Danalogue drops debut solo single ‘Sonic Hypnosis’

25 November 2025

Photo: Fabrice Bourgelle

As one of the driving forces behind bands like The Comet Is Coming, Soccer96 and Flock, Danalogue aka Dan Leavers has spent years shaping the UK’s music scene. A core member of East London’s legendary Total Refreshment Centre, he is a trailblazing synthesist, collaborator, and producer-in-demand, who has worked with an array of exciting artists, including Sarathy Korwar, Snapped Ankles, Alabaster DePlume and Rozi Plain, to mention but a few. Now Danalogue is stepping out on his own with his debut solo single, ‘Sonic Hypnosis’. Described as “an electronic mantra for a positive state of change”, the single was “written amidst tumultuous times”. ‘Sonic Hypnosis’ is both a dancefloor dream and a call for healing, wrapped up in a catchy and hypnotic chant. The track is accompanied by a video, created by Innerstrings, the artist behind visuals for the likes of Overmono and James Holden. What’s more, Danalogue has also teased a full-length album, and we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more leading up to its May release. Now check out the banger that is ‘Sonic Hypnosis’.


Asher Gamedze set to release new album, A Semblance: Of Return, in February

24 November 2025

Photo: Leila Khan

We’ve been following Asher Gamedze’s musical journey for a while now, and each new release has only deepened our huge admiration for his work. Both his 2020 debut album Dialectic Soul, and his 2022’s Turbulence and Pulse landed on our Album Picks of the Year. A visionary and virtuosic drummer, composer, and activist, Gamedze’s musical world is one of endless innovation and an unyielding commitment to freedom, both in sound and spirit. So news of a new album from him fills us with excitement. Gamedze is gearing up to release his latest LP, A Semblance: Of Return, set to drop on February 27th through Northern Spy Records. To bring the album to life, Gamedze has assembled a new band, called A Semblance, featuring a group of longtime collaborators, to explore what he describes as “practices of assembly”, musical explorations that centre the coming together of individuals to create something larger than the sum of its parts. The ensemble includes Ru Slayen (percussion), Nobuhle Ashanti (keys & synth), Zwide Ndwandwe (bass), and Keegan Steenkamp (trumpet), with Gamedze on drums. Rooted in Pan-Africanism and Black Consciousness, as the press release describes, the album draws from the political and sonic legacies of Cape Town’s underground scene while extending outward, creating sonic bridges that extend beyond geographic and political borders. If past albums were “statements of direction”, the forthcoming A Semblance: Of Return is “a gathering place”, where different ideas, sounds, and struggles meet.

Ahead of the album’s release, Gamedze has shared the staggering and sublime ‘Following Up’, which serves as the first taste from the musical magic Gamedze and his ensemble have in store for us. The track’s title, according to Gamedze, hints at “coterminous existence of multiple intersecting dead lines”, a statement that teases the thematic depth of the album, questioning the intersections of time, place, and collective struggle. Take a listen below.

Ocenpsiea’s fourth album, Ensaio Sobre a Surdez, out now

21 November 2025

Back in October, Ocenpsiea enticed us with the blissful and exhilarating ‘Noite Acústica’. The single landed as an intriguing one-off, but it turned out to be a hint, pointing towards something bigger. Last Friday, the Braga-based outfit released their fourth album, Ensaio Sobre a Surdez, an ambitious and thought-provoking effort weaving together a mesmerising tapestry of jazz, electronica, Portuguese folk, rock and hip-hop. Translating from Portuguese as “Essay on Deafness”, the new album  is described by the band as a reflection on contemporary society, and it also pays tribute to José Saramago, echoing the spirit of his novels Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira and Ensaio Sobre a Lucidez. João Vilaça (drums and electronics), Gonçalo Cravinho (electric and double bass), and João Ferreira (keyboards), who make up Ocenpsiea, composed the entire record, and invited a host of collaborators, including Bruno Pernadas on guitar, Ghais Guevara and Marlon on vocals, plus contributions from Lucas Oliveira on baritone and soprano sax, Francisca Ribeiro on violin,  Alessio Cunha on cello, Lucas Faria on flute, and Bárbara Ferreira on oboe. The result is a bold, exploratory and richly layered work, full of vibrancy and detail, showcasing a band unafraid to venture into new territory.

Ensaio Sobre a Surdez is now streaming on bandcamp, and for a taste of what’s on offer, listen to one of the album’s tracks, the thrilling and groovy ‘Subsistir’.

Leonor Arnaut releases debut solo single, ‘Vida Cega’

17 November 2025

A remarkably talented vocalist, composer and improviser, Leonor Arnaut has been shaping a singular path through improvisation and experimental approaches to the voice. Classically trained and later immersed in jazz, she has been involved in projects like Fumo Ninja, Chão Maior and GUME, and has collaborated with artists including Femme Falafel, Filipe Furtado, Sallim, Yaw Tembe and Norberto Lobo, among many others. Now the Portuguese artist is stepping out on her own with ‘Vida Cega’, her first solo release and a stunning introduction to her world. Out now through CANTO, ‘Vida Cega’ signals the beginning of a new chapter for an artist long celebrated as one of the most compelling voices in Portuguese contemporary music. Recorded and produced between Lisbon, Copenhagen, Los Angeles and New York, the track brings together musicians Margarida Campelo (synthesisers), Teresa Castro (guitar), Ricardo Dias Gomes (bass) and João Pereira (drums).

Arnaut is offering the single with a fittingly beautiful and atmospheric video shot in Los Angeles by Kai Macknight, and directed and edited by both Macknight and Arnaut herself. Watch it below.

Shake Stew celebrate 10 years with new double album, TEN ONE TWO

14 November 2025

Photo: Victoria Nazarova

Austrian seven-piece Shake Stew are celebrating a decade together with a new double album, TEN ONE TWO, arriving on February 13th through Traumton Records. Known for their unusual lineup — two drummers, two bassists, three horns — and often associated with the “Krautjazz” label, the band uses this milestone moment to continue pushing forward with brand new music. Bandleader and bassist Lukas Kranzelbinder describes the project as both a culmination and a reset. After years of weaving between tight studio recordings and wide-open live improvisations, the band wanted to capture the full stretch of their musical world. “I feel like we’ve only just started,” Kranzelbinder says. “This year and the process of TEN has given us a creative boost that feels like we are beginning a completely new chapter.”

The release is split into two parts, TEN ONE, which focuses on Kranzelbinder’s composed material, and TEN TWO, reflecting their live instincts. With TEN TWO, Shake Stew lean into long-form improvisation, electric textures, and even field recordings, drawing on the intuition they have built after years of playing together. Kranzelbinder sums up the process:

“When you play so many concerts and record so many albums, you develop an intuitive sense of what defines the band’s sound — there’s often no need for me to give compositional directions anymore.”

Alongside the album announcement, Shake Stew are sharing the first single from TEN ONE, ‘Ascendance’, a fearless and fiery track. “Nearly all of the music that triggers something physically within me is music that goes upwards…”, says Kranzelbinder of the track. Take a listen now.

Max Jaffe’s new album, You Want That Too!, out next week

12 November 2025

Photo: Alex De La Hidalga

Drummer, composer and producer Max Jaffe has a new album on the way and we are a little late picking it up, but clearly, we’ve been missing out. Entitled You Want That Too!, it arrives on November 21st through Colorfield Records. Now based in the west coast, Jaffe’s move to LA, after years immersed in the NYC music scene, flows through the new album.

You Want That Too! was recorded at Pete Min’s Lucy’s Meat Market Studio, and features a stellar lineup of collaborators, including Jeff Parker, Meg Duffy, Gavin Gamboa, Daniel Rotem, Shelley Burgon, Spencer Zahn, and Logan Kane. A record about exploration and connection, it embraces a wide range of influences and sounds, including space jazz, glitch-funk, and experimental textures. For Jaffe, the album is both a fresh start and a continuation of his musical journey. He comments:

“My previous record, Reduction of Man, was like an elegy to my twenties in pre-pandemic NYC. I didn’t realize as I was making it, but once it was done, it felt like a capstone on something I’d started building years prior. And then in the three years of figuring out how to get it to listeners, it felt like it got covered in ash. Now, I’m building a fresh foundation on top of that Reduction ash with You Want That, Too!. It’s not a complete fresh start — I am still, for better or worse, me — but it’s a new story.”

Jaffe’s second single from the album, ‘S-NARE’, is a perfect teaser for what’s to come. A wild, dynamic, infectious and drum-heavy track, it draws on the energy of early Warp Records and Jaffe’s work with Sensory Percussion. Jaffe expands:

“Early Warp Records and my work with electronic drum sensors (ie.. Sensory Percussion) inform this drum freakout of a track. At Pete’s urging, I leaned hard into the kind of drumming that hooked me on to the instrument: immediate, hard, and driving.
The drums are an instrument of crowd control, and the snare has a loaded history of leading militaries into bloodshed. “S-NARE” leads with love but it can draw blood too.”

Listen to ‘S-NARE’ below and check out the previous single, ‘In Green’, straight after. You’re in for quite a treat.