I certainly thought they were gods five years ago when they released Three Street Worlds and they played the London Jazz Festival at Royal Festival Hall supporting the Matthew Herbert Big Band. What a gig! Even though I missed Bembé Segué on the free stage warm up, she stole my heart when she later joined 2BO4.

So what happened in the last five years? Well, Gallagher is better known as Earl Zinger and he’s continued to MC, gig with Gilles Peterson and run marathons while Harris is better known as a the producer called Demus, who got heavily invovled in the West London underground scene including founding the Co-Op club collective. On the broken scene, Segué was often the favoured session vocalist and notably appearing on ‘Booty La La’ and Da Lata’s ‘Serious’, Mark De Clive-Lowe’s ‘Tide’s Arising’/The Politik and on the incredible Sleep Walker 12” with ‘Into The Sun’ out on Especial Records. That said, Segué was actually ‘recruited’ to the project by lead vocalist Valerie Etienne (ex-Galliano (along with Zinger)/Jazzanova/Restless Soul/ISoul8) who also got Paul Jason Fredericks to form a powerful front 3 vocal section. Now footie fans will note, that means, the two banks of four actually have more of a 3, 3, 2 formation.

So they’ll all very busy folks and we have to wait five years for a follow up. In one way nothing has changed. The core to the group is their love of passionate soul and spiritual jazz (think Black Jazz and Strata East labels and Esoteric, Modal And Deep Jazz From The Underground 1968-77). Peterson has been dropping tracks from the album on his show since December, got them on the Worldwide Awards Show at Cargo (as proudly noted on the cover) and put ‘Shadowland’ in his first all-winners show of the year.

I suppose ‘Shadowland’ is the most obvious in a ‘Banks Of The Nile’ type way. Even though they cover Sun Ra’s ‘Lights On A Satellite’ don’t expect a Build An Ark, The Heliocentrics or anything on Impossible Ark. A good example is that’s ‘Dead Afternoons’ is that sort of psychedelic pop that you thought was lost in the 60’s with a bit of Kid Carpet’s electronica thrown in. Getting back to the 60’s, we really shouldn’t have musical political activism lead by Neil Young and ‘Flags & Words’ is 2bo4’s contribution from the broken, modal, electronica protest section.

Don’t get the idea it’s a shambles or junkyard throwouts. The vocals are gorgeous, the instrumentation is big with loads of flutes, saxophone, trumpet and piano with the glitchy electronica. i.e. very Herbert; particularly ‘Wake Me 5.30’ which is my current favourite.

The Japanese P-Vine version includes a bonus track ‘Ballad For Oliver Law’ that got the Brownswood notice board crew in “big up all shibuya jazz massive record” mode but even without it, this is a huge record that will grow on you; not only that, there’s rumours the Mr. Herbert is reforming the Big Band and it would be a dream if 2bo4 would support them at a big gig.

The Gilles Peterson podcast chat with Demus is thoroughly recommended (even if it’s understandable a bit matey), click HERE and as GP says, genuinely, an album that grows on you.

Reviewed: Two Banks Of Four — Junkyard Gods (Sonar Kollektiv) Cat. No. SK182CD Release date: 7th April
Tracklisting:
1 Junkyard Gods (4:14)
2 Queen Of Crows (5:44)
3 Go (6:02)
4 Shadowlands (5:33)
5 Dead Afternoon (4:22)
6 Flags & Words (6:04)
7 Wake Me 5.30 (4:54)
8 Paper Planes (5:14)
9 Lights On A Satellite (4:42)

Links:
www.2bo4.com
Oliver Law on www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
London Jazz Festival. Tuesday 18th November 2003. Matthew Herbert Big Band, Two Banks Of Four, Royal Festival Hall 7.30pm Bembe Segue 6pm Free Stage.
www.bls-act.co.jp
Gilles Peterson :: 6th December 2007 :: Live In Session From Maida Vale: Steve Reid Ensemble
2BO4 — ‘Junkyard Gods’ (White)
Gilles Peterson :: 21 February 2008 :: Box of Delights show
Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble — ‘Black Beauty’ (Midday Music)
2BO4 — ‘Wake Me’ (Sonar Kollectiv)
Gilles Peterson :: 3rd April 2008 :: GP’s All Winners Part 1
2BO4 — ‘Shadowland’ (White)
Gilles Peterson Worldwide — Vol.01, No.21 — Dil represents 2Bo4 about the ‘Junkyard Gods’
Duration 01:03:36 12/03/2008 — 2 Banks of 4 in the basement to show a few tunes and talk about the name change??