Trickster 3.2

TRICKSTER was founded in Birmingham, UK around 1976 by singer Phil Bates who previously played in Kwil and other local acts (He would release the terrific album 'Power' with the band Atlantic in the '90s). Trickster was signed by Jet Records, the same of ELO, so it isn't strange that after the debut album in 1978 Trickster toured Europe supporting them.

Singer Cymin Samawatie and percussionist Ketan Bhatti from the Berlin-based group Cyminology apply their poetic musical language on a larger scale with the Trickster Orchestra. Under Cymin and Ketan’s artistic direction, the orchestra interprets their characteristic blend of transcultural modern music. Cymin draws inspiration from traditional verses, spanning psalms to texts by Sufi poets Rumi and Hafiz, this time around performing lyrics not only in Farsi but also in Hebrew, Turkish and Arabic. With the growth of instrumentation comes an expansion of dynamics, textures and colours.

British rock group, formed by Phil Bates in 1976. Recorded an album, "Find The Lady", for United Artists. Trickster signed to Jet Records when Don Arden became their manager. They went on tour as ELO's support act on their legendary "Out Of The Blue" tour in 1978. Recorded a second album, "Back To Zero", with a different line up in 1979. The single "I'm Satisfied" enjoyed some chart success. Their next single "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" got extensive airplay in the USA, but did not do very well in the charts. The group was not satisfied with their record company, but Jet Records wouldn't let them out of their contract. Their European tours with Boston and John Miles and their British tour with Violinski led to interest from other major labels and the band almost signed to RCA before they finally decided to split in 1980.

British rock group, formed by Phil Bates in 1976. Recorded an album, "Find The Lady", for United Artists. Trickster signed to Jet Records when Don Arden became their manager. They went on tour as ELO's support act on their legendary "Out Of The Blue" tour in 1978. Recorded a second album, "Back To Zero", with a different line up in 1979. The single "I'm Satisfied" enjoyed some chart success. Their next single "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" got extensive airplay in the USA, but did not do very well in the charts. The group was not satisfied with their record company, but Jet Records wouldn't let them out of their contract. Their European tours with Boston and John Miles and their British tour with Violinski led to interest from other major labels and the band almost signed to RCA before they finally decided to split in 1980.

Peter Rosendal relishes his own musical unpredictability. Difficult to pigeonhole, he doesn't object to being called unorthodox as a musician, composer or arranger. Or, in his own words: 'I like to pull the rug out from under the listener.' On Trickster, Rosendal juggles with 22 instrumentalists in an ensemble created for the occasion by pairing The Orchestra with folk group Trio Mio. Born in 1976, Peter Rosendal arranged all of the music heard here and composed most of it, creating a complex, whimsical and - true to the Rosendal spirit - humorous programme, drawing inspiration from the island of Fano off the west coast of southern Jutland in Denmark to Belo Horizonte in Brazil and beyond. Often labelled as a jazz pianist (which he is), Rosendal is much more than that. He is a member of award-winning folk trio ULC alongside Trio Mio and has written for Denmark's famed musical collective The Orchestra. The results on Trickster are constantly imaginative, striking and absorbing.