Category Archives: Blog

SML announce new album, How You Been, and share lead single ‘Taking Out the Trash’

24 September 2025

Photo: Charlie Weinmann

SML, the LA-based supergroup made up of Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, and Gregory Uhlmann, has just announced their highly anticipated second album How You Been. This new album represents a significant evolution for the group, building on the groundbreaking sound they introduced with their 2024 debut Small Medium Large. Crafted from recordings of their live shows, How You Been showcases the band’s evolution into a deeper and more self-aware sonic landscape, blending improvisation with meticulously honed production. The band approached every performance in late 2024 and early 2025 as an opportunity to push their sound further, using each show as a generative moment to document their creative expansion. Despite the careful planning behind the recording process, the band maintained their commitment to improvisation, starting every performance without musical direction and allowing the music to unfold organically.

On How You Been, the quintet blends elements from genres like jazz, funk, Afrobeat, kosmiche, and even proto-techno, creating something that feels both familiar and completely new. As the band has evolved, so has their ability to perform and produce, with their fluency both as an improvising unit and a production team reaching new heights. The album is described as a “high-resolution version” of their sound, fully blossoming into its own distinctive form.

Ahead of the album’s release on November 7th through International Anthem, SML have shared the first single, ‘Taking Out the Trash’, a zesty and absolutely mind-blowing track which serves as a perfect and exciting introduction to the album. The single is offered with an animated video directed by Nespy5euro and you can watch it below.

Sarathy Korwar unveils two new singles, ‘Beauty Doesn’t Know What It Looks Like’ and ‘We Won’t Go Searching’

23 September 2025

We’ve been counting down the days since July when Sarathy Korwar announced his seventh album There Is Beauty, There Already, and today the wait gets a little sweeter with the release of two new singles, ‘Beauty Doesn’t Know What It Looks Like’ and ‘We Won’t Go Searching’. With drums at the centre, Korwar has created a 40-minute suite of percussion-led compositions that harness the full melodic and emotive potential of the rhythm. These new singles weave together Indian classical influences with raw and emotive percussion, as layers of drums, handclaps, and pentatonic bells build a hypnotic and intoxicating atmosphere. Listen to both cuts below and grab the album when it’s out on November 7th through Otherland.

To celebrate the album’s release, Korwar will be performing at The ICA on November 15th as part of the London Jazz Festival, where he’ll expand his ensemble to twelve drummers, turning the rhythms of the album into a powerful live experience.

Listen to The Dwarfs Of East Agouza’s second single ‘Titular’

18 September 2025

Photo: Hans Van Der Linden

Back in June, The Dwarfs Of East Agouza announced their upcoming album Sasquatch Landslide with the release of ‘Neptune Anteater‘, a bold and exciting first glimpse of the record’s feverish energy. Now, with the album’s October release drawing nearer, the Cairo based trio of Sam Shalabi, Maurice Louca, and Alan Bishop have let loose the entrancing and transcendental ‘Titular’, offering another superb taste of what’s to come. Speaking of the track, Shalabi reflects, “This piece reminds me of the ‘after hours’ music I heard one night in a dark bunker-like jazz nightclub in Dakar many years ago… I’ve never heard that kind of music before or since.” Listen to ‘Titular’ below and watch out for the release of Sasquatch Landslide on October 3rd through Constellation Records.

Makaya McCraven previews upcoming EPs with four new singles

17 September 2025

Photo: Shannon Marks

Last month, Makaya McCraven announced the release of four new EPs, Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out! and Popup Shop, arriving on October 31st, with a double LP/CD compilation titled Off the Record arriving earlier on October 10th through International Anthem, Nonesuch, and XL Recordings. Alongside the announcement the Chicago-based drummer, composer, producer, and all-around sonic visionary shared four lead singles, one from each one of the EP’s. The anticipation for his upcoming EPs just got a whole lot more exciting with four new singles, again each from one of the EP’s, now available to stream.

At the core of these new releases is McCraven’s ability to capture the magic of live improvisation, layering moments of raw energy with his meticulous craftsmanship in the studio. ‘Boom Bapped’ is a laid-back and groove-heavy track from Techno Logic, with McCraven, Ben LaMar Gay, and Theon Cross weaving together material from live sessions spanning nearly a decade. On ‘The Beat Up’ from The People’s Mixtape, McCraven reunites with long-time collaborators like bassist Junius Paul and trumpeter Marquis Hill for a hypnotic and polyrhythmic journey that grooves with an irresistible energy. ‘Dark Parks’, from Hidden Out!, is a raw, funky and pulsing track that captures the powerful drum-and-bass connection McCraven shares with Paul. And ‘Los Gatos’ from PopUp Shop gives us a dreamy and downtempo moment with a smooth bassline from Benjamin J. Shepherd and atmospheric textures from Jeff Parker and Justefan.

A perfect preview of what’s to come in the full EPs, each of these tracks represents a different facet of McCraven’s musical world. Take a listen to the four new singles below.




Emergence Collective tease upcoming album, Swimming in the early hours, with title track

16 September 2025

Photo: Kate Griffin

Emergence Collective are on a roll, with an impending new album, their second this year alone The Sheffield-based supergroup, comprised of some of the most masterful improvisers out of Sheffield and the North of England, have announced their new album Swimming in the early hours, following the release of Chapel back in February. Out on November 7th through Redundant Span, it marks their first studio album, as previous albums were live recordings of improvised performances. “It kind of felt like a proof of concept for taking it forward,” says one of the group’s co-project director Zebedee C. Budworth. “It’s a totally different thing to performing in front of people. Everything has to be perfect but it still all has to be live. Our approach to music is always conversational, a collaboration between everyone who’s present at that time, weaving it together.”

On Swimming in the early hours, Emergence Collective continue their genre-defying approach, blending elements of disparate genres into something entirely unique. “We operate in the liminal space between classical music, jazz and folk,” they explain. “We’re not any of those things, but we’re also all of them.” The group recorded the entire album in a single day, with no rehearsals or set plans, just a chosen key and an open space for the music to unfold in real time. This approach gives the record an organic and conversational feel, with every note shaped by their dynamic interaction. “We pick a key and that’s the only instruction that any of the musicians have,” they say. “What happens from there on is the result of everyone deciding what should happen next.”

Swimming in the early hours highlights the group’s ability to create expansive soundscapes with a minimalist touch, and with a fascinating mix of instruments, including a Swedish nyckelharpa and hammer dulcimer. A standout feature of the album is the introduction of Jemma Freese as both co-director and vocalist, with her voice adding a new layer of texture to the group’s sound. Her vocal melodies, which draw from her diverse musical background, blend beautifully with the intricate instrumental layers, “I studied jazz vocals, so a lot of the rhythmical stuff comes from scatting,” she explains. “I also did some studying on Konnakol which is Indian percussive singing and I grew up in a religion similar to Hinduism, so the way that they sing and use vowels I took influence from as well. So a lot of it is down to the fact that I grew up singing in another language.”

Ahead of the album’s release, Emergence Collective are giving us a taste of their sonic wizardry with the title track now streaming. Press play and let yourself get lost in the beauty and magnetism of it.

corto.alto drops brand new single, ‘VANDAL’, featuring Moses Yoofee

16 September 2025

Following the scorching ‘DON’T LISTEN’, released last June, corto.alto is treating us again with another banger. The Glaswegian trombone wizard and genre-defying powerhouse has just released ‘VANDAL’, a new single featuring German producer and composer Moses Yoofee. “I made VANDAL at the beginning of this year, during a period where I was pushing myself to explore the boundaries between live instruments and the sonics usually found in electronic music,” Shortall explained. “Moses and I worked together in Berlin on the vocal sample, using his sampled vocals exclusively as a melodic instrument rather than a lyrical one. I titled the track VANDAL as a reminder to myself that rules in music are meant to be torn apart.” He continues:

“Moses Yoofee is not only one of my favourite artists right now, but also one of my closest friends in the future-jazz scene. We have really connected on both sharing that same mission to blur the lines between the acoustic and the electronic, which made this collaboration feel like it was waiting to happen. We’ve crossed paths on remixes and projects before, but VANDAL marks our first official release together – and I couldn’t be more excited to share it.”

Out now through Ninja Tune, ‘VANDAL’ comes with an accompanying video filmed by Grace Richardson and you can watch it below.