Sam Slater shares title track from upcoming debut album Wrong Airport Ghost

Recently signed to Bedroom Community, Berlin based British composer, producer and sound artist Sam Slater is gearing up to release his debut album Wrong Airport Ghost on October 5th. The album is all centred around one-stringed ancient instrument, a relationship that was first developed in the summer of 2016,  when Slater was in Rajastahn, India, working with musician Krishna Bhopa. The pair manipulated and explored the mechanics of the stringed instrument, as the press release explains. “They relentlessly pulled it apart to begin to understand what made it work and what caused it to break. This very idea of deconstruction became fundamental to the whole process. Just like every sound comes from one source, the concept of dismantling it in order to build another is essential.”

Slater continued working and reworking the project last year in New York, before its final transformations in Iceland where he worked with producers Alfie Brooks and Bridget Ferill.

The album’s title track, both weird and wonderful, is now streaming with an accompanying video directed by Ben Haven Taylor. Wrap your ears around it.

Jerusalem In My Heart announce third album Daqa’iq Tudaiq

We have been under the spell of Jerusalem In My Heart‘s compelling and entrancing compositions for a while now, so we’re excited to know they are back with a new album. Entitled Daqa’iq Tudaiq, which translates as “minutes that bother/oppress/harass”, it follows 2015’s widely acclaimed If He Dies, If If If If If If and arrives on October 5th through Constellation. Currently operating as the duo of extraordinary composer and producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh and Charles-André Coderre delivering live projections on 16mm film, the new album sees Jerusalem In My Heart continue “to expand the horizons of its profound conceptual and aesthetic engagement with Arabic/Middle-Eastern traditions”, as the press release describes.
Envisioned by Moumneh for a long time, side one is a dream come true, featuring a modern orchestral version of the popular Egyptian classic Ya Garat Al Wadi by Mohammad Abdel Wahab. To bring this adaptation to life, Moumneh assembled a 15-piece orchestra in Beirut, and prolific composer and musician Sam Shalabi as arranger and musical director.
On side two the record offers four tracks by Moumneh “which push rupture and decomposition/recomposition of tradition further into avant-garde territory”. The otherworldly and mesmerising ‘Thahab, Mish Roujou’, Thahab’ is one of these four tracks, and it serves as a wonderful first taste for what’s to come. The track comes with a video by Charles-André Coderre. Watch it below.

In other related news, Jerusalem In My Heart have announced a string of live dates in Canada and Europe, including a show at London’s Cafe Oto on November 15th. The tour will also see them return to Le Guess Who? this November, after enriching the festival last year as one of its phenomenal co-curators. With a special live performance in store on November 8th, they will present the project Don’t Say The Moon Has Set with an oriental orchestra from Beirut.

Listen to Matt Calvert’s new single ‘Mute Heart’ off forthcoming debut solo record

Ahead of the imminent release of Typewritten, the debut solo album of acoustic compositions from accomplished producer and musician Matt Calvert, there’s very good reasons to be excited for this release. After sharing the immensely beautiful first single ‘12051‘, Calvert has now unveiled another intricately stunning and delicate song called ‘Mute Heart’. Here it is.

Typewritten is out on September 7th through Truant.

Szun Waves share new single ‘Moon Runes’

Szun Waves are nearing the release of their much-awaited second album New Hymn To Freedom, and after enticing us with ‘Constellation’ and ‘Temple’, the trio have let loose another transcendent cut, ‘Moon Runes’. Take a listen below and grab the record when it drops on August 31st through The Leaf Label.

The band have also announced a string of shows in the UK in support of the album, including a special 360 degree A/V show at London’s Space Gallery on Thursday 30th August.

Sam Wilkes announces debut album Wilkes

A prominent name in the Los Angeles’ contemporary jazz scene, bassist Sam Wilkes is gearing up to release his debut album entitled Wilkes. It follows the release earlier this year of Music for Saxofone and Bass, a collaborative record with saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Sam Gendel and is due out on October 5th through Leaving Records. Asked about the record’s inspirations by Leaving’s own Carlos Niño, Wilkes cites an array of innovators including John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Miles Davis, Milton Nascimento, Alice Coltrane and Brian Eno, amongst others. Wilkes also cites Sam Gendel, Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi, all three featured on his forthcoming album.

The first single Tonight’ is now streaming and it serves as an exhilarating taste of what’s to come. Take a listen.

Pevin Kinel returns with video for first new song in four years ‘Hemmed’

Pevin Kinel hasn’t released an album since 2012’s Syntactic Sugars, which was one of our Album Picks of the year, and his last new material, the two-track EP SEO Your Friends, came out in 2014. Now we can rejoice as there is a follow-up in the works from the talented multi-instrumentalist and one-man-orchestra, and his first new music in four years has finally landed. Pevin has shared ‘Hemmed’, a staggeringly beautiful track, along with an accompanying video. As with previous material, shifting excitingly from release to release, and drawing from a variety of musical influences, here Pevin leans more towards a stripped down acoustic sound. He had this to say:

“You might think it’s about time I focused on recording music instead of filming music videos, well gotcha! because this is actually a brand new song from my upcoming “acousticish” album, which should come out this year, at some point. I’m usually pretty good at coming up with nerve-racking album release dates and album titles that make you go “Gee, gotta get meself one of those!”, but I’ve been kinda busy lately, so this time round you’ll have to make do with a new song “Hemmed” and the music video I made for it with some friends.”

We’ll keep our ears peeled for more details on Pevin’s upcoming album. Now watch the excellent self-directed video for ‘Hemmed’.