Meet Ensemble 1.
They’re a Brighton experimental duo consisting of Tom Way
and Joe Potts who specialise in crafting vast rolling instrumental soundscapes
out of guitar and drums.
Their new album Delay Works is made up only three
tracks. But you could hardly call it a lean album considering that the shortest
track is over 9 minutes and the longest is over 23 minutes. ‘Distorted Fades’, ‘Drums
& Delay Loops’ and ‘Submerged Harmonics’ are the three minimalist track titles
(at first, I thought I’d been sent an Ableton sample pack). These titles reflect
Ensemble 1’s minimalist approach to composing music - each track consisting of
short speedy cyclical guitar riffs repeated in a hypnotic fashion with machine-like
precision.
As the title ‘Delay Works’ suggests, delay effects are used
throughout the entirety of their new album. These delay effects, combined with
the slow progression of each track, create a uniquely seamless flow. Despite
how gradually each track morphs, there remains a thrilling speed to the guitars
and drums that keeps each track captivating. It's like watching an epic domino run unfold.
Their new album was released via Halfmeltedbrain Records and is out today. You can stream it below. If you have the time, be sure to check out their debut album Guitar, Bass & Drums too.
Tom and Joe of Ensemble
1 agreed to do a little interview with me in which they explained the writing process behind these crazy compositions. They also shared some of the music they've been listening to and helped me work out where to start with Steve Reich.
If Ensemble 1 was a pizza, what
toppings would it have?
Joe: Pineapple and
ham (with bbq base) and diced fresh chillies. We're both annoying vegans, so
would probably be some sorta vegan cheese involved.
Tom: I’m presuming
that’s substitute ham.
The music on
both Delay Works and Guitar, Bass & Drums is
very unique. What drew you to this type of music?
Joe: Tom composes all the
music so probably best equipped to answer this. I personally enjoy this type of
minimalist music as it gives a very different listening experience to a lot of
music I am accustomed to. With less focus on distinct chord progressions/melodies/
Tom: I’ve been a
long-time fan of bands like King Crimson, Tool, Battles, Don Cab etc., and it
was discovering all the minimalist composition stuff from the 60s/70s a bit
later that gave me the nudge to try writing music where rhythm and process is
the main focus.
How did you
compose the tracks on Delay Works? Were they the result of jam
sessions or intricately planned out? And did the process differ to Guitar,
Bass & Drums?
Tom: All of it is
composed thoroughly for both albums, but one of the differences between the two
is that Guitar, Bass & Drums was mostly written in a
vacuum with the possibility of playing it live as an afterthought, and Delay
Works was written with both myself and Joe playing it live in mind.
The Delay Works stuff is (no surprise) based around using long
delay loops set to high feedback, one of the aims of which was to try and get
the sound of many guitarists playing at the same time to the point where it
doesn’t really sound like guitars anymore. This actually began on Guitar,
Bass & Drums with GBD I Delay Loops, which is a solo
guitar adaptation of the first track on that album. I also found that using
long delay loops kind of forced me to take a more rigorous and logical approach
to structure and process in the writing, whereas previously I’d taken a
slightly looser, more intuitive approach.
This music was written quite a
while ago (2017 – 2019). Is there a reason it’s only just seen the light of
day?
Tom: It was only
really during lockdown in 2020 that I got to spend more time thinking seriously
about the recorded format of the music, as prior to this I wasn’t sure what
would be the best way to go about it, i.e., how the music should be grouped,
how much can be done DIY, whether we’d be able to do it to a standard that we
were happy with etc. It then at this point seemed to make sense that there were
two separate albums for the music written up to that point, and that DIY was
probably the way to go as it would give us more time and control over the
recording. Then there’s all the different logistical aspects of releasing an
album which I hadn’t dealt with before and had to learn from scratch. So, the
first album Guitar, Bass & Drums was released in 2021, and
we were then hoping to release Delay Works in 2022, but we got
busy with live shows and working on other new music, and we’ve just about
managed to fit the release in at the end of 2023 instead.
I haven’t
listened to much material from Steve Reich and I notice he’s a major influence
on your work. Where’s a good place to start with Steve Reich?
Tom: Three of my
personal favourites are Eight Lines, Six Pianos and Sextet. Music for 18
Musicians is the big minimalist classic that he might be best known for, and
it’s great, but it’s about an hour long and quite a sizeable dollop of Reich to
begin with.
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I saw on your
Facebook page that you’ve recently supported Liturgy! What was that like?
Joe: Really cool. I
have been following that band for a long time, they played an amazing set
and were happy to talk about their sound. Also really cool people who were
happy to watch and hang out with the supporting bands.
Tom: Yeah, it was
great, and they’re all lovely people too. I only just discovered them fairly
recently, but I’ve been listening to them a lot since and look forward to
following their music and hearing what they come up with next.
What’s your
favourite venue you’ve played?
Joe: The Hope and
Ruin in Brighton is cool, the sound guys there are always on point and get a
great sound out of the room.
Tom: I’m pretty
happy playing any venue really, and I feel that each room has something unique
about it, and I enjoy playing our music in a variety of places.
Which drummers
and guitarists do you look up to the most?
Joe: Tom Way for
both xo
Tom: My favourite
drummers are Danny Carey, John Stanier, Damon Che, Bill Bruford, Keith Carlock,
Christian Vander and Tim Alexander. For guitarists it’s Adam Jones, Wayne
Krantz, Ian Williams, Robert Fripp, and yes Joe Potts of course.
What music
have you been listening to recently? Anything fans wouldn’t expect?
Tom: Recent
recurrent listens for me have been Morton Feldman, Jan Jelinek, Heilung, Yawn,
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Prefuse 73 and Amotik. Also, I can’t remember why,
but I was listening to early Eminem recently.
Joe: I've been
listening to loads of the Japanese shoe-gaze band Coalatar Of The Deepers and a
Math rock band I came across at arctangent called 'The Most'- they sound like a
sorta math rock Steely Dan. As far as newer music I've been enjoying the latest
album 'Variables' from contemporary jazz artist Alpha Mist and The New Gogo
Penguin 'everything is going to be okay'. Heavier music-wise I've also been
hooked on the new Zenith Passage album 'Datasylm'. Anything fans wouldn't
expect? I've been loving the new album by pop-punk/ska-punk artist Jeff
Rosenstock. Not really in a genre of music I keep up with but gave the album a
try after seeing a positive review online and got totally addicted, every song
is a banger.
What does the
future hold for Ensemble 1?
Joe: Playing more shows,
reaching more people and connecting with more fans of experimental music! We
would love to get to play shows outside the UK and get onto the festival
circuit, particularly festivals like ArcTangent and Radar. We already have some
really cool shows lined up for 2024, hit us up on Instagram or Facebook to keep
updated. There is also a lot of music we have been playing live which has been
going down well and we will eventually get round to recording.
Tom: Yep, we’ve
nearly got another album’s worth of music written, and it’s the stuff we’ve
been playing live for a while now (and is quite a big contrast to Delay
Works), and I’m hoping we can finish and release it sometime in the
not-too-distant future.
Follow Ensemble 1 on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ensemble1music/, on Instagram at Ensemble 1 Music and on Twitter at @Ensemble1music