WALDOS GIFT
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Sound: Jazz / Indie / Beats
For Fans Of: The Comet Is Coming / Thundercat / Ill Considered
Previous Work: Coming Soon
Spotify: Check it
Bio: Waldo’s Gift is the result of three like-minded musicians that have been given the time and space to let their sound naturally take shape, allowing them to hone in on a true sonic representation of themselves both as individual players and together as a three-piece. Their sound is a coherent cacophony of a vast variety of influences, hurtling from the harmonic and rhythmic sophistication of jazz through to the most cutting edge experimental electronic music - all with the unhinged energy of the most powerful left-leaning rock and metal and packed with the emotion and dynamic range of a full orchestra.
2019 saw the release of Improvisations, the band’s self-released debut EP, which was cut from a live recording of one of their now legendary nights at The Gallimaufry in Bristol. The EP was greeted with rapturous critical acclaim and lead to Gilles Peterson dubbing them 2020 Ones to
Watch catapulting the band from being vanguards of Bristol’s music scene to one of the most exciting new bands in the UK.
Although birthed from improvisation, The Hut, the 2020 EP and first for Black Acre Records, saw the band take a step away from their improvisatory roots towards a more refined studio sound. The EP caught the attention of BBC 6 Music figures Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne-Hobbs, Tom Ravenscroft & Jamz Supernova and awarded them with international acclaim and radio support. Their follow up re-work of Commodo’s Hot Pursuit also turned heads in different scenes to the sound Waldo’s have been perfecting.
Throughout 2021 Waldo’s Gift were diligently working on a follow up EP entitled ‘Normflex’ that saw the band distill their sound into something dark, heavy, unrelenting and beautiful all at the same time. Taking inspiration from electronic music heavyweights such as Aphex Twin and Flying Lotus the EP takes the trio and listeners alike into completely uncharted sonic territory, gaining support across tastemakers from Steve Lamacq on 6Music to Jamie Cullum on Radio 2.
On the latest single Flowerbed the band dip their toe back into their jazz influences, owing much of the glitched out hip hop aesthetic to artists like Robert Glasper and Hiatus Kaiyote while still retaining their now signature experimental sound. The song has already gained wide support across BBC 6Music and Radio 1.