new album coming June 21
photo by Dennis Madden
Featuring Philip Dizack, James Maddren, Nathaniel Facey, Tom Cawley, Chris Martin, Nadia le Fleming.
Orlando le Fleming’s Romantic Funk: The Unfamiliar
The Unfamiliar
Whether in life or music, taking a chance with improvisation and the unfamiliar adds to the possibility of achieving the unknown and the magical. Sometimes the risk doesn’t pay off, or maybe the results are hard to decipher at the time but, more often than not, it’s worth it, as there is a chance of originality and something that is not derivative. In music, it captures a more honest representation of the human and moment in time.
Over the last thirty years, the incredible technological advances in music have not always been put to good use. Albums are made in a piecemeal, layered and cold way with less human interaction and possibility for group creativity. Any ghosts and magic from the original moment are stifled in post-production by the insecure human need for perfection and control of time. Individuals are in their home studios endlessly dwelling, fixing and sanitizing.
In under two days in the studio, this album was all played live, with very few edits and overdubs. The musicians are of such high quality that the risk taking paid off ; for me, the inexpressible magic of the group and moment in time was captured.
As the process of recording and performing continues to change, I hope there will still be musicians like these - with implicit sensibility for group interaction, intuition and improvisation - around in thirty years.
- Orlando le Fleming