Artist Decoded By Yoshino

www.patreon.com/artistdecoded When a musical ensemble chooses to self-title an album mid-career, it usually signifies their conviction that they’ve struck upon the motherlode, hit the jackpot, stepped up, and generally arrived at a point they’ve always strived for but never quite attained. Coming from GoGo Penguin at this stage in the game, it’s quite a bold statement: the instrumental trio from Manchester, England have fielded plaudits and rave reviews for inspiration and originality at every turn since 2013, when they settled on their dream line-up of Chris Illingworth (piano), Rob Turner (drums), and Nick Blacka (bass). Fusing jazz, classical and electronic influences (amongst others) with a thirst for innovation, they’ve been garlanded as makers of one of the Mercury Prize album of the year (in ’14), and have enjoyed success on record and in the live arena matched by precious few vocal-free groups post-millennium.   After that prestigious Mercury nomination for 2014’s v2.0 album, Chris, Nick, and Rob