Video of the Day: Elliot Galvin signs to Gearbox Records and shares new single ‘From Beneath’

Composer, pianist, and improviser Elliot Galvin returns with a new single titled ‘From Beneath’, his first release since signing to acclaimed independent London-based label Gearbox Records (home to Binker & Moses, Abdullah Ibrahim among others).

A long-time trailblazer in the UK jazz scene with four solo albums that have seen him top album of the year lists at the likes of Downbeat and Jazzwise, as well as being a member of the Mercury nominated Dinosaur, and collaborating with Shabaka Hutchings, Emma-Jean Thackray, Norma Winstone, Marius Neset and Mark Lockheart. Galvin has also earned a fierce reputation as a borderless improvisor having released records with the likes of Mark Sanders and his now labelmate Binker Golding. Outside of this Galvin is a composer Commissioned by the Sinfonietta, and an audio artist with works exhibited at the likes of Turner Contemporary Gallery, and more.

His latest single ‘From Beneath’ features renowned bassist and vocalist Ruth Goller, alongside as Polar Bear drummer and Patti Smith / Damon Albarn collaborator Seb Rochford. The track builds from undulating piano lines, underpinned by glitchy drum machines, and stirring vocals, before the tension breaks to fervent percussion work and charging basslines that chop and dart around Galvin’s staccato electronic manipulations.

Commenting on the single, Galvin said: “I have admired Ruth and Seb for a number of years and their music has been a big influence on me, especially Seb’s band Polar Bear. This track is an exemplar of the evolution of my musical voice over the past 5 years since my last record. Over lockdown, and in the years after, I took a break from releasing my own music to build a new approach influenced by a growing sense of disquiet with the direction of the world and my own life changes, resulting in a darker sonic world, rich in life experience. Here I incorporate modular synths, drum machines and samplers, whilst retaining my identity as a unique piano improviser, alongside Sebastian’s iconic drumming and Ruth’s haunting vocals and visceral electric bass improvisations, to produce a track of bleak beauty and heavy, broken grooves.”

Further new music is planned imminently, with the single marking a new start for Galvin, who hits the road with his band for extensive dates in February 2025. Full dates are as follows: St Catherine’s College Chapel, Cambridge (solo, 15 Nov); Hot Tin, Faversham (2 Feb); Listen, Cambridge (8 Feb); Lescar, Sheffield (12 Feb); Assemble Rooms, Leeds (13 Feb); The Rose Hill, Brighton (14 Feb); Kings Place (Hall 1, London (15 Feb); Mac, Birmingham (16 Feb); Fasching, Stockholm, Sweden (19 Feb); Unterfahrt, Munich (20 Feb); Opus Jazz, Budapest (22 Feb); Dora Stoutzker Concert Hall, Cardiff (27 Feb); Brilliant Corners Festival, Belfast (28 Feb); The Clinker, Dublin (1 Mar); Spin Jazz Club, Oxford (26 Mar) and Freerange, Canterbury (27 Mar).  

For more info and to listen to the track on all DSPs visit bfan.link/from-beneath