The band moniker Eyes of a Blue Dog derives from a short story by the great Latin American 'Magical Realist' author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Indeed on their debut release Rise, this trio evokes something of that novelette's dream-like narrative and subliminal mysteries. It's a diverting and refreshing new collaboration between the North London LOOP Collective trumpeter Rory Simmons (also on electric guitar and electronic treatments), the renowned Norwegian drummer and ambient electronics soundscaper Terje Evensen and upcoming UK-based singer-lyricist Elisabeth Nygård. Together they mine elements from underground electro-pop song, post-rock and an austere electronica of the kind that has roots in the experimental jazz and improvisation scene out of which trumpeter Simmons and the ex-Leeds based LIMA Collective vocalist Nygård (who has made very notable contributions to two albums by Simmons' contemporary third stream ensemble Fringe Magnetic) have successfully emerged. Says Simmons: "The album Rise is an exciting departure for us. Feeling free to not make a 'jazz record' but to make a cohesive album which fully embraces post production techniques and multi-instrumentalism."