Chris Bowden – The Hypnos Files, Music Spoken Here, The Marr’s Bar, Worcester, 24/04/2025.

Chris Bowden – alto sax, keyboard, Jim Watson- keyboard, Simon ‘Palm Skin’’ Richmond – synthesiser, electronics, Chris Dodd - electric bass, Neil Bullock – drums,  Louise Warren -  vocals

There was yet another excellent audience turn out for this Music Spoken Here event at The Marr’s Bar and the visit of The Hypnos Files, a quintet led by the alto saxophonist and composer Chris Bowden.

A native of Birmingham Bowden moved to London in 1988 to study music at Trinity. It was during his time there that he played at jam sessions at a pub near the college alongside the then young and up and coming musicians Nigel Hitchcock (saxophone) and Gerard Presencer (trumpet).

It was at these sessions that Bowden attracted the attention of DJ / producer / record label owner Gilles Peterson. Signed to Peterson’s Talkin’ Loud label he became highly active on the then burgeoning acid jazz scene, working with the band K-Creative, an act that also included keyboard player, DJ and producer Simon Richmond, of Palm Skin Productions.

Also associated with James Lavelle’s Mo’ Wax label Bowden also worked with 4Hero and The Herbaliser and also began to work as a horn and string arranger, most notably with vocalist and songwriter Jessica Lauren.

A composer from his early years Bowden released his first solo album “Time Capsule” on the Soul Jazz label in 1998. He followed this in 2002 with “Slightly Askew”, which appeared on the Ninja Tune imprint.

It was around the time of the “Slightly Askew” release that Bowden’s drug dependency necessitated a move back to his native Birmingham. During the course of Dave Fuller’s interview with him for Music Spoken Here’s “Piece Talks series (from which much of the above biographical detail has been sourced) Bowden is refreshingly candid about this period of his life.

During the period of his rehabilitation he continued to work, establishing himself as an important figure on the Birmingham music scene and forging fruitful musical alliances with players such as trumpeter Bryan Corbett, bassist Ben Markland and tonight’s drummer Neil Bullock.

The trio of Bowden, Markland and Bullock, operating under the name The Tomorrow Band, released two albums of standards based material for the Birmingham based Rehab label. “3 To Get Ready” appeared in 2007 and “2 To Get Set” in 2008. Bowden has also worked with Markland’s own quintet.

Bowden has continued to be a busy presence on the Birmingham music scene playing across a variety of jazz styles in a wide range of groups. Although he primarily regards himself as an alto saxophonist some of his more lucrative engagements are actually on tenor. He still jams with younger musicians from the Jazz Course at Birmingham Conservatoire and values their energy, enthusiasm and technical ability.

In 2018 Bowden issued his next solo release “Unlikely Being”, a recording featuring a quintet including most of tonight’s musicians with Bowden, Bullock, bassist Chris Dodd and keyboard player Jim Watson joined by Corbett on trumpet.

Bowden’s latest project, The Hypnos Files represents a continuation and was initially a product of lockdown, a period that saw Bowden and Bullock getting together to play and compose on line. On hearing the results of these collaborations Bullock’s partner, vocalist Louise Warren suggested that she write lyrics for some of the tunes. The resultant album is very much a three way collaboration.

Bullock played with Italian born, London based guitarist Francesco Lo Castro at a Music Spoken Here event at The Marr’s Bar in 2023. Dave Fuller continued to keep in contact with him and first saw the Hypnos Files play via a clip on Bullock’s Facebook page. Having also seen Bowden perform with Corbett at the Blue Piano venue in Birmingham he determined to invite The Hypnos Files to the Marr’s Bar. Bowden was delighted to have been asked and to have been given the opportunity to present his original music to such an attentive and appreciative audience. Tonight’s show followed a similarly successful event at the Peggy’s Skylight venue in Nottingham the previous evening.

Centred around the core trio of Bowden, Bullock and Warren the Hypnos Files line up is fairly fluid and has included keyboard player David Austin Grey and bassist James Owston, two prominent players on the Birmingham jazz scene and further afield. Occasionally the group has been expanded with the addition of horn players Richard Baker (trombone) and Steve Bland (trumpet).

Tonight’s sextet included Watson and Dodd from the “Unlikely Being” line up, plus Bowden’s old friend Richmond adding, in Richmond’s own words “bleeps and bloops”, courtesy of a Novation keyboard, laptop and associated electronics.

The evening commenced with the instrumental composition “The Old Gods” with Watson adopting an electric piano sound at his Nord keyboard, underpinned by a loose limbed electric bass and drum groove. Bowden stated the main theme on alto, punctuated by Watson and Bullock, with Richmond adding further colour and exotica via his electronic set up, this incorporating the sounds of sampled voices.

Louise Warren joined the band for the song “Amazing Adventure” adding her powerful and soulful vocals to instrumental solos from Bowden on alto and Watson at the keyboard.

She remained on stage for “Human Years”, a slinky and seductive slice of ‘nu soul’ from the “Hypnos Files” album that also included solos from Watson and Bowden.

But for me the highlight of the first set, and arguably the whole evening, was the instrumental “Only Angst”, a tune from the “Slightly Askew” album. Written during a difficult time in Bowden’s life the ‘angst’ of the title found expression via powerful bass and drum rhythms and Bowden’s own fidgety, staccato sax phrasing. The saxophonist subsequently stretched out expansively, his impassioned and incisive soloing fuelled by Bullock’ s dynamic drumming and underscored by the dark, swirling organ and synth textures generated by Watson and Richmond.

Warren returned to add her vocals to the funky grooves of “Too Much”, another song from the “Hypnos Files” album. Introduced by Dodd with an extended passage of unaccompanied electric bass this piece also included the keyboard soloing of the estimable Jim Watson, a highly versatile musician who has worked with many major names, among them the French drummer / composer / bandleader Manu Katche.

This concluded an enjoyable first half that was well received by The Marr’s Bar audience.

Set two followed a similar pattern and commence with an instrumental, this being the early composition “Telescopic”, written in London when Bowden was just twenty. This was an impressively mature piece of writing, a tune divided into two distinct sections. The performance began quietly with dialogue between Bowden on alto and Watson on electric piano. The saxophonist’s theme statement and variations were followed by a passage of unaccompanied electric piano from Watson. The addition of the other musicians brought about a dramatic change of pace with Bowden unleashing another powerful alto solo, this followed by an electric bass and drum dialogue that evolved into a full on Bullock drum solo, complete with cowbell. A piece intended to reflect the different experiences of looking down the different ends of a telescope resolved itself with Bowden’s restatement of the main melodic theme.

Warren returned for “Round Again” another song from the Hypnos Files” recording, the bittersweet optimism of the lyrics augmented by instrumental solos from Watson and Bowden.

Again, for me, this set’s highlight was a tune from the “Slightly Askew” album. The curiously titled “Crockers and Killers” was a vocal item that combined Warren’s powerful vocalising with Bullock’s muscular drum grooves, Richmond’s techno style soundscapes and virtuoso instrumental soloing from Bowden and Watson, the whole thing crowned with a jaw dropping drum feature from Bullock. Brilliant stuff.

Perhaps appropriately the band signed off with “Thanks”, the closing track on the “Hypnos Files” recording. This featured Bowden’s blisteringly incisive soloing above a taut rhythmic groove. This was Bowden at his most Sanborn like, his other influences include Jackie McLean and the UK’s own Peter King. This was another two part composition that later found Bowden doubling on keys as the pace of the music got even faster, driven forward by Bullock at the kit. The mood of the music was suitably celebratory and represented a great way to round off the evening.

This was a fascinating mix of jazz, soul, electronic music and more that allowed the Music Spoken Here crowd to enjoy something a little different to the usual. The presence of a vocalist was welcomed by many and Warren was highly effective on the items in which she appeared. Bullock is a big favourite with the Worcester audience and was extremely impressive, as was Watson. Richmond provided something of a wild card element but the ultimate triumph was Bowden’s, a restlessly creative musician who admits to getting tired of playing standards and loves to perform his own music – balancing this out against the need to make a living from being a professional musician. He’s one of the great characters of Midlands music and this was a very satisfying evening for him. My thanks to him for speaking with me after the show and for verifying the details of a set list that covered many of the stages of an eclectic solo career.

He is due to return to The Marr’s Bar and Music Spoken Here in January 2026 as part of bassist Tom Hill’s Detroitwich Funk Machine, an event to look forward to even at this early date.

 

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