The duo of bassist Colin Edwin and guitarist Jon Durant have once again teamed up under their Burnt Belief moniker to release a new album of progressive ethno-ambient fusion instrumentals titled Etymology.
The pair first teamed up for Durant's 2011 album Dance of the Shadow Planets, a wholly live in the studio documentation of their nascent musical chemistry centered around Durant's atmospheric compositions and featuring also the talents of violinist Caryn Lin and multi-percussionist Jerry Leake.
The follow-up to Shadow Planets, 2012's eponymously titled Burnt Belief was distance recorded, but a fully collaborative compositional affair with Edwin taking equal responsibility for the writing process. Having confidently cemented their working methods and musical connection with the well received Burnt Belief, the duo undertook some live dates in the UK and Ukraine with Kiev based female vocal duo Astarta (as Astarta/Edwin), a project Colin has been working on for some time, but presently on ice due to the current instability in the country.
Energized by working together in a live environment again, in late 2013, the duo reconvened to create the present album, Etymology. Whilst still retaining the strong sonic identity laid down on Burnt Belief, Etymology represents a considerable expansion and natural evolution of their sound, not least because of the additional input of three marvellous drummers (Vinny Sabatino, Dean McCormick and Jose Duque) to complement and reinforce the programmed electronic rhythms.
Etymology is further enhanced by sensitive, deep electric violin performances from highly regarded classical musician Steve Bingham, also known for his evocative work with UK art-rock band No-Man. The album's title is a metaphor for the pair's working methodology, in which compositions evolve from an initial germ of an idea into a fully realised piece. The resulting work is often very different from it's original concept yet still maintains the initial elements at it's core.
The compositions which unfold across Etymology's 70 minutes showcase the duo's fruitful symbiosis and clear developmental path across their shared musical landscape. Assimilating diverse elements ranging from polyrhythms (Chimera), deep ECM styled atmospherics (Hover) and even angular nu-jazz abstraction (Squall), the result is an immersive, multi- layered, and engrossing documentation of a remarkably sympathetic musical connection.
Etymology will be released on October 21, 2014 and will be available at Burning Shed, Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes, jondurant.com and other digital outlets. Burnt Belief are looking forward to live dates in late 2014 and 2015.
