Alabaster DePlume - Gold (Go Forward In The Courage Of Your Love) 2LP

Manchester-based saxophonist, poet, and spiritual instigator Alabaster DePlume created one of contemporary music's most emotionally direct and genre-defying statements with Gold. Released in 2022 through a three-way partnership between International Anthem Recording Company, Total Refreshment Centre, and Lost Map Records, this double album combines DePlume's tender tenor saxophone, spoken word poetry, and quietly radical politics with contributions from an exceptional cast including drummer Tom Skinner (Sons of Kemet), tabla player/drummer Sarathy Korwar, keyboardist Danalogue (The Comet Is Coming), and numerous vocalists and instrumentalists. The result transcends jazz categorisation entirely, existing somewhere between spiritual jazz, experimental folk, abstract poetry, and gentle activism.

DePlume's approach centres on vulnerability, encouragement, and emotional honesty. Track titles like "Don't Forget You're Precious", "Fucking Let Them", and "Do You Know A Human Being When You See One?" signal the album's concerns with self-worth, human dignity, and recognising others' humanity. His spoken word pieces, delivered in soft Manchester tones, offer affirmations and provocations that feel personal yet universal. The musical settings, arranged and produced by DePlume with mixing by Dilip Harris, range from spare saxophone and voice to full ensemble pieces with percussion, strings, synthesizers, and multiple vocalists creating communal sound. The "Visitors" tracks interspersed throughout reference specific places (Jerusalem Palestine, Oak, Krupp Steel Condition Pivot) as field recordings or location-specific meditations.

The ensemble assembled here represents a cross-section of UK experimental music's finest players. Tom Skinner and Sarathy Korwar's drumming provides both jazz propulsion and tabla-influenced rhythmic textures. Danalogue's synth work adds cosmic dimension. Vocalists including Hannah Miller, Falle Nioke, and others create choral textures that feel both intimate and ritualistic. Mixed at The Crush by Dilip Harris (who also contributed effects and synth), this European pressing captures the album's dynamic range from whisper-quiet moments to full ensemble crescendos.