Nicolas Masson's association with his quartet colleagues Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret and Lionel Friedli goes back some two decades - during this time the four have developed an intimate musical understanding for each other, which is expressed in detail on Renaissance, the group's second recording for ECM after Travelers (2018). The album consists of original compositions by the Swiss saxophonist, as well as a collective improvisation. The perspective alternates between contrasting moods and forms, with the bandleader pursuing each experimental compositional stimulus in atmospheric interplay with his colleagues. In rubato pieces such as the expressive "Tremolo" or pieces that focus on texture, such as "Tumbleweeds", the band shows exploratory curiosity, in tracks such as "Renaissance" also mathematical finesse, but at the same time always finds its way back to the lyrical thread. This is particularly evident on "Anemona". The album was recorded at La Buissonne studios in the south of France.