Galliano

“It’s hard to tell if it was an idea, or did it just happen…? There’s always a spark, but there must have been some inkling? or coincidence? …or some such that had made the two ends of a piece of string ready to tie again.” With these reflective words, Rob Gallagher announced the return of Galliano with a gig at Bristol’s Thekla in June 2023.

Often miscast as torchbearers of the Acid Jazz scene of the early ‘90s, Galliano were in fact always far more multifaceted and complex. Both of their time and ahead of it, they created a prescient collage of poetry, astral jazz, cosmic funk, conscious soul, dub reggae and dance floor rhythms. “They were the first group to really make the connection between club and jazz culture - the opening line to a space that would later include groups from The Comet is Coming to Ezra Collective,” says longtime supporter Gilles Peterson.

Three decades on, Galliano are back with a new LP Halfway Somewhere released on Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings label. While age brings its inevitable distractions and distance from the cutting edge of youth, Gallagher’s genius in gathering fragments of club culture, documenting his urban environment, and addressing broader global concerns is as sharp as ever.