Artificial Horizon

Description

TaxiWars is back after a three-year hiatus with new album Artificial Horizon, released 6th September via Sdban Ultra.

An intensive collaboration between dEUS frontman Tom Barman, saxophonist Robin Verheyen, bassist Nicolas Thys and drummer Antoine Pierre, TaxiWars are a mix of lyricism, poetry and jazz with a rock sensibility.

Press on their previous album:
Superb The Independent
The vocal style of a typical rock song, but they are propelled by a jazz engine Financial Times
You find it hard to keep your feet still. Some genuinely moving introspection Sunday Express
The alt-rock legend returns and gets jazzy NME
From the smouldering to the groove-laden, the frenetic to the sultry, the quartet are carving out a niche on their own terms, and most definitely sniffing on their own turf Drowned in Sound
Sharp, energetic, but with a deep sense of groove. Its as far removed from jazz club clichés as can be Clash

Reinventing themselves, Barman and Verheyen came up with something very fresh and personal, tastefully evolving from a cubistic jazz sound to a more melodious direction. The band took their music to the next level adding depth to their compositions, clarity to the beats and efficiency to their overall sound.
Artificial Horizon is high on experimentation and creativity and demonstrates a kaleidoscope of styles and sounds. Tracks like album opener Drop Shot, are sharp and on point, with a heavy sense of groove, while recent single Sharp Practice, is an impulsive, energetic vibration that steams jazz with late eighties hip-hop beats.

Title track Artificial Horizon, is both beguiling and insistent with an ingrained punkiness that sets the band apart from the plush jazz scene, all thanks to Verheyens punchy, melodic lines and Barmans haunting lyrics. I wanted TaxiWars to be sharp, to the point, punky and trashy much like the band Morphine. Long solos were no-go, says Barman.

The exquisite piano ballad Irritated Love complete with smoky sax is an example of the ease in which TaxiWars merge certain traditional elements of jazz with an indie approach to songwriting while tracks like The Glare and Infinity Cove display TaxiWars love for jazz musicians such as Pharaoh Sanders, Archie Shepp, and Charles Mingus full of swing, pulse, and the urge to break out of the genres confinements.