For his album ‘Lucus’, Norwegian drummer/composer Thomas Strønen presents a revised edition of his acoustic collective Time is a Blind Guide, now trimmed to quintet size, and with a new pianist in Wakayama-born Ayumi Tanaka.

Tanaka has spoken of seeking associative connections between Japan and Norway in her improvising, a tendency Strønen seems to be encouraging with his space-conscious writing for the ensemble, letting in more light.

As on the group’s eponymously-titled and critically-lauded debut album there are excellent contributions from the string players - the quintet effectively contains both a string trio and a piano trio - and Manfred Eicher’s production brings out all the fine detail in the grain of the collective sound and the halo of its overtones, captured in the famously-responsive acoustic of Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo in March 2017.

Released on 180g vinyl, with a free download code.

Tracklisting:

Side A
1. La Bella
2. Friday
3. Release
4. Lucus
5. Fugitive Places

Side B
1. Baka
2. Wednesday
3. Truth Grows Gradually
4. Islay
5. Weekend