Drummer and composer Oliver Steidle is behind the future jazz band Killing Popes, together with keyboardist Dan Nicholls and guitarist Keisuke Matsuno. The band serves as a testing ground for developing new rhythmic ideas and the possibility of a deep interweaving of musical styles. Rhythmically complex, with catchy melodies and a very defined space for improvisation, Killing Popes come up with futurist sounds, delve into free jazz outbursts, do not shy away from subversive political statements and do all of this in a mode distinctly different to the norm. Wild and reckless ideas bounce off moments of introspection. The band’s interplay is impressive and deeply exciting, with an overwhelming flow of twists and turns, making for an overpowering and overpoweringly gratifying musical experience. They have released two acclaimed albums on the Shhpuma label.