Habits Of Assembly captures Adjunct Ensemble live at London’s Cafe OTO in incendiary form. On the evening of November 23rd, 2023, they performed as a five-piece, led by pianist / composer Jamie Thompson, and ran, tore through a selection of tracks from their debut LP, Sovereign Bodies / Ritual Taxonomy.

The music is jazz, and the lyrics and motivation highly politically charged. Vocals coming care of the poet Felispeaks. Both the words and the fury from each player involved conveys a disgust with the current state of the world. Calling out Capitalism’s greed, need for war, and disregard for the environment, plus a patriarchal and racist status quo. The night moving back and forth between simmering sections of experimental electronics and mutant hard bop explosions. Drones and sine waves, busy signals, feedback and loose, rumbling percussion accompanies quiet whispered outrage, while cathartic chaotic crashing and bashing, syncopation and skronk, add muscle to mad, angry mantras and chants.

In some places, like the opening Communal Refusal, the outfit pack heavy, heavy Sun Ra / Arkestra vibes. On Nothing Grows Here / What Does Resurrection Look Like the collective – Felispeaks, Thompson, Sam Comerford, John Pope and Stephen Davis – work together as if a single wild animal, whipping up a frenzied whirlpool of sound. A pissed off dystopian noise. A tangled, tumbling cacophony. A blistering ball of energy. Sucking you into a crazy, seriously intense, psychedelic even, trip. 19 Euro / Wednesday 24th November, with its collage of TV taped voices, feels like a flashback to the artistic milieu of 1980s downtown New York, the Mudd Club and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s band, Gray. On How Dare You Be Free each instrument sings it own song, perhaps mirroring, mimicking a world where every opinion, unfiltered, is aired, while drummer Davis incredibly holds the greater groove down. Territorial Irregularities righteously rails against all forces of oppression. An impassioned plea for the people of Syria, Sudan and Gaza. A heartbroken howl.

Adjunct Ensemble’s Habits Of Assembly – Live at Cafe OTO is out now on Touch Sensitive.