There is indeed strength in numbers, but sheer force alone is nothing without structure. Lebanese polymath Raed Yassin, a member of the »A« Trio and Praed, pulled of a nigh-impossible stunt with his album Phantom Orchestra, arranging separate recordings of 42 (!) Berlin-based improvisers into a consistent, coherent seven-part suite. A stark reminder that even the most megalithic monuments are still the sum of their individual parts, this album makes even the most grandiose, genre-flexible bands of our time—whether that description makes you think of Sleep Token, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, or Neptunian Maximalism—look like half-assed amateur punks.
Raed Yassin – Phantom Orchestra
