Moss Freed's Moss Project

Event information

We're delighted to have the first outing of Moss Freed's Moss Project album launch of 'What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes?' out on Babel records in April.

With Moss Freed (gtr) | Ruth Goller (bs) | Alice Zawadzki (vox/vln) | Marek Dorcik (dr)

and

Kenji Fenton (sax/cl) and readings from Hanan al-Shaykh, James Miller and others.

What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes?, the second release from innovative jazz fourpiece the Moss Project, is a unique collaboration between music and literature.

The record showcases some of the UK’s fastest-emerging musical talents including BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Shabaka Hutchings and also features six award-winning writers, commissioned to write short stories/poems based on each of the album tracks.

They are National Book Award-winner Colum McCann, Naomi Alderman (winner of the Orange Prize for New Writers and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year), Joe Dunthorne (author of Submarine, now a major film), Lawrence Norfolk (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and Budapest Festival Prize for Literature), Independent Foreign Fiction Prize-shortlisted Lebanese author, Hanan al Shaykh and Time Out’s Rising Star, James Miller.

The results are beautifully affecting. The music on the record moves from heavy riffs to classically-tinged arrangements via folk-infused melodies, thick vocal harmonies and flowing counterpoint. The album will be released on Babel in April 2013 with the stories printed in a 32-page illustrated accompanying booklet.

Moss Freed formed The Moss Project whilst studying composition and performance at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. On returning to his hometown of Manchester, he established a group there and their debut album, Vision, was released in 2009. The album won much critical praise being described as “a real achievement” by Bill Bruford and as “a fascinating and hypnotically satisfying album which demands repeated plays” by All About Jazz. The band has performed regularly in the UK and Europe over the past four years including the London Jazz Festival and Manchester International Jazz Festival and have completed several successful tours in the UK (Jazz Services supported) and Germany. They have also achieved radio play on Jazz FM, BBC Manchester and ALL FM.

“Exciting guitarist Moss Freed leads his Radiohead-tinged outfit through moody, cinematic sounds that blur the lines between folk, rock and jazz with imagination and flair.”
TimeOut

“If you’ve ever wondered what the outcome would be if Dave Brubeck met JS Bach and they smoked cannabis with Joni Mitchell this might just be worth a listen.”
Epoch Times