Lifeline

Featuring: Pat Thomas, Dominic Lash, Tony Orrell

"What makes a band a band? The most obvious answer is surely "its members". If that were the whole story then the music on this album would be by Bleyschool - the name that Pat Thomas, Tony Orrell, and Dominic Lash usually appear under when performing as a classic piano trio (piano, drums, double bass), with two albums to date. As Lifeline, the same three musicians are as determinedly electric as Bleyschool is resolutely acoustic: keyboards/electronics, electroacoustic percussion and electronics, electric guitar. The musicians have many years' familiarity with one another, but here they eschew the stability of a familiar instrumentation. This spontaneous performance draws on other musics: noise, dance, rock. Balancing form and disform. A lifeline can be defined as "a means of escape from a difficult situation". The same yet different: an ideal situation for both improviser and, it is hoped, listener.