Mansur Brown announces new album, Rihla, and drops first single ‘Alone’

05 June 2025

Photo: Greg Barnes

We’ve been following Mansur Brown since his early days in the London jazz scene, and there’s big news, the Brixton-born guitarist, producer, and composer has just announced his eagerly awaited new album, Rihla. Described as his most personal record to date, on Rihla Brown blends his signature guitar virtuosity with electronic, rock, and DnB influences, all while introducing his own vocals for the first time.  A word that translates to journey in Arabic, Rihla is exactly that, a voyage through musical landscapes that are uniquely his. The album carries a range of moods, from uplifting to introspective, as Brown explains:

“My music has many different feelings, but running through all of it are senses of happiness, and gratitude. I want it to feel rejuvenating.”

Written, performed, and produced entirely by himself, Rihla arrives on August 1st through his own label AMAI. Ahead of it, Brown has shared the album’s lead single, ‘Alone’, a reflective track about self-esteem and the struggle for self-acceptance. Speaking about it, he says:

“Alone is about a friend who struggles with internal self esteem issues and the need for external validation. The song talks about the constant inward battle of wanting to be better but not believing that it’s possible. It describes the difficulty of self actualisation and how that can only be achieved when you’re comfortable in your own skin i.e. being Alone. This all ties into the journey that we need to go on.”

‘Alone’ comes with an accompanying video and you can watch it below.

In other exciting news, Mansur Brown has a couple of live shows lined up – catch him in Porto at Matosinhos em Jazz on July 5th and in London at Scala on October 7th.

Watch Grandbrothers’ video for lead single ‘We Collide’

03 June 2025

Last month, Grandbrothers announced the release of their new album Elsewhere, alongside the first single ‘We Collide’. Now the German-Swiss duo have paired the track with an accompanying video directed by Austrian filmmaker Rupert Höller, who had this to say about it:

“The hypnotic pull and the powerful use of repetition in ‘We Collide’ fascinated me from the very first listen. My goal was to make that feeling – the chaos of an inner storm – tangible through abstract imagery, creating a visual journey from disorientation to acceptance.”

Grandbrothers’ pianist Erol Sarp also shared his thoughts on the video:

“What we really appreciate about Rupert’s take is how naturally he picked up on the energy and movement of the track. He really understood what we were going for – the dynamics, the transitions, that inner tension building slowly throughout. And he found a visual language that translates the energy of the music into motion.”

Watch the video below and watch out for the album’s release on September 26th through __and__others.

Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer unveil ‘Side by Side’ ft. Jeff Parker

03 June 2025

Photo: Charlie Weinmann

After introducing Different Rooms with the enveloping and hazy first single ‘Mean Solar Time‘, modular synthesist Jeremiah Chiu and violist Marta Sofia Honer have shared a second glimpse into their upcoming album titled ‘Side by Side’. On the track, “a spectrum of deconstructed and looped guitar lines by Jeff Parker form a stirring melodic soundscape that’s buoyed by Honer’s lush string arrangements”, as the press release describes. “As the tune develops, arpeggios slowly fade from the background to the foreground, revealing Chiu’s modular synthesizer as the engine underneath the hood.”

Listen to ‘Side by Side’ below and grab the album when it drops on June 20th through International Anthem.

Mark Guiliana announces new piano-centred album, questions (volume one)

30 May 2025

Photo: Charlie Weinmann

Mark Guiliana has announced questions (volume one), a new album that finds the acclaimed  drummer and composer stepping away from the drum kit and toward the intimate resonance of a small upright piano. The follow-up to last year’s Grammy-nominated MARK is a more personal and reflective affair, “investigating the quiet tension of unresolved thought”, as the press release describes. The album unfolds gently, with subtle electronics and intricate textures guiding nine delicate, open-ended pieces.

We’ll have to wait until June 30th for the full album to arrive through Edition Records, but the first glimpse is already here with the opening track, ‘how can i help?’, a delicate and quietly beautiful piece that sets the tone for what’s to come. Take a listen below.

Lucrecia Dalt announces new album, A Danger to Ourselves

29 May 2025

Following her magnificent 2022 sci-fi bolero album ¡Ay!, which was one of our Albums Picks of the Year, Lucrecia Dalt is back with A Danger to Ourselves, her ninth solo album and perhaps her most emotionally open work to date. Out on September 5th through RVNG Intl, the new record finds the Berlin-based, Colombia-born composer and sound artist shedding the fictional and fantastical narratives of past works to chart a more intimate sphere, delving into the uncertain territory where love, longing, and vulnerability meet. “In the past, I often turned to movies and texts as mirrors to shape my stories, guiding me away from revealing too much from within, inventing isolated fictions,” she explains. “This time, I wanted to create music that flows cinematically and sets a landscape to tell a love story that flirts with improbability, the miraculous and the mysterious.”

Written during and after touring ¡Ay!, and shaped in the early days of a new relationship, the upcoming A Danger to Ourselves is a deeply personal reflection. To bring the record to life, Dalt enlisted the help of a remarkable cast of collaborators, including Juana Molina, Camille Mandoki, and Eliana Joy, alongside musicians Cyrus Campbell and Chris Jonas, and most notably the legendary David Sylvian, who joins as co-producer and guitarist.

Ahead of the album’s release, Dalt is enticing us with first single ‘divina’, a glimmering reverie of piano, guitar, finger snaps and cascading rhythm, sung in both Spanish and English. ‘divina’ emerged from “spending enough time in the abyssal realm of erotic delirium”, as she describes. “For me, the lyrics function as declarations, or odes—like those of Sharon Olds—and the most personal truths I have explored to date are found within those lines.” The single is offered with a beautifully strange accompanying video, directed by Tony Lowe and conceptualized by Dalt, featuring Dalt alongside multidisciplinary artist Lucia Maher-Tatar. It takes inspiration from the words of Sufi mystic Rumi: “Love is a mirror… you see nothing except your real face.” Watch the video below and mark your calendars for September.

Franz Von shares final single, ‘Nah Beg’, ahead of debut album

23 May 2025

Following the powerful first single ‘We Live‘, Franz Von has shared ‘Nah Beg’, the last single before the release of his highly anticipated debut solo album Take What You Want. Teaming up with Ghanaian vocalist Quabena Cepha and longtime collaborator TC on drums, the new track blends futuristic afrobeat with gritty hip-hop, and is pulsing with energy and intent. Rooted in a Jamaican proverb, ‘Nah Beg’ is a playful yet pointed track about self-reliance and putting in the work to claim what’s yours. Franz explains:

“Nah Beg aims to capture the juxtaposition of inner stillness against the external everyday hustle. I wanted to emphasise the importance of cultural pride and spiritual growth. The lyrics and the tone of the track are rebellious – I want the listener to embrace the mindset of hard work and claiming what’s theirs without apology.”

Listen to it below and grab the album when it drops on June 20th through Bridge The Gap.