We love Nightports, the inventive duo of British musicians and producers Adam Martin and Mark Slater, who have been dazzling us over the years with collaborative projects with other musicians exploring and reworking their music with the single remit of only using sounds produced by the featured musician. Starting in 2018 with Nightports w/ Matthew Bourne, they have also released albums with drummer and percussionist Betamax in 2020 and with double bassist Tom Herbert in 2022.

Dulcitone 1804 is their  latest sonic adventure, which saw them team up again with pianist and composer Matthew Bourne, and it will see the light of day on May 24th through The Leaf Label. As the name suggests, the upcoming album is centred around recordings of Bourne playing a Dulcitone, a 19th century rare keyboard instrument, and in this specific case the instrument is number 1804. The idea arose after Martin and Slater saw the small instrument at Bourne’s studio while working on another project. “As Matthew does with all instruments he plays, the first sounds he made with the Dulcitone were immediately beautiful,” Martin explained. “Somewhere between a celeste and a piano, it has a clear, bell-like quality that’s evocative of a strange other world. Something old and distant.”

 ‘Machell’ is the first heavenly gorgeous single to be let loose and you can listen to it below.