san is the second full length album from London’s smallgang. Twelve songs written equally between brothers Simon and Toshi Kobayashi, and arranged as a group. Recorded at One Cat Studio by Jon Clayton and Mastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Service. After dropping their entire back catalogue and carving out a new set of songs following the departure of original bassist Ruth Atkins, these bolder, harder and heavier songs were honed and refined over a flurry of live shows across the UK, as well as intensive rehearsal. The resulting album is testament to a reinvigorated, more focused and more confident band. Simon moves from Guitar to playing assertive Bass, bolstering the power of Matt’s prowling drums, and Toshi’s minimalist, impressionist guitar lines evokes the albums darker tones, and create a sound that is taut, spacious, prickly and cathartic. Guest appearances from friends Gill Sandell (Emily Baker and the Red Clay Halo), Jen Macro (Something Beginning With L, My Bloody Valentine), Ritsuko Taneda (Shonen Knife) and Jon Fine (Bitch Magnet) add subtle nuances and add a welcome dimension to the lead baritones of the brothers. Stand-out tracks: Dust, Cards, A Wolf Or A Portal and Imminent Child. ‘san’ Transliteration for the number three in Japanese. It reflects the band’s new status as a three piece. There is no grand concept behind the title beyond the fact that it’s a simple word to sum up the band’s aim of stripping elements down on this album and making things simpler. It may also be construed as the transliteration for a Japanese honorific-suffix used to address or refer to people, as if in a private joke, the band name and album title combines to refer to a person (smallgang-san). But really this is just meaning attached after the fact. Smallgang are brothers Simon and Toshi Kobayashi and their friend Matt Atkins. Smallgang also provide the axis for a network of bands in which Simon, Toshi and Matt also play, including Slowgun, Crumbling Ghost, Splintered Man, Passerines and Russell and the Wolf Choir. Tracklisting 1. Precursor 2. Imminent Child 3. Orbs 4. A Mirror 5. A Wolf or a Portal 6. No Lotus 7. Dust 8. Into Night 9. Hibernation 10. Cards 11. Replacements 12. San released on Damnably on CD June 2014