Outhouse
‘Outhouse’ began as a music project in a humble garden shed six years ago, but have now evolved into a group which is one of a swathe of bands heralding a new heyday for young British jazz music. The success of their inaugural recording acted as a launch pad for the musicians at the group’s core and each has gone on to become renowned individually for their work.
Now, regrouped for their third album ‘Straw, Sticks and Bricks’, Outhouse, who are part of the Loop Collective, come invigorated from the influences they have sought out individually and together over the intertwining years.
They have collaborated with Gambian Wolof percussionists as their incarnation Outhouse-Ruhabi, toured extensively across continents and have changed their core quartet line-up. Not content unless they are reconstructing their sound from a new perspective, the latest record sees them collaborate with renowned Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson, known internationally through his work with Jim Black.
He joins a band line-up consisting of Robin Fincker on tenor sax and clarinet, Dave Smith on drums, Tom Challenger on tenor sax and Johnny Brierley on bass.
They can swing from free-ish abstraction to a calypso phrase, an overwrought rock groove or a plaintive tune creating a dynamic contemporary jazz sound that never loses sight of the melody. Says Robin Fincker: ‘Of all our records this is the one we feel the strongest about. After running such a long-term project I feel really rewarded by seeing the music getting stronger and deeper.”
With ‘Straw, Sticks and Bricks’ the group deliver a record that shows their adeptness at tonality, their effortless ability to merge grunge and thrashy riffs with ethereal backdrops and mournful horns.
Outhouse release their third record ‘Straw, Stick and Bricks’ on April 4th through Babel and tour extensively through April and May.
2011 Live Dates
21/04: Bonnington Theatre, Arnold Notts
22/04: Fleece Jazz, Stoke by Nayland Golf Club
23/04: The Forge, London
24/04: 7 Arts Centre, Leeds
25/04: Gumble's Jazz festival, Stafford
26/04: Schmazz @ The Cluny, Newcastle upon Tyne
27/04: Jazz Bar, Edinburgh
30/04: Cheltenham Jazz Festival
13/05: Le Periscope, Lyon (France)
14/05: AMR, Geneva (Switzerland)
30/06: Bishopsgate, London
01/07: Vortex, London
19/11: Africolor Festival (Paris)