Bohren & der Club of Gore - Patchouli Blue

Formed in Mülheim an der Ruhr in 1992, Bohren & der Club of Gore emerged from the German hardcore and metal scene only to abandon it almost entirely - slowing their music to a crawl and inventing a genre all their own. Blending the hushed melancholy of jazz with the weight and menace of doom, the band pioneered what became known as ‘doom jazz’ or ‘noir jazz’ - glacial, instrumental soundscapes built from mournful saxophone, spectral Rhodes, brooding piano, deep double bass and the softest brush of drums. Over three decades and a devoted international following, they have made after-hours darkness their signature.

With ‘Patchouli Blue’ (2020), the band drift further into the small hours than ever before. Their eighth album is their subtlest and most weightless yet. Where earlier records embraced menace, here the darkness turns almost gentle - ambient, dreamlike and impossibly delicate, each note dissolving into the surrounding silence.

Nearly three decades into their singular career, Bohren sound utterly at peace with their own latenight language, refining rather than reinventing - and doing it more beautifully than almost anyone