DEAD HEDGE TRIO are that rare breed of refined and balanced retro-futurism in modern jazz - a combination of the cosmos and the cosmopolitan, the serious side with a knowing nod, guttural grit versus tangible space for one another. Helming the kit, Metcalfe weaves between thuddering breakbeats and skitterish freeform patterns. Ever the provider of measured atmos as much a sense of propulsive, metronomic drive, and bringing in seconds of held-back texture through to minutes where everything comes crashing in. Wilding out on six-string is Ballantyne, supplier of mood, rhythmic counterpoint, low-end rumbles, and restrained use of an array of effects that provide a backdrop to set the tone in more abstract pieces, then cutting to a fierce shredability usually reserved for wall-of-noise moments in post-rock. Facing and confronting these two is Branton, reedsmith wunderkind, switching between shotgun pellet attack on tenor sax, over to roaring skronked out melodic material, back to passages of ambient harmonious playing against the guitar, through to instances of all-out free modal brilliance. The three transcend histrionics in favour of references to the greats -- gestured first greetings, rather than abrasive handshakes.
In carving out this odyssey, DEAD HEDGE TRIO were initially recognised around their home base of Liverpool as the arresting in-house-band at the (now sadly defunct but nevertheless) indispensable city centre jazz café Mello Mello. From these roots in the eclectic and richly diverse Ropewalks crowd of creators, DEAD HEDGE came out of the basement and onto the stage alongside formidable touring acts and peers, such as Polar Bear, Shatner's Bassoon, Marshall Allen of Sun Ra Arkestra, Alabaster De Plume's Copernicus Trio, Azores, The Weave, and Shiver.
May 2015 sees the release of an EP of four stand-out cuts from DEAD HEDGE TRIO's ambitious and multifarious live set. Clocking in at 26 minutes, the release rides roughshod over flavours taking in the deconstruction of rock's customs à la Acoustic Ladyland and Morphine, through to unwavering atmospheric pulses akin to Labradford, tastes of layered but live-in-the-room treatments along the lines of Tortoise, right past the grooves and shark-baiting straight swinging of Flying Lotus, Thundercat et al; this is a record that is acutely aware of the past's weight and might, but stares intently outward, up and forward… perhaps into an abyss, perhaps into the entrance of Tom Waits' big top. There is humour in the dark, after all -- it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear shirt-tugging no-wave echoes of The Lounge Lizards in this storied combo's live shows.
Recorded with John Ellis (of The Cinematic Orchestra) at Limefield Studios in Manchester, it's a pretty poorly kept secret that this infamous bunkhouse has provided the finishing touches to many of the North West jazz scene's finest moments, and it's no wonder DEAD HEDGE came up with the goods at the home of DJ Vadim's more out-there recordings. Of course, Ellis is best known for the Cinematic Orchestra's gleaming jewels 'Man With A Movie Camera' and 'Ma Fleur', recordings that were products of a similar scene and mindset to DEAD HEDGE's -- that reverence for past masters filtered thru a heady appreciation of up-to-the-minute electronic, beat-based, and compositional guitar music.
