“Church Andrews and Matt Davies weave intricate patterns from the Fibonacci sequence on new mini-album, Yucca” so reads the headline that arrived at the top of the press release for this one. it really is a beautifully simple piece of complex musica soothing piece of music,a clever interaction, refreshing….

Producer and composer Church Andrews (aka Kirk Barley) and drummer Matt Davies return to explore what they say ate “the outer limits of rhythm” on a six-track suite that is at once “angular and fluid, natural and systematic. Drawn to the restrictions of working solely with one synth and live drums, the pair found creativity in limitation, developing a compositional dialogue between the sonic timbres of Kirk’s productions and Matt’s percussive practice”

Weare featuring this as our Organ Thing of The Day today and we are quoting from the press release by way of background information whilst we let the music do the talking and the visuals do the walking. We wouldn’t be posting it here if we didn’t feel it worthwhile of course, I mean, it is rather good…
 
“Evoking the primitive yet complex form of the plant from which it takes its name, Yucca features tracks that are built around rhythmic ratios of the Fibonacci sequence. Mirroring spiral patterns exhibited in nature, each track evolves like a cellular structure of its own, from the livewire syntax of ‘Chirp’ and the deconstructed ebb and flow of ‘Ferns’, to the mini-album’s title track, where crisp grooves flit between modulated electronics like fireflies”.
 
“I’ve always been inspired by music that is complex without sounding complex,” Matt explains. He maintains a sense of bounce amid the intricate phrasing and cites drummers Roy Haynes and his grandson Marcus Gilmore as inspirations, alongside sabar drummers from Senegal and Mridangam drumming of South India”.
 
“With a shared background in hip-hop and the swung beats of J Dilla and Flying Lotus, Kirk Barley and Matt Davies were also inspired by the minimalism of Terry Riley and the sparse palette of dub techno.
 
Written and recorded in Lewisham in the spring and summer of 2023, Yucca follows the release of Axis in 2022, with the duo having also performed at festivals such as Rewire and Waking Life, and recorded live sessions for FACT magazine and Worldwide FM and follows releases, Axis (2022), Pollen (2021) and Neighbours (2020). The duo’s track ‘Romenesque’ was also played by Aphex Twin during his set at Villafranca (2023.)

The third release on Yorkshire-based Odda Recordings, following Kirk Barley’s Marionette and Flaer’s Preludes, Yucca confirms the label’s reputation for championing music on the unstable ground between the organic and the synthetic”.

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