Lisathe
Lisathe are a Sydney-based instrumental trio comprising Miles Thomas (drums), Brendan Clark (bass) and Ollie Thorpe (guitar/pedal steel).
Their sophomore album Watch Out For The Horse Behind You is a collection of original music inspired by family, community and the Australian landscape — a more personal record than their eponymous debut, which drew on Scandinavian composers and tradition. The quiet virtuosity and idiosyncratic ensemble playing that has made them three of the most in-demand instrumentalists in the country comes fully to the fore here: rock's abandon and jazz's measured sensibility sit alongside acoustic drums treated to resemble electronic sputterings, traversing worlds without settling in any one of them.
Recorded at Golden Retriever in Marrickville by Simon Berckelman and mixed by Thomas at Ladder, the album employs a technique the band calls cumulative improvisation — using a foundational take as the basis for further extemporisation, asking the musicians to respond in real time not only to each other but to decisions already made and yet to be made. The result is a soundworld in which notes swirl and scatter, forming spectres of familiarity before receding ghost-like into the distance.
Traces of their earlier touchstones — Skúli Sverrisson, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Bill Frisell, Daniel Lanois, Ry Cooder — are present but obfuscated, sieved through three creative minds and a distinctly Australian lens.
