Experiments 2020

Synth wizard James Holden teams up with Polish clarinet guru Waclaw Zimpel for a four track EP of deliciously krauty improvisations, recorded over four days back in the summer of 2018.

Finding himself at a loose end in London in between UK live shows, Zimpel (and on 'Tuesday' and 'Wednesday' his longtime collaborator guitarist Jakub Ziolek) decided to put the downtime to good use, joining Holden in his London studio for a series of musical experiments, with the goal of completing one track per day.

An in-the-moment lyrical conversation between alto clarinet and modular synth, judiciously supplemented by guitar, organ, voice and assorted percussion glued together as atmospheric tapey overdubs, 'Long Weekend' is a meeting of two like-minded masters of their instrument, whose  disparate musical journeys now converge in a shared love of all things hypnotic and trancey.

Long Weekend EP

Holden & Zimpel - Wednesday (feat. Jakub Ziolek)

To book Holden & Zimpel, please speak to Naomi at Earth Agency: https://earth-agency.com/

Our resident synth wizard James Holden’s collaborative streak continues apace as he teams up with celebrated Polish clarinet guru Waclaw Zimpel for a four track EP of deliciously krauty in-the-moment improvisations, recorded over four days in Holden’s London studio back in the summer of 2018. The richly textured 'Long Weekend EP' pits Holden’s handmade modular synth rig against Zimpel’s multifariously expressive alto clarinet, judiciously supplemented by organ, voice, assorted percussion and (on 'Tuesday' & 'Wednesday') the Balearic-tinged guitar playing of Zimpel’s long-time collaborator Jakub Ziolek, making for an immersive and transcendent lost weekend of deep listening.

Finding himself at a loose end in London one July weekend in between UK live shows, Zimpel put the downtime to good use and joined Holden in his Sacred Walls studio to undertake a series of musical experiments, with the goal of completing one track per day. Over the course of the weekend, built up in sequential tape-layered live overdubs, first the lush hypnotic undulating noodles of 'Saturday' would emerge from the ether, followed by the rushy enveloping expanses of the stridently emotional 'Sunday' (Holden’s own personal favourite from the EP) – a productive two days indeed.

Experiments 2020

Paretzer Westende