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‘Gadzooks!’ is the first album by new 6-piece experimental group ‘The Broken Blackbird Ensemble’. It features James and David from Big Eyes, but there the comparison ends. TBBE feature players previously and currently immersed in noise/sound experimentation, klezmer, folk, classical and acid-rock, but this, their first album, contain nothing that could be specifically classified under any of these ‘categories’.

The album was recorded and improvised in one day (in September 2004), with some tracks from the vaguest principle, others conceived from scratch. Theirs is the sound of creaking wood, gothic ragas, horrored drones, a choir of pipes and oh-so hushed melody. Is’ free-folk’ the right term? Who knows, but there is definitely some music common ground between the ‘New Weird America’ artists and TBBE.

The line up is as follows:

James Green (Big Eyes/solo) – cello, autoharp, xylophone, organs, pipes, banjo, guitar
Fred Bellis (Hot Snack/Acolytes Action Squad) – drums, percussion, melodica, organs, voice, piano
David Jaycock (Big Eyes/Bingo Jesus) – acoustic guitar, pipes, electric guitar, drums
Lindsay Aitkenhead (Tashbain/East-Handed) – viola, bowed cymbal, pipes, thumb-piano, voice
Andres Sotorrio (Bingo Jesus) – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, jaw-harp, harmonica
J ‘Chrome’ Smith (Evil Me/Truckstop Women) – electric guitar, pipes, piano

with Matt Howden (Seiben) on violin (tracks 7 and 12)

The album was produced by James Green and Neil Shumsky in January 2005 and are all copyright TBBE 2005

bambino - mp3