Artist: Troyka

Date of Release: 29/06/2009

Catalogue no: EDN1014

Label: Edition

Price: £8.98

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Track Listing

Appearances by

Kit Downes

With their visceral mash-up of rock, jazz and dance music, Trokya sound more like Tony William’s Lifetime remix by Burial than the classic hammond organ trio. But then that’s the point, they’re part of a new generation of young musicians who refuse to be constrained by the old boundaries. To whom the old question of ‘what is it’ is replaced by ‘is it any good’? Troyka live in a post hip-hop world where you can take whatever source materials you like and do your own singular thing with it.

Recorded by noted engineer Robert Harder (Acoustic Ladyland, Babyshambles, Brian Eno etc), Troyka’s self-titled debut distills the essence of the bands intense live shows in to a finely focused album. Fom the elemental goove of Tax Return, to the slide-driven throb of Clint, sly groove of Noonian Song, shimmering, tricksy Twelve and the twisted beauty and carefully calibrated mayhem of Born in the ‘80s, it perfectly nails the bands dark-toned lyricism, shape-shifting grooves and intense improvisational power. Play Troyka loud, they won’t let you down.

Reviews

01/07/0009 What The Critics Said

What the critics have said:

“…the virtuosity and power of the jamming makes your hair stand on end.” Guardian ****

“A fascinating conjunction of dance-derived beats, abstract electronica, ambient music, Schofield-like guitar funk, and John Zorn-ish free-iazz.” Guardian Film & Music

“Troyka are widely tipped to create the kind of interest that Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear made when they first arrived on the London scene.” Observer Music Monthly ****

“Mingus-meets-Motorhead melange of garage rock, improvised jazz, metronomic beats and extreme volume.” Independent ****

Cerebral without being self-consciously playful without seeming glib, this fine debut is simply
bursting with intelligence and wit. Jazzwise ****

“Troyka freely mix genres and influences, but their pallette is dance-based and heavily amplified.”
Financial Times

“Troyka are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with; like King Crimson for the iPod generation.”
Time Out

“Troyka are yet another young London combo who are inhabiting the increasingly vibrant scene that’s devoted to the uninhibited collision between jazz, rock, free improvisation and funky jamming.” BBC online

“The sound is stripped-down, intricate yet raw, even garage-bluesy in places, with a smart use of loops and a brilliant understanding of rock dynamics.” Metro

“Their hot math-rock licks compress throbbing dub bass, bristling bottleneck blues, gltichy Alphex Twin bleeps and excessively catching tunes into a gusty head spinning whirl of futuristic prog”. Time Out