Short Reviews [Phil Mercy - 2024 - Blind Convergence Volume 1"]

I was in contact with Phil Mercy recently, and I was asking what was happening with the wonderful Thieves' Kitchen. Sadly, the band has been put on hold mostly due to Brexit and COVID - not easy to play together when the band is in Sweden and there is no longer any freedom of movement. Phil has been keeping busy by working on a new project, Blind Convergence, which is a combination of ambient electronica and improvised guitar. So far, he has released one album, with another recorded, and he asked if I would like to have a listen so here it is. The album is available in two versions, either as a continuous piece of music or with it broken down into individual tracks, but given it was recorded live and in one take it made more sense for me to play the continuous version. It was recorded on 22nd December 2022 and there are no overdubs, with minimal post-processing of the files. There are a few samples, all of which are credited, and the overall result is something which is very different indeed to what I have heard from Phil prior to this. I remember us having a discussion regarding Colosseum II after I commented that there was a section on "The Water Road" which reminded me of them, to which Phil responded it was working out Gary Moore's guitar parts on 'Electric Savage' as a rookie guitarist that made him the player he is today, and this is a very different Phil Mercy indeed to the one who was blasting jazz rock back then. This is ambient music which is very enjoyable indeed to listen to, and if you have been wondering what happened to Thieves' Kitchen, or enjoy this style of electronica, then I urge you to seek this out.