GoGo Penguin

The Manchester trio GoGo Penguin has, since the late 2000s, developed a piano-jazz approach heavily influenced by electronic music and minimalism. Formed around pianist Chris Illingworth, with Nick Blacka on double bass and Jon Scott on drums after several lineup changes, GoGo Penguin first made its mark on Manchester label Gondwana Records with the albums Fanfares (2012) and v2.0 (2014); the latter was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. Signing with Blue Note marked a new phase with Man Made Object (2016), followed by A Humdrum Star (2018) and the self-titled GoGo Penguin (2020), alongside shorter formats such as Ocean in a Drop: Music for Film (2019) and Between Two Waves (2022). In 2023 they released Everything Is Going to Be OK, which extends a language where repetitive motifs, melodic bass lines and fragmented rhythms evoke contemporary jazz as well as trip hop, breakbeat, film music and certain club-derived aesthetics. On stage, GoGo Penguin adapts this work of textures and dynamics to an acoustic format, performing at jazz festivals, contemporary music venues and on international circuits.