Album Launch: Elliot Galvin – The Ruin

An artist with little need for introductions, Elliot Galvin is a long-time trailblazer in the UK jazz firmament with four solo albums that have seen him top album of the year lists at the likes of Downbeat and Jazzwise, as well as being a member of the Mercury nominated Dinosaur, and collaborating with Shabaka Hutchings, Emma-Jean Thackray, Norma Winstone, Marius Neset and Mark Lockheart.

Scheduled for release in February 2025 via independent London tastemaker label Gearbox Records (Binker & Moses, Abdullah Ibrahim, Cahill//Costello), “The Ruin” marks a new start for Galvin. This is his most personal album to date, written on his childhood piano and inspired by the bleak yet beautiful landscapes of his hometown, the music free-flows between serpentine piano and modular synth lines weaving and colliding around ephemeral vocalisations, deceivingly groove-heavy percussion, and intricate, soulful flute improvisations, featuring a who’s who of estimable guest musicians and friends from the UK scene including a secret special guest on flutes, renowned bassist and vocalist Ruth Goller, Polar Bear drummer and Patti Smith / Damon Albarn collaborator Sebastian Rochford, and longtime collaborators The Ligeti String Quartet.

“A virtuosic, risk-embracing one-off” – John Fordham, The Guardian