Hill Collective strike out with Fire In Orbit, their first release for Batov Records and the Brighton ensemble’s most focused and expansive studio statement to date. Rooted in spiritual jazz but unafraid of the natural looseness, humour and raw edges that arise when imaginative musicians collaborate, Fire In Orbit captures a band working collectively, instinctively and with space to breathe.
Over the past three years, Hill Collective have become a central presence within Brighton’s small but fertile jazz-adjacent scene. They have appeared at Love Supreme Festival and The Great Escape, supported Etuk Ubong, and built a reputation for live performances that balance structure with volatility. Their 2024 studio album Tonal Prophecy, released via Germany’s Fin Du Monde, introduced them to the wider jazz press, earning praise as “a soulful, avant-garde addition to the bustling UK jazz landscape” (UK Vibe), while Jazz Journal noted that “the spirit of Ra is close” and All About Jazz heard “resonances of Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman”. If that record marked their arrival, Fire In Orbit feels like consolidation rather than expansion, leaner in sound, clearer in intent and more assured in delivery.
Led by alto saxophonist and composer Pete Piskov, Hill Collective emerged after his previous trio dissolved, featuring founding members of the Ancient Infinity Orchestra, moved to Leeds. Drawing on Brighton’s close-knit network, the group expanded into a flexible, often double-digit ensemble, at times doubling up on instrumentation, its spiritually inclined ethos linking the South Coast to a broader UK conversation.
Fire In Orbit was recorded over three relaxed days at Sea Breeze Studios by members of the band themselves. With time, equipment and no financial pressure, the sessions felt unforced, tighter in structure but looser in spirit. The compositions move through chorus–solo–chorus forms, call-and-response passages and collective improvisation breaks, yet the emphasis remains on flow and interaction rather than density or display. It is spiritual jazz that breathes.
The title track sets the thematic arc. “Fire In Orbit” begins gently, piano circling before an infectious double bass line establishes an immediate groove, lifted by a snapping drum break. A mixed-voice vocal chorus enters in clear spiritual jazz fashion, earthy and communal rather than theatrical. The piece moves through chorus–solo–chorus into group improvisation and a conga-driven break before returning to its central theme. Alto and flute solos rise without disturbing the pulse, reinforcing the album’s central metaphor of orbit and return. It feels expansive yet grounded, celebratory rather than cosmic for effect.
“Keep Breathing” turns inward. More laidback but deeply intense, it opens with sax and flute in loose dialogue before settling into a devotional pulse. Midway through, vocals reappear, first in scat, then in a direct appeal to keep breathing, transforming the piece into mantra. The push and pull between looseness and steady groove is at its clearest here, the rhythm section holding firm while the horns stretch outward. The influence of spiritual forebears is felt in spirit rather than imitation.
“A House Is A Home Like Honey” unfolds slowly and unhurried, built around a relaxed head that feels almost like sunrise. Space defines the arrangement, allowing melody and texture to settle naturally. Around the seven-minute mark the horns rise together, briefly intensifying before easing back into reflection. It carries the warmth of the sessions themselves, intimate and unforced.
Closing track “Song For A Blossom Baby” returns to a clearer chorus–solo–chorus structure, but with renewed lift. The phrasing has an angular edge tempered by restraint, and subtle modal colours give the second half of the record a slightly more eastern hue than the groove-led opening side. The improvisation expands outward before folding gently back into theme, echoing the album’s larger metaphor of seed, bloom and return. It closes with release rather than finality.
The influence of Sun Ra runs deeper than aesthetic reference, philosophical as much as musical. There are also traces of Ornette Coleman’s freedom, the structural fire of Charles Mingus, the angular lyricism of Eric Dolphy and the collective consciousness of Art Ensemble of Chicago. Elements of Latin rhythm, Arabic modality and open-ended improvisation surface naturally, absorbed rather than quoted.
Brighton’s receptive atmosphere and sense of creative space are audible throughout. Many of the musicians were friends before the band formed; others became family through it. That ease translates into music that feels communal rather than performative.
At its core, Fire In Orbit is an allegory for creative community, bodies in motion, held by invisible forces, generating warmth and illumination together. Structured yet searching, raw but intentional, it captures Hill Collective at a point where freedom and form feel fully aligned.
Tracklist:
1. Fire In Orbit
2. Keep Breathing
3. A House Is A Home Like Honey
4. Song For A Blossom Baby
