An album that whisks you out of the muggy present and into a dream-like lull, Spirit Walking collects a set of piano improvisations from Jordan Ireland (Blue Divers, Stolen Violin, The Purple Orchestra, ex-The Middle East). Two sides of only piano (no vocals, seemingly no overdubs, not even any room sound), these tracks wander through and explore meditative left hand drones, right-hand lyrical phrasing, and bursts of riffing.
Not sure how to properly place this one. As with the his last album and performances with the Purple Orchestra, I can’t help but think that parts of this seem to be trying to reconcile post-Alice Coltrane spiritualism and playing with some sort of (UK?) folk tradition—what may seem like a weird combo on paper I guess, but great on record. But there’s also something here a bit more contemplative and inward (in a good way) that I imagine would appeal to Nils Frahm fans and the like.
-Mitch (Repressed Records)