Cult experimental outfit trioVD, champions of the Leeds improvisational scene, make an audacious return in 2012 with ‘Maze’, the product of two years of introspection in a Leeds basement come DIY recording studio.

Their 2009 debut album ‘Fill It Up With Ghosts’ redefined preconceptions of contemporary British jazz, winning MOJO Jazz Album of the Year and Jazzwise Album Of The Year, and yet, despite the ever present ‘J’ word their shows are populated by voracious crowds of old-proggers and muso-teens who aspire only to possess the heel-toe of drummer Chris Bussey, the sweep-pick of guitarist Chris Sharkey or the growl of saxophonist Christophe de Bézenac, not least their original creative vision and cohesion.

‘Maze’ is 100% trioVD and everything you would expect from them: it’s fun; it’s complex; it’s diverse and it’s powerful. Taking a different approach to ‘Maze’ than that with ‘Fill It Up With Ghosts’, the band wanted to record in such a way that the recording and production became part of the composing process. Begging, borrowing and stealing equipment from friends they recorded the album in their rehearsal room in Leeds, learning how to use the equipment as they went along. Mindful of how powerful their live shows were and how hard this was to translate to an album, they set about broadening their sound, to include extra orchestration, vocals, synths and percussion. The result is indeed, pure trioVD.

Maze is out May 21st on Naim Records