2026-07 July Reviews | SunNeverSetsOnMusic

Raul Refree - Mala bestia (Banda Sonora Original)

Mala bestia (Banda Sono Original) Bad Beast (Original Soundtrack)

RAÜL REFREE (RAÜL FERNÁNDEZ MIRÓ)

Released 29 July 2026

RRR Records / Refree Records

*****

A haunting, visceral, and emotionally volatile score that avoids traditional melodrama, opting instead for a hypnotic tension that blurs the line between adolescent innocence and sinister obsession.

Raül Refree (Raül Fernández Miró) is a Barcelona-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, one of contemporary Spanish music's most influential sonic architects. Known for reimagining traditional styles, most notably bringing radical, avant-garde textures to modern flamenco, his work seamlessly bridges acoustic intimacy, dark electronic soundscapes, and cinematic minimalism.

Refree produced Rosalía's seminal debut album Los Ángeles, as well as landmark projects with Silvia Pérez Cruz, Niño de Elche, and Rodrigo Cuevas (all of whose work may be heard in our Blog post World Tour #9 Spain | Flamenco). Refree's award-winning soundtrack catalog includes film scores for Isaki Lacuesta's Entre dos aguas (Between Two Waters) and Un año , una noche (One Year, One Night), as well as the critically acclaimed series La Mesías.

Mala bèstia (Bad Beast), directed by Bàrbara Farré in her feature debut, stars Maria Schwinning, Iria del Río and Roger Casamajor, is the story of Atenea, a teenage girl living in a boarding school for parentless youth, who is fiercely obsessed with resisting the transition into adulthood. When a foster couple takes her in, she is offered the prospect of a real home - a sanctuary she becomes desperately determined not to lose. However, as deep-seated anxiety and the fear of being replaced take hold, a primal instinct awakens within her, driving her to extreme lengths to protect her position.

Refree creates tense, deeply psychological soundscape that mirrors the fragile, escalating psychosis of the protagonist, balancing delicate acoustic textures with oppressive, distorted electronic atmospheres.

Various techniques such as prepared & bowed acoustic Instruments, raw, scraping acoustic guitar and string passages evoke vulnerability laced with friction. Dark, pulsing low-end synths and ambient glitch textures signal Atenea's internal "beast" and survival instincts. Lingering decay and harsh dynamic shifts build claustrophobic suspense within familial settings.

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Raül Refree Official

On A Random Tuesday: Live At The Blue Note

CORY WONG, JOSHUA REDMAN

Released 28 July 2026

Roundwound Media

*****

An exhilarating live performance from a pair of virtuosic musicians - at the peak of their powers, in the most iconic of Jazz venues.

When two of our regularly-reviewed favourites, Cory Wong and Joshua Redman team up for an entertaining session at the iconic New York venue it's certain to be entertaining.

Wong is a Grammy-nominated guitarist, composer, and producer known for his rhythmic precision, clean Stratocaster funk grooves, and dynamic stage presence. Raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Wong initially made his mark in the jazz and funk communities before gaining international acclaim as a recurring collaborator with the funk collective Vulfpeck and as a founding member of The Fearless Flyers. His solo output spans high-energy horn-driven funk, large-scale orchestrations (including his live album with the Metropole Orkest), and ambient acoustic projects, notably Meditations with Jon Batiste.

Redman is one of the premier tenor saxophonists of his generation, acclaimed for his melodic inventiveness, tone, and open-minded approach across the jazz spectrum. The son of legendary avant-garde saxophonist Dewey Redman and dancer Renee Shedroff, Redman emerged in the early 1990s after winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. Over a three-decade career, he has recorded as a leader for major labels like Warner Bros. and Nonesuch and has performed alongside icons ranging from Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea to Brian Blade and Brad Mehldau.

On A Random Tuesday: Live At The Blue Note finds Wong moving far away from his Vulfpeck persona to occupy ground much closer to his roots. Opening track "Bogatell" kicks off proceedings with a funky balance of all the elements of the band - guitar, sax and rhythm instruments are all given a solid workout, setting a high bar for the session. The ensemble kicks into high gear for "Brixton Underground", with Redman's full throttle sax work giving way to a Wong's calming guitar before the intensity rises again into an exhilarating, all-out duel. "Four Nations" and "Status Man" reveal the influence of George Benson - an artist he regularly names as one of his top three influences, alongside Prince and Pat Metheny - as Wong's pristine, lightning-fast, wrist picking style draws heavily from Benson's hard-bop speed and clean-toned articulation.

Although Wong is the producer and nominally the "main" artist ( as Redman is listed as "featured"), this distinction is by no means clear in the execution: Redman regularly "steals the show" in the many sections where sax takes the lead.

The middle section of the set, featuring "Clydesdale", "Strut With A Mutt", "Manta", is rock solid, as not only Wong and Redman but the rest of the band continues to shine: Taylor Eigsti (Fender Rhodes & Keyboards), Kevin Gastonguay (Organ & Keyboards), Yohannes Tona (Bass), Petar Janjic (Drums & Cymbals).

The final track "Yessir", the album's longest at over 8 minutes, allows the ensemble to stretch out, pause, regroup and renew intensity, as it passes through its stages, before finishing to rapturous applause - well deserved.

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Cory Wong Official

Joshua Redman Official

The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers

THE PUNCH BROTHERS

Released 24 July 2026

Nonesuch Records

*****

The music's bluegrass foundation is never far away as this "righteous ensemble" (of mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar, banjo, upright bass) plays freely - and wordlessly - across the album's unlimited and adventurous terrain.

Punch Brothers is an American band formed in 2006. The band consists of Chris Thile (mandolin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), Paul Kowert (bass), and Brittany Haas (fiddle). Their music draws on bluegrass, classical, jazz, and folk influences, but cannot be easily categorized - they might have been named "The Incredible String Band", had not that title been so marvelously taken a few decades earlier.

In their first decade as a band, Punch Brothers built a reputation as one of the most prolific and inventive acoustic groups of their generation, in the process broadening and elevating American string band music-making. Their debut album Punch (2008) was an ambitious affair, filled with classical-infused, progressive bluegrass, and virtuosic ensemble technique. Antifogmatic (2010) refined their genre-bending acoustic arrangements but disappointed many critics and Who's Feeling Young Now? (2012) presented a indie-rock-influenced pivot that included an acoustic cover of Radiohead's Kid. The Phosphorescent Blues (2015), challenged fans with a sophisticated mixed-genre program and a conceptual meditation on social isolation and All Ashore (2018) presented another nuanced, self-produced political and personal reflection on these tumultuous times.

The band's second decade has been quieter, with only the release of Hell on Church Street (2022), a lovingly reimagined cover of Tony Rice's landmark 1983 bluegrass classic "Church Street Blues" (which is itself an album of covers, of songs by the likes of Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Ralph McTell and Bill Monroe).

The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers not only marks a new chapter for the band, eight years after their last self-penned album, but the 2023 addition of fiddler Brittany Haas (whose own album North Node was released only a few weeks ago and is also reviewed here this month), to replace co-founding fiddler Gabe Witcher, and the choice of an instrumental-only set, add further significance to the creative mix. Besides, hadn't Coilin Thile already provided commentary enough on the state of world affairs, in All Ashore and The Phosphorescent Blues to allow him to hold his tongue this time?

More than any previous album The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, draws attention to The Punch Brothers as an acoustic music ensemble whose foundations in bluegrass are important, but are held in balance within a musical palette that draws equally from folk, jazz, chamber and classical influences. What Thile describes as "the righteous ensemble" (of mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar, banjo, upright bass) determines that the music's bluegrass foundation is never far away, and the album's wryly-entitled theme allows the ensemble's creative interplay of melody, rhythm and cadence to be applied freely and expressively across the album's unlimited and adventurous terrain.

The result is a album of immense depth and immediate appeal. Without lyrics to guide the listener, one is invited to share the joy and excitement inherent in the entwined, rhythmic ebbs and flows of "New Bike". "porthole" 10 second fragment of sounds follows mysteriously, preceding "Found in a Frozen Fog" where the tone becomes more ominous and intense. "Solve Knut (untied)" is a delightful jig that might well have been cribbed from Planxty , flowing seamlessly into an evocative, often-playful, mid-album sequence of "Le Ruisseau" (The Brook), "Saturn: Pogo Ball of the Gods" and "Song of the Water Kelpie (unsung)" - an album highlight. Percussively strummed guitar leads bajo in a march through the darker-toned "June Apple (poisoned)" to the second brief interlude "portal", on the other side of which, in the enigmatically-titled "Descend, O Diamondback!", we are transported from ominous sound of deep, bowed upright bass to a brighter mood of the full ensemble. The album concludes with "New Book" another refined piece that engages the full quintet.

The Punch Brothers' band name comes from the chorus of an earworm jingle that is the centerpiece of Mark Twain's short story "A Literary Nightmare":

Punch, brothers! Punch with care!

Punch in the presence of the passenjare!

I couldn't help but think, while listening to The Unsung Adventures of the Punch Brothers that this music would make a might fine soundtrack to one of Twain's stories.

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Punch Brothers Official

Sangam & Friends

CHARLES LLOYD, ZAKIR HUSSAIN, ERIC HARLAND

Released 24 July 2026

Blue Note Records

*****

A trio of great artists and companions, breathes new life into archival recordings, creating a remarkable cross-cultural, genre-fluid work of innovation, tradition and mutual respect.

Charles Lloyd, the American saxophonist born in Memphis in 1938, of African, Cherokee, Mongolian, and Irish ancestry, graduated from a role as supporting sideman for established blues artists including Bobby "Blue" Bland, Howlin' Wolf and B.B. King, to that of bandleader - notably, in a quartet alongside drummer Jack DeJohnette, pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Cecil McBee - and as an acclaimed solo performer. Since 2015, Lloyd has recorded ten albums for Blue Note Records, including, of recent note, 2024's The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow, which was selected by DownBeat critics as album of the year.

Lloyd is joined here by his long -serving drummer Eric Harland, drummer, whose formidable musical pedigree includes membership of some of jazz music's finest ensembles - McCoy Tyner's Quartet, Kurt Rosenwinkel's Standards Trio, Aaron Goldberg's Trio, Julian Lage's Trio, Chris Potter's Trio, and Terence Blanchard's Quintet, among other groups.

The third member of the team is Zakir Hussain, the contemporary Indian master of the tabla, himself the son of the revered 20th Century tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. Zakir is a co-founding member of celebrated fusion band Shakti (with John McLaughlin) and a frequent collaborator with the likes of George Harrison, Pharoah Sanders, Jan Garbarek, Mickey Hart, Bela Fleck and others.

Sangam & Friends marks the 20th anniversary of the trio's previous album"Sangam", a live disc recorded for ECM in California in 2004 and released in April 2006. As Lloyd notes on his website "The album is built around studio recordings made in Mumbai in 2009 for an album that was begun but never completed featuring an expanded ensemble with Carnatic singer Vijay Prakash, Rakesh Chaurasia on bansuri, Sabir Khan on sarangi, Ranjit Barot on keyboard, and Niladri Kumar on sitar.

"In 2009, Zakir brought Charles to India to be part of his annual ‘Abbaji’ concert which honors his father, Alla Rakha,” writes producer Dorothy Darr in the album’s evocative liner notes. “Experiencing India for the first time was intense and magnificent - Mumbai is a mass of humanity, with multilayers of sound, resplendent colors, and exotic flavors. It resonated with us on every level.” “On the night of the ‘Abbaji’ concert,” Darr continues, “Sangam was joined on stage by a myriad of musicians and instruments - the haunting cry of the many stringed sarangi, sylvan and luminous melodies from the bansuri, the most classic of Indian sounds emanating from a sitar - and voice. In the days following the musical offering to Alla Rakha we went to Nirvana Studio to delve deeper into the waterfalls and eddies that had been stirred up.”

Most of Sangam & Friends was made over that one day in February 2009. The ensemble intended to convene again in the future to complete the album, but the Universe had other plans. Additional material - including the bright, propulsive lead single “Jai Ganga” featuring Lloyd, Hussain, and Harland - were drawn from the Sangam archives.

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Charles Lloyd Official

Blue Note Records

Our Freedoms Must Be Won

KEFAYA & ELAHA SOROOR

Released 17 July 2026

Radio International

*****

A fierce, uncompromising cry for release from persecution delivered in a mix of rock, jazz and traditional styles, drawing on stories of resistance, migration and displacement.

Kefeya is a London based trio formed by musicians and producers Al MacSween, Giuliano Modarelli and Joost Hendrickx. Kefaya take their name from the Arabic word meaning “enough”, a rallying-cry that came to prominence during the Arab Spring uprisings.

Their 2016 debut album "Radio International" earned them the 2017 Songlines Music Award for Best Newcomer, was recorded during travels and collaborations with musicians across India, Palestine, Spain, Italy & the UK and embraces a embraces a range of styles. Themes of internationalism, freedom of movement, immigration and political struggle are reinforced by the concept of the album as an international radio station, where radio samples weave together the musical and political intentions behind the album.

Subsequently, Kefaya teamed up with London-based, Iranian-born Hazara (the traditional music of the central highlands of Afghanistan) folk singer Elaha Soroor in 2019 to release another critically acclaimed album, Songs of Our Mothers, which earned them Songlines Fusion Award. This deeply evocative album reimagines Afghan women’s songs, carrying forward their stories of strength and resistance.

For their new release, collaborators move far beyond the folk and jazz stylings that characterised their previous work. A lot has changed in Afghanistan in the seven years since Songs Of Our Mothers - especially for women, under the control of the brutally intolerant Taliban government and the group's rage at these changed circumstances forms the bedrock of their music, expressed with the intensity of prog-rock, punk and metal in strenuous support of Soroor's vocal prowess, as she draws variously upon Hazara, Farsi, Maghreb pop, Indian and Arabic maqamat scales.

The group describes the album as "written and recorded through a process of collective improvisation, drawing on stories of resistance, migration and displacement. In a world where imperialism, war and colonial power continue to shape the lives of millions, we believe in the importance of recognising the connections between struggles for freedom across borders."

The album engages directly from the opening chords of "Our Freedom Must Be Won" followed by the equally-intense "A Bright Gaze" and "The Game". Soroor's forceful, expressive vocals allow no room for mistaking the urgency of her message. Tabla backing and traditional vocal patterns bring a change of pace for "I Ran & Ran (Leaving Crumbs)", which provides a timely change of pace and"Coo of the Pigeon, Song of The Willow" simmers, as if anticipating an imminent break-out. It comes, in the form of the appropriately named, punk-rock-paced, "Cold and Heavy". The volume drops again for the two-part "Masoma" which, built upon bubbling synths reminiscent of The Who's "Baba O'Riley", adds moving personal depth to the album. The band describes this song as one that "... speaks to the painful absurdity of immigration bureaucracy and the ways in which it displaces loved ones and tears families apart. In this song Elaha makes a deeply personal dedication to her sister, Masoma, whom she longs to be reunited with."However, Kefaya is not quite done - still careful to ensure that the album reaches a fierce, abrupt conclusion, consistent with the urgency of their demand for freedom, with the "The Snail" and "A Modest Wish" - a fittingly uncompromising conclusion, rather than a happy ending.

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Kefaya Official

Elaha Soroor Interview (15 Questions)

In The Hour Of Chaos

ALLISON RUSSELL

Released 10 July 2026

Black Wonder / Fantasy Records

*****

A collaborative masterclass in composition and collaboration that drives like a country record - packing pure, redemptive soul under the hood.

Born in Montreal but raised in the musical cradle of Nashville, in part by an often absent mother and an abusive step-father, Grammy-winner Allison Russell operates firmly in a lane of her own. Merging her complex upbringing with a boundless sense of community, Russell has evolved from a vital roots-music rising talent into an absolute mainstay of the Canadian-American artistic diaspora.

Her third solo record, In the Hour of Chaos, pushes her multi-instrumental brilliance to new heights by reframing personal and societal despair as a canvas for radical collective joy, proving her unique ability to fuse R&B vocal textures with traditional folk frameworks.

On In the Hour of Chaos, Russell anchors her rich country-soul arrangements to a resilient lyrical narrative of survival. The album unfolds like an emotional tapestry across its striking standouts.

Opener "Rainbows" sets the tone, offering a tender pep talk to her younger self about finding light amid uncertainty. This vulnerability deepens on "No Springtime" (featuring Joy Oladokun), which directly addresses the heavy, cyclical nature of trauma and systemic grief.

Defiance takes center stage on the soaring anthem "Cold April", where she fiercely proclaims that you can kill the bird but never the birdsong. On "Two Stars” Russell plays banjo, and sings in the voice of Persophone (from the musical "Hadestown", in which she performed), sings "I’ll never ever ever let you down/But there’s no time to fuck around/I can feel the shake in all the foundations".

Finally, "Really Real" (featuring Norah Jones) brings the narrative to a peaceful resolution, casting love and raw human connection as the ultimate shelter from modern storms. Together with an army of musical allies, Russell delivers a stunning, essential testament to optimism.

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Allison Russell Official

Nils Petter Molvær Official

Be Quiet

NILS PETTER MOLVÆR

Released 10 July 2026

Edition Records

*****

A journey in spatial minimalism, weaving location, genre and partnership into a deeply moving tapestry of hushed intensity and brilliant duo improvisations.

Widely recognized as a pre-eminent European trumpeter and pioneer of the modern nu-jazz movement, Norwegian visionary Nils Petter Molvær has spent three decades expanding the horizons of electro-acoustic music. His signature sound - a heavily textured, breathy trumpet voice steeped in melancholic lyricism - bridges the gap between acoustic purity and cutting-edge electronic manipulation. Molvær’s career trajectory reflects a restless curiosity, evolving from legendary ensemble frameworks to intimate, site-specific soundscapes that deliberately challenge the boundaries of jazz. This philosophy has made him an innovative musical nomad whose technique favors space and restraint over technical flash.

Be Quiet is a beautifully crafted collection of nine calm, yet remarkably intense collaboration pieces recorded across global destinations - Bangkok, Rome, Dusseldorf, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Munich, Berlin, and London. This immersive exploration of proximity, contrast, and sonic geography allows Molvær to step into the personal spaces of these seldom-heard and distinct artists for fleeting, real-time duo encounters.

The range of the record is wonderfully mapped out through its standout tracks. On "Bangkok," Chinese zither artist Chang Jing delivers delicate, floating lines on the traditional guzheng, wrapping around Molvær’s soft trumpet in a meditative, swirling dance. The mood shifts to an acoustic dialogue on "London-Finsbury Park," where legendary musician John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) grounds the atmosphere with his sparse, brightly expressive acoustic piano chords. "London-Hackney" expands the album's boundaries with the ethereal, wordless hums, harmonies clicks and pops from avant-pop icon Imogen Heap. Later, electronic pioneer Alva Noto anchors the Berlin recording with mellow synth textures and pulsing electronic soundscapes. Each piece thrives on restraint, making Be Quiet a staggering triumph of ambient jazz minimalism.

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The Rolling Stones Official

Foreign Tongues

THE ROLLING STONES

Released 10 July 2026

Polydor

*****

A swaggering, hyper-polished triumph of sheer audacity that proves the world's most enduring rock machine still runs like a beautifully restored classic Harley.

The Rolling Stones require no introduction, but their modern-era resilience defies medical science. Following 2023's universally acclaimed Hackney Diamonds, the core trifecta of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood have returned to the studio with astonishing speed. Recorded in a lightning-fast, month-long burst at West London’s Metropolis Studios, Foreign Tongues arrives as a fierce statement of longevity. Mick Jagger's seemingly miraculous Peter Pan act -retaining his signature vocal snarl, boundless physical stamina, and wire-thin physique well into his eighth decade - remains a wonder of the modern world (and the Personal Trainer industry), especially when weighted against the band's true attrition rate: of the original five founding members, only Jagger and Richards remain.

On Foreign Tongues, the Stones team up once again with hot-shot producer Andrew Watt, who delivers state-of-the-art, radio-ready sonic sheen. Watt maximizes the band's remaining horsepower, combining pristine, punchy contemporary pop-rock dynamics with live, aggressive tracking. The record is bolstered by a dizzying array of high-profile sit-ins, including Paul McCartney anchoring the moody "Covered in You," alongside cameos from Robert Smith (The Cure), Bruno Mars, and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) - most of whose presence is barely noticable. The exception though, is Steve Winwood (Traffic, Blind Faith) whose organ work is essential to the balance - as is a bittersweet, archival drum track from the late, great Charlie Watts - his posthumous appearance on the album's most energetic track "Hit Me In The Head" reminding all to his importance to the band.

Stylistically, the album is a gloriously unashamed exercise in self-pastiche. The tracking effortlessly recycles the band's legendary playbook: a healthy dose of bluesy harp-playing, some dust-worn country licks, R&B grooves, and a whole catalog of familiar, repurposed riffs. The infectious lead single "In The Stars" struts with a rhythmic bounce that sounds suspiciously akin to Michael Jackson’s "Black or White - only to find, surprise, surprise, that MJ shares credits with Mick and Keith, as the riff is cropped from the Sones' own "Soul Survivor" from "Exile On Main Street" (1972). Keith's obligatory vocal appearance on "Some of Us", which unexpectedly mellows proceedings mid-stream, and the band's cover of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" are the album's only blemishes - instances of the band as anything but current,

But frankly, what does it matter? The sheer audacity and blistering success of the delivery carries the day. Riding high on back-to-back late-career victories, the Stones are currently running like a well-oiled, newly restored Harley Electra Glide - firing at every single pole as they cruise triumphantly down life's M5.

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Zero

ALEWYA

Released 26 June 2026

LDN Records

*****

Across four distinct sonic quadrants, a pulsating montage of pan-African influences and South London beats, that maps the spiritual cycle of personal rebirth.

London-based singer/songwriter, producer and multidisciplinary artist Alewya gives little away on her Bandcamp except to declare that her music and art derives from "deep brooding throughout euphoria, heartache, melancholy and back again"- a statement that invites unpacking. The debut album from the Saudi Arabian born Alewya Demmisse, draws deeply and creatively from her rich cross-cultural influences: Ethiopian mother, Egyptian father, South London-base. Her emergence is long overdue, considering that her breakout moment came in 2020 with the throbbing pump of dancefloor banger "Sweating"(and its remixes). Subsequent singles have been numerous and excellent, each one advancing her craft, revealing her daring and showcasing her embrace of musical forms informed by her heritage.

Executive-produced by soundsystem legend Shy FX, her debut album, Zero, diverges from standard pop sequencing with the insertion of three short, ambient pieces into the album's 15 track sequence, creating four distinct thematic phases that Aleywa uses to map out a song cycle built around the concept of the "zero point" - the point where letting go of one's past lets them restart entirely. "I made a creative bible around Zero .. (braking) it down into five DNA strands: roots, instinct, space, deconstruction and feminine assertion", she says.

Part one grounds the record in ancestral heritage (roots), with the angelic chants of "Simian Mountain", the Arabic edge of "City of Symbols", the driving Afro-house polyrhythms of "Runner" and the funky, M.I.A.-influenced, , kasbah-to-club beats-feast,"Maktoub".

The brief "Interlude 00" introduces part two (instinct), where the songs deal with forces of attraction: the spacious warmth of R&B textures of "Red Clay Luv" is followed by the motorik propulsion of "Night Drive" - expressions of raw desire and emotional vulnerability, as Aleywa sings: "I got you .... wanna get all of you" and "I can't explain it or tame it, I’m like a moth to a flame with you"

In the third part, "Interlude 01" precedes the explosive single "Selah" , as Alewya reclaims personal autonomy (space), singing - "Go wherever I will go, I need no reason, I feel it so, it so...And all I need is what I'll be".

Then, the ominous ninety-second "Intermission" resets the aural palette and the album erupts into a quadrant of songs that comprise the album's centre: the aggressive UK rap energy of "Guttah", the vintage Egyptian disco bounce of "Cairo FM", the evocative bedouine sway of "Lingo", and the time-bending waltz of "Eshi". These are songs of assertion, destiny, identity, and self-respect - all fiercely determined to reject external control, representative of the concept's fourth sector (deconstruction).

Finally, without a further interlude, the engaging evolution of the Zero theme culminates in the towering synth conclusion of the title track in which Aleywa gives thanks to God and family, thus completing an audacious, unforgettable essay in song."Oh my mother, this is for you, I’m feeling all our lives grew" and "I’ve been blessed by this God above, To give all, give all, Don’t withdraw your love, Don’t withdraw, So when he say, whoa, I sing, I sing".

A remarkable debut.

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So Help Me God

KELSEY LU

Released 12 June 2026

Dirty Hit

*****

An exquisite, avant-pop magnum opus that distills seven years of grief and metamorphosis into a cascade of cinematic songwriting.

Kelsey Lu is a visionary classically trained cellist, composer, and multidisciplinary auteur whose work obliterates the lines between chamber music, left-field pop, and performance art. Raised in a devoutly religious household in North Carolina and currently based in Los Angeles, Lu captured the music world's imagination with her staggering 2019 debut, Blood. In the seven years since, they have intentionally pivoted toward expansive, non-traditional compositions - scoring multiple films, including the BAFTA-winning Earth Mama (2024), and the Netflix Documentary Daughters (2024), while lending their distinct string and vocal work to a brilliant, elite roster of global artists. Lu remains one of contemporary music’s most singular, unclassifiable forces.

Where Blood introduced Lu as a compelling minimalist architect of interior chamber-folk, So Help Me God scales their creative universe into a monumental, multi-disciplinary horizon. Built across seven years of intense personal transformation and spiritual questioning, the album represents a massive evolution for Lu as a core songwriter and arranger. By partnering with a heavy-hitting co-production triumvirate - production duo Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, St. Vincent, Pink, Florence and the Machine, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, and Doja Cat.) and frequent collaborator Yves Rothman, with immaculate mixing by Oli Jacobs ((Yves Tumor, Sunflower Bean, Girlpool). Lu expands their organic cello foundations to comfortably include distorted guitars, dark electronic pulses, and towering choral swells into her arsenal.

The record’s magnificent narrative arc charts a journey from helpless emotional paralysis to a volatile, triumphant self-actualization. This trajectory ignites with the massive, nearly nine-minute opener, "Reaper" which begins in a smoky, neo-soul groove before standard pop forms completely dissolve into fluid, shifting movements. Having established an immediate atmosphere of uncertainty, Lu then pivots the sonic palette into widescreen longing on the heartbreaking "Portrait Of A Lady On Fire", Here, Lu's intricate cello plucking is caught in a cinematic storm of layered strings and distorted guitars.

As the journey deepens, Lu deftly introduces a stunning collective of collaborators, ensuring their presence serves the overarching story rather than simple star power. On the gorgeous "Better Than That," Sampha’s distinct vocal overdubs and stuttering textures swirl playfully around Lu’s vocals, before sliding gracefully into heavy, 808 bass beats. Elsewhere, Kamasi Washington’s expressive, free-jazz horn lines color the sprawling, eco-spiritual symphonics of "American Sonnet," while Kim Gordon's raw, avant-garde textures lend a fierce gravitas to the record's heavier shadows. This long, emotional processing ultimately breaks into free-running euphoria on the closing track, "Cutting Off The Head Of A Ghost." in which, powered by an explosive, percussive rock charge, Lu violently breaks free from their past wounds to end the album on a brilliant, manic high of total rebirth.

Quite simply, one of the albums of the year.

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Take Me To The River

EMMA DONOVAN

Released 8 May 2026

*****

A towering, culturally resonant soul masterpiece that brilliantly reimagines foundational Black American anthems through a powerful lens of First Nations healing.

Emma Donovan is one of Australia’s most celebrated vocal heavyweights, wielding her aching, expansive voice to chronicle her lived experiences as a proud Gumbaynggirr and Noongar woman. From her early beginnings as a teenager touring with the acoustic trio Stiff Gins to her multi-album, critically acclaimed tenure fronting the gritty funk outfit The Putbacks, Donovan has spent over two decades cementing herself as a vital cultural force. Moving smoothly into her solo era following Follow The Sun (2024) and 2024's Til My Song Is Done, her artistry remains deeply rooted in church music, community, and the timeless oral traditions of her family lineage.

Now, on the magnificent Take Me To The River, Emma Donovan delivers much more than a tasteful, immaculate covers record; she constructs a profound, multidisciplinary monument to the music that first inspired her to sing. Intertwining the work of African American civil rights icons with her own history, Donovan and an elite backing band - featuring guitarist Ben Edgar and bassist David Symes - reimagine these classics with an organic, country-gospel warmth that breathes brand-new life into the global soul songbook.

The record astutely establishes its overarching theme of water, cleansing, and ancestral survival by bookending the entire ten-track set with intentional companion pieces. It surges to life with the opening title track, "Take Me to the River." Stripping away the sleekness of Al Green's 1974 original, Donovan reinterprets the groove as a joyful, localized family gathering, culminating in a breathtaking Gumbaynggirr language coda that roots the track firmly in the sacred rivers of her own Country.

From there, the narrative flows seamlessly through stunning, politically charged readings of Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" and Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," and a timely cover of Pop Staple's anthem of resistance "Freedom's Highway" before arriving at its majestic emotional peak - an inspired, deeply moving interpretation of the late Archie Roach gospel singalong "Wash My Soul In The River's Flow" (which first appeared on his 2012 masterpiece "Into The Bloodstream"). Donovan reinvents this song as a tender, sacred hymn, allowing her rich, velvety vocals to carry the weight of spiritual redemption and eternal connection.

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Emma Donovan Official

Reality Awaits

THE STROKES

Released 24 July 2026

RCA

**---

A disappointing late-career clunker, from the once mighty NY group: marred by dark unintersing lyrics and indiscriminately-applied, AutoTune-heavy production.

When we first hear The Strokes, in the first year of the new millenium, it seemed that they were the future of rock - with their Lou Reed vocals, wryly observed lyrics and ringing guitars. "Is This It" jut brimmed with power-pop bangers. A quarter century later, they're still at it and expectations were far from high - after all, their previous release, the Rick Rubin-produced, "The New Abnormal" - which was delivered during the pandemic - drew less than effusive praise. The Guardian, for one, declared it an album of "all-out pop and mid-paced fillers...(that) remains a frustrating listen despite its gleam".

Once again, Julian Casablancas has turned to Rick Rubin in the producer's chair, but his AutoTune-heavy hand cannot rescue this lot. Opening cuts "Psych Shit" and "Dine N'Dash" are slow, lyrically full of dark imagery and plain uninteresting. "Lonely In The Future" may be intended as ironic, but seems to be little more than a litany of churlish boasts. Thanks to the AutoTune it sounds like equal parts a Strokes song and a Daft Punk song. The pace picks up for "Going To Babble On" and "Going On" - but their lyrics don't bear examination and oh, the AutoTune.

"Liar's Remorse" adds an unexpected, "where did that come from?" foray into phone-waving, stadium-rock balladry, but falls short in the absence of meaningful lyrics and any sing-with potential.

It is not until the funk-infused penultimate track "The Fruits of Conquest" that Rubin eases back on the AutoTune and allows Casablancas' (more-or-less) natural voice through. It's like another artist has entered the room - though the lyrics don't reciprocate.

The final cut "Tyrants of the Mellow Moon" is also more interesting, if only for its succession of "In Rainbows" era Radiohead-like (Faust Arp anyone?) guitar and drum passages, but (again) the vocals are ruined by the AutoTune and the lyrics in which he paradoxically sings "Here we are for the final time / And I hope you say that I made you laugh". Well, ah NO!

"Reality Awaits" is a disappointing new low for a band that once untouchable.

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The Strokes Official

Fergus McCreadie Official

The Shieling - Companion Pieces

FERGUS MCCREADIE

Released 17 July 2026

Edition Records

****-

The Shieling

FERGUS MCCREADIE

Released 24 October 2025

Edition Records

****-

We revisit the 2025 original and savour it's companion release - a further release of songs filled with folk-inflected melody and lyrical improvisation, shaped with clarity, space and quiet intensity..

Fergus McCreadie is an acclaimed Scottish jazz pianist and composer known for seamlessly fusing contemporary jazz improvisation with traditional Scottish folk melodies. Inspired by the sublime landscapes and geography of his homeland, McCreadie has emerged as one of the defining figures in modern British jazz.

Born in Jamestown, Easter Ross, and raised in Dollar, Scotland. He studied jazz piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow under Scottish jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator, Tommy Smith.

McCreadie was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, won the Scottish Album of the Year and Scottish Jazz Award for Best Album, for his 2022 album Forest Floor.

The album's production background is unique: opting for an unvarnished, direct, and intimate acoustic atmosphere rather than a traditional, highly polished studio setting, the recording team transported an upright piano from Essex, across the Minch straight, the wild, elemental beauty of North Uist in the Scottish Outer Hebrides, where the trio of McCreadie (piano), David Bowden (Double Bass) and
Stephen Henderson (Drums) recorded together in a single room.

The album's title derives from the name for the summer shelter traditionally used by Highland livestock herders on high pasturelands, symbolizing connection to nature, seasonal movement, and rustic The album features 10 original compositions that balance lilting reels, folk motifs, and open modal improvisations. The upright piano provides a warm, resonant, and slightly raw tone -in contrast to the pristine grand piano sound of McCreadie's earlier studio albums.

The second release - The Shieling - Companion Pieces - is an additional 6 tracks that serve as intimate counterparts to The Shieling, revealing the trio’s emotional depth and instinctive interplay. The music continues in an open, flowing direction - folk-inflected melody meeting lyrical improvisation, shaped with clarity, space and quiet intensity.

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Spotify

Africa/Brass (Live)

TENDERLONIUS

Released 10 July 2026

22a

****-

Paying homage to the greatest jazz icon, the UK musician chose an album that captured the sound of a continent in the midst of revolution, fusing rapid-fire saxophone arpeggios with lush brass arrangements and expansive modal passages.

Africa/Brass is a studio album by the great jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane, released September, 1961. Coltrane's working quartet - McCoy Tyner (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), Elvin Jones (drums) - was augmented by a larger ensemble that brings the total to twenty-one musicians. Its big band sound, with the unusual instrumentation of French horns and euphonium, presented music very different from anything that had been associated with Coltrane to date. While critics originally gave it poor ratings, more recent jazz commentators have described it more favourably, as a "key work in understanding the path that John Coltrane's music took in its final phases".

Tenderlonius (Edward Cawthorne) is a British saxophonist, flautist, producer and bandleader of acclaimed jazz quartet Ruby Rushton. No stranger to eclecticism, his recordings embrace funk, hip-hop, techno, Indian ragas and classic jazz homage.

His interest in Africa/Brass ie sexplaind on Bandcamp: "(the album) captured the sound of a continent in the midst of revolution (17 African countries had gained independence the year before). It fused rapid-fire saxophone arpeggios with lush brass arrangements and expansive modal passages so trance-inducing it would go on to shape the music of Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and many more that followed."

The piece was performed at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival in October 2025, as part of Pique-nique’s Take Two series. Each Take Two event begins with an uninterrupted, high-fidelity playback of a seminal album, heard as it was originally intended, followed by a live reinterpretation with full artistic freedom. It’s an experiment into what happens when serious musicians immerse themselves in a work long enough to discover their own path through it.

Having considered performing "A Love Supreme", Tenderlonious cose "Africa/Brass"because it "...was the underrated one, the modal one, the album where Coltrane ventured furthest into uncharted territory. And modal jazz, the discipline of staying inside a scale, of finding everything you need in five or six notes and just hanging there, is where Tenderlonious likes to live. He likens it to playing Indian ragas: no divergence, just the scale and the search. “I just want to sit on a scale for ten minutes,” he says, “and find something there.”

For this performance, Tenderlonious assembled a quartet of trusted collaborators. Tim Carnegie, his longtime drummer, flew in from London. Horatio Luna on bass and On-Ly on piano completed the group, two Melbourne musicians Tenderlonious describes as “seriously underrated.” The melodies, he said, would be the foundation. After that, the search would begin. And the search was fierce! That’s what you’re hearing on this record. One beautiful note, Tenderlonious will tell you, means more than a thousand. Coltrane knew it. And on a Monday night in Melbourne, they proved it.

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Art Don't Lie

JOSHUA MOSHE

Released 17 July 2026

Joshua Moshe

****-

A contemporary, spiritual jazz fusion of improvisation, electronic textures, and Jewish folk and rhythm traditions into a deeply personal, cinematic sonic journey.

Over the past five years, Melbourne-based saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Joshua Moshe has become a vital force in the Australian contemporary jazz landscape, gaining widespread attention with a string of singles, an EP and his 2023 debut album Inner Search, which earned a nomination for the prestigious Australian Music Prize. Known for his technical fluidity on both alto and soprano saxophones, Moshe seamlessly bridges the gap between acoustic traditions and modern studio production. His work also may be seen as a cultural bridge - weaving ancestral Jewish folk melodies and Middle Eastern modalities together, bound with heavy, club-leaning global grooves.

Art Don't Lie is an ambitious, breathtakingly realized evolution for Joshua Moshe. Recorded with a core eight-piece group in early 2023 and expanded through ongoing studio sessions across 2023 – 2024, the album is a masterclass in balance. The album features a powerhouse ensemble of collaborators including UK/NZ drummer Myele Manzanza, who brings deep rhythmic drive and elasticity to the music, alongside long-time producer and collaborator Lewis Moody, whose production and mixing shape the record’s sonic world. Tracks like "Binah" and the title track operate with a fierce rhythmic urgency, allowing Moshe's soaring saxophone to slice through dense electronic textures. The arrangements feel simultaneously vast and hyper-intimate, utilizing space as effectively as complex instrumentation. It is a cinematic, deeply evocative document of migration and identity that redefines the parameters of modern Australian spiritual jazz.

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Joshua Moshe Official

América!

ORQUESTA AKOKÁN

Released 17 July 2026

Daptone Records

****-

Expanding on the classic Mambo sounds by blending Latin, soul, boogaloo and salsa - all while staying true to their Cuban roots

Orquesta Akokán is a Latin jazz ensemble formed by musicians from Cuba and New York, United States. It takes inspiration from mid-twentieth century mambo musicians such as Perez Prado, Beny Moré and Machito. The ensemble, whose name comes from the Yoruban word for "from the heart", began as a collaboration between US based arranger Michael Eckroth, producer Jacob Plasse, and vocalist Jose "Pepito" Gomez. They took a trip to Cuba together to record in the style of mid-century Cuban band music, and put an ensemble together during a trip to Havana with the help of Cesar Lopez of the group Irakere. Signed to Daptone Records, the ensemble has released three previous albums - a self-titled Grammy Award winning debut (2018), "16 Rayos" (2021) and "Caracoles" (2024).

Recorded live to tape at Penrose Recorders by Gabriel Roth, AMÉRICA! expands on the classic Mambo sounds that the band has become known for - blending Latin
soul, boogaloo and salsa - all while staying true to their Cuban roots. This release
introduces an all-star line-up of New York-based singers including Miriam Elhajli (who draws on Venezuelan, Moroccan and North American heritage), and Carolina Oliveros (of the Colombian diaspora band Combo Chimbita).

Tapping into the raw energy of seminal predecessors Celia Cruz (salsa's definitive global ambassador, who fused dazzling vocal power with joyous charisma) and La Lupe (whose raw, emotionally explosive performances redefined Latin soul and bolero) the ensemble turns the lens toward
something more intimate: themes of loss, upheaval, and the weight of the immigrant experience.

Describing their approach to the music on their website the band describes their approach as "(allowing) full, fearless musical expression and risk-taking outside of their comfort zones...the band continues to explore, develop and expand the island’s (Cuba's) rich rhythmic palette and repertoire - pushing the conventions of what is considered “mambo” - and drawing deeply from folkloric and religious traditions seldom heard in popular music. The Cuban musicians’ deep spiritual reservoir and knowledge of folklore informs the Orquesta’s contemporary sensibilities, allowing the album to remain true and faithful to the spirit of the music’s origins while pushing the grooves into previously uncharted vistas."

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Orquesta Akokán Official

11:11 ∞

JESSIE MARCELLA

Released 16 July 2026

Mercury KX

****-

A brilliant, concept-led exploration of duality that beautifully mirrors structural symmetry with deep, atmospheric, and club-ready electronics.

Hailing from Leeds, UK, classically trained clarinetist Jessie Marcella operates under a purely intuitive creative motto: "all feeling, no theory". Moving fluidly across the electronic landscape, her early output built a reputation grounded in rich texture, emotional atmosphere, and intricate soundscapes rather than linear narrative. Merging her deep instrumental background with modern production, she positions her sound comfortably among the current vanguard of British electronic innovators. Marcella's meticulous approach to sonic architecture highlights a compositional maturity that balances acoustic warmth with contemporary dance floor energy, signaling a significant personal breakout.

Stepping away from standalone singles, "11:11 ∞" operates as an intentional, cyclical song suite structured around three thematic pillars: "11:11", "Halo" and "Quartz". By offering varied iterations - including "Day", "Night", "Reversed" and "Sleep" - Marcella masterfully captures time as both a rigid metric and a shifting emotional canvas. The journey opens with the swelling, dawn-evoking synths of "11:11 - Day" which seamlessly transitions into the urgent, club-inspired basslines of "11:11 - Night". This kinetic energy intensifies through the contrasting iterations of "Halo" finding brief rest in the lush, decaying choruses of "Halo - Reversed". The record hits its peak with the highly energetic "Quartz - Night" before the organic, field-recording-laced "Quartz - Sleep" gently resets the cycle. The result is a highly cohesive, deeply atmospheric body of work that suggests a transformative evolutionary step for the artist.

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Jessie Marcella Official

North Node

NATALIE & BRITTANY HAAS

Released 10 July 2026

Padiddle Records

****-

The duo once again present compositions that blur the boundaries between their shared fiddle traditions - simultaneously Celtic, American, Scandinavian and yet completely original.

As their label Pidaddle Records describes them, "sisters Natalie (cello) and Brittany Haas (fiddle) began their musical lives together, filling their childhood home with Bach suites and Old-Time tunes alike. It was on their own, however - following divergent paths through disparate musical traditions, countries, and cultures—that they both arrived as virtuosi and composers at the highest levels of contemporary string music. Fans of acoustic music can hardly mention one without referencing the other’s work.

for her part, Natalie is credited with putting the cello on the map of contemporary Celtic and folk music, having charted a new course through the string music of Scotland, Ireland, Spain, and beyond. Her recent collaborations include the album Meridians (2026) with Scottish born fiddler Alasdair Fraser.

Brittany meanwhile, is widely regarded as one of the most influential fiddlers of her generation, collaborating with Crooked Still, Hawktail and Punch Brothers, and bringing a world-renowned virtuosity and distinct rhythmic sensibility.

With their 2023 album HAAS, these singular musicians finally recorded as a duo for the first time, encompassing travels through time and through the world. From Nashville to Norway, the Celtic Isles to California, Natalie and Brittany have absorbed, adapted, and made their own world of music.

With their new album the duo once again present compositions that blur the boundaries between their shared fiddle traditions…it’s simultaneously Celtic, American, Scandinavian and yet completely original. The album features special guests Sam Bush (mandolin, fiddle) and Darol Anger (violin) on three tracks.

In a review of the album Strad magazine observed "On North Node, the duo continues building something entirely new together, going to new places and pushing boundaries. The album represents a major step forward in their journey as composers, with equal emphasis placed on both instruments. The interplay between Brittany's 5-string fiddle and Natalie's rhythmic cello work allows the melody to shift fluidly between high and low registers, proving that two instruments can carry the full weight, momentum, and harmonic density of an entire string ensemble."

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Natalie Haas Official

Brittany Haas Official

Frozen Charlotte

JACK WHITE

Released 10 July 2026

Third Man Records

***--

A stripped-down guitar-and-drums assault that pits vintage fury against the narrow borders of his own minimalist blues blueprint.

Jack White launched into global stardom alongside his sister Meg on drums, forging a fierce profile with a spare, hypercharged, stylized iteration of the blues. The White Stripes’ startling maximalist take on minimalism positioned them among history's greatest duos, compelling lofty comparisons to guitar icons Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. A formidable solo catalog, successful side projects like The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, and disparate roles as a record label mogul, producer, and inescapable celebrity followed. While some media-heavy endeavors felt overblown to his musical disadvantage, White’s relentless, boundary-pushing resume remains one of modern rock's most impressive.

On Frozen Charlotte, White returns to his musical foundations, stripping instrumentation back to a raw conversation between guitar and drums. While he has never feared pushing creative limits, this thirteen-track collection (sadly) surprises primarily through its striking sonic monotony. White injects fierce, re-found energy and a simplified, clear-eyed vision, yet he frequently struggles to break free from the limiting vocabulary of his own self-created genre.

Fortunately, a few brilliant exceptions - such as "G.O.D. And the Broken Ribs", "Neighbors Blues" and "Dollar Bill", - shatter the homogeneity, supplementing White's swampy stomp and successfully transcend predictability. In these standout moments, White deliberately separates his blistering bluesy guitar pyrotechnics with contrasting vocal pacing and dynamic instrumental passages. It proves that while the walls of his raw garage-rock fortress are closing in tightly around him, White still knows exactly how to crack an open window, shift his internal pacing, and let the music breathe beautifully. But he needs to do it with more variety and more often.

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Jack White Official

Fruits of the Diaspora

MO KOLOURS, THE CO-OPERATORS

Released 10 July 2026

22a

****-

"An ocean deep mystical journey from the Maroon mountains of Mauritius to the Lion of Judah's home in exile, Bath, via London's Ladbroke Grove"

Returning from his so-called "wilderness years" in Japan, Mo Kolours is once again walking the streets of his youth, this time to the beat of his own drum. Much like producer and Co-Operators bandleader Eeyun, Mo is a multi instrumentalist, but when it boils down he's a percussionist by trade and has spent most of his own musical career as a producer as well. As a result, this collaboration is the first of its kind - combining The Co-Operators unique take on roots reggae with Mo Kolours' style that has always been a little way different.

Recorded between February and May 2026, the deeply collaborative process that created this LP shaped by eccentric partnership of Mo & Eeyun, producing a sound that sound that is both brand new and ancient. Mo's plaintive voice weaves in and out of the rhythmic pattern of his hands and takes us on a journey down ancestral highways. Beating on the skin of his Ravanne. Blowing his Maroon Pipe. Or pulsing to the heartbeat of drums hand carved and crafted by Eeyun himself.

Whether chanting deep in the jungle or sounding the abeng from misty mountains high. This is an album of the deepest roots reggae. Drawing from an eclectic range of influences it weaves in the Indian Ocean feel of Mauritian Sega music creating a vibration of its own.

Shrouded in sacramental smoke it carries a message of a universal love that stretches way over yonder. Far beyond borders. It's roots spreading forth like those of the ficus tree.

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Jutna

AUSECUMA BEATS, MAMADOU DEMBÉLÉ, MAGOU SAMB, KANAZÉ DIABATÉ

Released 3 July 2026

Music In Exile

****-

An exhilarating, borderless masterpiece where Melbourne’s pulsing club underground seamlessly locks steps with West African master-musicianship and unstoppable kinetic grooves.

Led by their visionary master djembe player Boubacar Gaye, Melbourne/Naarm-based nine-piece collective Ausecuma Beats operates less like a standard band and more like a cultural philosophy. Their artistry centers on transplanting ancestral rhythms (from AUstralia, SEnegal, CUba, and MAli) into contemporary, cosmopolitan landscapes.

For their latest collaborative landmark, the ensemble combines with three masters of West African tradition: Burkinabé kora virtuoso Mamadou Dembélé, Senegalese vocal dynamo Magou Samb, and Malian balafon maestro Kanazé Diabaté. Amplified by key contributions from jazz visionaries Gordon Li and Harry Ling, the resulting cross-continental project stands as a dazzling showcase of community, diaspora identity, and rhythm-driven cross-pollination.

"Jutna ( Gëm Sa Bop)"which translates from Wolof aS "It's Time, (Believe in Yourself)" is a vibrant, brilliantly structured exploration of cultural synthesis. The album functions as a fluid rhythmic dialogue, charting a path that bridges the sun-baked traditions of West African griot culture with, sweat-soaked energy of modern Australian jazz and club music.

The record sets its boundary-pushing narrative in motion with the explosive opening track, "Foli Yé." Guided by the lightning-fast, shimmering balafon patterns of Kanazoé Diabaté and the driving brass textures of Gordon Li, the track immediately shifts into a full-scale ritual dance celebration.

This sheer kinetic energy slides smoothly into the title track, "Jutna (Gëm Sa Bop)," introducing a propulsive Afrobeat pulse where Magou Samb’s urgent vocals wrap around cascading percussion, demanding immediate self-reckoning and forward momentum. Moving through the dense polyrhythms of the mid-album tracks, this hypnotic baseline gathers a triumphant power on the grand finale, "Stand Up." Acting as a final call to arms, the closer masterfully layers Mamadou Dembélé’s delicate kora patterns against heavy urban jazz syncopation, dissolving all geographical distance between Bamako and Melbourne.

It is an extraordinary, joyful record that proves community is a living sound.

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Music In Exile

Terra Incognita

AKUSMI

Released 3 July 2026

Tonal Union

****-

A mesmerising, borderless album that trades rigid electronic minimalism for organic, polyrhythmic jazz - exploring uncharted musical territory.

Akusmi is the project moniker of French-born, London-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Pascal Bideau. He first captured global attention with his 2022 debut Fleeting Future and 2023’s EP Lines, projects championed by music reviewers and tastemakers alike. His early sound world was profoundly shaped by a journey to Indonesia, where he immersed himself in traditional gamelan. Crucially, it wasn’t the structure that stayed with him, but the way those distinct musical scales create a transportative medium for instrumental exploration and innovation. With Terra Incognita, Bideau uses that foundation to pursue dépaysement - the thrilling, childlike sensation of being completely disoriented and open to unfamiliar surroundings, like visiting a new place.

Where Akusmi’s previous work relied on pristine, interlocking clockwork patterns, Terra Incognita is intentionally looser, more earthy, and delightfully unmapped. Dominated entirely by a rich, tactile acoustic palette and subtly supported by electronics, the album functions as a transportive journey into the inner self. Bideau's own expressive alto saxophone acts as the record’s guide - half-narrator, half-explorer - reacting in real time to shifting sonic landscapes

The underlying influences are masterfully integrated. The reverent, cosmic weight of spiritual jazz masters like Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders is woven deeply into the fabric of the entire record, working alongside the high-energy, syncopated optimism of Afrobeat, Highlife, and electronic Afro-pop. On the long-form, trance-inducing groove of "Anima," pulsing electronics by longtime collaborator Daniel Brandt evoke a future-searching ethos reminiscent of Sun Ra.

The technical execution from the international ensemble is exceptional. US-born, Indian-raised, London-based tabla virtuoso Sarathy Korwar injects a kinetic urgency into "Rain Dance," "Pleine Lune," and "Drongo’s Flute," while Levitation Orchestra’s Polish-born, London based Marysia Osu provides sheets of celestial harp. Legendary Senegalese musician Dudú Kouate leaves an immense footprint across the tracking list, building complex rhythmic layers from pygmy flutes and birdsongs on "Drongo’s Flute" before unleashing a magnificent, multi-octave vocal arrangement on the closer "Dawning Dusk."

Wrapped beautifully in intricate, abstract cover artwork by Jacob van Loon, Terra Incognita stands as an essential, deeply imaginative triumph.

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Somewhere Over The Rainbow

SUN RA

Released 1977

Re-released 3 July 2026

Strut Records

****-

A magnificent restoration of Sun Ra’s legendary 1977 Bloomington concert, capturing the Arkestra bridging cosmic jazz with historic big band standards.

Sun Ra remains one of the most enigmatic figures in jazz history, a pioneer of Afrofuturism who claimed to be from Saturn. Leading his Arkestra for decades, Ra forged a unique sonic universe where ancient African mysticism met outer-space philosophy. By 1977, the Arkestra was a finely-tuned touring machine at the peak of its powers, featuring legendary regulars like Marshall Allen, Danny Ray Thompson, and Michael Ray. Their legendary live shows were loosely structured, theatrical rituals that seamlessly dissolved boundaries between avant-garde chaos, deep African grooves, and the Great American Songbook, functioning as both cosmic invitations and joyous community parties.

This essential reissue finally expands Sun Ra’s historic 1977 Bluebird session into a sweeping 26-track masterpiece. By restoring previously excised material and preserving the original natural transitions, Strut Records offers a definitive look at the Arkestra’s brilliant live dynamic. The performance effortlessly shifts between Ra’s outer-space narratives and deeply reimagined jazz classics. Breathtaking, sprawling versions of "Take The 'A' Train" and the titular "Over The Rainbow" sit beautifully alongside rare original compositions like "Amen Meni Many Amens." Ra’s improvisational conducting guides the listener seamlessly through acoustic big-band swing, collective chants, and fiery avant-garde exploration.

Beautifully remastered from the original source tapes, the album feels remarkably alive, intimate, and endlessly vibrant. It is a stunning, joyful celebration of Ra's expansive musical vision, serving as an absolute must-have document for both hardcore collectors and casual jazz listeners alike.

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Wingdings Album 2026

⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ

KIEREN HEBDEN | FOUR TET

Released 3 July 2026

Text Records

****-

A triumph of textural electronica, blending modular micro-glitches with lush, deeply introspective acoustic-ambient soundscapes.

Kieran Hebden uses aliases to map out distinct sonic playgrounds. His primary Four Tet moniker anchors melodic folktronica and expansive electronic jazz, while his club-focused KH project delivers high-energy, loop-driven vocal house anthems tailored for festival main-stages. In stark contrast, this unsearchable 'wingdings' project represents Hebden at his most experimental, solitary, and liberated. Unlike previous abstract wingdings EPs - which often served as rough blueprints later polished into his mainstream Four Tet LP Parallel - this surprise album leans heavily into tactile micro-glitches and crystalline ambient stillness, completely shedding standard club-floor structures to favor a purely transcendent, intensely insular headphone listening experience right now.

Arriving as an unexpected mid-summer gift, this eight-track offering operates entirely outside the commercial ecosystem. The music feels deeply intimate, captured in a space where time stretches and regular rhythms dissolve into beautiful abstraction. Throughout the record, Hebden masterfully contrasts organic warmth with digital fragmentation. Shimmering, pointillistic synthesizer melodies flutter like digital raindrops over beds of softly whirring tape hiss and delicate, found-sound acoustic strums. Sub-bass pulses provide a gentle, underwater warmth, anchoring the ethereal soundscapes without ever pushing them toward a conventional dance floor. Treated, unidentifiable vocal fragments swirl across the stereo field, evoking a profound sense of beautiful, wordless nostalgia. It is an extraordinary exercise in restraint, demonstrating how Hebden can manipulate negative space to build rich emotional depth.

For listeners willing to bypass the uncopyable titles, this album reveals a gorgeous, mesmerizing world of pure, unparalleled sonic meditation that lingers long after the music officially concludes completely.

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Melbourne Ska Orchestra Official

The Ballad of Monte Loco

THE MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA

Released 27 June 2026

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

****-

An engaging cinematic collision as dusty Morricone-like desert swagger meets ska's explosive, horn-powered big band ska.

Formed in 2003 under the charismatic leadership of Nicky Bomba, the Melbourne Ska Orchestra is an award-winning Australian juggernaut. Comprising up to 36 multi-instrumentalists, the massive collective has revolutionized the domestic roots scene with their electrifying live spectacles and unmatched energy. Across multiple ARIA wins and international tours, they have dedicated themselves to preserving and blowing out the traditional boundaries of Jamaican rhythms and have broadened the music's range by tapping into the genre's humor and cos-play side: their 2013 reinvention of the theme to Get Smart is inspired. With their eighth studio album, The Ballad of Monte Loco, the ensemble tackles their most ambitious conceptual frontier yet, proving their capacity to endlessly reinvent a historically rigid genre.

And so, the musical conjunction of ska and the Spaghetti Western soundtrack might seem highly unlikely, yet it provides a brilliant narrative focus for the Orchestra. Realistically, ska draws from a relatively narrow musical vocabulary, but this thematic pivot broadens the band's range immensely. As they write on their website: "This album is inspired by the rebellious spirit and instrumentation that loomed large in much-loved Spaghetti Western films from the ’60s and ’70s. This wild new album fuses Spaghetti Western swagger, deep reggae grooves, and horn-powered mayhem."

Judging the record on this exact criteria, it is an absolute triumph. Tracks like "Brave" and "John Wayne", "Bom Bom Bom" seamlessly blend Ennio Morricone-esque desert acoustics, Tarantino-like insider humor, whip cracks, and horse-gallop rhythms with blazing brass sections and offbeat skanks.

By injecting cinematic high-stakes drama into their celebratory roots foundation, MSO successfully elevates ska into a vivid, widescreen storytelling medium. Gotta love it partner.

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Winter Songs

STEVE SWALLOW

Released 26 June 2026

ecm

****-

An engaging cinematic collision as dusty Morricone-like desert swagger meets ska's explosive, horn-powered big band ska.

It is more than a decade since Steve Swallow released an album of his own, leading his eponymously named Quintet, for Into The Woodwork in 2013, but he's been too busy - with more than a dozen collaborative releases with the likes of Karla Bley, Thomas Clausen, Jamie Saft, Iggy Pop and Bill Stewart, to name a few.

From avant-garde beginnings in1960 the young Swallow, barely 20 years old, was playing alongside Paul Bley in the Jimmy Giuffre 3, graduating to playing with Stan Getz and Gary Burton by the end of the decade, where he made the transition from double bass to bass guitar. He has performed with such diverse artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Michael Brecker, George Benson and Herbie Hancock, and recorded with Stan Getz (on an album featuring Joao Gilberto), Bob Moses, Steve Lacy, Michael Mantler and Kip Hanrahan. Swallow joined Carla Bley’s band in 1978 and was an integral part of all her groups thereafter, their last release Life Goes On (2020).

For Winter Songs, the master-bassist has gathered together a group of close confidants to accompany him through some of the most intrinsic and melodically immediate music he has ever written. With the expert but subtly applied horn section of Chris Cheek on sax and Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, Adam Nussbaum on drums keeping the time flexible and the tasteful harmonic outlining of guitarist Steve Cardenas and Gil Goldstein on piano, the nine collected originals that make up Winter Songs act more as conveyors of patient reflection and calm than they do as inciters of turbulent improvisation.

Swallow’s own observations of the music and its inception (which may be read on the insightful ECM Background Notes) are perceptible in sound: this music is not performed as a means to an end, but has become an end in itself. Fluid swing, thoughtful balladry and a chamber-music-like feel for space and interplay are in full bloom here and pull through the suite of nine untitled winter songs with a strong sense of direction.

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Steve Swallow Official

ECM

Offering

IBEYI

Released 26 June 2026

IBEYI Records / AWAL Recordings

****-

A restrained and deeply personal collection of electronic-infused Afro-Cuban pop that explores themes of spiritual surrender, growth, and mature vulnerability.

French-Cuban twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz formed Ibeyi in 2013, drawing heavily from their heritage and the legacy of their late father, Anga Díaz, a famed percussionist of the Buena Vista Social Club. Singing in English, French, Spanish, and Yoruba, the duo seamlessly blends Afro-Cuban folk elements with contemporary R&B, soul, and electronic production. Since their striking 2015 self-titled debut and subsequent critically acclaimed releases - Ash (2017) and Spell 31 (2022) - they have carved out a unique sonic identity. Known for minimalist vocal harmonies and polyrhythmic percussion, the sisters consistently use music to bridge spiritual traditions and modern global emotional landscapes.

On their fourth studio album, Offering, Ibeyi trades the restless exploration of their earlier records for a confident, unified narrative arc that traces a journey from profound grief to collective healing. This thematic progression is anchored by the sisters' evolving vocal dynamics. On early tracks like "Aset," their voices mirror each other in tight, almost claustrophobic unison, conveying a heavy sense of emotional isolation. However, as the album transitions into the defiant energy of "Moshpit," their deliveries branch out into striking, independent vocal lines. Lisa-Kaindé’s warm, soul-infused lead vocal stretches into high register trills, while Naomi counters with a raw, percussive spoken-word cadence.

This vocal development mirrors the album's broader movement toward personal liberation, using ancient Yoruba chants not just as texture, but as dynamic vocal crests that resolve into modern, soaring pop melodies. The resulting performance captures a profound sense of mature vulnerability and newfound spiritual clarity.

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The Montreux Years

ROBERTA FLACK

Released 26 June 2026

BMG / Montreux Jazz Festival

****-

An exquisite archival compilation spanning four decades that showcases a singular, intimate interpreter developing her vocal storytelling on the world stage. .

Born in North Carolina and raised in Virginia, Roberta Flack is a classically trained piano prodigy who redefined the boundaries of soul, jazz, and pop. Her historic achievement as the first artist to win back-to-back Grammy Awards for Record of the Year - with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Where Is The Love" (1973) and "Killing Me Softly with His Song"(1974) - cemented her status as a musical pioneer.

Renowned for her elegant, restrained phrasing and deeply thoughtful song interpretations, Flack bridges the gap between classical precision and raw emotional resonance. Over a career spanning more than fifty years, her quiet intensity has influenced generations of contemporary R&B and neo-soul vocalists worldwide.

Spanning 1971 to 2008, The Montreux Years offers a fascinating study in vocal evolution, chronologically tracking Roberta Flack from an ambitious young interpreter to a revered matriarch of song. The early recordings expose a singer navigating complex emotional topographies with startling focus. In her 1972 rendition of Leonard Cohen’s "Suzanne," her voice maintains a fragile, conversational vulnerability, holding back its power to let the lyrics carry the weight.

Decades later, during a 2005 performance of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," that restraint transforms into a deeper, meditative patience. Her tone becomes velvety and rich, utilizing elongated phrasing to draw out the song's central romantic obsession. While the jazz-funk numbers from 1990 and 2008 provide a lively stylistic contrast, the collection’s true value lies in these quieter spaces. It captures an artist who commands the stage not through theatrical volume, but through precision, intentional phrasing, and absolute control.

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Roberta Flack Official

Wikipedia

Where The Echoes Bloom

ALIA

Released 26 June 2026

Leaving Records All Genre

****-

An immersive debut that delicately threads theremin, Indonesian kapaci (zither), and modular synth into a deeply emotional tapestry.

Alia (Alia Mohmed) is a Los Angeles-based theremin player, composer, and songwriter. Raised around Levantine music through her father, percussionist Jamal Mohamed, and later inspired by master thereminist Armen Ra, she bridges diverse cultural and sonic landscapes. After generating underground acclaim for her sublime collaboration with ambient harpist Nailah Hunter on a cover of Harold Budd's "Pavilion of Dreams," Alia steps forward with her first solo statement. Recording entirely in her home studio, she treats synthesis, acoustic instrumentation, and tactile environmental field recordings as interconnected elements, blending Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian traditions into a striking, modern experimental framework.

The record is built around an unconventional sonic marriage: the ghostly, disembodied glide of her theremin interacting with the crisp, percussive plucks of the kacapi (a traditional Indonesian zither). On highlights like "The Thorn and the Carnation","Endless Love", "Soul of My Soul" and "Daughter of the Nile," her mastery over space and silence allows these textures to drift like smoke across the heavily processed percussion provided by her father, Jamal Mohamed.

Field recordings gathered across locations from Bali and beyond add an earthly, humid grit to the otherwise celestial, shimmering modular synthesis. While the entirely home-produced arrangements occasionally feel so delicate they might dissolve completely under close scrutiny, it is precisely this weightlessness that gives the project its power.

Where The Echoes Bloom is a striking act of solidarity and creative resilience—a patient, hypnotic journey that unearths stunning beauty from the quietest corners of the mind.

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James Brandon Lewis Official

Omni

JAMES BRANDON LEWIS QUARTET

Released 26 June 2026

Intakt Records

****-

A deeply spiritual, twelve-tone gospel session that masterfully fuses ancestral church roots with avant-garde structural exuberance.

Tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis stands at the absolute vanguard of contemporary jazz, celebrated for his raw, muscular tone and astonishing conceptual depth. Across a prolific career, Lewis has masterfully balanced radically diverse frameworks - collaborating with post-punk power trios like The Messthetics, honoring gospel icons with his Red Lily Quintet, and building his own complex theoretical blueprint known as "Molecular Systematic Music" (MSM). His flagship Quartet - featuring pianist Aruán Ortiz, bassist Brad Jones, and drummer Chad Taylor - serves as the primary crucible for this MSM methodology.

Where past Quartet records used Lewis' MSM approach to map out strictly clinical six- or seven-note scale structures, Omni functions as an emotionally unchained, highly personal sequel to 2024's Transfiguration. Here, Lewis utilizes the "negative space" of his structural system - the remaining six notes of a chromatic scale - to construct a highly inventive paradigm he terms "twelve-tone gospel."

The album's spiritual motives stem directly from Lewis's upbringing as a minister's son in Buffalo, New York, resulting in an instrumental liturgical service that British journalist, broadcaster and author and deputy editor of Echoes magazine, Kevin Le Gendre characterizes as "a sermon without words."

The narrative arc of Omni is brilliantly anchored around the three traditional theological traits of the divine: omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. The service commences with "Omnipotent," a brief, unaccompanied saxophone soliloquy that commands the room with equal parts authority and absolute vulnerability. This solitary meditation quickly expands into the communal heat of "The Sermon," where Taylor’s shifting cymbals and Ortiz’s church-inflected chord voicings frame Lewis's horn as it takes the pulpit, building with the unmistakable cadence, rhythm, and passion of a preacher. The fiery testimony of "Fire in My Bones" pushes the quartet's telepathic energy to its absolute limit, eventually moving into the solemn, duo-led prayer of "Omniscient." The overarching spiritual journey ultimately resolves into the beautiful, hymn-like closer "Omnipresent," where a simple, recurring piano motif reminds the listener that the music’s holy message is not confined to the sanctuary, but carried everywhere.

A demanding listen due to its intensity, Omni is nonetheless a captivating suite of surprising emotional range, despite the music's intellectual underpinnings.

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Everything's Peachy

The Jazz Sessions Vol. 2

MATT BERRY TRIO

Released 26 June 2026

Witchazel | Acid Jazz Acquisitions

****-

An evocative, narrative-driven jazz-adjacent suite that transitions gracefully between nostalgia, kinetic tension, and serene acceptance.

Renowned as a BAFTA-winning actor and comedian (What We Do in the Shadows, IT Crowd), English multi-instrumentalist Matt Berry has simultaneously built a remarkably prolific, critically acclaimed musical career. Signed to Acid Jazz, his eclectic discography moves effortlessly across pastoral folk, psychedelic rock, library music, and country. For Everything's Peachy, Berry unveils yet another creative alter-ego as leader of the studio-based Matt Berry Trio. Joined by long-time collaborators Phill Scragg on bass and Graham Mann on drums, Berry continues to expand his compositional range beyond screen comedy into sophisticated, exploratory instrumental landscapes.

As the second entry in Acid Jazz’s Jazz Sessions series, Everything's Peachy presents a sprawling 12-part instrumental suite inspired by Richard "Beebo" Russell, the Seattle airport employee who notoriously hijacked a commercial aircraft in 2018. Taking its name from Russell's calm radio response to air traffic controllers, the album captures the bittersweet trajectory of that maiden flight. Musically, the trio channels the ambient, electric experimentations of late-60s Miles Davis alongside the gentle, introspective melancholy of Erik Satie.

Flowing seamlessly across its twelve movements, the record balances warm organ grooves, muted brass motifs, and fluid rhythmic dialogues with subtle electronic flourishes. The result is an evocative, narrative-driven jazz-adjacent suite that transitions gracefully between nostalgia, kinetic tension, and serene acceptance.

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Sowden House

FREYJA GARBETT

Released 26 June 2026

Freyja Garbett and Brendan MacNamara

****-

An evocative, narrative-driven jazz-adjacent suite that transitions gracefully between nostalgia, kinetic tension, and serene acceptance.

Freyja Garbett is an Australian pianist, composer and producer whose music blends modern jazz, cinematic composition and electronic textures. Drawing on influences from film, contemporary classical and improvisation, her work explores atmosphere, narrative and groove. As a bandleader and collaborator she has worked with many of Australia’s leading jazz and contemporary musicians

Originating from a collaboration with Brendan McNamara, who is the founder of Team Bondi and writer/director of the acclaimed video game L.A. Noire, Sowden House began as the score for an immersive VR game set within Los Angeles’s infamous architectural landmark of the same name. The house, designed by Lloyd Wright (son of Frank Lloyd Wright) in a dramatic Mayan Revival style, once belonged to the mysterious Dr George Hodel, long rumoured to be linked to the Black Dahlia murder. Garbett’s music, conceived for this imagined world of shadow, memory, and intrigue, has now emerged as a cinematic, stand-alone album: a sonic journey through mood, atmosphere, and the blurred line between reality and imagination.

Across the album’s lush soundscape, Garbett blurs the boundaries between jazz, orchestral composition, psychedelic funk, and cinematic ambience.

Snowden House features two distinct ensembles: the groove-driven Sydney funk collective Mister Ott, and a large hybrid ensemble of some of Australia’s most accomplished jazz, classical, and contemporary musicians.

The result is a record that feels expansive and cinematic, yet deeply personal. It is a sound world of layered harmonies, rhythmic experimentation, and hypnotic orchestrations.

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Freyja Garbett Official

Everything's Peachy

The Jazz Sessions Vol. 2

MATT BERRY TRIO

Released 26 June2026

Witchazel | Acid Jazz Acquisitions

****-

An evocative, narrative-driven jazz-adjacent suite that transitions gracefully between nostalgia, kinetic tension, and serene acceptance.

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Without Wind, Without Air - Rarities

ROGER ENO

Released 25 June 2026

Deutsche Grammophon

****-

A deeply moving, fragile companion album within the modern classical landscape, proving that sparse, ambient minimalism can achieve profound resonance.

British composer and multi-instrumentalist Roger Eno has long operated at the quiet vanguard of ambient and neoclassical music. Following decades of boundary-pushing solo work and collaborations with his brother Brian Eno, he signed with Deutsche Grammophon, delivering a trilogy of acclaimed albums including 2025’s Without Wind, Without Air. Known for his pastoral sensibilities and filmic approach to the piano, Eno frequently revisits his recording sessions to unearth hidden gems. This companion collection curates eight unreleased pieces from his Berlin studio sessions, expanding his signature soundworld with the help of the Scoring Berlin strings.

With Without Wind, Without Air - Rarities, Roger Eno brilliantly defends his territory against accusations of derivative neoclassical schmaltz. While lesser ambient composers often lean on easy, sentimental tropes, Eno’s eight-track collection offers genuinely original, high-quality compositions that thrive on restraint and structural vulnerability.

The record gently balances exposed solo piano with rich, tactile chamber arrangements. The opening track "Incense" lets individual notes hang precariously in near-silence, avoiding manipulative melancholy. Meanwhile, "Shadow Clock" showcases his masterful scoring, where Alexander Glücksmann’s clarinet and shimmering strings evoke a stark, cinematic beauty rather than saccharine comfort. The album's emotional core lies in an expanded, three-part reimagining of "Massacre of the Innocents" - an anguished, vital response to global conflict that carries immense gravity.

Ultimately, these are more than mere studio leftovers; they form a cohesive, weightless narrative that highlights Eno's enduring capacity for deep, soul-searching artistry.

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Volume 1 (EP)

BEBE STOCKWELL

Released 25 June 2026

Columbia Records

****-

An unhurried, magnetic modern folk collection that marries traditional clarity with a radiant, deeply intimate exploration of romantic partnership.

Boston-born singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Bebe Stockwell commands attention through an unfiltered, earnest approach to folk music. Raised on the acoustic traditions of New England and formally trained at NYU's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, she first made waves with her independent breakout "Love Me Back" in 2022. Balancing major festival billings at Newport Folk with raw, evocative writing, Stockwell quickly caught the eye of Columbia Records. Following her highly praised 2025 EP Driving Backwards, she returns with Volume 1 - the opening half of her highly anticipated debut full-length record, with the second installment due later this year.

On Volume 1, Bebe Stockwell stands tall as a straight-singing, old-school folk vocalist. Her arresting stature, clear tone, and poised presentation instantly recall the commanding presence of Mary Travers, while her soaring, chest-led vocal delivery shares a resonant kinship with the anthemic folk-pop of Vance Joy.

Yet, across these eight tracks, Stockwell subverts traditional, melancholy folk tropes by anchoring her narrative in unapologetic optimism. Songs like "Wild Love", "Hard to Find" and "When You Know" center on the thrill of a secure, blossoming relationship. Her lyricism leans heavily into the romantic and the explicitly sensual, capturing the warm, tactile specifics of intimacy without losing her grounded perspective. Even collaborations like "Ant Farm" (featuring The Lumineers' Wesley Schultz) retain this sun-drenched, hopeful outlook.

It is a refreshing, relationship-centered collection that proves contemporary folk can be both deeply acoustic and vibrantly, delightfully sexy.

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Bebe Stockwell Official

This Love Thing (EP)

RUBY JACKSON

Released 19 June 2026

Ruby Jackson

****-

An arresting neo-soul collection blending classic R&B phrasing with uncompromised vocal identity, staking out a place in Australia’s vibrant jazz landscape.

Sydney-based singer-songwriter and producer Ruby Jackson grew up in a heavily musical household before honing her craft in composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Deeply influenced by foundational icons like Billie Holiday and modern vanguards like Erykah Badu, she carved out an authentic niche in the local scene with her 2023 debut EP Sweeter For Me. Backed by a formidable nine-piece band, Jackson has built an impressive live reputation across major festival stages. She returns with a sophisticated fusion of traditional jazz sensibilities, satiny grooves, and 2000s R&B nostalgia.

On This Love Thing, Ruby Jackson masterfully carves out her own lane within a competitive generation of Australian vocalists. Across its six tracks, including the standout grooves "Usual Type" and "Against The Wall," the record shines a light on her singular vocal identity. While her peers lean into international stylistic inflections, Jackson retains her open, native Australian vowel accents. This distinct pronunciation adds an authentic, grounded texture to the music, beautifully contrasting against the fluid, velvet-smooth R&B phrasing beneath it.

Backed by deft instrumentation, soft brass, and tight rhythmic arrangements, the EP demonstrates remarkable compositional maturity. It is a confident, beautifully realized step forward that balances classic soul sophistication with an entirely contemporary, localized perspective.

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Ruby Jackson Official

Tumbleweed from nowhere

YENTING LO

Released 17 June 2026

Time Machine Records

****-

A cinematic jazz-pop collection that brilliantly balances intricate, chamber-like arrangements with an ethereal, wandering sense of emotional displacement.

Kaohsiung-born vocalist, flautist, composer, and producer YenTing Lo is one of Taiwan’s most imaginative contemporary jazz voices. A graduate of the Conservatory of Amsterdam, her meticulous arrangements and poetic storytelling previously earned her top honors at Taiwan's Golden Indie Music Awards for her acclaimed releases Epiphyllum (2019) and The 13th Heron (2020). Celebrated for crossing borders between classical chamber structures, traditional Mandarin pop, and fluid modern jazz, Lo specializes in highly conceptual, cross-media narratives.

On Tumbleweed from nowhere, YenTing Lo delivers a masterfully restrained, seven-track exploration of transient emotional landscapes. The album flows with a delicate, cinematic grace, positioning Lo’s airy, pristine vocals alongside her own nimble flute countermelodies. Rather than relying on standard post-bop idioms, the compositions opt for an artful, chamber-jazz style that feels deeply personal and global all at once.Standout tracks like "Mercator" and the whimsical "15-second story" showcase her sharp compositional instincts, utilizing unexpected chord voicings and shifting time signatures that never sacrifice accessibility. Her delicate vocal delivery floats gracefully over shifting harmonic colors, conveying a poignant sense of displacement that mirrors the album's title.

Throughout the record, the interaction between her subtle phrasing and the acoustic backing band feels exceptionally intuitive. Ultimately, Tumbleweed from nowhere is a luminous, thoughtfully crafted statement that solidifies Lo’s status as a premier vanguard of Asian-Pacific jazz.

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YenTing Lo Official

Skydancer

THE VAMPIRES

Released 12 June 2026

The Vampires

****-

An engaging cinematic collision as dusty Morricone-like desert swagger meets ska's explosive, horn-powered big band ska.

Celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2026, The Vampires are an acclaimed, Sydney-based Australian jazz quartet, who describe their sound as "forged ... from their travels and musical lives in jazz, improvisation free-diving and the vibrant cultural bleed." They are known for their genre-bending sound that blends jazz improvisation with dub, Afrobeat, reggae, and ambient groove textures.

The quartet, comprising Jeremy Rose (saxophone, bass clarinet), Nick Garbett (trumpet), Noel Mason (bass) and Alex Masso (drums) has drawn lavish praise from audiences and critic alike, who have hailed their music as "phenomenal" (DownBeat), "a masterpiece" (The Australian), and "seductive creativity" (The Guardian UK).

Their eighth studio album, Skydancer expands on the layered textures and spacious sound world explored on Nightjar, the successful 2023 album that was their only post-pandemic offering, after six releases from 2010 to 2019.

Described by critics as a “seductive melodic quest” (MOJO) filled with “cool late-night vibes” (UK Vibe), the album expands the band's trademark "chordless" format with subtle synthesizers, ambient textures, and hypnotic dub grooves. Rather than technical virtuosity, the group favors space, mood, and organic collective interplay.

Opening track "Asiago," written by trumpeter Nick Garbett during lockdown in rural Italy, establishes a reflective, meditative calm that sets the album's unhurried tone. The evocative "South Coast Noir" captures the mysterious beauty of the Australian coastline through subtle field recordings and moody horn lines. Meanwhile, the floating title track "Skydancer" drifts forward on an insistent pulse as saxophone and trumpet overlap like converging currents.

The result is an immediate, accessible and imaginative triumph from this uniquely adventurous and quintessentially Australian ensemble.

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The Vampires Official

People Taking Pictures Official

SOOP (EP)

PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES

Released 12 June 2026

What Reality? Records

****-

A trippy, kaleidoscopic fusion of alt-rock, jazzy beats, hip-hop energy and electronica that melts all genre boundaries into a turbulent sonic soup.

People Taking Pictures is the visionary side project of Luke Parish, famously known as the guitarist for Perth’s heavy psych-rock champions Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. Based in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia, this adventurous project allows Parish to step completely outside the roaring riffs of his primary band and explore an unbound sonic landscape. By merging the immersive, swirling textures of alternative rock with the syncopated, experimental energy of hip-hop, smooth jazz undertones, and vibrant electronic music, the project creates something entirely fresh - a powerful testament to Parish's versatile multi-instrumental prowess, reflecting a deep desire to reshape rigid musical boundaries completely.

With the vibrant six-track EP SOOP, People Taking Pictures delivers a masterclass in experimental cross-genre exploration that remains remarkably cohesive despite its incredibly vast and ambitious stylistic reach. The record balances fuzzy psychedelia with sharp, urban rhythms. Opening tracks 'These Days' and 'Violets' glide seamlessly between lush alt-rock melodies, groove-heavy harmonics and ragged hip-hop incursions, all held taught by an innate, sophisticated understanding of pacing. "Goblins" runs dueling machine-gun, hip-hop vocal leads that deal in greed, intolerance and the whole damn thing, over a luscious prog-rock backing. "Electricity" surprises with it's mellow funk and circular lyric: "Locks are looking for the keys / And when you love someone / You love someone / You love someone / When you love someone / When you". "Let This Be" employs a call-response vocal in a scorching appraisal of the state of the world. "Let This Be",another dystopia-shredding vocal duet gives way to the rapid-fire "In Record Time" that is in turn replaced by a saxophone solo that decays from wild abandon to mellow tones and segues into a smooth landing upon a bed of synths.

Throughout this satisfying journey, jazzy horn flourishes and warm electronic elements provide a rich undercurrent that keeps each track unpredictable yet deeply infectious. Along the way, POW! Negro's lyrics deal with some serious stuff - the passing of time, oppression, the malaise of progress, greed and more - and offers a solution: "Hit em with sound"!

Parish's intricate production beautifully ties these seemingly disparate sonic worlds together, utilizing clever sample flips and textured guitar layers to construct a truly immersive listening experience. SOOP may sound abrasive at first, but on repeat, a bold, kaleidoscopic statement is revealed, solidifying this project as one of Australia's most exciting, genuinely innovative acts.

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Maria

MOYSES DOS SANTOS

Released 12 June 2026

Far Out Recordings

****-

A masterfully syncopated debut that filters the deep, traditional street rhythms of Northeastern Brazil through a slick, contemporary London jazz-funk lens.

Born in São Paulo and raised on the vibrant acoustic traditions of Brazil's Northeast, electric bassist, songwriter and musical director Moyses Dos Santos cut his teeth playing in local church bands before migrating to London in the late 2000s. There, his exceptional technical virtuosity and rock-solid, infectious sense of groove quickly transformed him into a first-call session ace for icons like Nile Rodgers, Janelle Monáe, and Gregory Porter. After years of driving other people’s rhythms - including a stint touring with the legendary Brazilian fusion trio Azymuth - Dos Santos steps boldly into the limelight as a leader, paying tribute to his roots with a record named after his mother.

At a concise 32 minutes, Maria is an incredibly joyful, rhythmically sophisticated triumph. Dos Santos acts as a phenomenal creative engine, anchoring the tracks with rippling, muscular lines reminiscent of Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke without ever letting flashy technique crowd out the music's underlying soulfulness. The album expertly marries Northeastern Brazilian folk forms - frevo, maracatu, and baião - to modern, cosmopolitan dancefloor jazz. And the collaborative range is stellar.

Opener "Boa Viagem" sets a roaring pace, overlaying a driving carnival batucada rhythm with crisp, soaring horn arrangements. On "Encontrei Amor," the heady, space-age influence of Azymuth shines through with shimmering Rhodes vamps and snappy trap drumming. The true crown jewel, however, is the gorgeous samba "Saudade." Elevated by the celestial, neo-soul vocals of London's Lynda Dawn, a wily trumpet solo from Theo Croker, and lush string arrangements by legendary maestro Arthur Verocai, it hits with staggering emotional weight.

Maria is an essential, beautifully balanced transatlantic masterpiece.

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Damian Della Torre Official

People Pleaser

DAMIAN DALLA TORRE

Released 12 June 2026

Squama

****-

An exquisite, minimalistic collage of sound and environment: the third chapter in an evolving narrative of beautifully grounded, organic ambient-jazz.

Leipzig-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Damian Dalla Torre has quietly carved out one of contemporary music's most unique sonic signatures. Raised in a bilingual Italian-German cultural borderland, he studied traditional jazz at the Vienna Conservatory before trading rigid institutional boundaries for highly intuitive, interdisciplinary sound art. His 2022 debut, Happy Floating, turned heads, but it was his sophomore record, I Can Feel My Dreams, that sky-rocketed his profile when The Guardian crowned it the #1 Contemporary Album of 2024. That overwhelming critical validation provided the crucial self-confidence required for Della Torre to embrace vulnerability, international touring and step into this subsequent creation.

Where its acclaimed predecessor thrived on technicolor, genre-shifting contrasts between tracks, People Pleaser is a deliberately grounded, beautifully cohesive, yet minimalist statement. Born out of a period of deep self-negotiation, the title itself reflects the subtle anxieties and pressures of creating art for an audience. Dalla Torre masterfully leans into this loss of control, delivering eight tracks that flow with effortless acoustic intent. Rather than working in straight lines, his distinctive process mirrors archival work - layering a "chaotic archive" of fragments, live performances, and intricate field recordings into a unified emotional ecosystem.

Geography directly anchors the record's magnificent, understated flow. The calmness of Japanese forests and the bustle of New York cityscapes - absorbed while touring - leave heavy imprints here. Dalla Torre captures life exactly as it happens: birds from Leipzig and rain from Kobe swirl alongside the primal crackle of a wood-burning cooking stove recorded 2,500 meters high during a residency in the Italian Alps.

At its core, People Pleaser is a celebration of community. Guitarist Bertram Burkert anchors the tracking sessions with delicate textures that stretch from classical precision to abstract electric beauty, matching beautifully with Volker Heuken’s woody marimba on the opener "Intro / Sprouts." Subtle woodwinds, Felix Römer's grand pipe organ, and Babett Niclas's cascading harp provide deep pockets of intimacy, while Laura Zöschg's ethereal vocals add human warmth across the B-side. Tape loops from Markus Rom and a poignant closing spoken-word feature from Japanese artist Manami Kakudo on "Tenki Ame" encapsulate the record's abstract strength. It is an extraordinary, highly environmental triumph that refuses to dictate emotion, opting instead to let you feel it.

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Eyes Full

ZOH AMBA

Released 5 June 2026

Matador Records

****-

An unexpected artistic transformation, from avant-garde jazz saxophonist to solo singer-songwriter, with a vocal style that connects Appalachian folk to atonal noise rock.

Zoh Amba's journey to her debut solo record as a singer-songwriter is mercurial and unique. For the past five years or so the Kingsport, Tennessee native has been making a name for herself blowing hard on a saxophone around the traps of NYC, on occasion sharing stages with the likes of fellow free jazz adventurers William Parker and Matthew Shipp. With three albums to their credit - Bhakti (2022), The Flower School (2023), and Sun (2025), Amba might have been due for her breakthrough in the avant-garde. Instead, she's changed labels and genres - releasing as startling a singer-songwriter debut as you're ever likely to hear. "Eyes Full" is an unexpected artistic transformation, with a vocal approach that fuses Amba's southern-state origins to the east-coast mainstream and Crossroads blues to atonal noise rock.

Album opener "OCD"draws attention right out of the gate - a fingerpicked Appalachian folk song about the tragedy of institutional health care. One of the quieter songs on the album, the vocal delivery is as raw and immediate as an early Bob Dylan bootleg. "Another Time" follows, a straight laced love song that celebrates life's simple pleasures.

But it is the songs that follow - "Dead End Street" and "Thousand Years" - that dispel any notion that this is another comfortable alt-country ripoff. Although they address different subjects - the first about escaping the odds, the second about the value of lasting friendship - they form a mighty musical block that is the foundation of the album. Wielding incendiary electric guitars, Amba and co-guitarist Kevin Hyland join Jim White (drums) and Landon George (bass) to explore musical territory reminiscent of Wilco's "Ashes of American Flags" and beyond, to the world of White's Dirty Three , laced with Amba's Appalachian musical and vocal accents.

This unfiltered hillbilly persona shines through as they reflect on roots in "Southern Soil" and a succession of songs that consider life and relationships: the title track ("...about (questioning) just what in this life makes someone’s heart full"); "Blueberry Thorn" (a love song to an ex) and "Weed Eating" (a wry take on the God-fearing life). All are played with the tension-simmering backing and earnest vocal delivery that characterises the album, even if "Emahoy" , a song for Ethiopian pianist nun Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, stands out among them as an unadorned tender element.

The album's concluding quartet of songs, comprising "Odd Jobs", "Child You'll See", "PG Tips" and "Smiles With Your Eyes", bring the 13 song collection to conclusion with observations, reflections and tales that (as the artist's Bandcamp entry puts it) "circle the idea of seeing and being seen. The record looks closely at the lives of working-class folk in small towns who bust their asses off while trying to find any salvation they can."

“I hope these songs touch people’s hearts,” Amba says. “They’re about people who really need to be seen and heard.”

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Canvas (EP)

SHEWITA

Released 5 June 2026

Edition Records

****-

An eclectic, genre-spanning debut showcasing a stellar new R&B voice fluidly bridging nostalgic soul and modern club-ready electronic production.

Hailing from Eritrea and raised in Nipaluna/Hobart, Shewita is a multidisciplinary artist whose musical identity was forged by 2000s R&B, gospel, and funk while balancing life as a medical student. Influenced by legends like Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill, her soaring vocal capabilities led her to prominent theatrical stages, starring in landmark Australian productions of Hamilton, Wicked, and MJ The Musical. Backed by independent banner Music In Exile, Shewita steps confidently into the spotlight as a solo force, blending her rich cultural heritage with a relentless desire to push the boundaries of contemporary pop and soul.

Aptly titled,"I wanted it to feel like a blank canvas – a place where I wasn’t limiting myself to one genre" - Canvas serves as a stunningly diverse, six-track introduction where Shewita refuses to be painted into a single stylistic corner. Developed over three years alongside producer Arky Amy, the EP moves fluidly across R&B, '80s synth-funk, and electronic club music. “Canvas is my homage to the genres that are shaping me as an artist - R&B, pop, funk, soul, dance & club. It’s more eclectic than I had originally planned, and for that reason, it feels like a true reflection of how much I want to keep exploring the vastness of music...”, she says on Bandcamp.

The standout opener "Geminii" pairs house-inflected beats with crisp, stacked vocal harmonies, immediately setting a magnetic, self-assured tone. "Navigator" follows, it's outspoken lyrics delivered to a pumped, four-to-the floor beat and searing synth flares. "The atmospheric "Used To It" slows the tempo with a touch of classic blues while"Shatter" and "CINS" serve up classic R&B. Finally, "Too Soon" relies on warm, disco-inspired basslines and neo-soul textures.

Throughout the EP, the project is bound together by Shewita's incredibly rich, gospel-trained voice, which effortlessly anchors the record’s sonic shifts. Canvas beautifully succeeds as an eclectic artistic foundation, showcasing a remarkably versatile vocalist who approaches dance and soul with equal poise, leaving listeners eager to see what colors she will splash onto her musical landscape next.

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Interview: Futuremagmusic

Unspoken

MAHAN MIRARAB, KIAN SOLTANI,

LARS DANIELSSON, GOLNAR SHAHYAR

Released 29 May 2026

ACT Music + Vision

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An Iranian-Austrian guitarist, composer and producer whose music brings Persian musical traditions, contemporary jazz and improvisation together through collaboration and cultural exchange.

Born in Tehran, guitarist Mahan Mirarab discovered jazz and progressive rock through black-market cassettes, transcribing solos by Chick Corea and Bud Powell at considerable personal risk. After studying architecture and playing in embassy bands, including a Joe Zawinul cover group that caught the attention of the Austrian ambassador, he relocated to Vienna in 2009. Bypassing formal music institutions, Mirarab forged a distinct path blending Persian musical perspectives with European jazz and chamber traditions. A versatile composer playing a custom Turkish double-neck fretless/fretted guitar, his global reputation grew through international tours, cross-cultural collaborations, and acclaimed projects alongside his wife, singer Golnar Shahyar.

On Unspoken, his deeply felt debut for ACT, Mahan Mirarab uses his unique double-neck guitar to bridge two worlds: the semitones of Western jazz and the microtonal landscapes of his native Iran. Emerging as a poignant reflection on life, memory, and sociopolitical turmoil, the album moves fluidly between luminous solo sketches and intimate collaborations.

The tracks “Banoo” and “A Way to Mourn” tell the story of Mahan Mirarab’s grandmother, who passed away during the recording sessions. In the track “Jina”, the personal meets the collective: in Kurdish, the title means “life” and is inextricably linked to the young woman Jina Mahsa Amini, whose death in the custody of the Iranian morality police in 2022 sparked a nationwide protest movement. These were events that profoundly changed Mahan Mirarab. For a long time, he was unable to write about them; it was only working on Unspoken that gave him the courage to do so. “Sparkling Dark Gaze” is Mahan Mirarab’s favourite track, penned by his wife Golnar, and the version of “In a Silent Way” is a nod to Joe Zawinul, whose influence once proved to be the opener of so many doors in his life. And the instrument Mahan Mirarab used to record Unspoken is also a bespoke, one-off creation by Turkish luthier Ekrem Özkarpat: a double-necked guitar with both a fretless and a fretted fingerboard. This instrument serves as a metaphor for the two worlds between which Mahan Mirarab has moved and which meet in his music: the Western world structured on semitones and the microtonal world of his native country.

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Mahan Mirarab Official

Transara

ROBINSON KHOURY, MŸA

Released 29 May 2026

ACT Music + Vision

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Expanding on the classic Mambo sounds by blending Latin, soul, boogaloo and salsa - all while staying true to their Cuban roots

Born in Lyon to musical parents, French-Lebanese trombonist, vocalist, and composer Robinson Khoury began his journey singing in the Opéra de Lyon children’s choir before adopting the trombone as his second voice. Blending classical training with jazz, he later discovered Arabic music, drawing inspiration from legends as disparate Egyptian icon Umm Kulthum and South Asian legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. A versatile performer, Khoury has collaborated with Ibrahim Maalouf and Natacha Atlas, as well as founding the Arabic-jazz sextet Sarāb. Now based in Paris, his charismatic presence and inventive integration of modular synths have established him as a standout force in contemporary European jazz.

On Transara, his ACT debut with the MŸA trio- featuring keyboardist Léo Yassef and percussionist Anissa Nehari - Khoury expands his bold sonic universe. Navigating an unconventional palette of trombone, modular synthesis, and vocals, the album draws on shared Mediterranean heritage and Parisian urban life to craft a transition between musical worlds. Khoury’s classical precision and Arabic vocal phrasing merge seamlessly with rich electronic textures, moving between introspective melancholy and uplifting warmth.

The track “Poussière” (dust) encapsulates all of this particularly well. Khoury explains that it is about the lives of all the people who “leave us too soon”. At the same time, there is a comforting perspective in this: “They haven’t simply vanished. The dust remains part of this planet; we breathe it in; it is a part of us.” And from this idea springs hope – the certainty that the past continues to have an effect and helps us to “continue to hope and to breathe”..

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Robinson Khoury Official

Time Is Moved

TEN PART INVENTION

Released 29 May 2026

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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An engaging cinematic collision as dusty Morricone-like desert swagger meets ska's explosive, horn-powered big band ska.

Ten Part Invention is one of Australia’s most enduring contemporary jazz ensembles, dedicated to performing original work by Australian composers and improvisers since 1986. Founded in 1986 by the late Australian drummer John Pochée OAM, Time Is Moved is its fifth album and first studio release in over twenty years

The band's ten members include:

Miroslav Bukovsky (Co-musical director · trumpet, flugelhorn) A founding member, who has helped shape the sound of Australian jazz for decades. Sandy Evans OAM (Co-musical director · tenor & soprano saxophone) One of the defining voices in Australian improvised music. Warwick Alder (Trumpet) A founding member, admired for the warmth, tenderness and swing-driven fire.

James Greening (Trombone) Another founding member and one of the most distinctive and joyfully inventive musicians in Australian jazz. Paul Cutlan (Baritone & sopranino saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet, flute) A boldly imaginative multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser whose work spans jazz, intercultural music, contemporary performance, and hybrid creative forms. Andrew Robson (Alto saxophone) A player of extraordinary fluency, emotional depth, and unmistakable voice. John Mackey (Tenor saxophone) His rich sound, emotional directness, and broad musical language have made him a major force in Australian jazz for decades. Kevin Hunt (Piano) Admired for his harmonic imagination, generosity, and elevating abilities. Steve Elphick (Bass) Known for his deep listening, impeccable ensemble sensitivity. Rease Cameron (Drums) An improviser, educator, and composer.

Time Is Moved features premiere recordings of significant works by Miroslav Bukovsky, Sandy Evans, and the late Roger Frampton, alongside new compositions by Andrew Robson, Bukovsky, and Paul Cutlan

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Ten Part Invention Official

Hope!!

ANGELIQUE KIDJO

Released 24 April 2026

Parlophone

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An astonishing, star-studded celebration of unbridled optimism that elevates Kidjo's cross-continental collaborations into a unified, defiant weapon against global despair.

For over twenty years, Beninese icon Angélique Kidjo has leveraged her stature as a world music titan to forge pan-generational alliances with global superstars, a blueprint tracing back to 2007’s Djin Djin. Her recent work outlines a spectacular creative arc, moving from the youth-driven West African Afrobeats of 2021’s Grammy-winning Mother Nature to the mythic, orchestral jazz-excavation of 2022's Queen of Sheba. This trajectory signals a profound shift away from her past, tightly focused "homage-themed" concept records - such as Oyo (Beninese roots), Eve (African women), Celia (Celia Cruz), and Remain in Light (Talking Heads). Instead of looking back, Kidjo is confidently stepping into a role as an active global citizen, operating entirely outside geographical boundaries.

Where Mother Nature was distinctly African from tip to toe, Hope!! explodes outward, drawing from a much broader palette of contemporary international pop and heavy, global dance beats. Across 16 breathtaking tracks, Kidjo’s majestic voice remains as fierce, decisive, and riveting as it was on Logozo 35 years ago. Co-producers Pharrell Williams and Shizzi deliver an expansive sonic canvas. The american pop contingent hits hard on the edgy, Quavo-assisted opener "Bando," while Nile Rodgers and Brazilian star IZA turn "Oyaya" into an irresistible dancefloor invitation.

Yet, the album's true triumph is its breathtaking range and technical quality. Kidjo effortlessly pivots from the darkly driving Tanzanian bongoflava of "Kakua" (featuring Diamond Platnumz) to the zouk-tinged Congo-pop of "Nadi Balance" alongside Fally Ipupa and The Cavemen. She brings a magnificent, classy touch via symphonic strings on a yearning cover of Master KG's "Jerusalema" and a poignant reprise of "Malaika" with Florent Pagny. Stripped back on the towering ballad "You Can," Kidjo proves she doesn't need a crowded room to captivate. Ultimately, Hope!! is a brilliant, defiant celebration where joy is brandished like a sword.

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Angelique Kidjo Official

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