Dark Territory

Featuring Shigeto, Jonathan Maron and Mark Guiliana.
Dark Territory follows up on this area of risk, going into new, as yet unexplored musical spaces. The title was suggested by the writer Fred Kaplan, whose new book Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War, talks about the similarly mysterious, murky waters of underground activity. In a way, we’re playing through a similar territory without rules where the dangers and challenges of technology are much greater than normal. I love that Zach, Jon, and Mark are so willing to go that place!” – Dave Douglas

With the 2015 release of High Risk, Dave Douglas, Shigeto, Jonathan Maron, and Mark Guiliana proved they could produce an album where avant-jazz and electronic music met in a spacey atmospheric middle ground, delivering something new in the world of genre. Melding traditional instrumentation and modern electronic music production challenges the ideals of both the traditional term “jazz” as well as the modern term “electronic music.” Pitchfork described it as, “Simultaneously chill and surprising, it’s the sound of a group discovering a valid language, and then proceeding to push the limits of that new aesthetic.”

Dark Territory features a new set of music that was initially released on Limited Edition 12″ 180 Gram vinyl as a Special Release for Record Store Day 2016! The LP and digital audio are available directly from Greenleaf Music via Bandcamp. The CD will be released on July 8. Pre-order on iTunes will begin June 17.

Tracked in the same set of sessions as High Risk, Dark Territory was recorded once again by Geoff Countryman at The Bunker in Brooklyn, NY in October 2014, with mixing by Steve Wall, mastering by Mark Wilder and production by Dave Douglas.

As Douglas notes, “Dark Territory follows up on this area of risk, going into new, as yet unexplored musical spaces. The title was suggested by the writer Fred Kaplan, whose new book Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War, talks about the similarly mysterious, murky waters of underground activity. In a way, we’re playing through a similar territory without rules where the dangers and challenges of technology are much greater than normal. I love that Zach, Jon, and Mark are so willing to go that place!”

The four musicians who make up High Risk come from multifaceted-genre backgrounds. Thus, the jazz/electronic divide is somewhat blurred. PopMatters observed, “Where one influence ends and another one begins is a mystery, and that’s what will guarantee High Risk‘s status as a wholly unique album. With any justice, it will also serve as a template for future electro-jazz.” All About Jazz described the original album, “Voluminous soundscapes and swelling patterns like oceanic waves find Douglas’ blustery and sensitive horn flowing within the band’s shifting and sonically rich program of beats, noises, thoughtful music, and creative embellishments.” Furthermore, Stereophile remarked, “It is a high-wire act, a ‘high risk,’ to be out there, so starkly exposed… there’s a serrated groove to this music, even a lyricism and the blues.”

ABOUT SHIGETO

Zachary Saginaw, known under his moniker and middle name Shigeto, was originally a jazz student at The New School. He has since released three full-length albums under noted American electronica hub, Ghostly International (home to Matthew Dear, Gold Panda, Tycho, HTRK, etc.). But he never lost his love for jazz and improvisation, as he explains, “Jazz has always had a place in my life, whether it was my father playing his records for me or just playing tunes with friends. Before I got into production, all I wanted was to be a jazz drummer.”

ABOUT JONATHAN MARON

Bassist Jonathan Maron, who contributes both electric bass guitar and synth (keyboard) bass to the album, was a founding member of Groove Collective and a prominent figure in the fusion-oriented acid jazz movement of the 1990s, when he first crossed paths with Douglas.

ABOUT MARK GUILIANA

Mark Guiliana is one of the most in-demand drummers in the modern jazz scene. His firepower behind the kit is on full, explosive display within this ensemble – but he’s also an inveterate experimentalist who regularly incorporates electronic elements into his own work on projects like Beat Music, Heernt and, perhaps most notably, Mehliana, his genre-defying duo project with Brad Mehldau. His work on Blackstar, David Bowie’s final recording, has brought him much-deserved international attention.

Buy CD, LP, and Digital: Greenleaf Music