stillness features the HERD community choir which Duncan has coached for a decade.
It is an elegant finale to a beautifully sequenced record.
