Austin Peralta – Endless Planets

AUSTIN PERALTA

ENDLESS PLANETS

BF014

1. Introduction: The Lotus Flower
2. Capricornus
3. The Underwater Mountain Odyssey
4. Ode To Love
5. Interlude
6. Algiers
7. Epilogue: Renaissance Bubbles

The next album forthcoming from Brainfeeder might, at first sight, appear to be something of a change in direction for the label but nothing could be further from the truth.

Austin Peralta is a jazz musician. Not in the sense that he or people close to him bandy around the word “jazz” (or even worse, “jazzy”) in relation to his music. No, in the sense of years of practice and dedication to a particular artform. In the sense of having played with, amongst many others, the likes of Chick Corea, Hank Jones and Ron Carter. In the sense of having serious chops. Of playing the piano and composing like a true veteran. And in the sense of having done all that by the time he’s twenty one. And that’s before you even get into his work as a session player for everyone from Erykah Badu to Shafiq Husayn, or the time he sat in with legendary LA big band, Horace Tapscott’s Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra.

But, as Flying Lotus explains, “this is a step in direction of where I want Brainfeeder to go. True musicianship as well as some interesting electronics.” Peralta, another LA native and son of legendary Z-Boy skater and, latterly, documentary film-maker Stacy Peralta, in many ways fits clearly into what Brainfeeder has always been about, a combination of questing futurism and an understanding of where you’re coming from. So while Peralta works alongside serious jazz musicians like Zane Musa (alto sax), Ben Wendel (tenor and soprano), Hamilton Price (bass) and Zach Harmon (drums), he also relies on longtime friend and associate Strangeloop for electronic manipulation throughout the set and ends the album with a scintillating collaboration with The Cinematic Orchestra and singer Heidi Vogel.

“People would always tell me about this genius jazz pianist,” Flying Lotus recalls. “‘Hes like 17 or 18 and already sounds like Mccoy Tyner!’ I had to go and see what was up, so Strangeloop introduced me, and I got to hear this amazing record.” And once he’d heard it there was only one outcome. It is, after all, the Brainfeeder way. “We had to put it out.”