Fiend (Live) Enemy

• 1 Monks (Live) 05:26
• 2 Fiend Bypass (Live) 05:35
• 3 Faster than Light (Live) 06:03
• 4 Countdown (Live) 03:41
• 5 Liability (Live) 05:27
• 6 Sun flex (Live) 02:57
• 7 Neglecting Number One (Live) 02:44
• Total Runtime 31:53

Info for Fiend (Live)

Reuniting with Edition Records after three albums that spanned Edition, ECM, and We Jazz, this album was recorded over a two-day residency at Bird’s Eye in Basel. It’s an ambitious retrospective and forward-looking statement, covering pieces from each record while presenting new material that reflects how Enemy’s sound has evolved—balancing intensity with a striking, refined subtlety.

Known for their masterful use of polyrhythms, Enemy’s live performance pushes their collective improvisation to new heights, with the trio freely transitioning between themes and compositions without a set list. Signature tracks like “Faster than Light” showcase an evolving interplay, where intensity meets lightness and bursts of colour emerge from unexpected places. This album also nods to the spirit of 90s studio jazz, with layered tunes and a playful yet sophisticated approach that challenges the boundaries of the piano trio.

Kit Downes’ remarkable profile growth has only enriched the trio’s dynamic, bringing an ever-expanding lyricism to Enemy’s sound. Petter Eldh and James Maddren, both with deep ties to Edition through Eldh’s Project Drums and Maddren’s many Edition collaborations, add their own layers of innovation and depth to this release. Together, they create an electrifying conversation that is both intricate and instinctive—this is Enemy at their most potent, capturing a decade of artistic synergy and setting the stage for the next chapter.

Kit Downes, piano
Petter Eldh, double bass
James Maddren, drums

Frans Petter Eldh
was obsessed with Jazz, Classical, Soul, Reggae, Swedish folk music, Middle-Eastern and Hip Hop at an early age and collected vinyl since the age of 7. He initially played guitar before switching to what became his primary instrument, the double bass. Early influences, Charles Mingus, Anders Jormin, Charlie Haden, Charlie Parker, A Tribe Called Quest, Monica Zetterlund, Samla Mammas Manna, Aretha Franklin and Earth Wind and Fire have guided his diverse output as a musician.

Long-standing collaborations include the following erratic and progressive forces: Amok Amor, Django Bates Beloved, Jameszoo Quartet, Enemy (Kit Downes/James Maddren), Lucia Cadotsch Speak Low, Hayden Chisholm, Gard Nilssen’s Acoustic Unity, Peter Bruun, Christian Lillinger, Benoit Delbecq and Kaja Draksler. As a producer he has remixed work by Jameszoo – Flake (Brainfeeder), Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra – Vula (Afterhours), Speak Low (Enja) and releases his own music on Galatea Records.

Selected releases in 2017 include Django Bates Beloved – The Study of Touch (ECM), Amok Amor – We Know Not What We Do (Intakt), Susanne Sundfør – Music For People In Trouble (Bella Union), Richard Spaven – The Self, Lucia Cadotsch Speak Low – Renditions (Enja), Gard Nilssen’s Acoustic Unity – Live in Europe (Clean Feed)

Kit Downes
Diving into the space between the organised and the disorganised, Kit Downes is a London based composer, pianist and organist.

Kit Downes has been described as “everyone’s favourite young pianist… unpretentiously brilliant and full of subtle touches” By Dave Gelly (The Observer). Kit was nominated for Mercury Prize for his debut album Golden, a nomination that announced to a wider audience, what the jazz world already knew, that Downes is one of the most brilliant musicians of his generation. A gifted composer and sparkling improviser, who whether playing with the bands Neon, Troyka and Golden Age Of Steam or leading his own lauded trio, brings an under-stated verve and earthy brilliance to the music.

James Maddren
is a London, UK-based drummer and composer who hails from Horsham, Sussex, where at age 11 started school at Christ’s Hospital performing in many contrasting bands and orchestras. In 2004 while still at school he traveled to London to study with one of Europe’s top multi-instrumentalists, Jim Hart, who Maddren cites as a significant early influence and inspiration. Having left CH in summer 2005, he went on to study jazz percussion at the Royal Academy of Music with Martin France as his drum tutor. Graduating in 2009 with a 1st class degree James was also given ‘The Principal’s Award For Outstanding Studentship’.

Currently one of London’s first-call young drummers, he enjoys listening to and performing all kinds of music and has shared the stage with many artists and ensembles, including the Gwilym Simcock and Kit Downes Trio, Marc Copland/Stan Sulzman Quartet, The Mark McKnight Organ Quartet featuring Seamus Blake, Ivo Neame Group, Phil Donkin, Alex Garnett’s Bunch of Five, Michael Janisch, Will Vinson, Martin Speake Quartet, Phronesis, Jonathan Bratoeff Quartet, among others.

This album contains no booklet.