PRESS COVERAGE
"Damn Good Music...This is music that I enjoyed, whilst being aware that the jazz and rock influences which seem to permeate it are things that rather go over my head. It is music which might have an important point to make, but seeks also to entertain rather than knocking you over the head with politics." - Review by Planet Hugill
"This new EP is groundbreaking in many ways. Not least because it transcends musical boundaries and tackles something fundamental to all of us in climate change, but because it fuses technical brilliance and engaging music with a real voice and message. In my humble opinion any displays of technique, however impressive, are hollow without a wider context and meaning. In the case of this new EP Alastair uses his musical prowess to connect to and convey the message and distress of the undeniable situation we all face." - Blog by Sam Gregory for Dawkes Music
"In collaboration with multi-media artist Tom Gimson and John Harle's Sospiro Records, saxophonist Alastair Penman has devised and composed a four-track EP that in a brutally honest and individual way encourages us, the listener and/or viewer, to think as carefully as he has done about some of his long-held beliefs, subjects that should be critical to all of us.
It is uplifting to witness Alastair combine these beliefs and his love of music, in what is a truly personal and honest statement." - Andy Scott, saxophonist and composer
"This CD is a real human adventure in the face of the disaster that humanity is producing on the planet...A superb mix of sounds produced by John Harle allows the public to easily enter the world of young composer. We will also appreciate the seductive improvisations and flights of different saxophones...this work is really modern with real emotion" - Review by Nicolas Prost
"The EP consists of 4 tracks, most with something of a jazzy vibe thanks to the composer's saxophones: "Do you hear me?" is a funky experimental affair with shades of the Radiophonic Workshop. "Our house is on Fire" quotes Greta Thunberg and has something of an fun upbeat, pop rock feel. The video for "Ignorant Complicity" has some uncomfortable video images from today's meat producers, while its music feels close to some of the more amelodic score sections from Bernstein's West Side Story. The final track "Change is Coming" starts with a morse-code introduction which morphs into an ambient background like Philip Glass in pointillist mode with Penman's sax riffs over the top. The music has some important messages but can equally be enjoyed for its own sake." - Review by Jim Paterson for mfiles.co.uk
Guest blog for International Arts Manager
Article in Clarinet and Saxophone Society Magazine