Establishing the mood with a cerebral riff and immersive organ melodies, expanding with a charming and guitar performance, Ari Joshua, John Medeski and Billy Martin open Blurry Face with the psychedelic nuance that we have come to love and appreciate from the creators.
We have been following Ari Joshua and Music Factory Records‘s work for the last couple of years, and are constantly in awe of his instrumental mastery, and the emotional depth that goes into his art. The composition holds a psychedelic adjacency with a cinematic allure – something that is consistent with Ari’s work.
The artwork further cements this, looking like a celestial being that you might meet during a DMT trip. There is an overwhelmingly positive vibe to the experience, like taking magic mushrooms in the sun. This is the genre of psychedelia that leave us feeling whole. The textured drums guide us further, and the 8-bit adjacency has us feeling like we are playing Sonic The Hedgehog on a 1990’s SEGA Megadrive!
Ari confesses with reference to the collaboration, “Blurry Face was born in the moment, no overdubs, just raw takes between legends John Medeski and Billy Martin. Built from a loop Billy created years ago, this session brought out a spontaneous conversation in sound. It’s about tapping into that sacred zone where intuition leads and genres melt away. For those who love MMW, like do, this one will feel familiar. Just a trio, with John on bass and organ, no bass guitar here. I had been talking to Medeski since I was about 19 years old about working together, I am grateful we made this happen – dream come true.”
The track features Ari Joshua on electric guitar and effects, known for blending jazz, psych rock, and avant-garde styles; John Medeski on electric organ and clavinet, bringing a signature psychedelic warmth; and Billy Martin on drums, laying down deep, polyrhythmic grooves based on a loop from his Loops from the Underground collection. The session was engineered by Chris Bittner at Applehead Studios, with additional mixing by Jonathan Plum and mastering by Joe Lambert, whilst Seb Niark provided the trippy artwork.
A Pacific Northwest tour for Ari’s other band, The All’s Eye, is expected to be announced soon for late June and early July, bringing explosive live energy to the West Coast. Blurry Face is one of many releases from Music Factory Records, with a follow-up single, Reversible Submersible, arriving on May 23rd, and a full-length album also in the works.
This also marks the first official release through Music Factory Records’ new website, which is currently in development. To celebrate the launch, Ari is offering a super engaging free play-along track with the solos removed, along with full sheet music, where musicians are invited to jam with it, record their own takes, and share them for feedback and a chance to be featured on the site and socials!
Naturally, we have added Blurry Face to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Ari Joshua, including Rare Groove, and Audio Bicycle Day.