JP Coimbra’s debut solo album, Vibra, out now

14 September 2021

Last week saw the release of a gorgeous, delicate and adventurous album, Vibra, from Portuguese musician JP Coimbra. The talented multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer has kept himself busy with many projects and collaborations for over two decades. Vibra, which translates from Portuguese as ‘vibrate’, marks his first solo release.  An instrumental affair, the album blends together elements of neo classical, jazz and electronics and was recorded in various locations in Porto including a tube station, an underground river, a concert hall and a contemporary art gallery. Speaking about Vibra, Coimbra comments:

“It was written as a concept record rather than a random collection of pieces, with the objective of combine the plasticity of untreated public spaces and their inherent acoustic characteristics into the composition, the spaces becoming an extension of musical instruments. The reason for this was the idea that these locations, with their geometry and materials, would change the way we played the music and would inspire changes in their composition… and it worked!!”

For a taste of what’s on offer, listen to ‘Invincible Summer’, one of the sublime and striking tracks off the album. It comes with an accompanying video directed by Vasco Mendes and you watch it below.


Vibra is out now through Cognitive Shift Recordings

Circuit des Yeux unveils video for new single ‘Sculpting the Exodus’

14 September 2021

After enticing us with ‘Dogma‘, the phenomenal vocalist, composer, and producer Haley Fohr aka Circuit des Yeux has shared ‘Sculpting the Exodus’, the second monumental single from her much anticipated sixth full-length album, -io. About the track, she writes:

“What is Sculpting the Exodus?
It is devotion. It is the well.
It is my grandmother going into hospice, writhing in pain.
It is reality exploding on an island made of sand. It is depression and the isolation of deep grief.
I was trapped in a choir of myself with nothing to grab onto but echoes of past selves.
It obliterated my heart until the only working parts of me were the appendages furthest from my mind.
A few notes here
A couple notes there…
The fingers were working when nothing else could. And I was fantasising of leaving like I always do…”

‘Sculpting the Exodus’ is offered with a video directed by herself. Here it is.

-io is out on October 22nd through Matador Records

Theon Cross shares video for new single ‘The Spiral’ feat. Afronaut Zu & Ahnansé

14 September 2021

Acclaimed tuba player and composer Theon Cross is gearing up to release a new album titled Intra-I, the follow-up to his 2019 debut Fyah. Cross, who’s a big player in London’s vibrant contemporary jazz scene, offers a whole array of sonic possibilities of his main instrument. Eschewing genre conventions, the upcoming album sees him blending “jazz, dub, hip-hop, soca, grime, and other sounds from the Afro-Caribbean diaspora”. Intra-I, which means ‘Within Self’, is described as “an exploratory and upful celebration of Afro-Diaspora Music” and it “features songs that examine self-development, the importance of history and heritage and the strength in adversity shown by the first generations of post-war Caribbean immigrants to the UK.”

Intra-I features several guest collaborators including Remi Graves, Shumba Maasai, Afronaut Zu, Ahnansé, Consensus and Oren Marshall, and is the first to include vocals.

We´ll have to wait until October 29th for the album to be out but we can already hear ‘The Spiral’ feat. Afronaut Zu & Ahnansé. The track comes with an accompanying video directed by Roisino & Eden. Take a look below.

Pedro Melo Alves’ Omniae Large Ensemble set to release new album Lumina

10 September 2021

There’s exciting news from acclaimed Porto based sonic explorer Pedro Melo Alves. An outstandingly talented drummer and composer, Alves is a prolific musician involved with an astonishing range of projects and collaborations including The Rite of Trio, In Igma, João Pais Filipe Duo, Caco.Meal and Catacombe, to mention but a few. With his Omniae Ensemble, an ensemble for composed and improvised music, Alves won the Composition Award Bernardo Sassetti in 2016, releasing the following year his ambitious debut album as a bandleader. Four years later, with the ensemble now  expanded to 22 musicians, he’s ready to unleash a new record titled Lumina, releasing through Clean Feed. Originally recorded at Guimarães Jazz Festival last year, the upcoming album showcases Alves’ unique approach to music combining his love of innovative and exploratory sounds whilst guiding the 22 musicians along a sonic path blending jazz, improv and classical music.

Whilst we wait for more details and new music to emerge, listen to the transcendental ‘(In​)​Diferente’, a track lifted from his previous Omniae Ensemble album.

In other wonderful related news, and to celebrate the album release, Alves and the Omniae Large Ensemble have announced three live dates in Portugal. Check their stops below:

15th Oct –  Culturgest – Fundação CGD, Lisbon
20th Oct – Casa da Música, Porto
21st Oct – Teatrão, Coimbra

Matthias Lindermayr announces new album, Triptych, and shares video for title track

08 September 2021

German trumpet player Matthias Lindermayr has announced the release of a new album titled Triptych. Unlike his two previous albums, 2015’s Lang Lang and 2018’s New Born, released in a quintet setting, Triptych is a trio album featuring Philipp Schiepek on acoustic guitar and Simon Popp on percussion. Lindermayr comments:

“In my previous bands, I always had the feeling that my strengths on the trumpet didn’t always come into their own. In this line-up, there is finally a lot of room for me. Even quiet, nuanced things don’t get lost in the hustle and bustle, and even when things get wilder we are at a dynamic level where the trumpet doesn’t have to scream.

I wanted to write simple melodies that my fellow musicians could play immediately, so that they could concentrate even more on sound and interplay when rehearsing and recording. The other half of the pieces were two-part compositions that I had written for a duo formation, but whose character demanded a different instrumentation.”

Triptych arrives on November 5th through Squama Recordings and ahead of it, Lindermayr has shared the transcendent title track. It comes with an accompanying video inspired by his love for running and cooking. “Good food and a balanced diet are very important to me”, he explains, adding: “Cooking has become a real hobby over the last few years. Both strictly according to a recipe and freely improvised, with whatever the fridge has to offer. The comparisons to making music are there, of course, but perhaps a little overused.”

Lion Bischoff directed the video. Watch it now.