Masayoshi Fujita previews upcoming album, Bird Ambience, with title track

13 April 2021

Last month we heard and loved the gorgeous and delicate ‘Thunder’, the lead single taken from Masayoshi Fujita‘s upcoming album Bird Ambience. The master vibraphonist, multi-percussionist, and composer explores a new sonic direction on Bird Ambiance, turning the spotlight on the marimba and bringing to full fruition influences that he had kept separate until now, including his acoustic solo recordings, the electronic dub releases under his El Fog moniker, and his experimental improvisations.

Fujita is offering another glorious glimpse into the album with the title track now streaming. Featuring label mate Hatis Noit, on the new single Fujita “weaves in celestial choral samples”, as the press release describes,  “and slow-motion, skeletal glitch jazz drums.”

Wrap your ears around ‘Bird Ambience’ now and grab the album when it’s out on May 28th through Erased Tapes.

De Beren Gieren share video for new single ‘Stress Als Optie’ off upcoming album

09 April 2021

Photo: Alexander Popelier

Dutch-Belgian acoustic-electronic piano trio De Beren Gieren have announced the release of a new full-length album. Entitled Less Is Endless, the effort arrives on September 10th through Sdban Ultra, and saw Dijf Sanders and Frederik Segers take on the producer seat. The album “is an ode to a universe teeming with life,” describes the press release, adding that “it searches for vents through which life can emerge and evolve.”

Ahead of the album release, De Beren Gieren have shared the brilliant and outandish ‘Stress Als Optie’, serving as an intriguing taster for the album. The trio commented on the track:

“This was a tune we almost skipped. We had 4 parts and could not find the right feeling for the overall atmosphere. Luckily we did not give up and waited for the eureka moment. At first, the chords that make most of the song now were only meant to be the outro. But in the end, they became the main thing.”

‘Stress Als Optie’ is offered with an accompanying video made by Victor Van Rossem. Take a look.

Sons of Kemet set to release new album, Black to the Future, in May

02 April 2021

Three years on from the release of Mercury Prize nominated album Your Queen Is A Reptile, Sons of Kemet have a new album on the way entitled Black to the Future. Slated for a May 14th release through Impulse Records, Black to the Future features guest contributions from artists like Angel Bat Dawid, Moor Mother, D Double E, and Steve Williamson. Speaking about the album, bandleader Shabaka Hutchings had this to say:

“Black to the Future is a sonic poem for the invocation of power, remembrance and healing. It depicts a movement to redefine and reaffirm what it means to strive for Black power. The meaning is not universal and the cultural context of the listener will shape their understanding. Yet in the end, the overarching message remains the same: For humanity to progress we must consider what it means to be Black to the Future.”

Along with the news, Sons of Kemet have shared the wild, groovy and powerful lead single ‘Hustle’, featuring Kojey Radical and Liane la Havas. ‘Hustle’ comes with a video directed by Ashleigh Jadee and features Taitlyn and Kaylee Jaiy. About the video, Hutching added:

“The dancers represent the duality present within any struggle to transcend internal limitations. As the video progresses, we see that it’s only once the differing elements of the self are reconciled and act in unison that rebirth (symbolized by the immersion in water) can occur.”

We’ve been listening to ‘Hustle’ over and over again. Here it is.

Steiger share new single, ‘Absolution of a French Fry’, from upcoming album

01 April 2021

Photo: Leon De Backer & Gerd De Kinderen

The New Lady Llama, the new album from Steiger, is getting excitingly close to release day. As with previous efforts, the Ghent trio continue to explore the outer margins of jazz, and disparate territories and influences through composition and improvisation. On the upcoming album, Steiger “aimed for compact songs and a stronger emphasis on sound exploration and an experimental production process”, explains the press release. “They completely left behind any genre limitations and in this way created an even more distinctive sound.”

After sharing the first astounding taste from it, ‘Lambda’, Steiger are teasing it again with new single ‘Absolution of a French Fry’. Take a listen below.

The New Lady Llama is out on April 9th through Sdban Ultra

Listen to Lea Bertucci’s new single from upcoming album A Visible Length Of Light

29 March 2021

Photo:West Den Haag

Lea Bertucci has a new album on the way, A Visible Length Of Light, and she had already unveiled the lead single ‘On Opposite Sides of Sleep. Ahead of the album release on April 16th through her own Cibachrome Editions, Bertucci has shared a new track called ‘An Arc of the Horizon’. Take a listen below.

Chrystal Für shares second single ‘I’ll Rise At Dawn Once More’ featuring Echo Collective

26 March 2021

Last month Chrystal Für carried us on an immersive and hauntingly beautiful journey with ‘Requiem’, the first single lifted from his upcoming album Elusion. Christopher Vibberts, the composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer behind Chrystal Für, is enticing us again with a compelling new single from the album called ‘I’ll Rise At Dawn Once More’. Standing again as a powerful testament to the range of emotions encapsulated in the album, ‘I’ll Rise At Dawn Once More’ is a collaboration with Brussels based ensemble Echo Collective. Margaret Hermant and Neil Leiter of Echo Collective ellaborate on the creation of the track:

“We had the pleasure to work with Chris Vibberts during the first lockdown. Because of restrictions, we were unable to work in the same room, which would have been our normal process. This really forced us to work as if the piece was our own. Together with sound engineer Fabien Leseure, we focused on bringing as many acoustic sounds as possible into this beautiful soundscape. Margaret Hermant played violin and harp, and Neil Leiter played viola and bass viola. Through extended techniques we recreated many of Chris’s sounds on our own instruments in order to give the piece as much human depth as possible. We could not be more pleased with how our two musical languages worked together.”

Clocking in at nearly 11-minutes, ‘I’ll Rise At Dawn Once More’ “is a stirring string tribute to emerging from turbulence into the elation of a new day”, as the press release describes. It starts out with an eerie and melancholic tone gently shifting to serenity and bliss. Let it envelop you.

Elusion is out on May 28th through What Are We Records.