Under The Reefs Orchestra

It’s quite incredible what a mutual love for Moondog, Jim O’ Rourke, French chamber music from the 19th century can amount to these days. As a result, Brussels’ adventurous Under The Reefs Orchestra have become a bombshell affair. One second their music sounds like some otherworldly prog jazz incursion, the next, their music dissolves into a hypnotic ambience. They also have an uncanny nose for catchy, cinematic melodies that sound like they could come from a vintage spy thriller.

Under the Reefs Orchestra is comprised of guitarist Clément Nourry, saxophonist Marti Melia and drummer Jakob Warmenbo – as a trio they somehow manage to live up to the ‘orchestra’ part of the equation, managing to sound way bigger and texturally rich than the sum of their parts. Under The Reefs Orchestra’s music isn’t a social commentary, but more a freewheeling escape – dropping terms like ‘divine’ and ‘apocalyptic’ in the same sentence should tell you a thing about the fabulist ways these guys sweep listeners off their feet.

Sometimes the trio sounds harsh and treacherous, like vast clusters of volcanic rock, but their music can be equally weightless and open, as if floating in a body of water over a lagoon. But there’s always something hot simmering beneath the surface, about to burst through.

– Jasper Willems