Part of the CirdecSongs celebrating 25 of my favorite musical things of the past 25 years.

(All photos by CirdecSongs)

I’ve always believed some of the best musical finds are complete accidents. And so it was when I learned about one of my favorite jazz groups of all time.

Bandcamp is one of the great musical innovations of my musical life. I spend a great deal of time looking for “below the radar” artists. Bandcamp was exactly what I needed. Sometimes, the internet can be a wonderful thing.

While I have love jazz for forty-plus years, I’ll be the first to admit that I was mired in the classics. Clearly there was more to jazz than Miles, Coltrane, Bird, and Diz. But I never really took the time to get past the Marsalis brothers, and they came from the eighties. It was time to stretch out.

Enter Bandcamp. From the app I learned about a British record label called Gondwana. Their artists were younger, more inventive, and deeply influenced by more than just jazz. Also, they were — for the most part — British. Outside of Bill Bruford’s Earthworks, I spent almost no time exploring jazz from “the other side of the pond.”

A band called Portico Quartet was the first to grab my attention. They truly brought something new and fresh to the table. I knew I had found the right place to start. Then there was Mammal Hands. Both bands brought a level of skill and chill to my musical table.

Then I took a chance on a Manchester, England band called GoGo Penguin. My music world hasn’t been the same since.

Yes, GoGo Penguin was jazz in the traditional sense. The simple acoustic setting of piano, acoustic bass, and drums told me as much. But this band was more than jazz. They followed the form’s rules, but they were also breaking them by bringing influences like Radiohead and Aphex Twin along for the ride.

This was jazz from The Twilight Zone!

The first GoGo Penguin album I tried had the unique title of v2.0, which piqued my curiosity from the jump. First of all, I was amazed by how much space three acoustic instruments were taking up in the mix. Classic jazz mixes have a way of staying in front of you. No doubt this comes from the limited number of microphones in the studio when the albums were recorded.

GoGo Penguin’s sound seemed to come from everywhere, even as I listened on my large stereo speakers. Chris Illingworth (piano), Nick Blacka (bass), and Rob Turner (drums) seemed determined to make their music shove me right out of my chair. They were successful!

The addition of trip-hop, dubstep, electronic, and hip-hop influences to this jazz to a completely new realm. This wasn’t what a friend of mine calls “Armani Jazz,” where the musicians wear suits and ties. No … this was jazz designed for people wearing t-shirts and jeans. That was a concept I had never seriously considered.

There’s no better example on v2.0 than a tune called “One Percent.” The stutter-steps and beatbox-sounding riffs at the end of the tune would make one swear they were listening to a defective CD or skipping LP. But I was streaming the album the first time I heard it! These sounds were being made on purpose! After my second listen, I stood up and applauded. Never mind the fact that I was the only one in the room.

Three things tend to happen when I fall in love with a new band: I obsess over the album that brought them to me; I talk them up to any- and everyone who listens to me for more than twenty seconds; and I make a conscious effort to listen to every note the band played I have access to. GoGo Penguin was no exception.

Of course, I knew I had to see these guys live. But I’ve always referred to my hometown of St. Louis as the place where quality concerts go to die.+ GoGo Penguin would not be making an appearance in my fair city. They would, however, be playing in Chicago, a four-hour drive away. Alas, my attempts to catch a show proved … difficult for the longest time.

My first attempt didn’t work because of my work schedule. The second time, said job had left me exhausted after an extended stretch seven grueling days of law enforcement (including a lot of overtime). I had a ticket for the show, but the thought of driving up and back over two quick days left me completely unenthusiastic. I blew off the gig. Which was a shame, because GoGo Penguin was touring behind a remarkable new album called A Humdrum Star. My favorite track on the album, “Strid,” brought more wood out of an acoustic bass than I’ve ever heard on a recording. I will die on that mountain.

The third opportunity to see the band was part of my Retirement from the Police Department Tour in the spring of 2020. My plan was to leave the department via a “Final Roll Call” ceremony, take a day or two to recover, then hop on a plane for two weeks in London and Manchester, England, where I hoped to find and interview. Matthew Halsall, the head of Gondwana Records.

From there, I would head back home by way of Chicago, where I was hunting for a new home. I needed to get out of St. Louis, and the superior musical climate in Chicago was just what the doctor ordered. As it happened, a band called GoGo Penguin was playing on consecutive nights during my scheduled time there. I grabbed tickets for both shows.

It was the perfect plan foiled by the perfect barrier. A little virus called Covid-19 all but shut the world completely down. The virus was easily transmitted, and social distancing became the norm. Flights were a bad idea. People worked from home, assuming they could do so. And entertainment of all kinds came to a screeching halt. No sports, no entertainment. The GoGo Penguin concerts were postponed and I’m looking for my next opportunity to make my way to England.

My chance to see the band finally came in May of 2023 at Chicago’s Thalia Hall. A good friend whom I’d introduced to the band (and became nearly equally obsessed) came up from St. Louis and we were treated to ninety of the best minutes of our lives. We even got to speak to Nick Blacka for a couple of minutes outside the venue after the show. I don’t have an artist “bucket list,” per se, but GoGo Penguin would’ve been on it. Now I can cross them off. Of course, that won’t stop me from seeing them again down the road.

By the time I got to see them, GoGo Penguin had made a move from the Gondwana Records label to the prestigious Blue Note Records. I guess the “secret” about these guys was officially out. The band had also changed drummers, with Jon Scott taking over behind the kit for a seamless transition.

GoGo Penguin has stepped slightly away from its all acoustic setup with Blacka playing the occasional electric bass and Illingworth using electronic keyboards for some tunes. And while I certainly wouldn’t encourage the band to go backward for its sound, there was something special about the acoustic realm they dominated in years past. Alas, all things change. Artists must be allowed to evolve. These guys are no exception. And the music is still very good.

There still aren’t a lot of bands who bring it the way GoGo Penguin does. I wasn’t there for the very beginning, but I’m happy to say they’ve been part of my musical world for a decade, and they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

But it would be cool to see them in England.

+ To its credit, St. Louis has gotten a bit better about hosting the bands I find exciting in the last three or four years. Still, I have no regrets about moving to Chicago, where the odds of getting a show are much greater.

#cirdecsongs

If you would like to have your music reviewed, or have your band photographed while performing in Chicago, contact me at cirdecsongs@gmail.com.