"Incidents, the debut EP by international trio Multifarious, is a glorious collision of disparate influences and aesthetics from around the world, hurled together to create something daringly new from the unexpected possibilities of saxophone, cello and banjo. Of course, the banjo is forever associated in the popular imagination with the American rural bluegrass tradition but it’s worth also remembering the extent to which it’s a key voice in the Berber folk music of Morocco. That’s suggested on opening track ‘Kachina,’ on which Paul Elwood’s swiftly plucked banjo and Susan Mayo’s nimble cello pizzicato create a trance loop with hints of gnawa, over which Sue McKenzie’s soprano sax flutters like banners on a desert city’s walls. ‘Ghaer Mulki’ pushes even further east, with an Arabian lilt from the sax, complemented by the steely, microtonal whine of bowed banjo, and a camel-ride clop on cello.

 

‘Incident at Max’s’ brings things back closer to a contemporary jazz milieu, with a complex head arrangement straight out of the New York down town scene, giving way to loosely cascading group improvisation, while ‘Nice Folks’ throws time travel into the mix, conjuring a strange twist on early 20th century speakeasy jazz. Throw in flashes of klezmer, subtle nods to Indian raga and the ever-present hum of irresistible hoedown momentum and you have a dizzying global trip for headphone explorers."

 - Daniel Spicer (Music Journalist)