I hold The lion’s paw - AVES

MNM029

Liner notes by Des Cowley:

I Hold the Lion’s Paw have released a new 7” single, out on the Meanjin/Brisbane label Made Now Music. Where to begin? For starters, I examine the physical object, read the words on the record label, it’s all the information I have to go on. The band line-up is listed. On Side A, Crow Strut, it’s a seven-piece ensemble. On Side B, Cockatoo Rave, it’s pared back, wafer-thin, to a duo.

Do these fluctuating line-ups – switching from a seven-piece to a duo – impact on the music? It seems like the wrong question. IHTLP, from the get-go, was envisaged as a free-floating ensemble: bifurcating, coming together, shifting between liquid and solid, changeable and adaptable, constantly morphing, with a varying roster made up of as many or few as needed, all in service to Reuben’s foundational vision for the ensemble. It needs to be said: every single IHTLP musician is a leading improvisor, bringing their own individual voice to the table, together creating an unfathomable whole greater than the sum of any parts.

I put the record on the turntable. I hit play.

Side A: Crow Strut.

A few isolated sounds come out of my speaker, a...  more

credits

released September 22, 2023

Side A: Crow Strut
Reuben Lewis – trumpet, synthesisers, pedals
Cheryl Durongpisitkul – alto saxophone
Jordan Murray – trombone
Julius Schwing – electric guitar
David Brown – electric bass
Maria Moles – drums
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Side B: Cockatoo Rave
Reuben Lewis – trumpet, pedals, claps
Adam Halliwell – percussion
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Produced: Reuben Lewis
Recorded: Reuben Lewis, Ari Roze, Myles Mumford
Mixed: Myles Mumford, Reuben Lewis
Mastered: Myles Mumford
Photography: Duncographic
Design: Brodie McAllister
7" Artwork: Dianne Fogwell
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Released via MADE NOW MUSIC