Listen to Debut Track from Battle Trance's 'Palace of Wind'

New Amsterdam Records is excited to announce Palace of Wind, the debut full-length release from Travis Laplante's genre-defying tenor saxophone quartet,Battle Trance. The A.V. Club has revealed the first track from the record, calling it "a whole spectrum of hypnotic ethereality" and a "voyage of glorious texture, melody, and mood." Listen to the debut track from the album via The A.V. Club The record will see a release on August 26, 2014, and the group has released a brief album trailer featuring a dreamlike montage of the performers and audio from the record. The group has also announced a string of North American tour dates this fall, beginning in Kittery, ME on September 1 and finishing in Philadelphia at the The Rotunda on November 20. The full list of tour dates is below.

Battle Trance had an auspicious inception. One morning, Travis Laplante (Little Women and a trio with bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Ches Smith) literally awoke with the crystal clear vision that he needed to start an ensemble with three specific individuals: Matthew Nelson, Jeremy Viner, and Patrick Breiner. Laplante was unfamiliar with their abilities as saxophonists and had only a minimal relationship with them as individuals. He was also aware that a band of four tenor saxophones could be the worst idea ever. In spite of this, Laplante followed through and contacted Nelson, Viner, and Breiner. He gave them very little information beyond his morning experience. But no one hesitated - the ensemble formed that evening.

Palace of Wind is a piece that not only transcends genres, but also transcends time and space. Existing in the cracks between contemporary classical music, avant-garde jazz, black metal, ambient, and world music, Palace of Wind is an album-length composition that pushes the four saxophonists to the limit, shedding new light on the saxophone as an ensemble instrument. The players use circular breathing to build continuous, hypnotic waves of sound; multiphonics layer to create intricate textures that seem to come from an ancient time; and blisteringly fast lines seem to liquefy into each other. Unorthodox articulations and unusual fingerings are also part of the vast sonic vocabulary that the members of Battle Trance have painstakingly mastered. However, Palace of Wind isn't merely concerned with demonstrating the virtuosity of the ensemble, nor with impressing or entertaining the listener. Instead, it is meant to be a portal of resonance where there is no separation between the listener and the sound.

Since many of the techniques used in the piece are nearly impossible to notate in traditional form, Palace of Wind was transmitted via the oral tradition. The rehearsals were much like martial arts training: intricate sounds were rigorously copied and repeated by the ensemble members until they perfected the techniques. Many hours were spent building the sheer strength required to sustain continuous circular breathing for extended periods. Likewise, a steady focus on physicality was required to repeat rapid note patterns for long periods without sacrificing speed. Palace of Wind is such a demanding composition that there is a high risk of physically burning out before the piece concludes, as once it begins there is no opportunity for rest or even a quick drink of water. There was also extensive training in dissolving the distinct individual identities of the players into the greater collective sound: The band did various long-tone exercises, similar to group meditation, the purpose being to blend together into one sound, so that the origin of the collective sound's components is completely impossible to discern - even by the members of the ensemble.

Palace of Wind does embrace both the cerebral nature of composition and the visceral act of performance, but immediately locates itself, the musicians and the audience in a purely spiritual space. It is a new kind of music and therefore modern, and yet it's absolutely primordial, the transformative act of human beings blowing air through tubes and producing something timeless. Listen - really listen - and be transformed.

Battle Trance is Travis Laplante, Matthew Nelson, Jeremy Viner, and Patrick Breiner.

Members of Battle Trance have also performed with: Tune-Yards, Little Women, Tim Berne, Gerald Cleaver, Michael Formanek, Trevor Dunn, Ingrid Laubrock, Rafiq Bhatia, Ches Smith, Steve Lehman,Weasel Walter, Mat Maneri, John Hollenbeck, Tyshawn Sorey, Peter Evans, and many others.

Battle Trance Tour Dates:
9/1 - The Buoy - Kittery, ME
9/2 - Jenke Arts - Burlington, VT
9/3 - Casa Del Popolo - Montreal, Quebec
9/4 - Mugshots - Ottawa, Ontario
9/5 - Array Space - Toronto, Ontario
9/6 - Now That's Class - Cleveland, OH
9/7 - Constellation - Chicago, IL
9/8 - Trinospheres - Detroit, MI
9/9 - TBA - Kalamazoo, MI
9/10 - Oberlin College - Oberlin, OH
9/11 - Silo Sessions - Buffalo, NY
9/24 - Roulette - Brooklyn, NY
9/26 - The Red Room - Baltimore, MD
10/30 - Emerald Lounge - Vancouver, BC
11/1 - Earshot Jazz Festival - Seattle, WA
11/2 - Habesha Lounge - Portland, OR
11/4 - TBA - Sacramento, CA
11/5 - Center for New Music - San Francisco, CA
11/6 - TBA - Oakland, CA
11/7 - Equitable Vitrines - Los Angeles, CA

To post a comment, you must register and login.