Urban Chaos: New album from Rath Artist Nick Adema streaming now

The latest album from Rath Artist Nick Adema is out now – and there is plenty for listeners to enjoy.

Urban Chaos, released via ZenneZ Records, reflects not just the noise and bustle of the urban environment, but the unrelenting momentum of life in general.

It comes after Adema lost his mother in late 2022, not long after relocating from Ottawa, Canada, to Amsterdam. “Urban Chaos captures the feeling of moving back to the city after going through all of this mayhem,” Adema said.

The album is a follow-up to its 2021 predecessor, DemiLAN, which was named for his mother (Demetria Langis) and created in parallel with her illness.

“I almost quit music when my mom passed away,” Adema continued.

“This album is about the process of moving on and realising that what’s done is done, while acknowledging all that she’s done to help me continue my music.”

The album sees the Canadian-born, Amsterdam-based trombonist and composer joined by pianist Joy Shechter, bassist Azubike Onwuka and drummer Chen Har-Even. They are supplemented through much of the album by special guest Noah Preminger on tenor saxophone, with the addition at different moments of a string quartet, vocalist Liva Dumpe, guitarist Ante Medic, alto saxophonist Micheal Murray and the leader’s own expansive use of electronic processing for his trombone.

“Beginnings” opens the album with a brief, propulsive fanfare, before the string quartet makes its first appearance with tenuous, halting lines to usher in “The Fool.” The moving piece gradually coheres from these minimal origins before Even and Onwuka lock into a lurching groove. Adema and Preminger parry one another’s solos over an increasingly turbulent rhythm as the tune nears its climactic moments. Twice named DownBeat Magazine’s top Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist, Preminger is a leading voice of his generation and a favourite of Adema’s, someone the trombonist was convinced would add a special power and grace to the proceedings.

“Noah is quite possibly my favourite contemporary saxophone player,” Adema said. “I really felt like I needed his sound for this project. He turned out to be really easy to work with, while being incredibly detail oriented and meticulous about finding his sound in the studio.”

“111” and its counterpart “222” find Adema and Preminger going toe to toe in concise, atmospheric improvisations, Adema rendering his trombone nearly unrecognisable through the use of a pedal board to create a heady fog of sound. “Y-Axis,” with its skittering, agitated rhythms, is dedicated to saxophonist Yaniv Nachum, one of the composer’s mentors at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, while the more meditative “The Friendly Ghost” was penned for the Danish guitarist Casper Hejlesen, with incisive six-string contributions from Medic.

Onwuka opens “Doglio” with a breathtaking solo, wielding his electric bass with a classical guitarist’s agility. The song, with its antic, Eastern European brass band feel and jagged beat, recalls a favorite memory shared by Adema and his mother. “Oak,” with a vulnerable vocal by Dumpe, marks Adema’s debut as a lyricist; it and the following track, “The End of a Love Affair,” turn from the chaos of the city to the chaos of the heart. The title of “Fracture” refers not to its off-kilter funk feel but to the stop-start method of its composition, while “Still Moving” begins with evocative, almost bird call-like abstractions leading into the tender tune. “Demetra” concludes the album on a heartfelt note, with Adema and Medic joining for a sparse, wistful farewell.

While it seems like time should stop when confronted by a momentous event like the loss of a loved one, Adema found himself dealing with commuting between his home in Canada and his new life in Amsterdam, a turbulent relationship and the pressures of making a life in music all at the same time.

Check out Urban Chaos at: https://zennezrecords.bandcamp.com/album/urban-chaos