KAU unveil new single, ‘4U’, off upcoming album Unknown Waveforms

27 June 2025

Photo: Binh Minh Dao

Last month, KAU hinted at their next album with ‘dive_deep‘. Now the Brussels-based trio of Andre Breidlid (drums), Matteo Genovese (bass) and Jan Janzen (keys) has officially announced Unknown Waveforms, due on October 10th through Sdban Ultra. Drawing from jazz, hip hop, and electronic influences, Unknown Waveforms came to life out of extended jams with minimal overdubs, embracing analog warmth and chance. The album is described as “a statement of intent: a celebration of imperfection, creative honesty and an insight in the process.”

Alongside the album news, they’ve slipped in a second preview with ‘4U’, a slower and more intimate track, and even more pared-down than its predecessor. “Anchored by a looping, pitch-shifted vocal from bassist Matteo Genovese whispering ‘I’m here for you'”, as the press release describes, “the track resonates like a mantra — soft, steady, and reassuring”. It’s “wrapped in atmospheric synths, grounded in earthy grooves, and carried by KAU’s signature moog bass,” crafting space for stillness and connection. ‘4U’ speaks volumes in its simplicity. Take a listen below.

Hamid Al-Saadi opens Maqām Records with first release in decades

26 June 2025

Photo: Sachyn Mital

Maqām Records, a newly launched label from trumpeter, composer, santur player and vocalist Amir ElSaffar, opens its doors with a release of rare weight: Maqam Al-Ira, the first recording in over two decades from legendary Iraqi singer Hamid Al-Saadi, considered the only living master of the complete Iraqi Maqam repertoire. Out later this year, Maqam Al-Iraq brings together four long-form maqams, each followed by a pesteh, a rhythmic, communal counterpart. The album includes ‘Maqam Qazzaz’, previously unrecorded, and two new maqams composed by Al-Saadi himself, marking the first additions to the tradition in over a hundred years. As both singer and custodian of this oral lineage, Al-Saadi channels the music’s intricate ornamentation and deep emotional pull with a remarkable clarity.

Born in Baghdad in 1958, Al-Saadi came of age during a cultural renaissance where the maqam was still heard in cafés and private homes. By his twenties, he had memorized all 56 canonical maqams, a feat that earned him the blessing of two of Iraq’s greatest 20th-century masters, Yusuf Omar and Mohammed Al-Gubbanchi. But following the 1991 Gulf War and years of devastating U.S.-imposed sanctions that brought Iraq’s economy and everyday life to a standstill, Al-Saadi left the country, eventually settling in Brooklyn via London. It was in London that ElSaffar first approached him as a student. The bond that followed, as an artist, apprentice, and now collaborators, anchors this release. Recorded with ElSaffar’s Safaafir ensemble (including Dena El Saffar and Tim Moore), the album is both document and transmission, the sound of a tradition surviving displacement and violence, and continuing forward in new hands.

Drawn from centuries-old Iraqi traditions, Maqām itself refers to a system of melodic modes found across the Middle East and Central Asia. The Iraqi form is one of its most ornate and demanding variants, and was inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Maqam Al-Iraq sits at the crossroads of ancient history and contemporary revival, grounding ElSaffar’s vision for Maqām Records.

Maqam Al-Iraq is out on July 18th and two singles are now available, the spacious and striking opener ‘Maqam Al-Iraq / Dar al-Fikir wa al Amjad’ and the freshly released ‘Habibi Rah wa Ma Janeh’, which highlights the bright, upbeat pesteh form. Listen to both below.


Anton de Bruin teases new album with lead single ‘Running on Slippers’ ft. Fanni Zahár

26 June 2025

Rooted in Rotterdam’s fertile cross-section of club culture and improvised music, keyboardist, composer and producer Anton de Bruin has been carving out a name through projects like Dragonfruit and Peter Somuah, and recent appearances at North Sea Jazz and Valkhof. With his label Sundown Recordings, he’s also been instrumental in pushing late-night events where bands perform like DJs, redefining what live music can be on the dancefloor.

Following the release of his 2024 debut album Imaginarium, de Bruin returns with a new blistering single, ‘Running on Slippers’, featuring Budapest-based flautist Fanni Zahár. Drawing from the rhythmic intensity of African percussion, jungle, and samba, the track is both high-energy and slightly off-balance, reflecting its title, which serves as a metaphor for the feeling of reacting too late. The single offers a first glimpse into his forthcoming album Sounds of the Eclipse, set for release on October 17th. According to the press release, the record grapples with the sense that “we’ve run out of time,” socially and politically, but also points to the potential for renewal.

“There is always something super interesting to find in any record of any culture you’ll dive into,” Anton explains. “The low end and drive of Jamaican records from the 70s, the arrangements of Nigerian and Ghanaian records from the 60s and 70s… there’s so much inspiration hidden in all of that.”

‘Running on Slippers’ is out now through Sundown Recordings and you can listen to it below.

The Alien Dub Orchestra announce debut album, share first single ‘Vine and Fig Tree’

24 June 2025

A new and unexpected collaboration comes to light this Autumn, as The Alien Dub Orchestra prepare to release their debut album, The Alien Dub Orchestra Plays the Breadminster Songbook. The origins of the project trace back to 2022, when Elijah Minnelli contributed a pair of dub remixes for The Notwist. That exchange opened the door to further collaboration, and not long after, he was invited to open for them live and during an impromptu encore, members of the Munich scene joined Minnelli on stage to spontaneously reinterpret one of his tracks using woodwind, brass, and percussion. That performance marked the beginning of an ongoing collaboration that has evolved into a fully-fledged ensemble, including members of The Notwist and G.Rag y los hermanos Patchekos, performing and recording expanded versions of Minnelli’s singular body of work. Known for his solitary, lo-fi approach, often working alone with tape loops and effects, Minnelli reflects on the transformation:

“The idea of real, competent professionals playing something you’ve muddled together on a computer in a damp basement is quite overwhelming. Hearing them interpret and improve these melodies is a real joy and privilege.”

Mirroring dub tradition, the album’s second half features all-new dub versions of the Orchestra’s tracks, recorded live, one-take style, by Minnelli and fellow sonic collagist Raimund Wong. Rather than imitating classic dub templates, they dive headfirst into something more unpredictable and personal. As the press release says, it’s “a love letter to folk tradition, dub ideology and, most importantly, the joy of uninhibited collaboration.”

The Alien Dub Orchestra Plays the Breadminster Songbook arrives September 19th through Alien Transistor and ahead of it, they have shared the first single, ‘Vine and Fig Tree’. A gently unfolding piece, it reshapes one of Minnelli’s more introspective tunes into something playful and ceremonial. The single is offered with an accompanying video, filmed by Enid Valu, and you can stream it below.

The Dwarfs Of East Agouza announce new album, Sasquatch Landslide, join Constellation Records

20 June 2025

llustration by Maha Kourdy

The Dwarfs Of East Agouza have been blowing our minds since their debut Bes dropped in 2016. So it’s incredibly exciting to see the Cairo-based trio of Sam Shalabi (Land of Kush, Shalabi Effect), Maurice Louca (Alif, Bikya), and Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, The Invisible Hands, Alvarius B.) join the always excellent Constellation Records for their upcoming new album Sasquatch Landslide, landing this October. The album was recorded by Emanuele Baratto and mixed by Jace Lasek, and it features seven fervent tracks, brimming with the trio’s “signature trance-inducing explorative energies”. As the press release describes, the new album sees them “expand on their telekinetic fusion of North African rhythm, heat-haze improvisation, shaabi rawness, free jazz, and psychedelic groove”.

October is a while away but The Dwarfs Of East Agouza have shared the lead single, ‘Neptune Anteater’, giving us a thrilling taste of what’s to come, with all three players pushing and pulling at the edges of rhythm and melody. Take a listen below.

corto.alto signs to Ninja Tune and shares new single, ‘DON’T LISTEN’

20 June 2025

We’ve been shouting about corto.alto for a while now, and with good reason. From his Mercury Prize-shortlisted Bad With Names, which was one of our Albums Picks of 2023, to the blistering 30/108 project that saw him release 30 tracks in 30 days, Liam Shortall keeps moving forward without ever looking back. The Glaswegian trombone wizard and genre-defying powerhouse has joined the Ninja Tune family and he’s marking the occasion with a scorching new single, ‘DON’T LISTEN’.  Clocking in as one of his most explosive and uncompromising works to date, the track hits hard with thick bass, warped vocals and sharp turns. “‘DON’T LISTEN’ is a left turn for me into instinct over instruction,” Shortall comments. “I wrote this track as a call to blocking out the noise, ignoring creative conformity and embracing the freedom to do whatever the fuck you want.”

The single also arrives with a visually wild video by Katie Sills, matching the music’s untamed energy. Watch the video below.

In other good news, corto.alto has a run of shows coming up, and we’re hyped to catch him at Matosinhos em Jazz in Porto on July 12th.