Tag Archives: corto.alto

St. Barbe announce Shoal EP; share new single ‘Pinch’ (feat. corto.alto)

26 November 2025

If, like us, you haven’t heard of St. Barbe yet, now is the perfect time to get acquainted. Hailing from London, St. Barbe first came together in 2021, and since then, they’ve been making waves with their genre-bending approach to contemporary jazz. The trio draws from a wide array of influences, from jazz and punk to math rock, hip-hop, and electronica, and the result is something that feels fresh and exciting.

St. Barbe have announced the release of a new EP, Shoal, set to arrive on February 18th through Bridge the Gap. A self-produced effort, the forthcoming EP reflects the band’s evolution and as the press release describes, it “showcases a considered approach, balancing rhythmic complexity with melodic intent”.

Alongside the EP announcement, St. Barbe have just dropped ‘Pinch’, a raucous, effervescent and infectious track featuring Glaswegian prodigious multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer corto.alto. Take a listen below.

corto.alto drops brand new single, ‘VANDAL’, featuring Moses Yoofee

16 September 2025

Following the scorching ‘DON’T LISTEN’, released last June, corto.alto is treating us again with another banger. The Glaswegian trombone wizard and genre-defying powerhouse has just released ‘VANDAL’, a new single featuring German producer and composer Moses Yoofee. “I made VANDAL at the beginning of this year, during a period where I was pushing myself to explore the boundaries between live instruments and the sonics usually found in electronic music,” Shortall explained. “Moses and I worked together in Berlin on the vocal sample, using his sampled vocals exclusively as a melodic instrument rather than a lyrical one. I titled the track VANDAL as a reminder to myself that rules in music are meant to be torn apart.” He continues:

“Moses Yoofee is not only one of my favourite artists right now, but also one of my closest friends in the future-jazz scene. We have really connected on both sharing that same mission to blur the lines between the acoustic and the electronic, which made this collaboration feel like it was waiting to happen. We’ve crossed paths on remixes and projects before, but VANDAL marks our first official release together – and I couldn’t be more excited to share it.”

Out now through Ninja Tune, ‘VANDAL’ comes with an accompanying video filmed by Grace Richardson and you can watch it 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.

Listen to corto.alto’s new single ’32.Dip (108)’

09 May 2025

corto.alto has just shared a new track, ’32.Dip (108)’, a final gem from his ambitious 30/108 project, which saw him release 30 tracks in 30 days. It arrives after a huge year with wins for UK Jazz Act of the Year and The Innovation Award at the Jazz FM Awards, and follows the release of his Mercury Prize-shortlisted debut Bad With Names, which was one of our Album Picks of 2023. Built from the last of the 108 demos he made for 30/108, ’32.Dip (108)’ almost didn’t see the light of day, until the Glaswegian prodigious multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer found the missing link in a sample from his own track ‘Bye’, the closing piece on Bad With Names. As he puts it:

“This track was the last of the 108 demos I made for this project before beginning the long, tiring but ultimately rewarding process of working on the 30 tracks. It wasn’t included in the 30 singles because I never could figure out how to finish it. I ended up adding a sample of my own track ‘Bye,’ the last track on my Mercury Prize shortlisted album Bad With Names, and that felt like the missing piece. To me, ‘32.Dip (108)’ signifies the end of a sonic chapter for me as an artist, and the beginning of something new.”

’32.Dip (108)’ is offered with a visualizer and you can watch it below.


’32.Dip (108)’ is out now through New Soil

corto.alto unveils 30/108: a track a day for 30 days

22 May 2024

Glaswegian prodigious multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer corto.alto took us by storm last year with his debut album Bad With Names, which was one of our Album Picks of the Year. Liam Shortall, the trombone wizard at the helm of the project, has today unveiled an ambitious project. Entitled 30/108, it will see him release 30 tracks in 30 days through Bridge The Gap x New Soil. Liam explains how the project came about:

“After an intense 2 years of creating ’Bad With Names’ I was slightly burned out but excited to get back to writing new music. Once that album was finally finished, I knew I had 6 months of promotion before the album was released. During this time I produced 108 new demo ideas. Fast forward to the beginning of 2024, I had 108 ideas in a folder on my laptop that I knew if I didn’t finish they would never be heard by anyone – I then decided to dedicate the following 4 months to finishing 30 of these tracks; recording with some of my favourite musicians.”

Some of the musicians who collaborated with Liam on the project include Graham Costello (drums), Fergus McCreadie (piano) and Mateusz Sobieski (tenor saxophone).

The treasure chest that is 30/108 is unlocked today with lead single ‘Chubbby (48)’. Check it out below and be sure to stay tuned over the next 30 days for a fresh tune dropping every day!