Ishmael Ensemble Raise the Roof at Manchester’s Gorilla [Show Review]

Following on from their intimate and short album launch documented on this site recently (read that review here), Ishmael Ensemble have embarked on a tour to flesh out their new album, Rituals, and flex their new dance-inflected muscles even further.

Manchester’s Gorilla on a Saturday night is as good a place as any to get down to the front and dance the trials and tribulations of the week away. Ishmael Ensemble are there to provide the perfect soundtrack.

Fronted by multi-instrumentalist Pete Cunningham and keys/vocalist Holyseus Fly, the jazz is still there and has not been completely pushed aside, as in the opening “Feather,” taken from 2021’s Visions of Light. This is a reminder of their roots and a precursor for what is to come. Pete playfully warns the audience, who have come for a jazz set, “You’re not going to get that tonight.”

What follows is a high-energy suite of the first three tracks from Rituals. “C’mon,” “Blinded,” and “Dust” mark a significant leap for the band that sees Pete frantically blowing into his sax whilst almost simultaneously knob twiddling as Holyseus leaps in ecstasy while weaving her way around the keys. Vocals are crisp, and the band are clearly enjoying this new incarnation.

“C’mon” is an exciter, starting slow and low and building to a crescendo, a perfect album opener. “Blinded” is a similar tension builder, whilst “Dust” takes on a steady heavenly approach with an XX flavour.

“Madrid” and “Leviathan”, also from the new long player, have the crowd here tonight swaying in unison and converting those who came expecting something very different. “Madrid” is a slow-burning instrumental that leads effortlessly into “Leviathan”’s ethereal vocals and Ibiza-style techno beats.

“Soma Centre” from Visions of Light provides a heavy shuffling break in mood that has us all slowly gyrating, whilst “The Gift” also looks back into the band’s luscious back catalogue.

All of this is a prelude to the highlight of the set, a medley of “Ezekiel” and “Fever Dream” that Holyseus claims is her favourite part. It’s an irresistible blend of hard-floor dance and searing vocals that are impossible not to dance along to, trance-like. This is a snapshot of where the band are right now and should, in a fair world, bring much higher recognition outside of jazz circles.

No encore from the Ishmael’s tonight, just a closing set of crowd-pleasers, culminating in the meditative and soulful “Butterflies” before their very first release, the beautiful “Song for Knotty.”

Unlike contemporaries such as Ezra Collective and Corto.Alto,  and Ishmael Ensemble are not showy. They turn up and play their songs with honesty and integrity, are not afraid to seek new directions in front of their audience and accept the consequences. It’s clear tonight that the new set has gone down well with a sea of happy faces and a strong queue at the merch stand. The band can only go from strength to strength, and that journey can be seen as we speak.