Gig Review: Clear Path Ensemble @ Botanical Gardens, Lōemis Festival, Wellington – 12/06/2025

When Cory Champion talked to me last month, he described the inspirations for his new album Black Sand – a trip to Japan, various art works, Jazz Kissa. He never mentioned anything about triffids and tropical jungles.

Yet here we were, on one of the coldest nights of the year, in a week that’s been anything but tropical, wrapped in Puffer Jackets, wool coats and scarves, to enjoy this unique experience. This is hardly a sweaty basement dive or an obscure backstreet club with a high-end sound system and a whisper only policy.

Champion did warn me that the tracks he’d painstakingly crafted for close listening would definitely behave differently as they bounced off the cold glass of the Begonia House ceiling or was dampened by the lushness of the anthuriums, canna lilies, philodendrons, bougainvillea, orchids, plumeria, and calatheas.

Given the recent media coverage of the decaying 65-year-old building I was a little bit concerned about leaks. But fortunately, the week’s endless rain chose to ease for a while up tonight. And the heavy rain clouds spread out to a smudge of damp moor fog, almost masking the full, new werewolf moon struggling to shine through.

Approaching through the ground fog, past the ghosts of slumbering blooms of the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, the huge glass house was bathed in a welcome warm glow, as we all hurried inside in search of hot chocolate and wine.

On his phone organizer, Andrew Laking showed me Cory Champion’s sketched plan for tonight’s set up – a simple circle of chairs around the band, who all faced inwards. Appropriately, for the deep winter theme of the Lōemis Festival, they were lit by a footnote of faerie lights and a halo of wall mounted 1-bar heaters, providing a cozy ambient glow.

Tonight Clear Path Ensemble was led Champion (on drums, but sadly no vibraphone) with Johnny Lawrence (bass), Daniel Hayles (keys), Louisa Williamson (flute) and Daniel Ryland (guitar).

Predictably, given this was a ‘soft’ album launch, they played tracks from the new album Black Sand, starting with the slow and softness of From Winds, about travel and appreciating where you come from. That was followed by the uplifting Temple Block Sustain, modelled on temple block rhythms and chanting by Monks which Champion had experienced in a recent trip to Japan.

There was the more quirky composition Brain Tickle and then the provocative, swelling title track, Black Sand.

Perhaps the most magical was Cascade d’Ars, about a trip to a waterfall in the Pyrenees, with the water trickling effects in the music, made even more poignant by our location amongst the foliage. I also appreciated a new piece, called LL recorded, we learned in the very same workshop that Champion had made the cymbals he was playing tonight. It began in a sultry mood, led by Williamson and the Rhodes. Halfway through an alien lands in a shower of digital magic dust and the double beats kick in, leading to a brilliant driving solo from Champion.

Then, another new piece, fittingly called Good Time for Good Things, as it’s got an upbeat vibe of positivity about it. This time there’s a wave of quirky digi-beats and groovy 60’s style Brazilian vibra-phonics.

To flesh out the set, we also got the ever-popular Jerry’s Funk (written about Champion’s cat) and yet more grooves with Dramatix.

The night finishes on a high with a rolling tropical drum solo to start the closer Calypso, a warm and bubbly finale.

Nearly all of these tracks felt and sounded so different to those on the record. Led by the drum kit instead of a vibraphone, with Champion noting that it was refreshing to give them air amongst humans, escaping the confines of the studio.

Outstanding was Louisa Williamson, who mesmerized us with her flute and sax.

Champion also blew me away with his skills on the skins, moving from complex rhythms to chugging cadences and innovative techniques like using the rim and the sides of his kit, squeezing out even more varieties of sound.

The overwhelming experience is cathartic, relaxing, transporting and positive. The concrete floor could work as a harsh reflective but instead seemed to amplify the music up into the glass rafters. Over all, an enchanting experience. This was the first of two gigs in this space. I hope show number two is as good as the first. What a great start to my Lōemis festival.

Photo Credit: Tim Gruar for Muzic.NZ
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