Favourite Animals – Favourite Animals

Release date: 4th December 2017 (CD and digital album)

An expanded version of Cath Roberts’ quintet Sloth Racket, Favourite Animals was formed for Cath’s Artist In Residence commission at Lancaster Jazz Festival 2016. The aim was to broaden the sound pallette through the extended instrumentation, whilst continuing to explore the territories between composed music and improvisation that are the focus of Sloth Racket’s ongoing work as a band. Favourite Animals’ debut performance, headlining Lancaster Jazz Festival 2016 in the studio space at The Duke’s Theatre, was warmly received by enthusiastic festival audiences and prompted discussions of future plans for the ensemble.

This recording was made almost a year later, when the group gathered to revisit the Lancaster material in the studio. Recorded over two days at City, University of London by Alex Bonney, the album comprises five of Cath’s compositions. Constructed as frameworks for group improvisation, the scores necessitate interpretation and ‘arrangement’ by the ensemble and create space for the individual voices of the improvisers to shape the music. The production and release of the Favourite Animals album was made possible by a crowdfunding campaign: 90 backers pledged their support, raising enough to cover the mixing, mastering, CD production, packaging and the musicians’ travel expenses for the session. The album is available from Luminous on CD (with hand-printed linocut artwork by Cath) and digital download.

Favourite Animals will play live this December on a double bill tour with Anton Hunter’s Article XI. The two bands – which share several members – will appear in Birmingham, Sheffield, Morecambe and Newcastle to coincide with the release of this album (and anticipate the upcoming Article XI album, due out on Efpi Records in 2018).

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Dee Byrne – alto saxophone
Julie Kjær – bass clarinet/flute
Tom Ward – bass clarinet/flute
Graham South – trumpet
Tullis Rennie – trombone

Cath Roberts – baritone saxophone
Sam Andreae – tenor saxophone
Anton Hunter – guitar
Seth Bennett – bass
Johnny Hunter – drums

Compositions by Cath Roberts

Recorded at City, University of London in August 2017.
Engineered by Alex Bonney with studio assistance from Vincent Ott.
Mixed and mastered by Alex Bonney.

Design and printmaking by Cath Roberts.

Luminous Label 2017 | LU008

Digital album available now. (CD sold out!)

Tullis Rennie & Cath Roberts – Blurts/Growls

Release date: 26th June 2017 (CD and digital album)

These tracks were lovingly cut up by Tullis and Cath from live recordings of improvised duo sets we played in 2016. The album was part of a double-release with Live At LUME Vol. 3, for LUME Festival 2017.

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Tullis Rennie – trombone
Cath Roberts – baritone saxophone

Recorded at Cafe Oto Project Space on 22nd June 2016, and at Free Range, Canterbury on 17th November 2016.

Design and printmaking by Cath Roberts.

Luminous Label 2017 | LU007

CD and digital album available now.

Live At LUME Vol. 3

Release date: 26th June 2017 (CD and digital album)

Part of a double-release with Blurts/Growls for LUME Festival 2017.

LUME is run by two musicians, Cath Roberts and Dee Byrne, making things happen with a focus on the creation of new original/improvised music. Past activities have included concert series and tours, and we also release music from LUME projects on our offshoot DIY record label Luminous (link in the top right!). This is the third volume of our ‘Live At LUME’ fundraiser compilation album, in which we present a selection of tracks recorded at LUME gigs, donated by the artists. All proceeds from the album will go directly back into helping us continue with LUME projects into 2018 and beyond.

Julie Kjær’s compositions played by:
Julie Kjær – flute/bass clarinet
Olie Brice – double bass
Seth Bennett – double bass
Tim Fairhall – double bass
Thodoris Ziarkis – double bass

Craig Scott’s compositions played by the Gastric Band:
Oliver Dover – saxophones, clarinet
Craig Scott – guitar
Johnny Richards – keyboards
Michael Bardon – bass guitar
Joost Hendrickx – drums

Anton Hunter’s compositions played by the Labrats:
Kim Macari – trumpet
Dee Byrne – alto saxophone
Rachel Musson – tenor saxophone
Cath Roberts – baritone saxophone
Tullis Rennie – trombone
Anton Hunter – guitar
Tim Fairhall – double bass
Andrew Lisle – drums

All tracks recorded and mixed live by Saint Austral Sound at IKLECTIK, as part of LUME Lab 2017: Julie Kjær on 16th March, Craig Scott on 19th April, Anton Hunter on 24th May.

Compiled by Cath Roberts.
Mastered by Alex Bonney.

Design and printmaking by Cath Roberts.

Luminous Label 2017 | LU006

CD and digital album available now.

Sloth Racket – Shapeshifters

Release date: 12th June 2017 (CD, digital album and t-shirt)

Shapeshifters is the second album by Sloth Racket. The album was recorded in October 2016 at Blueprint Studios, Salford, at the end of Sloth Racket’s Autumn tour. The night before, the band had played a show at Islington Mill; the last of a run of five gigs also taking in London, Derby, Newcastle and Glasgow. Cath had composed a new set of pieces for the tour and they had developed over the course of the five dates, evolving from speculative marks on the page into full musical statements by the collective. When the session came around, the band was switched on and fired up by a week’s playing together. The resulting four tracks thoroughly dissect the written starting points and frame them in improvisations ranging from duos to whole group explorations. A snapshot of the band engaging with that music at that particular time, it probably sounds quite different to what happened live on the tour, although heavily informed by the process of touring.

The band are on tour at the end of June to celebrate the Shapeshifters release, with dates in Leeds, Bristol, Brighton, Norwich, Cambridge and London.

 

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Cath Roberts – baritone saxophone
Anton Hunter – guitar
Sam Andreae – tenor saxophone
Seth Bennett – bass
Johnny Hunter – drums

 

Compositions by Cath Roberts.

 

Recorded on 6th October 2016 at Blueprint Studios, Salford by Tim Thomas.
Mixed and mastered by Alex Bonney.
Design and printmaking by Cath Roberts.

 

Luminous Label 2017 | LU005

 

CD, digital album and t-shirt available now.

Deemer – Live At The Vortex

Release date: 1st December 2016 (cassette and digital album)

The second release by Deemer: a live set from the Vortex in 2015.

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Dee Byrne – alto saxophone, electronics
Merijn Royaards – electronics

Recorded by Ali Ward at The Vortex, London, on 6th December 2015.
Mixed and Mastered by Merijn Royaards.

Design and printmaking by Cath Roberts.

Luminous Label 2016 | LU004

Cassette and digital album available now.

Live At LUME Vol. 2

Release date: 29th June 2016 (CD and digital album)

LUME is a platform for original and improvised music run by musicians Cath Roberts and Dee Byrne. Our gigs feature artists from across the UK creative music scene and beyond, acting as a space for new work and experimental music-making. For the last three years we have been running gigs at venues around London. This is the second volume of our ‘Live At LUME’ fundraiser compilation album, in which we present a selection of tracks recorded at LUME gigs, donated by the artists. All proceeds from the album will go directly back into helping us continue to put on LUME concerts into 2017 and beyond.

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Tracks 1 and 4 recorded by Ali Ward.
Track 5 recorded by Saint Austral Sound.
Compiled by Dee Byrne and Cath Roberts.
Mastered by Alex Bonney.

Luminous Label 2016 | LU003

CD and digital album available now.

Sloth Racket – Triptych

Release date: 2nd May 2016 (CD and digital album)

Triptych is the debut album from Sloth Racket. The album is a suite of music in three parts, originally composed by Cath for Gateshead International Jazz Festival 2015 (a Jazz North East performance that was the band’s first gig). The pieces were constructed as frameworks for improvisation, combining composed fragments with graphic notation to explore the balance between freedom and structure – and make the most of the exceptional improvisers who join her in Sloth Racket. After several gigs during 2015 the band got together to record a version of the pieces in November, at Limefield Studio in Manchester with John Ellis (Cinematic Orchestra) engineering. The resulting session, on a cold and rainy evening fuelled by coffee and pizza, produced three substantial tracks that range across musical territories from fiery free jazz, to minimal improv textures, to deep grooves.

The band embark on a UK tour to celebrate the release, with the album launch gig on 8th May 2016 at the Vortex Jazz Club, London, and a further batch of tour dates scheduled for the Autumn.

 

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Cath Roberts – baritone saxophone
Sam Andreae – tenor saxophone
Anton Hunter – guitar
Seth Bennett – bass
Johnny Hunter – drums

 

Compositions by Cath Roberts.

 

Recorded by John Ellis at Limefield Studio, Manchester, on 11th November 2015.

Mixed and mastered by Alex Bonney.
Design and printmaking by Cath Roberts.

 

Luminous Label 2016 | LU002

 

CD and digital album available now.

Deemer – Interference Patterns

Release date: 7th December 2015

Interference Patterns is the first album by Deemer, the long-running collaboration between Luminous co-founder Dee Byrne and sound artist Merijn Royaards. This is also the first studio album released on Luminous.

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Dee Byrne – alto saxophone, electronics
Merijn Royaards – electronics

Recorded by Tom Ward at Jamestown Road, London on 28th November 2014.

Mixed and mastered by Rico Garafalo at The Downlight Studio in December 2014.

Design and printmaking by Cath Roberts.

Luminous Label 2015 | LU001

CD and digital album available now.

Live At LUME

Release date: 6th July 2015 (CD and digital album)

LUME is an improvised/original/contemporary jazz/experimental music night in London. For the last two years we have been running weekly gigs in a few different venues, but mainly at Long White Cloud in Hoxton. These tracks were recorded live at LUME gigs, by the artists, using handheld recorders. As such they are bootlegs; but really nice ones polished up by the excellent Alex Bonney. The tracks have been donated to us by the artists, and all proceeds from the album will go directly back into helping us put on more LUME concerts. Support live music by, er, purchasing recorded music!

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Recorded by the artists.
Compiled by Cath Roberts.
Mastered by Alex Bonney.

Luminous Label 2015 | LU000

Digital album avaiable now. (CD sold out!)