"B" is the second part of Turzi's alphabet album trilogy. In a totally different trip to "A", the shackles are cast off as Romain Turzi embarks on a voyage around the world instead of musical history. Aided and abetted by his band, Four Organ, the songs are named thematically around the cities that inspired them.
Romain Turzi's attitude towards music has always been about discovering sounds that please the creator, and in so doing develop new roles for instruments at odds with their origins. The approach that led to the teutonic rock of debut album, "A", making eyes at Morricone in frenetic style, has become altogether more ambitious.
The influence of groups such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Flower Travelling Band comes to the fore whilst different instrumental flourishes provided by bouzouki, sitar, cimbalom, violin, folk and classical guitars colour the record in a different way to "A".
Working with Record Makers, it's difficult for any release not to involve some kind of unique collaboration. Brigitte Fontaine and Bobby Gillespie are the star turns here, with characteristic vocal contributions to "Bamako" and "Baltimore". The pivotal contribution comes from Max Heyes (Doves, Radio 4, The Rakes, Patrick Wolf, Primal Scream) who mixed the album in London with a little help from Brendan Lynch.
The result is a whirlwind journey that spans ten countries and five continents in less than an hour. A voyage where the Sergio Leone via Black Sabbath stylings of "Beijing" collide headlong with the Jean-Michel Jarre trance-out of "Brasilia". The shadow of Creation Records looms large over "Baltimore", but next to the ambient, Shankar soundscapes invaded briefly by Fontaine and Areski on "Bamako", it's hardly overpowering. A clear personality emerges for the listener to engage with, doused with a healthy dose of disrespect for history ("A") and the world ("B")...
