Drawing from free jazz, hard bop, funk, dub and post-rock, without resulting in some featureless muddle or lifeless ‘fusion’, the group’s aesthethic simultaneously recalls different aspects of early 70s musical experimentation: The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Bitches Brew/On the Corner-era Miles Davis, and vintage King Tubby. Isotope 217 don’t merely assemble these diverse elements in one place, but rather explore the common ground that already underlies them: a shared emphasis on texture, timbre, space, and groove” - The Wire “On Isotope 217’s impressive debut Mazurek works wonders alongside Sara P. Smith’s elastic, earthy trombone, adding particularly Cherry-like phrase fragments on “Beneath the Undertow” and laying slow tones over busy rhythms. Tortoise percussionists Dan Bitney and John Herndon weave together acoustic and synthetic rhythms while bassist Matt Lux holds steady. Parker is rarely in the spotlight, but his presence is huge-he lurks in the background, subtly coloring the proceedings, sneaking in a deadly wah-wah groove on “Phonometrics”, the hardest-funkin’ cut” - Chicago Reader “Dense, hypnotic grooves clash with improvisation to create something methodical, yet thoroughly organic” - CM
