Magma

Taking inspiration from Mulatu Astatke and Fela Kuti, as well as traditional Western and Oriental music, this fourth album from Belgian ethno-jazzers Black Flower sees the five-piece band continuing to bloom. Growing in stature and self-confidence on the back of previous releases’ success (Gilles Peterson joined us in praising their last one, Future Flora, calling it ‘brilliant’), Black Flower’s self-assuredness translates into some interesting experimentation in this current work.

A laid-back trippiness pervades these eight tracks, all instrumental apart from ‘Morning in the Jungle’ which features the clear-cut, almost childlike voice of this year’s Montreux Jazz Talent Award winner, singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees. Although she also hails from Belgium, Mees sounds reminiscent of a young Björk (and, bizarrely, also not unlike Greta Thunberg) as she narrates a story-in-the-song with lyrics by Jon Birdsong who has performed regularly with Beck and Beth Orton. Gone is former band member Wouter Haest and in is pianist Karel Cuelenaere whose impact can be felt right from the outset on album opener ‘Magma’. The Ethiopian-sounding standout number ‘The Forge’ precedes sweet and funky final track ‘Blue Speck’ in which composer, saxophonist and flautist Nathan Daems dials the psychedelia right up as far (out) as it will go. Flower power, of the Black kind at least, is alive and strong in Belgium.