15th November 2019 sees the release of acclaimed producer and multi-instrumentalist Marcus Hamblett’s groundbreaking second album Detritus, a tapestry of sound featuring an all-star lineup.
You may well have already watched or listened to Marcus Hamblett without knowing it. A highly sought-after session player, collaborator and enabler, Hamblett’s CV boasts a multitude of projects with high profile acts including Villagers, James Holden, Laura Marling, This Is The Kit and more.
Despite an understated release, Hamblett’s 2015 debut LP Concrete garnered critical acclaim wherever it was heard; not least by The National and Beirut collaborative side project LNZNDRF, as well as Timber Timbre, both of whom subsequently invited Hamblett to join them on tour. Effortlessly braiding free improvisation with careful arrangement in a manner redolent of Gastr Del Sol, Tortoise and Six Organs Of Admittance, it also received a glowing reception at the venerable BBC Radio 3 show Late Junction, who keenly invited Hamblett to collaborate with modular synthesiser pioneer James Holden and drummer Mark Holub (founding member of Mercury Prize nominated avant-jazz outfit Led Bib) in a special session at London’s Maida Vale Studios. Testament to an emerging pattern, it wasn’t long before Holden invited him to become a bona fide member of his band, The Animal Spirits, touring extensively across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia.
Hamblett has since gone from strength to strength, steadily building an arsenal of collaborators-in-waiting and loading a heavy cannon of vibrant and groundbreaking ideas, which now see daylight in the form of sophomore album Detritus via Willkommen Records, the now-established label arm of the cult Willkommen Collective, that Hamblett himself co-founded. Six tracks of genre-bending adventure, Detritus boasts a predictably stellar array of talent, including This Is The Kit’s Kate Stables and The Animal Spirits’ saxophonist Etienne Jaumet (also of French electro duo Zombie Zombie); not to mention James Holden himself and even celebrated bass saxophonist Colin Stetson, whose unmistakable tones have shaped records by Tom Waits, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire and many more.
From the unassuming opening of Lost At Sea, where drones, guitars and drums creep in from behind ambient studio chatter to settle into a groove that will spellbind fans of Can, Stereolab and Aphex Twin alike; to the contemplative guitar workings of two-part epic The Warren, a worthy contribution to the lexicon of avant-garde guitar composition in the line of icons like Jim O’Rourke and Loren Connors, Detritus grabs the listener firmly but gently, refusing to let go until its tour of the inside of Hamblett’s fascinating and unique mind is complete.
credits
released November 15, 2019
Lost At Sea
Thomas Heather – drums
Marcus Hamblett – guitar, cornet, piano, vibraphone, synths (Pro One, Dexed, Casio SK1, Yamaha CS5), shakers, bass guitar, vocals, MFB Drum Computer, polyend drum robots!
Emma Gatrill – alto sax
Kate Stables – vocals
Ghost Socks
Colin Stetson – contrabass clarinet, tenor sax
Emma Gatrill – alto sax
Thomas Heather – drums
Marcus Hamblett – electric guitar, MFB Drum Computer, Volca Beats, percussion, synths (Sequential Pro One, Crudman, Juno, cornet, Microbrute, Dexed/DX7, eurorack modular system, Emmatron)
Drums recorded by Louisa Gladwin & James Hurst
Contrabass clarinet and tenor sax recorded by Colin Stetson
The Warren
Marcus Hamblett – guitar
Hannah Miller – cello
Martha Rose – violin
Mikey Simmonds – violin
Jules Arthur – viola
Gardner’s Basement
Marcus Hamblett – Korg Volca Beats, Synths (Yamaha CS5, Emmatron, Marthatron, Critter & Guitari Pocket Piano, Moog Slim Phatty)
Ben Lanz – trombone and tuba
Mathieu Charbonneau – baritone horn
Vibraphone Piece
Marcus Hamblett – vibraphone, guitar, Prophet 08, Korg Volca, cornet, Knas Ekdahl Moisturizer, Korg MS20, vocals, harmonium, Juno 60, EF101
Martha Rose – violin
Helen Whitaker – flute
Kev Nickells – improv violin
Thomas Heather – drums
James Holden – modular synth
Etienne Jaumet – alto sax
Kate Stables – vocals
Emma Gatrill – vocals
Drums recorded by Louisa Gladwin & James Hurst
Marcus Hamblett is a musician from Brighton, UK. The Quietus wrote his music "could be called post-rock if it didn't also
sound pre-rock or maybe as if rock had never happened & folk, modern jazz & the classical avant-garde had merged into a stream of hip, innovative music to soundtrack the changes & discontents of the second half of the twentieth century instead, & Joe Meek had dug John Cage."...more
Magic in its purest form. I love Floating Points, I love Pharoah Sanders, I love The London Symphony Orchestra. It's a match made in heaven, and the result is absolutely gorgeous. I have loved this record since its release, and realized I don't own it for some reason. So its time to change that. 9.5/10 honestly could become a 10/10 on an indepth vinyl relisten. angrypizza98
Like so many others, this came like a bolt out of the blue and, even though it's well before payday, I had to have this astonishing album on vinyl to prove it exists. The feel of the tunes makes me feel like the Impressions do, Curtis Mayfield, the big spaces and instinctive horns and stuff drifting in and out. Great grooves and I can see lots of ghosts nodding along to this with big smiles on their faces. At last! Anthony Cottrell
David Helm & Jozef Dumoulin dive into the haunting abyss of improvisational electronics on this harrowing, mysterious record. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 5, 2022