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Troyka
Troyka
Edition 1014
A
'visceral mash-up of rock, jazz and dance music', written and performed
by three musicians (keyboardist Kit Downes, here playing organ; guitarist/loops
man Chris Montague; drummer Joshua Blackmore) who 'live in post-hip-hop
world where you can take whatever source materials you like and do your
own singular thing with it [and]...to whom the old question "What is it?"
is replaced by "Is it any good?"' is how Troyka's music is described in
their album's accompanying Edition press release, and it's entirely accurate,
encapsulating the band's powerful appeal perfectly.
US guitarist Wayne Krantz is also cited as an influence, and it's fascinating to compare the grungy, rumbling, howling, alternately slithery and squirty textures produced by Troyka on the eleven tracks of this vibrant album (eight written by Montague, three by Downs) with one of the standout tracks on Partisans' latest, Krantz's mesmerising 'Partisans 1'.
The aforementioned press release concludes (in bold type): 'Play Troyka loud, they won't let you down', and it's good advice: like Partisans and Acoustic Ladyland, Fraud, Dog Soup et al., Troyka are a welcome blast of fresh air, uninhibited, imaginative, intense – in short, serious fun (the best sort).
