'OBSCURA' BY ALARGO

The music on Alargo’s new album Obscura is conceptualised to favour space, texture, and atmosphere over usual composition forms such as melody and tempo. Alargo records live with no overdubs, which allows for a deeper exploration of their creative spontaneity, giving free rein to instinct and inspiration.

With firm roots in improvised music, Alan Brown and Kingsley Spargo have confidently cut their own distinctive paths, but their collaboration as Alargo offers even greater fluidity and freedom of expression. As Spargo says, "We take listeners on a journey that's new for them because it's new for us."

Obscura builds on the groundwork established on previous releases, Central Plateau (2016) and Primacy (2017), and is the most crystallised expression of their creative explorations to date.

The performances on Obscura were faithfully captured by recording engineer Matt Hammond, and the delicate art of balancing disparate synthetic and acoustic sounds was masterfully achieved through the sage ears of Paul Streekstra, whose contribution to all three albums has helped manifest beauty and tension through an intuitive understanding of Alargo's creative vision.

Kingsley Spargo (trumpet, tuba, pūmoana, vocals)

Alan Brown (keyboards, iPads)

Listen to Obscura below. To hear more from Alargo head to the Songbroker Search Engine.