Re:build

Description

RE:BUILD is the debut album from the multi-award winning trombone quartet, Slide Action. As a group at the forefront of new British chamber music, Slide Action's driving aim is to develop music for trombones, working with composers and artists to push the boundaries of performance and composition. Since their formation in 2018, the quartet have had multiple competition successes, in 2021-22 they were Britten Pears Young Artists and on their first European tour enjoyed six sold-out concerts.

This album of new sounds and ideas is a near-seamless experience for the listener, featuring specially commissioned music from world-renowned British composers. Sitting between these commissions are 'Interludes', arranged by Slide Action members to journey the audience from one piece to the next.

The album opens with an homage. Henry Purcell's (1659-1695) March from the Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, Z. 860 pays tribute to early music written for brass. Familiarity and security do not last long, as the introduction of electronic manipulation builds to thrilling acoustic complexity. The first commission, C. Exigua by Ryan Latimer, takes the listener on a rollercoaster of colours and textures inspired by a parasitic isopod. Drawing heavily on jazz and folk traditions, in Laura Jurd's Swamped the group's sound becomes more compact with less symphonic depth, as they jaunt along to the silky smooth close. Emily Hall's Close Palms is relentless yet gentle. The historically oft-comedic glissando is now used as an instrument of tension throughout the piece. Back to organised chaos, Hairy Pony Estampie is Alex Paxton's maximalist tour-de-force headliner that breaks down every single barrier of what, why and how brass chamber music 'should' be. The album concludes with Joanna Ward's Playing Frisbee May 2022, a product of a partnership with Slide Action formed at Snape Maltings. Inspired by a video of the group playing frisbee, Joanna constructed a semi-notated graphic score where each page is a new game with an increasingly complicated set of rules.

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE'S RECORDING OF THE MONTH: 'The music unashamedly takes the listener through a kaleidoscope of circus tricks and sleights of hand, drawing influences reminiscent of Gabrieli right up to contemporary composers. […] The scope of this creativity leads one to conclude that the answer to the group's final rhetorical question – 'Where are we going next?' – is an exhilarating and thrilling ride. What a blast.' – BBC Music Magazine (5 stars)

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2025 – nominated in the Premiere and Newcomer categories: 'The music unashamedly takes the listener through a kaleidoscope of circus tricks and slights of hand.' Such is the brilliant selection of new works for trombone quartet on this brilliant concoction of an album by the boundary-pushing Slide Action. […] This trombone quartet are on a mission not only to push the boundaries of brass repertoire but also the capabilities of what is possible on their instruments. With virtuosity, theatricality and an invigorating sense of musical adventure, Slide Action may well be the future of brass.'