GIGI MASIN 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Respected UK jazz keyboardist Greg Foat and ambient legend Gigi Masin started piecing together the music for Dolphin during the lockdown years of 2021, developing their collaborative album online before committing to final recording sessions when they were able to convene at the Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle Of Wight. As you might well expected, there's a sumptuous, refined quality to the music the two have conjured up on this release for Strut, taking in mellow jazz and ambient with elevated musicality at the core. With additional instrumental contributions from the likes of Mosesy Boyd, Siobhan Cosgrove and Tom Herbert, it's a richly satisfying listen from beginning to end.

Review: Both "Corner Song" and "The Flying Man" were first featured on Tempelhof and Gigi Masin's second collaborative album, 2016's arguably overlooked album Tsuki. Both are naturally worthy of a single release, though, as they deserve wider recognition. Both are quietly beautiful, drowsy and hazily picturesque, with gently percussive opener "Corner Song" just edging out the beat-less brilliance of "The Flying Man" - in which Masin delivers a weary and heart-aching vocal - in the "best track" stakes. On the flip you'll find a radical re-interpretation of "Corner Song" by New York producer Jex Opolis, who wraps Tempelhof and Masin's glistening guitars around a wonderfully colourful and tactile Balearic boogie groove.