Fringe In The Round: The Exu

James Mainwaring / saxophone

Dave Kane / double bass

Emil Karlsen / drums

Named after a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting and inspired by the artists multi-faceted stylistic approach - known for its raw, expressive, and dynamic qualities, blending street art with neo-expressionism to create bold, thought-provoking work. Leeds-based The Exu make layered, intense, creative & beautiful, thought provoking, genre fluid improvised music.

The trio brazenly draw their musical influences from the worlds of free jazz, grunge, death metal, hip hop, bebop, & experimental music. Kane says ‘we are the sum of our record collections, the films we have seen, the books we have read. It all goes into the mix to make our music.’

Kane & Mainwaring share the compositional duties while young Norwegian drummer Emil Karlsen brings versatile, intricate textures and groove. Mainwaring (of Mercury Prize-nominated Roller Trio) blends fiery and sensitive saxophone approaches with playful edge, while double bassist…