Red Mist

John Wardle, aka Jah Wobble, has enjoyed a remarkable career. One of Britain’s most adventurous bass guitarists, he played in PiL along with John Lydon, was joined by Justin Adams and Sinéad O’Connor in his band Invaders of the Heart, and has worked with an impressively varied array of other great musicians, from Brian Eno to Björk. Now he provides the bass lines for Tian Qiyi, a band formed by his two sons, John Tian Qi Wardle and Charlie Tian Yi Wardle. Their mum Zi Lan Liao, is an exponent of the guzheng, Chinese zither, so it’s no surprise that their debut album is an intriguing blend of Chinese influences with electronica and jazz improvisation – all under-pinned and driven on by their dad’s solid bass work.

The opening ‘Abyss (of the Yangtze River)’ sets the mood. It’s a grand, atmospheric soundscape, in which a swirl of electronica and vocal effects is intercut with gentle passages of keyboard improvisation. Elsewhere, the tracks range from the urgent, equally epic ‘Incantation’ to the bass and keys improvisations on ‘Funk 1’ and ‘Funk 2’ and the title track, which switches from lyrical Chinese themes to anguished vocals. The Wardle brothers say that Apocalypse Now was an influence – and this would certainly make great film music.