According to the Greek legend, artistically intertwined ropes connected the drawbar and yoke of the chariot of the Phrygian king Gordios in the “Gordian knot”. Alexander the Great is said to have cut this knot, which has since been considered an extraordinary overcoming of an extraordinary problem.

For Gordon Goodwin, the new album of his Big Phat Band is therefore not just a pun, but a description of the process of creation. Thus the opener T.O.P. Adjacent is fresh and dynamic and directly after that it becomes danceable in Don’t Blink. But then comes the title track and it lives up to its name. The Big Band is allowed to show everything they can do in full range and looks cinematic – like in a Hitchcock movie where one twist chases the next and the suspense rises to immeasurable levels.

The production in Dolby Atmos on the Pure Audio Blu-Ray completes the listening experience and makes the cinema feeling complete. The great homage to the big bands of the 1930s and 1940s comes in the last third of the album with a snappy Summertime adaptation and the epic medley The Buddy Complex, which closes the record.

The Big Phat Band has been recording large ensemble music for 20 years. For as long as I can remember, our philosophy regarding the sound of our records was to try and replicate the experience of hearing the band live. We wanted the listener to perceive the energy, the vibrancy, and the presence of the musicians as they play together.

And while I am proud of each and every track we have ever recorded, the sound of the music on the Dolby Atmos release of The Gordian Knot is hard to describe. It’s not just the amazing clarity of the mix, although that is notable. For me, this platform produces a result that is arguably better than live. You can perceive the music from a micro or macro point of point of view. You can easily pick out separate instruments in the band if you’d like, but can also enjoy the overall composite sound of the band, which resonates in a way that is unmatched in any other format.

You can feel the musicians thinking and interacting as the track plays, and it is this energy, that you get during a live performance, that is sometime missing in studio recordings.

Our brilliant team of audio technicians Maurice Patist, Steve Genewick, Tommy Vicari and Stefan Bock have produced a representation of the Big Phat Band’s music that is unequaled. It is an artistic achievement that is a perfect match to the superb musicianship of the members of the Big Phat Band.

– Gordon Goodwin