Tristan De Liège & Jambal on ‘Collisions of Light’
LA-based downtempo wizard Tristan De Liège has teamed up with exceptional jazz quartet Jambal for their new single, ‘Collisions of Light’, released on the 1st of September via Tristan De Liège X Jambal Music. Evoking images of artists like St Germain, Arms and Sleepers, Azymuth, and Ezra Collective, it is the second release from their forthcoming album Enterprises of Great Pith and Moment. Their previous collaboration ‘Uncertainties’ was featured in the State Of Jazz Spotify editorial playlist and also received support from the UK National radio station Jazz FM with John Osborne. In addition to this, ‘Collisions of Light’ has already received support from CLASH Magazine.
With nearly 3 million streams on Spotify alone, Belgian electronic/downtempo Tristan De Liège has received support from numerous publications, such as Stereofox, Faeton Music, The Sights and Sounds, River Beats Dance, and The Fox Magazine. He’s also had air time on BBC Radio, KEXP, KCRW, Worldwide FM, NTS, Dublab, Soho Radio,
Having been featured in webzines London Jazz News, and RTL Today, Jazz quartet Jambal has also been earning spins on Radio ARA and RTL’s station RTL Play. The band has also opened for notable band Portico Quartet at Luxembourg’s cultural centre Neimënster. They have also performed at a number of music festivals, from Last Summer Dance to Messtival and Echterlive Festival.
Based in LA, California, Tristan de Liège writes and produces under several monikers, including Thoma (duo with Benjamin Hill) and Tethys. He has previously had his music feature in the indie game Faeria and has also released three albums (two as Thoma) on Emancipator’s Loci Records. A fourth Thoma album, Ikiru, which showcases playful, cinematic strings and woodwind arrangements, was released via Audio Network in 2021. Thoma‘s fifth album, Pictures of Infinity, was released via Asta Hiroki‘s imprint Folded Music in early 2023. He also has two albums as Tethys, I and II, as well as a string quartet tribute to II. Continuing his classical yet contemporary experiments under the moniker, he created a collaborative album with violinist Gregory Allison entitled A Light for Dark Moments, signed on Gregory’s Holy Volcano label.
Emerging jazz quartet Jambal hail from Luxembourg but are currently based in Amsterdam and Dresden. The quartet is comprised of Arthur Clees (Vibes, Keys), Ben Bley (Trumpet, Flugelhorn) Maxime Igisch (Bass, Double Bass), and Luca Garofalo (Drums). These jazz savants produce a sound that exhibits a sophisticated air of rare freshness and musicality, paying homage to UK and ethno-jazz.
‘Collisions of Light’ exudes a deep feeling of tranquility. Reminiscent of artists like Air, the track starts out with a melancholic string progression, while subtle jazz drumming anchors the beat. After this, we are introduced to a brooding trumpet that creeps through the track, only to be quickly cut away leaving you wanting more.
The artists had this to say: “Collisions of Lights Is probably one of our personal favourites from the album. It’s based on a string sample that is looped through nearly the whole track, which we overdubbed and complemented with a newly composed string arrangement. The tune develops into a quite dramatic climax and despite its simplicity and slow tempo, it achieves great emotional momentum.”
Image credit: Erik Mathias and Christian Sorensen Hansen