Thomas Strønen

Time Is A Blind Guide is the title of this album and the name of a Norwegian-British ensemble led by drummer and composer Thomas Strønen. After years of electronic soundscapes with Food, he formed an all-acoustic group to play what he calls "melodic music with a twist". Long melodies unfold over shifting rhythmic patterns, and the record marked the ECM debut of the English pianist Kit Downes.

Strønen built the band as a set of overlapping sub-groups. At the centre is what he describes as an enhanced piano trio, with Downes and bassist Ole Morten Vågan. Around it are a string group, with Håkon Aase on violin and Lucy Railton on cello, and a drum ensemble. In the latter, percussionists Siv Øyunn Kjenstad and Steinar Mossige lay down solid grooves while Strønen plays freely on top. The group grew from a commission by BBC Radio 3 presenter Fiona Talkington, and its name comes from a sentence in Anne Michaels's novel Fugitive Pieces. The album was recorded in June 2015 at Rainbow Studio in Oslo with Jan Erik Kongshaug, mixed in July, and produced by Sun Chung and Strønen.

All eleven pieces are Strønen's, except Everything Disappears I, written with Downes. The opener, The Stone Carriers, sets a steady bass line under Aase's violin and gives Downes an early solo. The Drowned City uses gongs and other watery percussion, with cascading piano lines above, and Lost Souls pairs a bowed string line with heavier drums. Everything Disappears II (Ode to JT) is a short, quiet percussion piece dedicated to the late pianist John Taylor. The title track sets a folk-like melody and Downes's improvising against full, rich drumming.

In The Guardian, John Fordham heard "an unusual brew of jazz piano, northern-European laments, gamelan and African-influenced grooves", and called the record "a fascinating example" of crossover. James Poore of MusicWeb International praised Aase's sensitive violin on Pipa, Railton's rich tone on As We Wait For Time and Downes's playing throughout. He concluded: "This is a deeply worthwhile album."

CD edition, ECM 2467, released on 16 October 2015, in time for a Japanese tour.