“The music is a hat in the sense that it’s just something we take, it’s a vehicle for us to express. It’s expression but itself is just empty… I think we belong to the music that we play more than the opposite.”
This is the ethos at the core of Naarm-based collective Standing Circle, as told by their bandleader Larry Crestani. Traversing sounds of spiritual jazz, hip-hop and traditional music, Standing Circle embraces the impermanence of music, their compositions functioning as a framework for deep collaboration and improvisation.
“I feel like that's also how my life works. As much as I can control it, there's so many things I can't control, so it's mostly improvised.”
Their debut self-titled album, released via La Sape Records (Iwuda, GODTET, Horatio Luna) features a rich tapestry of opposing yet harmonious sounds. With performances from Sam Young (drums), Kahan Harper (percussion), Richard Rose (bass), Hue Blanes (synths), Gontse Makhene (congas) and vocals from Sello Molefi, Corry Harper & Jag Yien Thiang as well as Crestani on the “Kraatar”, a hybrid of the guitar and the Ethiopian instrument the krar, of his own creation. The live lineup is also everchanging with a rotating roster of musicians, each given free reign to breathe new life and ideas into the existing compositions. No single live performance or experience of Standing Circle is the same.
From the first seconds of their opening track ‘Liftoff’ Standing Circle immerse you in their world of off-kilter jazz rhythms, ethereal percussion and angular guitar-work. As the track unfolds, you can easily imagine the playful exchange between the musicians in the room. The music itself lives and breathes, its own autonomous being.
Words by Louisa Christie