The Occasional Quartet – Desire Lines

“They create a music that is never quite pointilistic and a bit too active to be droney or minimalist. Yet, both aesthetics rear their heads from time to time; there is a series of recurring moments in the first long track during which the dynamic drops and all four players hold a note, trill, or brush in long undulating waves. The slow reemergence of multileveled pulse is always a wonder to behold” – Marc Medwin All About Jazz.
See full review at: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=28342

“Nick Stephens meat-grinding pluck-and-arco hybrid causes a low-frequency boom in well determinate sections. …
this music is “energizing” and “talkative” is reductive to say the least. Indeed, there is the risk of a communication overload: not a moment of “stop and take a breath”, if not for – ahem – occasional circumstances where the torrential expressiveness of the instrumentalists remains confined into slightly more tranquil settings. Propelled by Tony Marsh’s mercurial drumming, strongly characterized by the now-shrieking-now-nicer violin masterfully raped by Nigel Coombes.. these two long improvisations call for attention any minute, preventing the listeners from even thinking to anything else. Like brats who keep pulling dad’s jacket in order for him to buy the umpteenth toy, with the difference that The Occasional Quartet are the ones doing the kick-ass in this case.” Massimo Ricci – Touching Extremes

The Occasional Quartet at the Loose Torque Causes Vibrations concert at The Vortex 12 March 2008 Filmed by Helen Petts.