3x3

“Have you heard anything like this, the making, the mixing, before? These sounds, mix and form, that is guided, perhaps rehearsed, even notated yet at the moment of performance, live, improvised, held, captured, turned until it shines or dulls, sparkles or darkens, with whatever you bring. They take you there. Somewhere, someplace else. Who knows, you might never return to ‘normal’ again.” - The Music Trust

Genre defying ensemble I Hold the Lion’s Paw return with 3x3, a mind-blowing live offering made entirely at Program Records that showcases two of Melbourne’s most powerful artists, Didem Caia and Emily Bennett.

3x3 follows on from IHTLP’s APRA Art Music Award nominated studio album, Lost in Place, and is the first in an exciting series of limited edition vinyl releases recorded, filmed and pressed at Program Records.

This Body is a Compass features iconic Melbourne poet, Didem Caia, and is a psalm for modern times that blends notions of the human body with the body of the earth. Big Bois showcases the enigmatic and witty artistry of experimental artist Emily Bennett in full flight atop IHTLP’s signature mix of slippery grooves and psychedelic interludes.

Conjuring the spirit and twisted funk of Miles Davis’ On the Corner, filtered through the lens of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time and Jon Hassell’s Fourth World, I Hold the Lion’s Paw is a wild sonic ride that feels simultaneously familiar and like nothing you’ve ever heard. The brainchild of ARIA nominated trumpeter-producer Reuben Lewis, Lion’s Paw will guide you through a world of electro-ambience, grungy afro-grooves and psychedelic jazz. This is music as assemblage, using the stage as a laboratory whilst practicing post-production sorcery in realtime!

I Hold the Lion’s Paw

Reuben Lewis - trumpet, subsequent 37, pedals
Emily Bennett - prophet 6, voice, pedals
Joseph Franklin - bass
Ronny Ferella - drums
Didem Caia - poetry (side B)

Recorded Live at
Program Records on 23/2/2022

Film production by
Andrew Watson - Semiconductor Media
Recorded, mixed and mastered by
Myles Mumford - Rolling Stock Recording Rooms

3x3 is supported in part by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria

releases September 8, 2022