Finn Peters - Music of the Mind

(Mantella Records)

Arguably all music is at least initially of the mind, but there is an extra degree of literal description in the title of the saxophonist’s latest project. Peters worked with Dr Mick Grierson at Goldsmith’s University to map his brain waves, using them as the basis for the resulting music, either literally transcribing the patterns or using them as launching points for improvisation. Given the eclecticism of Peters’ interests – his CV spans Dizzee Rascal to the London Sinfonietta – the music is predictably diverse. Don’t expect much in the way of Radio Workshop-style weird abstraction, though – from ‘Popcorn Brain’s stomping funk to the seething finale of ‘Virus’, Peters and his band (including computer music expert Matthew Yee King) create a pulsating fusion of jazz, ambient and dance music.