Free entry! Hippo is an electronic jazz trio based in Bristol, UK. In the lineage of Donny McCaslin and STUFF, their music buries a jazz aesthetic in a nest of beefy electronics and bouncing rhythms. The earnest muscular sound debuted on their 2018 release caught the attention of BBC Radio 3, BBC Introducing, and Fresh on the Net. Playing live, their hybrid music has seen them entertain diverse crowds across the UK - from techno raves to basement jazz clubs and everything in between. Their second EP Binary Diet (2019) converges on the palette established on the first release: saxophones, synthesisers and drums go in, Hippo comes out. The EP opens with DAK, Hippo’s boldest release yet – filthy bass and drums meet distorted sax in a future jazz banger that boils over into pulsing synthy soup. Icing on the cake comes from a balls-to-the-wall finale guitar solo from guest virtuoso Joe Price. The tune emerged from a little piano nugget by Holysseus Fly (Ishmael Ensemble). Following on, the title track Binary Diet throbs with high octane electro-funk energy - unison lines grind under synth sax riffs before giving away into a stomping solo finale. Balance comes through the swirling electro-jazz journey of Treehouse, simmering with gorgeous themes, bubbling electronic arpeggiation, and a spacious saxophone reprise. The EP closes with the dark, pumping Thirst - featured on a live video earlier in 2019 shot entirely in the Hippo van - drums in the boot, synths in the cab and sax on the roof... Binary Diet EP was recorded by Jim Barr (Portishead, Get the Blessing) at J&J Studios, mixed by Doug Cave (Cousin Kula, Hippo), and mastered by Luke Burnet-Smith (Alive by Night, T’Pau). The Binary Diet EP was released on November 15th 2019.

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