The Bad Plus share third single from forthcoming eponymous album

10 September 2022

Photo: Cory Dewald

More than 20 years into their career, The Bad Plus have been at the forefront of contemporary jazz music and their music remains as relevant and vital as ever. The trio-turned-quartet, with founding members Dave King and Reid Anderson now joined by guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Chris Speed, are releasing their eponymous album on September 30th through Edition Records. Speaking about their new iteration as a quartet, King says:

“We feel like we’ve pulled off a magic trick, changing the lineup from a trio to a quartet with guitar and saxophone that still sounds coherent as The Bad Plus. Having two main composers was our greatest card to play. Our language remains, and that’s the magic.”

Anderson also comments:

“If after more than 20 years you can put out a record that has the energy of a debut album, to me, that’s saying something. It’s what reinventing yourself is all about.”

‘Not Even Close to Far Off’ is the third phenomenal single to be lifted from the upcoming The Bad Plus and you can hear it below.

Tom Skinner announces new album, Voices of Bishara, and shares lead single

07 September 2022

Photo: André Baumecker

An ingenious drummer-in-demand, producer and composer, Tom Skinner is one of the today’s most cutting-edge and visionary artists. Skinner had us entirely under his spell since the release of his self-titled album as Hello Skinny in 2012, which was one of our Picks of the Year. Incredibly prolific, he’s constantly flexing his creative muscles in exciting projects, including Sons Of Kemet, Melt Yourself Down, Matthew Herbert, Mulatu Astatke, The Owiny Sigoma Band, The Grip, and more recently The Smile. So we’re beyond excited to learn about the release of Voices of Bishara, the first album under his own name. The record takes its name from the late cellist Abdul Wadud’s 1978 solo album By Myself, which was  pressed on his own label, Bisharra, a common Arabic name that translates as ‘good news’, or ‘the bringer of good news’.

Speaking about the album, Skinner comments:

“This record is an attempt to put something truthful into the world, through collaboration and community, at a time of rising dishonesty and disinformation – ‘Bishara’ is the bringer of good news, and by bringing the musicians on this album who are very dear to me together, we pay homage to that idea by collectively spreading light where there is increasing darkness.”

Voices of Bishara will see the light of day on November 4th through Brownswood / International Anthem / Nonesuch and ahead of it we can already hear the mesmerizing and gripping lead single ‘Bishara‘.

Watch KOS’s animated video for lead single, ‘Le Bus’, off upcoming EP 3

06 September 2022

This Friday will see the release of 3, the new EP from French rock trio KOS. Self-described as the “seductive meeting of a jazz drummer, a metal bassist and an inventive guitarist”, KOS weave together their disparate musical backgrounds and experiences to craft a sound that is raw and intense yet melodic and tender, with groove sensibilities throughout. The upcoming EP encompasses a broad spectrum of influences and elements of post-rock, jazz, metal, prog and electronica.

Alongside the announcement, KOS have released the lead single ‘Le Bus’. The track is offered with a stunning and stellar video accompaniment directed, animated and edited by Pevin Kinel. Speaking about the video, the band comments:

“We love the graphics and the precise animation that fits well with the rhythm of the song. But also the crazy scenario and the final message that emerges. In short, we think it’s a video that suits us and that defends our new upcoming EP”

Watch the video below and wach out for the EP release on September 9th.

Christina Vantzou set to release new album, No.5, in November

04 September 2022

Photo: Julie Calbert

Brussels based composer and visual artist Christina Vantzou has announced the release of a new album entitled No.5. The follow-up to 2018’s No.4 marks the fifth instalment in her staggering series of numbered albums, exploring and melding classical, ambient, and minimalism. Vantzou envisioned the album when she performed at the Syros International Film Festival in the Aegean Sea and after relocating to the Cycladic island of Ano Koufonisi, she stripped down and condensed hours of raw recordings into the 11 pieces that make up the album. Vantzou describes No.5 as “11 gelatinous, dripping and fragile concoctions for voice, piano, synthesizers, strings, winds and field recordings.” She adds:

“No. 5 seeks moisture, air, walking barefoot in nature, absorbing the elements, losing track of time.

It’s a record about space and opening up space. It’s a set of ideas shaped in the oral tradition. It sends praise and care for those who wish to reshape reality.”

We’ll have to wait until November 11th for No.5 to be released through Kranky but we can already hear the magnificent and immersive first single ‘Surreal Presence (for SH and FM)’. Take a listen below and check out the visual trailer straight after.


Jessica Moss announces new album, Galaxy Heart, and shares first single ‘Uncanny Being (Violin Study #2)’

03 September 2022

Brilliant and ingenious violinist, vocalist and composer Jessica Moss has announced details of a new album, Galaxy Heart, due out on Constellation on October 7th. Composed whilst in deep isolation throughout 2020, Moss’s newest long-player is a companion piece to last year’s Phosphenes. Where in Phosphenes Moss deliberately crafted post-classical compositions, on Galaxy Heart she expands her sonic palette, with the album featuring semi-improvised electric guitar and guest contributions from drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White) and double bassist Thierry Amar (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt Zion) on some tracks.

Speaking about the album, she comments:

“This album represents me throwing out some old preconceptions of myself and my instrument, and stretching my relationship with solo expression further than I knew I could reach. And consequently, represents what feels like new doors opened, new paths forward.”

The compelling and emotive ‘Uncanny Being (Violin Study #2)’ is the first single to emerge and it features White on drums and Amar on contrabass. Of this collaboration, she says:

“Uncanny Being” is a result of distanced collaboration with two of my all-time favourite players of their instruments; Jim White and Thierry Amar. I sent them my anxious violin tracks which had their own questions, and they sent me parts back with answers I could never have expected, opening doors I could never have dreamed of. Countless hours of meticulous collage work after the fact to bring us together, until I can only hear where we met in the same uncanny space and time and I feel joyfully surrounded.”

The track comes with a video made by Moss herself and Eve Parker Finley. Watch it now.

Horse Lords tease fifth album with first single ‘Mess Mend’

03 September 2022

Baltimore experimental rock quartet Horse Lords are back with a new record entitled Comradely Objects. Two years after their last studio album, The Common Task, Andrew Bernstein, Max Eilbacher, Owen Gardner and Sam Haberman have been working on their fifth full length which will be released through RVNG Intl. this Autumn.

Comradely Objects takes its title from Christina Kiaer’s Imagine No Possessions: The Socialist Objects of Russian Constructivism. The band comments:

“The comradely object should promote collective, egalitarian ideals. They tended toward simple, unadorned forms that emphasized utility and foregrounded the material. Comradely Objects works through what this means for the material of sound, for music, for the album, and for artistic production in the 21st century.”

Described as “an alloy of erudite influences and approaches given frenetic gravity in pursuit of a united musical and political vision”, their upcoming album “presents the most sublime document yet of the band’s ongoing interrogation of aesthetic and social form, purpose, and intent, alongside note, beat, and raw sound.”

Alongside the album news, Horse Lords have shared ‘Mess Mend’, an exciting and delirious introduction to the new album. The single comes with a gorgeous hand drawn animated video directed by Karen Yasinsky.  Watch it below and watch out for the album release on November 4th.

In other related good news, Horse Lords will be presenting their new album across Europe in November. Check out the list of dates here which includes a show at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht on November 13th, performing as part of both clipping. and Animal Collective’s curated bills.