‘Ignorant Populists’ is the debut EP from transatlantic saxophone and drums duo Build A Fort. The band is Zack Moir (Edinburgh) on saxophone and Gareth Dylan Smith (New York) on drums and together they create powerful, energetic, groove-based music that is an experimental blend of jazz, rock, and electronica. ‘Ignorant Populists’ will be released for streaming and download on all major platforms, worldwide, on the 31st of January 2020.
The tracks on this EP showcase compositions by both musicians and are the product of a two-year collaboration. Moir and Smith rehearsed and created the recordings using cutting-edge high-speed, low-latency networks to perform together in real time across the Atlantic, from their respective locations in Scotland and the USA. Some tracking also took place in a late-night recording session in Manhattan in the summer of 2019.
This music is at times intense and relentless, and at other times relaxed and atmospheric. The freely improvised intro, ‘It Arrived Broken’, is followed by the screaming bulldozer of ‘Rat’s Eye View’, which lopes into ‘Brigid in Blue’ an extended brooding ballad, which cleanses the palate for the double-pedalling electro-squawker finale, ‘Rugged Countenance’. Put on your seat belt and crank the volume. It’s time to Build a Fort.