Ishmael Ensemble - “Rise” ft. Pete Josef
A Club Beat, a Shifting Soundscape, and No Idea Where It’s Going Next
Ishmael Ensemble's “Rise” starts with a guitar riff that feels like it belongs somewhere between a late-night jazz session and a hazy film soundtrack. Piano notes drift in, a modern beat kicks in and then Pete Josef’s voice enters. There’s a fragility to his delivery, but he knows exactly when to push a line and when to pull back. His phrasing gives the track a character of its own, while the beat underneath has a definite club feel. A shaker runs through the arrangement almost from the beginning, keeping everything moving even when the other elements seem to be heading in different directions.
The further “Rise” goes, the less predictable it becomes. After the first verse, spoken passages bring a sharper, more rhythmic edge. Then the chorus opens up, with so much happening at once that the sound almost threatens to spill over itself. It comes close to cacophony, but never quite loses its balance. The layers build, retreat and return in unexpected combinations. In the second verse, another voice floats in the background, sounding at first like it might interrupt the flow. Instead, it adds another layer to the song’s restless atmosphere. The second chorus takes a different turn, dropping the drums and leaving the vocals to stretch out over the soundscape. The shaker returns, the piano picks up the rhythm and the tension starts building again. Just when you think the track might stay in this open, suspended space, the club beat comes back. It’s a wild ride and the best part is that you can’t really predict what comes next.
“Rise” also marks a change in direction for Ishmael Ensemble. The Bristol group, led by Pete Cunningham, have spent the past decade moving between electronic music, jazz, psychedelia, minimalism and dancefloor rhythms. Their 2024 album "Rituals" captured the expansive side of that sound, taking them to stages including Glastonbury’s West Holts. On “Rise”, the arrangements feel softer and more intimate, with woodwinds, flutes, and harp textures joining the broken beats and dubby basslines. The track still has a pulse that makes you want to move, but there’s more room for the quieter details to come through.
The collaboration feels particularly fitting. Pete Josef, a fellow Bristolian, brings a vocal style that sits somewhere between soulful and slightly otherworldly. Cunningham has spoken about being amazed by Josef’s vocal range and it’s easy to hear why. Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon-Jones adds keys that subtly change the track’s direction without taking over. There’s a real sense of musicians responding to one another rather than simply filling their assigned parts. Even the connection between Cunningham and Josef runs deeper than the music: both have ties to the same terrace of former mining cottages in Radstock, where Cunningham spent part of his teenage years.
Ishmael Ensemble began with Cunningham sampling friends in his bedroom studio. Ten years later, the project remains independent and has grown into a touring group with a reputation for pushing beyond the usual boundaries of electronic jazz. “Rise” feels like another step forward rather than an attempt to repeat what worked before. It has the groove, but it’s just as interested in the moments when that groove disappears and leaves you wondering where the song will go next.
There’s something satisfying about a track that refuses to settle into a pattern. “Rise” can feel dreamy one moment and almost chaotic the next, then pull everything back before the tension becomes too much. It’s not background music and it doesn’t need to be easy to follow on the first listen. Give it your attention and the details start to reveal themselves. Ten years into the project, Ishmael Ensemble are still finding new ways to keep things moving.
🎧 Stream “Rise ft. Pete Josef” by Ishmael Ensemble on Apple Music
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