Although jazz is a vehicle for both individual and group identities, in many bands it is the personality and character of the individuals that we most easily identify. Chris Mapp's way of working is very different and though this Birmingham/London Quartet has developed a strong character – abstract, free improv but with a basis in dark, Scandi death-metal – it is very much a group sound and concept that we hear most strikingly. In fact, it is often impossible to tell which sound is being generated by which member of the group, even when experienced live. A pair of rainy autumn evenings in a black-box theatre in Digbeth, Birmingham, complete with atmospheric light show and two esteemed Norwegian guests, has resulted in a pair of CDs, and the music works just as well on a recording as it did in live performance. The first disc, with Ratkje, is very much a slow-build affair, growing ever-so-gradually from space-filled bloops and bleeps to a monumental climax/release of all that stored-up intensity. The night with Henriksen is in some ways a less abstract affair. The trumpeter/singer is more of a melodist and the band responds to his often delicate, devotional way of performing, with a sensitively supportive soundscape. Try ‘Part IV’ for a prime example. It's no surprise that the Norwegians fitted in so well; Mapp's visit to the Punkt Festival some years back was a crucial trigger to the creation of Gonimoblast. The results are both highly original and strongly impressive. These discs, Birmingham-based Stoney Lane's eighth release, are part of a limited edition of 408 copies, carefully produced in screen-printed sleeves designed by Tom Tebby.