Martyn Heyne announces new album, Eight Reflections in Darkness; shares first single ‘Ludwig’s Wonder’

07 February 2023

Ingenious German multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Martyn Heyne has announced the much anticipated follow-up to 2020’s Open Lines. Entitled Eight Reflections in Darkness, his new record of solo electric guitar compositions will see the light of day on April 14th through Tonal Institute / AWAL Sony.
With simplicity and honesty at the heart of his new compositions, Heyne chose to record the album in his studio with merely his guitar and a couple of amps, “leaving in the breaths, foot taps, and finger-picked sounds that come with a live performance”, as the press release describes. “In this form, Heyne taps into the music’s intimacy, encouraging us to look inward as we listen”. Inspired by a series of videos of Picasso drawing on a glass pane, namely one of a bull drawing that was just an outline, Heyne “set out to make music that felt like a line drawing, sketching out the contours of the sound, but not coloring in every piece”.

The delicate and beautiful ‘Ludwig’s Wonder’ is the first single to emerge from the upcoming album.  Conveying a depth of emotion, the track brings a sense of radiant peacefulness. Take a listen now.

Alice share new single from forthcoming record, L’oiseau magnifique

07 February 2023

Swiss female trio Alice, made up of mother and daughter Yvonne and Lisa Harder and Sarah André, have a new album on the way. Entitled L’oiseau magnifique (The magnificent bird), the album blends art-pop, folk song vocals and synth experiments. Speaking about the essence of the record, Yvonne says:

“Our music seeks to heal, even if it’s often tongue in cheek or outright funny. We sing our most direct and plain emotions, since we want to connect with our audience’s feelings through our songs. At our concerts we always have people who laugh and people who cry. We often laugh or cry ourselves while singing. It’s not a stance – it’s the real real thing.”

L’oiseau magnifique arrives on March 3rd through Bongo Joe Records and Alice have just shared a new single called ‘La fête nulle’, a funny song about a disappointing party, which emerged as a live video in 2021 and you watch below.

schroothoop drop second single, ‘Cheval Orange’, off upcoming album MACADAM

04 February 2023

The next release on Sdban Ultra comes from the hands of schroothoop, whose name means ‘junk yard’ in Dutch. The Brussels based junk jazz trio of multi-instrumentalists Rik Staelens, Margo Maex and Timo Vantyghem, who make their own instruments out of trash, have announced the release of a new album titled MACADAM. The upcoming album “is a collection of semi-improvised songs that explores the vast sounds of discarded objects found on the streets of Brussels”, says the press release. “The band turns wooden crates into guitars and lyres, and scrap metal into thumb pianos, cimbaloms, and percussion bells, creating a unique and compelling sound.”

Following the first single, ‘Tanz der Quallen’, schroothoop are now teasing MACADAM with new single ‘Cheval Orange’. “We are thrilled to share this new single with our fans and give them a taste of what’s to come on the album,”  said Maex. “We’ve been working hard on this project for a while now and can’t wait for people to hear it.”

Listen to ‘Cheval Orange’ below and check out the video for previous single ‘Tanz der Quallen’ straight after.



MACADAM  is out on April 7th through Sdban Ultra

João Selva’s new album, Passarinho, out today

03 February 2023

If you are looking for a brilliant and exotic new album to get the weekend started on a great vibe, look no further than João Selva’s new full-length Passarinho, which translates from Portuguese as ‘little bird’. The Lyon based Brazilian producer, singer and songwriter takes cues from references such as his “Brazilian heroes like Marcos Valle, João Donato and Arthur Verocai as well as famed ‘70’s US soul-jazz icons like Shuggie Otis, Bill Withers and Johnny Guitar Watson.”

Coinciding with the album release today through Underdog Records, Selva has shared a video for the groovy and sparkling ‘Cantar Cantar’, directed by Peter the Moon. Watch it below.

Holuzam to release Nuno Rebelo’s new record, Improvisa​ç​õ​es Cristalizadas

02 February 2023

Portuguese polymath Nuno Rebelo is as prolific as he is revered. Exploring and innovating since the 80’s, the guitar player, sound explorer, improviser and composer has worked and collaborated in a multitude of projects across a range of fields and forms, including contemporary dance, theatre, cinema, installations and exhibitions.

This May Holuzam is set to release Improvisa​ç​õ​es Cristalizadas, a double hidden album recorded in 1989-90 which features 21 tracks that “convey a sense of investigative curiosity regarding computer composition”, as the press release describes.  In a statement about the upcoming album, the label writes:

“Short electronic pieces composed in 1989-90 using the Atari 1040ST computer with Steinberg Pro24 Software, Two Yamaha Sound Modules (TX81ZX and TG55) and Ensoniq Mirage Sampler with keyboard. The composition method for each piece evolved from a short improvisation on the Mirage keyboard, recorded in MIDI to the computer. Counterpoint permutations (inversion, reversion, inverted reversion, transpositions) were then applied through the software, distributing the variations of the initial improvisation by other timbres. No other musical material was used.”

We’ll have to wait until May 5th for Improvisa​ç​õ​es Cristalizadas to be out but we can already hear a few transcending cuts on bandcamp. Here’s ‘Dan​ç​a Das Creaturas Elásticas’ and ‘Tiny Space Ship’.

numün’s sophomore album, Book of Beyond, out now

02 February 2023

Book of Beyond is the new album from psychedelic instrumental trio numün, following their 2020 debut Voyage Au Soleil. On the album, the trio of SUSS’s Bob Holmes and Gamelan Dharma Swara’s Joel Mellin and Christopher Romero explore personal and spiritual themes including new fatherhood, sleep deprivation, loss and rebirth. As with their previous record, Book of Beyond fuses Eastern and Western musical stylings and instrumentation.

Book of Beyond is out now through Shimmy-Disc on a run of 666 cerulean blue LPs. For a celestial taste of what’s on offer, listen to ‘Steps’. Joel Mellin shared his thoughts about the track:

“You can’t will it to happen. But just past where you’ve been, Vespers is that time of day when words like possible and hopeful are feelings on your fingers, your arms, or through your hair just for a second. Like a book of hours is a guidebook for the day, the Book of Beyond is a memoir we hope captures those feelings stretching just past where you are. I don’t know – maybe you can will it to happen.”

‘Steps’ is offered with an accompanying video made by the trio’s own Joel Mellin. Watch it below.