"Undermine the pompous authority, reject their moral standards, make anarchy and disorder your trademarks. Cause as much chaos and disruption as possible but don't let them take you alive."
The above words may famously be credited to punk's Sid Vicious but they no less apply to Leeds-based musician Fergus Quill.
If it wasn't already known, let us confirm it now... Fergus Quill is a disruptor.
Thankfully, not in a bad way though. Not in the way the detonated atomic bomb from the cover of his latest project would suggest. In a good way. A great way really.
Whether it be via Ferg's Imaginary Big Band, the Fergus Quill Trio or through Fergus Quill's Electric Noise Ensemble, if there is a rule book, he'll tear it up, if there's instructions, he'll ignore them. And what more could we want from any of our modern-day luminaries!?
As pertains 'The New Atomic' - the latest project from Ferg's Imaginary Big Band - the album continues in the band's lineage of improv-heavy composition and large-scale collaboration. While openly committed to carrying on the legacy of big band projects, Quill is just as committed to steering his collective into previously unexplored territories. Even going as far as to stretching the capabilities of what people could even expect from a big band.
With rotating members throughout the project's inception, and featuring tracks with up to thirty performers at any one time, Ferg's Imaginary Big Band joyously recontextualises their sound with each go-round.
Stemming from recording sessions that initially took place in late-2024 and that generated more than five hours of recorded music, 'The New Atomic' offers up the first glimpse of those three-day sessions... Much like Japan's Soil & "Pimp" Sessions referred to their high-octane levels of jazz as "death jazz", for Quill, his myriad of experiences, styles and passions seem to organically spawn a style of jazz matching the energy of Tokyo’s finest but still having cultivated punk levels of outright rebellion. A concept perfectly captured through the album's opening number 'J Surfing on the Saturn' which, at nine minutes in length, navigates a mind-blowing narrative with explosive twists and turns and captivates immediately.
While 'The New Atomic' will undoubtedly be defined by its insatiable energy and explosion of meticulous yet free-flowing chaos, it's also an album that further boasts a quaint level of sensitivity, namely through songs like 'Same Sky' and 'I Shall Not Be Moved'.
Incredibly engaging and beaming with creativity and imagination, Fergus Quill's quest to reinvent the big band aesthetic has taken a considerably large step forward.
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