The third album ‘For A Brief Moment We Could Smell The Flowers’ from acclaimed Bristolian sax and drums duo Run Logan Run set for release on September 17 via Worm Discs. The duo combine propulsive rhythms with powerful improvisation to create a uniquely heavy spiritual jazz sound.
The first lead single ‘Screaming With The Light On’ debuts today and marks a dramatic new direction with heavy psychedelic soundscapes masterminded by producer Riaan Vosloo (Nostalgia 77).
Run Logan Run’s previous albums and singles have enjoyed support from Gilles Peterson, Jazzwise Magazine, BBCR3, Tom Robinson, Tina Edwards, Jazz FM, Jazz Journal and more, and in 2019 they received the Montreux Jazz Talent Award. They were invited back in 2020 as fellows of Montreux Jazz Academy to perform with John McLaughlin and members of Snarky Puppy.
Recorded in lockdown after months of intense jamming, the forthcoming album ‘For A Brief Moment We Could Smell The Flowers’ bolsters the dynamic improvised sound of the group with expansive synth soundscapes that add depth, warmth and emotional heft to the duo’s uniquely committed style of spiritualised jazz.
Working intensely on the established RLR sound was only the start of the process that yielded the album. Having built the foundations, Hayes and Brown turned to Nostalgia 77’s Riaan Vosloo, who added the shimmering, widescreen post-production that makes the album such a notable departure for the duo: ‘This is the first time we’ve wanted to blend our approach with added production and instrumentation,’ says Brown. ‘Riaans influence on this album was in response to what we had already recorded, even though he was with us in the studio.’ Adding his signature production sound, Vosloo uses synths and electronics to propel the band beyond their trademark pedal effects into spacious, emotionally rich and psychedelically vibrating soundscapes.
The pandemic that was the backdrop to the creative process also prompted the album’s title: ‘For A Brief Moment We Could Smell The Flowers is a reference to the fact that, for the first time in quite some time, society was together inside a collective moment,’ say Hayes, referring to the lockdowns that accompanied the spread of Covid-19. ‘It didn’t last for long, and it was definitely ugly, but it was also definitely beautiful. We’re working from our intuition and our music is a reflection of the world we inhabit. It’s ugly, but it’s also beautiful, and it’s beautiful, but it’s also ugly.’