Little Animal! hunt for new sounds amid the wild hybrid of jazz and electronica on their self-titled debut album — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The adventurous Montreal combo are led by bassist Morgan Moore (Barr Brothers, Martha Wainwright, Yannick Rieu, Ranee Lee, Blood & Glass, Black Legary). For two decades, Morgan has been travelling the world playing bass, composing and producing cutting-edge electronic music.
In 2021 he was approached by Jim West of Justin Time Records to create an album uniting electronic music with the intensity of jazz. Morgan called on some well-known musicians to collaborate and the chemistry and beauty of their work is undeniable. Besides Moore, Little Animal! features Joe Grass (Patrick Watson, Elisapie) on pedal steel, Tommy Crane (Aaron Parks, Melissa Aldana) on drums and Lex French (Christine Jensen, CODE Quartet, Diana Krall) on trumpet. Together they create lush improvisations and mind-blowing grooves. When integrated into the lush landscape of Morgan’s electronic creations, the result is unique and inspiring.
The music of Little Animal! pushes the listener to explore the relationship between humans and technology: both our addiction and our aversion to it. Jazz is an art form that embodies human expression in its most spontaneous creation. You can almost feel the musicians fighting the electronic sounds at times, while other sections coexist in perfect harmony. The constant tug of war between man and machine begs the question: Is technology controlling us or are we controlling it?
The band followed up a spring residency at Montreal music venue Ursa with their first appearance in 2022 at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, with more Canadian dates to follow in 2023. Little Animal! are gearing up to make waves in the jazz and avant-garde music scenes around the world.
Listen to Little Animal!’s album below:
