Astrakan

Comets and Monsters

Label: Jaguar Steps Country: UK

"Recorded at Faraday Studios, South London in November 2011, this is the second album by the London band Astrakan. Following the departure of their founder Michael Garcia at the end of 2010, the band spent the first part of 2011 re-assessing its direction and was joined in the Spring by Celia Lu on keyboards and vocals and Jeff Spencer on bass guitar. The lineup here consists of Celia Lu (keys/vocals), Raymond Hardy (saxes, flute, keys), Jerry Wigens (guitar/clarinet), Jeff Spencer (bass guitar), Dave Fowler (drums) with Kasia Kuchnicka adding trombone on two tracks. The music remains a combination of structured and improvised forms with ample room for charged, expressive solos. And of course, the introduction of the unique vocal presence of Celia Lu has given the music a fresh new ambience and connective angle. The individual members of the band have varied backgrounds in the rock, jazz and contemporary music fields, and are not only accomplished improvisers but also contribute composed material to the band's growing repertoire."-Jaguar Steps