Danny Ward’s Balaphonic project continues to bloom on Organic Matters, a rich and deeply musical follow-up to the acclaimed Resolution Revolutions album. Across six tracks, Ward expands the Balaphonic sound once again, drawing on Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, Balearic, dub and deep house influences while placing live percussion, collaboration and warm musical detail at the heart of the record.
 
Opening track ‘Dew Drops’, created with internationally renowned composer and arranger Robin Dewhurst, sets the tone beautifully. A life-affirming samba shuffle, it brings together picturesque piano, xylophone, balafon melodies, layered Latin percussion and a rolling bassline full of movement and light.
 
Ward then revisits his 2005 composition ‘Switch’, this time featuring legendary Brazilian jazz vocalist Flora Purim alongside her daughter Diana Moreira Booker. Reimagined through the Balaphonic lens, the track becomes a gentle, shuffling piece in 7/4 time, paying heartfelt tribute to the Brazilian records that first made Purim’s name.
 
‘Balaventurers’ sees Ward link with long-time North-West musical ally Joe Botham, AKA Baleardelica, whose flamenco-inspired acoustic guitar lines provide the spark for a vivid, colourful journey of layered vocals, shimmering keys and perfectly arranged percussion.
The tempo lifts on ‘Life of Strings’, a collaboration with Amsterdam-based violinist and composer Katya Gabeli. Built on Ward’s groove-rich percussion, the track finds its emotional core in Gabeli’s expressive string arrangement, creating one of the EP’s most powerful moments.
 
Closing the release, ‘Boxfresh’ rolls with Afro-Cuban rhythm, cascading melodies and hypnotic percussion, before ‘Home’ brings things to a poignant finish with drifting piano, dreamlike chords and a beautiful sense of calm resolution.
Another stunning Balaphonic release on NuNorthern Soul.