At the heart of Mat Muntz’s brand-new album, Phantom Islands, is the concept of extreme syncretism, music from all over and no place. “This is a “counterfeit folk dance” which I think of to be from the phantom island of Satanazes, a nonexistent location off the coast of Iberia,” Muntz discusses. Muntz and the outstanding ensemble prepare fictional sonic histories with echoes of early blues and early 60s totally free jazz improvisation characteristics. A zigzagging, stimulating bagpipe solo from Muntz sets the tone at the start, routing away into dirty alleys and sandstone paths. Somewhere Else, Xavier Del Castillo’s tenor sax solo flickers in the intense blue sky prior to cascading into the night with the gamboling balanced area. Pablo O’Connell includes a rapid-fire ballet oboe solo as an exclamation, all blowing in a magical Mediterranean breeze.

Phantom Islands will be launched on February 24 by Orenda Records. Stream listed below and pre-order HERE.

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