Tortoise detail new album, Touch, and share lead single ‘Layered Presence’

11 September 2025

Photo: Heather Cantrell

Back in March, Tortoise hinted at a new album with the release of ‘Oganesson‘, an exhilarating and dynamic track that set the stage for something big. Now, the wait is over and the band have finally unwrapped Touch, their first album in nine years, arriving on October 24th through International Anthem and Nonesuch Records. The new album comes after a period of transformation for the quintet of Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire, and Jeff Parker. With the band scattered across three cities, Touch breaks from the band’s tradition of all being in one room, but despite the physical distance, they found a surprising connection. As Parker notes:

“It’s the first record we’ve done where everything wasn’t based in Chicago,” says Parker. “Two of us are in Chicago. Two of us are here in Los Angeles and John [McEntire] is in Portland, OR. We recorded in several different places. But the strange thing is, in a way it’s kind of the most cohesive session that we’ve done.”

For a band that’s always thrived on collaborative, in-person experimentation, the distance and remote work were a gamble. “We don’t work remotely, unfortunately. We kind of all have to be in the room together”, McEntire explaines. “For me the trial-and-error stage is very important. I didn’t want to lose that.”

On the new album, Tortoise expanded their sonic palette, blending everything from “aerodynamically re-engineered Krautrock, hand-cranked techno rave-ups, and pointillist spaghetti western fanfares”, as the press release describes. Touch embraces both complexity and grand gestures, pushing the boundaries of what their sound can achieve. As Herndon notes, “It becomes writing and arranging and editing and orchestrating and sort of getting things into a sonic space that feels good, all at the same time.”

Ahead of the album release, Tortoise have dropped the lead single ‘Layered Presence’, a track that leaves us itching for Touch to drop. The single is paired with a video directed by Mikel Patrick Avery, and you can watch it below.

Tortoise will also hit the road in October and November in support of Touch, with shows in LA, NYC, London and Chicago, including a special performance with the Chicago Philharmonic, and two shows at the Barbican for the EFG London Jazz Festival. The excitement continues into 2026 with a European tour kicking off in January, where they’ll perform in Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, Belgium, and Italy, and they’ll return in April for a second leg, hitting Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal. More dates will be announced soon, so keep an eye out for your chance to see the legendary quintet live.

Gideon Broshy unveils second single, ‘String’, from upcoming debut album Nest

10 September 2025

Back in July, composer and pianist Gideon Broshy announced his highly anticipated debut album Nest, slated for release on September 26th through New Amsterdam Records. Along with the announcement, Broshy shared the playful and intricate lead single ‘Crumple‘, offering an exciting first look at the album’s rich electroacoustic sound. Now, ahead of the full album drop, Broshy has released a second single called ‘String’. The new track continues Broshy’s exploration of dynamic textures, unfolding with a delicate interplay between celeste, harpsichord, and synths, which, as the press release describes, “curl around each other like spindle fibers, gathering thickness and texture, before the clarinet breaks through, triggering a shimmering cascade of electroacoustic flourishes, clusters, and points.”

As we had mentioned, Nest features a remarkable cast of collaborators, including Matt Evans (drums), Mantawoman (dulcimer), Gleb Kanasevich (clarinet), and Grammy-winning producer William Brittelle.

Listen to ‘String’ below and be sure to check out the full album when it arrives later this month.

Listen to KAU’s third single ‘morph_303’

07 September 2025

KAU have dropped their latest single, ‘morph_303’, the third preview from their upcoming album Unknown Waveforms, following previous singles ‘4U’ and  ‘dive_deep’. ‘morph_303’ it’s named after one of the hidden patches in Jan’s synth, giving the track a secretive feel. “Propelled by a hypnotic bassline and gritty drum patterns”, as the press release describes, “the song radiates a sense of forward motion and euphoria, while the squealing synth line evokes a UFO-like atmosphere”. Listen to ‘morph_303’ below and look out for the full album on October 10th through Sdban Ultra.

Yoni Mayraz releases sophomore album, Dogs Bark Babies Cry

05 September 2025

After turning heads with his 2023 debut Dybbuk Tse!, keyboardist and producer Yoni Mayraz is back with a new record titled Dogs Bark Babies Cry, out today through PPK Records (run by Pino Palladino & David Passick). Recorded live at at the legendary Konk Studios in North London, it’s a rich and rhythm-heavy listen that brings together 90s hip-hop, jazz-funk, Middle Eastern influences, and electronic textures in surprising and exciting ways.

Mayraz describes the title as “the moment when a commotion takes place. Dogs start barking, babies cry. It’s an ominous sound, yet a natural one. One that can be heard from afar.” That sense of movement and tension runs through the whole album.

To bring Dogs Bark Babies Cry to life, Mayraz enlisted longtime collaborators Tom Driessler (bass) and Zoe Pascal (drums), plus an excellent lineup of guests including Fly Anakin, Tenderlonious, Miriam Adefris, and JSPHYNX. Each track feels alive, shifting between moods but always rooted in strong grooves and sharp ideas. “It’s full of feeling,” Mayraz says. “The whole album is an exploration of internal tension — fears and desires, beauty and decay.”

To get a taste of what’s on offer, check out the album track ‘Ice Cold” featuring Fly Anakin, offered alongside a claymation video by Callum Scott-Dyson.

Daniel Wohl releases new single ‘Artificial’ performed by Alarm Will Sound

04 September 2025

Photo: Alix Spence

Today, acclaimed composer Daniel Wohl unveils ‘Artificial’, a striking new single that continues his exploration of the blurred boundaries between organic sound and digital synthesis. Released through New Amsterdam Records, ‘Artificial’ is performed by the genre-defying ensemble Alarm Will Sound and marks a powerful new chapter in Wohl’s sonic evolution.

Born in Paris and now based in Los Angeles, Wohl is known for his masterful blending of acoustic instruments with electronics. His music has been performed at venues like the Hollywood Bowl, MoMA PS1, and the Broad Museum, and he’s collaborated with artists such as Arooj Aftab, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Son Lux. With a background in both concert music and film scoring, including HBO’s Search Party, Wohl brings a cinematic sensibility and emotional depth to everything he creates.

On ‘Artificial’, Wohl invites listeners into a sound world that is “part organic, part digital, and overflows with a deep emotionality that is imbued into each gesture,” as the press release describes. “I imagined this piece like walking through a virtual forest where your sense of reality is slightly off; some branches are real, some might be rendered; some birds are natural, others synthetic”, Wohl explains. “It’s that in-between space where you’re not quite sure what’s living and what’s programmed”. The piece builds from lush synths and shimmering textures into a haunting and immersive landscape, both futuristic and deeply human. Wohl offers further insight into the track:

“Artificial was written for Alarm Will Sound in 2022, right as AI was starting to shift how we think about making art. I started with a fully electronic track, then reimagined it as an acoustic piece for the ensemble, and eventually blended those recordings back into the electronic mix. I was curious about how changing formats, digital to physical and back again, would shape the music in unexpected ways. As AI tools got more advanced over the past couple years, I fed bits of the recording into them and used what came back to reshape the final version. To me, the piece feels kind of hopeful as it leans into the idea of a human–machine collaboration in a way that’s maybe more optimistic than how I usually feel about where all this is going.”

An utterly gorgeous, bold and riveting piece, ‘Artificial’ offers a vivid and timely exploration of sound in the age of technological transformation. Blending acoustic performance with electronic production and AI-driven manipulation, the piece sits at the intersection of music, technology, and imagination. Take a listen below.

Lucrecia Dalt unveils video for final single, ‘no death no danger’; new LP drops tomorrow

04 September 2025

Just a day out from the release of A Danger to Ourselves, and following the heavy pulse of ‘caes‘ and the warped intimacy of ‘divina‘, Lucrecia Dalt has shared one final single titled ‘no death no danger’. The track leans into a kind of haunted elegance, with Dalt’s voice winding through stark verses before opening up into a beautifully strange refrain, lifted by Eliana Joy’s backing vocals. “Conceptually, ‘no death no danger’ is inspired by the film Orpheus by Jean Cocteau. Plus a hint of medusa; behind the portal: tears don’t fall—they rise up,” explains Dalt. “It’s about the tension of deciding to cross the portal behind one’s image. I sing, ‘tears rise up behind the mirrored door, no death, no danger. My love happens as a wave on your receivers—let the sleepers by.’”

‘no death no danger’ arrives with an accompanying video directed by Tony Lowe. Watch it below and watch out for the release of A Danger to Ourselves tomorrow through RVNG Intl. We can’t wait.