This Isn’t Jazz as You Know It – It’s a Full-Body Listening Experience
We’ve had a sneak preview of GoGo Penguin’s upcoming album Necessary Fictions, and honestly? We haven’t stopped listening. It’s been the soundtrack to our mornings setting up shop, our afternoon coffee pours, and those quieter moments when the light’s just right and everything feels in sync. This record is something special.
GoGo Penguin have always blurred lines – jazz, classical minimalism, electronica – but this album takes that shape-shifting instinct and runs with it. Necessary Fictions is at once immersive, intricate, and emotionally generous. It’s not background music. It’s not chin-strokey jazz either. It’s a full-body listening experience that invites you to slow down and lean in.
Evolving the Sound Without Breaking the Spell
For over a decade, the Manchester-based trio – pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka, and drummer Jon Scott – have crafted music that pulses with urgency and space. If you’ve ever listened to GoGo Penguin and thought, “this sounds electronic, but it’s not,” you’re not alone. It’s part of their magic – acoustic instruments played with such precision, texture, and timing that they feel like machines. But alive. Breathing. Human.
With Necessary Fictions, the band open new doors. Modular synths buzz at the edges. Strings shimmer and crackle thanks to the Manchester Collective, led by violinist Rakhi Singh. And on “Forgive the Damages,” a first for the band: vocals. The voice belongs to Daudi Matsiko, whose tender, hushed delivery adds a new layer of intimacy and vulnerability.
These aren’t just additions for the sake of change – they feel purposeful. The band isn’t turning away from their roots, they’re growing from them. The record explores what happens when a group with a clearly defined identity decides to stretch, adapt, and invite new textures in without losing itself. There’s a sense of creative freedom here – and joy.
Listening Notes: A Few Early Favourites
While the full album drops Friday, a few preview tracks are already out in the world – and they’ve been on heavy rotation at 12 Bar.
“Fallowfield Loops”
This one hits instantly. It’s loop-based, minimalist, and full of emotional weight – a kind of melancholic beauty that calls to mind Manchester rain and neon reflections. The rhythm shifts feel like forward momentum and quiet resistance all at once. You can hear the city in it – but also the stillness in between. It’s one of those tracks that could sit just as comfortably in a jazz set as it could in a late-night ambient playlist.
“Forgive the Damages” (feat. Daudi Matsiko)
There’s something cinematic and slightly ghostly about this track. It opens like a quiet revelation – soft piano, warm bass, a gentle vocal line that feels more like a thought than a lyric. It’s deeply human. Vulnerable. Like waking from a strange, beautiful dream and trying to hold onto the feeling before it disappears. The vocals are minimal, but their presence changes the emotional gravity of the piece – it’s tender, direct, and quietly powerful.
“Luminous Giants” (feat. Rakhi Singh & Manchester Collective)
This one surprised us most. The string arrangements elevate the track into another realm – still recognisably GoGo Penguin, but with a grandeur and sweep that feels new. Like watching time-lapse footage of a forest blooming. It’s rich, swelling, and incredibly satisfying. You get the sense that they’re painting in broader strokes here – that they’re building something cinematic and expansive.
These aren’t the only highlights, by the way – “Background Hiss Reminds Me of Rain” is pure mood, “Naga Ghost” taps into something raw and primal, and “Float (Loi Krathong, 2003)” might be one of the most contemplative things they’ve ever recorded. But we’ll save some of those thoughts for when you’ve had a chance to hear them yourself.
Why This Album Deserves Your Attention
If you’re a regular here, you already know we’re a bit picky about what we put on the 12 Bar playlist. Not just because we want the vibe to be right, but because we think music is worth caring about. Necessary Fictions fits that ethos perfectly – thoughtful, well-crafted, genre-fluid, and deeply resonant.
But even if you’ve never dipped into modern jazz before, this record is an easy one to fall into. Here’s why:
1. It bridges musical worlds beautifully.
There are echoes of Aphex Twin, Nils Frahm, Portico Quartet, even Bonobo – but it’s all done with piano, bass, and drums. This is jazz built for headphone listeners, crate-diggers, and late-night thinkers alike. It’s unpretentious and open. You don’t need a jazz education to love it – just ears and a bit of patience.
2. It’s precise, but never cold.
There’s a temptation with instrumental music this tightly arranged for it to sound clinical – but not here. The playing is expressive and physical. You can feel the musicians listening to each other in real time. There’s space, breath, and risk. They’re not trying to impress you – they’re trying to move you.
3. It rewards repeat listening.
The more you listen, the more it reveals. Subtle rhythmic changes, ghostly motifs that reappear in different forms, melodic fragments that loop in your brain long after the needle’s lifted. It’s music you live with, not just consume. It holds up to close listening – but it also glows quietly in the background when you’re not paying full attention.
4. It dares to do something different.
By welcoming in guest players, modular synths, and even vocals, GoGo Penguin have taken a leap. And it lands. They’ve kept the core of their sound intact but found ways to make it feel fresher, deeper, and more emotionally wide-ranging.
In a musical landscape where so many bands either play it safe or make big changes that alienate their core audience, this feels like a genuine evolution – not a pivot. A natural next step.
For the Music Lover and the Curious Explorer
If you’re already a GoGo Penguin fan, Necessary Fictions might be your new favourite. But even if you’re not – if you’re someone who loves good music but sometimes feels unsure where to start – this is a brilliant entry point.
There’s no barrier to entry here. You don’t need to “understand jazz.” You just need to listen. Really listen.
That’s the beauty of what this band does. They make music that’s both smart and soulful. Music that works whether you’re lying on the floor with your eyes closed or sipping a flat white and watching the world go by. Music that makes you feel just a little more alive.
If you're someone who likes your music to be a little mysterious, a little layered, and a little cinematic – this album is absolutely worth your time.
A Few Final Thoughts
Albums like this remind us why we do what we do. Why we opened this space. Why we spend so much time flicking through records and sharing tracks we love with anyone who’ll listen. Because music like this matters. It connects, it comforts, it challenges. And it sounds damn good on vinyl.
So if you’re after something new – something that blends emotional weight with technical brilliance, something that feels rooted and reaching all at once – come give this a spin. We’ve got it in stock now, and we’ll be playing it in store all week.
Plug in. Zone out. Or just take a seat and let it drift through the room.
You won’t regret it.
