Composed for a lopsided group of flutes, bass clarinets, trombones, piano, percussion, violas, white noise and field recordings, composer-conductor Jack Sheen’s debut album Sub shuns traditional ensemble formats in favour of mid-range saturation. With nods to minimalism and ambient music, each of the 11 movements are a self-contained ecosystem, with sections of the ensemble split into autonomous entities that tussle and circle around one another. Recorded in July 2021, the album is Sheen’s first collaboration with Octandre Ensemble and conductor Jon Hargreaves.

jacksheen.com, snvariations.bandcamp.com