Bassist, composer and producer Michael Janisch will be heading to Dempsey’s in Cardiff on September 15.

Janisch will be performing tracks from his ambitious new double-disc project Paradigm Shift.

Janisch continues to garner enthusiastic press for his mastery of both double and electric bass, having released his solo album, Purpose Built in 2010 and co-led three further recordings to date – The TransAtlantic Collective’s Traveling Song with Patrick Cornelius; the live quintet album Banned in London with pianist Aruán Ortiz; and First Meeting with the iconic Lee Konitz.

Increasingly growing in stature as a creative artist, with this expansive new album he strengthens his already budding reputation as one of the preeminent bassist/bandleaders of his generation working in contemporary, improvised music.

On Paradigm Shift Janisch has taken as its basis a live quintet recording across two nights at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho (London), crafting and honing it into an absorbing 90-minute blend of live and post-processed electro-acoustic music.

It’s a particularly creative compositional vision which strongly reflects the bassist’s personality, hewn from years of improvisational development and based on his own life-changing experiences, in particular the recent birth of his two daughters and sudden death of his older brother Joseph.

The soundscapes he creates, moreover, evolve directly from his responses to issues such as globalization, corporate wealth/rule, racism and religious fanaticism, while uncompromisingly melding electronica, free improve, rock, punk and funk yet retaining experimental and improvisational integrity throughout.

Predominantly a quintet album with engaging solo and duo interludes and segues, Michael Janisch could hardly have selected a more cohesive and eclectic personnel to realise his artistic intentions: versatile British saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist (including didgeridoo) Paul Booth; leading US trumpeter Jason Palmer (from Janisch’s 2010 solo debut, Purpose Built); free-spirited Argentinian piano/keyboard whizz Leonardo Genovese; and the sensitive precision of US drummer Colin Stranahan. Plus, the impulsive electronics of the London-based Alex Bonney feature on interludial tracks (with him joining the band on tour to contribute these particularly effective manipulations).

Janisch has become one of the foremost, genuine, upright/electric bassist bandleaders of the current scene, and it’s testament to the invention of this strong sextet that the essence of this impressive double album was captured over just two straight nights of live performance.

The powerful, combined interaction of these musically strong personalities paired with the creative post-production electronics surely provides the catalytic spark for infinite live and recorded freedom to follow – both musically and intellectually, the Paradigm Shift starts right here.