In the labyrinth of sound that is Joss Turnbull's "Turmoil", listeners are invited to traverse a landscape where traditional Middle Eastern percussion instruments, such as the tombak (an ancient Persian goblet drum) and zarb, are transformed through the alchemy of live sampling and electronic effects. Turnbull's fingers dance across drumheads, while his breath and voice intertwine to create percussive elements, resulting in a symphony of knocking taps and ethereal tones. It’s as if an entire ecosystem of restless hands, mechanical spirits, and murmuring ghosts have gathered inside the drum, conspiring to unsettle the listener.

The album's genesis spans six years, with Turnbull capturing improvisational energy distilled into singular musical themes for each track. Notably, most compositions are presented without cuts or overdubs, with all electronics, loops, and samples performed live. This approach ensures an authenticity and immediacy that permeates the listening experience.

"Turmoil" delves into themes of existential urgency and radical openness, reflecting feelings of pressure, uncertainty, and the quest for new beginnings. It mirrors a crisis of truth, evoking sensations of disorientation, fear, and fragility - a constant tension between the external world and the self.

In "are you there", the opening track, listeners are enveloped in a vast, disorienting sonic realm where warping, fuzzy drums coexist with breathing and bells. "The things I can't talk about" embodies a quiet struggle through snapping recoils of tombak snippets and layers of lulling vocal fragments. The track "I like to disintegrate" offers a journey into dissolution, with its expansive runtime allowing for an immersive experience over its nine minutes and fifty seconds of fractured, cascading turbulence that doesn’t so much progress as it convulses. Another highlight, "All I ever heard" is a mesmerizing exercise in tension - polyrhythmic echoes knocking against each other, the sound of a man hammering at the walls of an invisible prison, refusing to be contained.

Turnbull's innovative fusion of traditional percussion with electronic manipulation challenges conventions and offers an unpredictable, deeply engaging soundscape. His exploration of using his voice and breathing as a percussive tool adds a personal dimension, inspired by his father, also a percussionist, who would sing and mumble while drumming. There is no predictable resolution. Even the closing track, "let’s dance somewhere else", doesn’t offer relief so much as a sideways escape. There’s no triumphant climax, just the suggestion that maybe, somewhere else, on another night, movement might feel free again.

Somewhere between jazz, electronic music, avant-garde improvisation, and sheer physicality, "Turmoil" is an immersive experience that invites listeners to confront the complexities of existence through a unique auditory journey. It's a testament to Turnbull's artistry, pushing the boundaries of percussion and electronic music to create something profoundly human and universally resonant.