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The Quiet Temple's music is a spider's web of left-field jazz, kosmische, psych, post-punk, Krautrock, and dub. Created in 2017 by multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood and Soulsavers' Rich Machin, their fluctuating cast includes saxophonist Ray Dickaty (Stereolab, Spiritualized), keyboardist Tim Lewis (aka Thighpaulsandra; ex-Spiritualized and Julian Cope), drummer Paul May, bassist Peter Marsh (Woven Entity), and guitarist Tony "Doggen" Foster. All the players had crossed paths as collaborators.
The band's name comes directly from a tune composed by pianist Mal Waldron, recorded by Donald Byrd and Booker Little for the 1960 album The Soul of Jazz Percussion (reissued as The Third World). Given the familiarity of the musicians with one another, Machin and Garwood assembled them in Peter Gabriel's Real World studio in the fall of 2017 with no set plan other than to record live-in-process. The pair did have a few ideas, however, including using three vintage recordings -- Larry Young's Lawrence of Newark, Marcus Belgrave's Gemini, and Noah Howard's The Black Ark -- for aesthetic reference. These recordings were played for and discussed with everyone beforehand. The final product sounds like it was filtered through the gauzy lenses of other influences, as well, including the Velvet Underground, King Tubby, and Neu!, among others. They emerged with The Quiet Temple for Wichita Recordings in the summer of 2018, preceded by the single "The Last Opium Den." Just before its release in July, Machin and Garwood commissioned a remix of the track by Moon Duo. ~ Thom Jurek
