As genre conventions continue to morph and blur, there's a wealth of

stunning new music being made wherever groups of musicians have

the imagination and ingenuity to transcend the old boundaries and

just play whatever comes naturally. Sun Speak are such a group and

their album Probiotic Orchestrations is full of music that's urgent,

powerful, accessible and humorous, pulling together sounds and

textures from the worlds of rock, jazz, electronica, Americana and

the outer reaches of progressive music into compelling whole.

Guitarist Matt Gold and drummer Nate Friedman first came together

as Sun Speak ten years ago amid the white heat of the Chicago

experimental scene, where they'd worked with such luminaries as

Makaya McCraven and Patricia Barber.

On this, their sixth release, they continue to develop their own

distinctive sonic world with the aid of fellow Chicagoan Daniel

Pierson who joined as engineer/sound sculptor and now

increasingly takes a collaborative role as a third member of the band

on keyboards. Now the trio are dispersed and live in different corners

of the USA, but in 2024 they came together in a remote seaside cabin

in New Hampshire, writing and recording every day in an intense

undisturbed whirlwind of creativity. Probiotic Orchestrations is the

result - a dazzling mix of improvisation and composition, exploring

rhythm, colour and texture with the directness of rock and the

fearless improvisatory flair of jazz.