northern|contemporary
improvised music record label
KEEPINTOUCH
Fragments
Adam Fairhall – piano // Seth Bennett – double bass // Johnny Hunter – drums
Fragments began in late 2013 as a workshop band exploring new methods of combining improvisation and composition. Rather than incorporating improvisation into composed frameworks, the trio start by improvising freely, and then may, at any point, begin playing a ‘fragment’; one of a series of pre-composed fragments of musical material. The choice of fragment, the way it is integrated into the improvisation and what happens after the fragment is played are all open to the spontaneity of the moment.
This method provides a more flexible, spontaneous approach to the overall structure of a set in comparison to more conventional compositions, but still provides the virtue of a composer’s input via the fragments themselves. Each fragment is designed to inform a different sound space and is both substantial enough to give the players something to ‘chew on’ and flexible enough to allow many possible interpretations. They are also very varied in idiom, ensuring a constantly changing listening experience.