Paper Trio - Light in The Dark: Music Of Carl Nielsen [Time Span Records]

Released via Time Span Records on August 14th, 2k26 is "Light In The Dark", a twelve pieces spanning contemplation on and interpretation of compositions by the revered Danish composer Carl Nielsen, performed and led by the Paper Trio comprised of Randi Pontoppidan, Thomas Agergaard and Greg Cohen with further contributions and participations by the Akela String Quartet as well as Arnur Tuznik on piano and organ and bass-baritone vocalist Jakob Bloch Jespersen. Over the course of 53 minutes we see Paper Trio and their collaborators transfer Nielsen's original work into a timeless and free-floating, yet vaguely Jazz-infused context starting out with the tender and beautiful "Nu Er Dagen Fuld Af Sang" which could well be a variation of a centuries old traditional rural Folk piece vibewise with solemn, yet ethereal vocals hovering timelessly whereas "Dreams Of Dreams", as intimate as the piece itself seems to be, takes full advantage of full on panoramic string arrangements and occasional left of center (dis)harmonic movements and "Saenk Kun Dit Hoved, Du Blomst" sees its story told by a powerful and expressive Classical male voice and dreamy female non-vocalisms backed by a tender piano foundation. The subsequent "Andantino", albeit instrumental, takes us back to an unscathed, probably medieval rural Denmark and its folk tales with a playful flute as the leading instrument, "Gramaphone" comes at us as rather light-hearted and frolicking piano piece and a bit of a vintage fun fair feel at times contrasted by the airy and time defying "Motet" which follows, probably providing the most significant gravitas and large scale panoramic arrangement on this album whilst the closing cut that is "Solen Er Rød Mor" rounds things off on a traditional Folk-infused note once again just to name a few. Indeed, an interesting contemporary gateway to those not familiar with the "Music Of Carl Nielsen".

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Laibach x Senidah - Love Machine (Official Video)

A future classic from the Laibach camp. Super seductive with a rather grandiose 80s feel. We love this.

Antoine Ferris - [KAAARST] [Carton Records Croix-Croix 042]

Released on May 8th, 2k26 via the French Carton Records label is "[KAAARST]", the twelve tracks and roughly 32 minutes spanning debut album album by bass player Antoine Ferris who, with this sonic outing, presents a ride through a variety of experimental solo and improvisational bass techniques backed by an at times both experimental and rather structured composed electronic foundation. With only half of the albums tracks exceeding the three minutes mark - and none of them being radio friendly - Antoine Ferris covers a musical ark from pure digital Noize eruptions to epic Mutant HipHop cuts - see the absolute groove bomb of violent destruction called "Shame's Coming" featuring Natacha Kanga on vocal duties for this - whereas pieces like "Stainless Steel" introduce more shrieking Noize violence with a surprisingly humorous lo-fi melodic edge seamlessly followed by the beautifully layered Ambient-leaning melancholia of "Knife" which is continuously disrupted by scattered Noize bursts and Oval'esque flutterings whereas "La Neu" featuring Louie Z on vocals weighs in an astounding fusion of Experimental Electronics and beatless Future Soul x Future R'n'B evoking faint memories of Fatima Al Qadiri and early Kelela whilst "Cataplasme" brings forth more syncopated Industrial Phonk havoc for Illbient dancefloors and the interestingly titled "Electronic Dance Music" might appeal as such to the most advanced and adventurous Rhythm Industrial headz only just to name a few favorites here. We love this. Get.

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David Bode - Live At The 2026 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival [MunckMix]

Going in for something sitting at the very fringes of our expertise today with David Bode's "Live At The 2026 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival" - an actual 22 piece bigband live album scheduled for release on the MunckMix label on September 25th, 2k26. The Illinois-based label, seemingly specializing in live recordings since 2003, caters a roughly 55 minutes spanning recording of David Bode and his musical companions' performance at the WWOZ Jazz Tent of named festival which sees the New Orleans-born and based saxophone player and composer following a rather interesting approach as an ensemble leader. With only one of his own original works in the tracklist - "Cold Train Funk" - the rest of the performance focuses on his personal history in music and presents a set of specifically arranged favorites of his, both in Jazz and Rock - and also Alternative if one doesn't want to put Radiohead in a drawer called Rock for a reason or two. The result is astounding, energetic, swinging and captivating with the preserved stage banter intentionally adding to the live recording vibe. And pieces like the positive large scale arrangement of Kenny Garett's "Happy People", the emotionally touching slow jam that is Jeff Buckley's "Lover, You Should've Come Over" as well as the beautiful Jenna Winston-led iteration of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life", his own joyous and celebratory "Cold Train Funk" and the high vibing interpretation of Radiohead's "Airbag" make this one a highly enjoyable album for sure - and probably even a gateway piece for the uninitiated but curious currently deterred by the formalities and knowledge requested of and from what most people consider to be classic Jazz from a purist standpoint.

Bertoncini / Kocher / Lehn - Critical Values [Bruit Editions 019]

Put out on the circuit via the Switzerland-based Bruit Editions label on June 5th, 2k26 is "Critical Values", the latest full on improvisational album cooked up and captured by Tiziana Bertoncini, Jonas Kocher and Thomas Lehn. Combining their instruments and working methods of choice - violin, accordion, analogue synthesizer and sound processing in this respective order - "Critical Values" is comprised of two extended pieces both recorded live on September 17th, 2k25 and exceeding the 20 minutes mark with a combined runtime of roughly 44 minutes in total. Opening with "Complex Plane" the sonic triumvirate serves an intricate and somewhat brittle arrangement of partly screeching high frequency bowing and sustained electronic sinewave tones also at home in the upper registers, accompanied by intensely dramatic movements, calm sequences of near silence, electronic chatter and almost rural beauty which later lead into a whirling crescendo of various modulations and an intense, yet highly detailed improvisational climax before entering an expansive realm of electroacoustic minimalism. On the other hand the subsequently following second cut named "Bifurcation Points" explores a more tender and accessible, surely Deep Listening Music-leaning variation of electroacoustic experimentalism, focusing on slow sustained movements as well as carefully executed tonal shifts, at times eerie, at times brooding and at times well comforting, sometimes soothing even, slowly moving forward towards a tense, at times danger-heralding and certainly spine-tingling attitude surely informed by free and associative Contemporary Classical as well as scores for psychologic B-movie horror flics harking back to the era of black-and-white cinema in the best possible of all meanings, bringing forth fluttering strings, metallic clatterings of unclear origin as well as moments of pure nothingness, leaving room for the listeners brain to fill in the blanks both visually and sonically speaking. This is intense. And intensely avantgarde.

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Samuel Bonnet Trio featuring Joe Magnarelli - Slow [self-released album]

Scheduled to be put out on the circuit as a self-released album affair on October 2nd, 2k26 is "Slow", the latest longplay outing conceived by French guitar player Samuel Bonnet who's been based in Montreal / Canada ever since 2009. Forming the Samuel Bonnet Trio alongside Jonathan-Guillaume Boudreau on double bass as well as Simon Bergeron on drums with additional contributions from Joe Magnarelli on trumpet and flugelhorn Bonnet embarks on an eight pieces and 40 minutes spanning journey with "Nylon Swing" which - titlewise - exactly reflects the easy and airy lighthearted Swing Jazz sound brought forward by the opening cut subsequently followed by the slightly deeper "Liberation" and its playful, at times uplifting even, trumpet lines and corresponding guitar tones whereas "Complices" focuses on laid back guitar meanderings backed by tender grooves for balearic sunsets and late summer evenings. Furthermore we see "Daryl's Blues" on a surprisingly uptempo tip sporting driving and muscular snare-heavy drums as well as intricate and suitably twangy guitar meanderings with an indeed Blues-infused twist, "Momentum" weighs in echoes of Scandinavian cool whilst still adhering to an agreed upon Contemporary Jazz vocabulary whilst "Laetitia" falls back to a laid back late summer evening energy - and a little bit of tender romance maybe - before the concluding double feature interpretation of Isaac Albeniz' ""Asturias - Part 1 / 2" leans deep into a realm of heavily syncopated grooves, mediterranean guitars and what seems to be echoes of echoes of echoes of Flamenco-infusions shimmering through accompanied, especially in the second part, by more rather classic and groove-oriented Jazz goodness for those who know. If that's what you've been looking for as an addition to your already vast Jazz collection this is an album to consider this fall.

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Daniel Decker - Dysthymnia [Hauch Records 048]

Scheduled for release on Oktober 2nd, 2k26 via the Düsseldorf-based Hauch Records imprint is "Dysthymnia" - the latest full length album outing conceived by Daniel Decker. Coming at us with eight brand new cuts and two distinct vinyl editions - standard black as well as dark blue, each limited to 100 copies - Decker opens with the title track "Dysthymnia" which sets the tone with a blueprint of contemporary Deep Listening Music with a panoramic Dark Ambient touch, pairing droning and ground shaking sinewave bass waves with tender Ambient pads before the Hainbach-sampling "Es Steigt Auf" paints a rather brooding and dramatic sonic picture triggering memories of dark cloud formations announcing an imminent thunderstorm of doom with what seem to be reprocessed metallic string manipulations and emotionally touching harmonics followed by the playful and positive minimalism of "Gloria" and its soft plinkering tones drowning in fogged out midrange dronings building up to an intense crescendo whereas "Credo" takes a surprising turn with its hyperharmonic NeoClassical piano arrangements and slightly off-kilter feedback build ups. Furthermore "Benzodiazepine" combines ethereal Ambient backings and introspective, peaceful and almost folksy piano melodies whilst "Requiem" presents a deeper, certainly melancholia-inducing take on classic, slightly maritime Ambient movements, "Diffareatio" follows a musically comparable path yet introduces subdued, yet minimal Future Tribal rhythms hidden deep within the mix and the final philosophically named "Grundrisse Der Critique" closes the loop once again with a beautiful, slightly ruminating vintage piano for late evening listening sessions. Go check.

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Chessie + Contriva - Black Jacket [Watusi Records 009]

Two bands. Two cities. Two continents. Countless mutual visits and 25 years of friendship and collaboration. Chessie and Contriva. Berlin and Washington, DC. Europe and North America. And finally: "Black Jacket". A collaborational album. Released via Watusi Records on April 10th, 2k26. Twelve tracks deep and nearly 53 minutes long. A sonic excursion into raw - read as: mostly unprocessed and organic - and at the same time tender PostRock adjacent territories opening with the dreamy, timeless, somehow soothing and yet hypnotic "Take Me To Hiddensee" before progressing into the instrumental uptempo Indie / IndiePop of "Magenta", the surprisingly 4/4 bassdrum driven SlowHouse x Indietronica x PostRock fusion for early morning Ambient x Chillout dancefloors named "Vermilion" and the darker late night Downbeat x NotHop grooves of "Cabina A". With "Hellblau" Chessie + Contriva aim for minimalist, yet complex grooves and an overall light-hearted and guitar-led melodic attitude, "Point No Point" sees them on a more muscular tip with heavy reverberating drums and a certified Indie feel kicking in after the intro whilst "Brunswick Green" feels like slowly wandering lush meadows on a calm early summer day and "Lunar White" provides a cozy, slighty improvisational and obviously electronically backed soundtrack for late and lazy Sunday afternoons. Furthermore "Capital Traction" is somewhat of a brittle, slightly off-harmonic and sonically decaying take on introspective PostRock paired with obscure and somewhat muffled musical anti-structures buried deep in the background of the mixdown whilst "Celadon" once again harks back to positive and driving instrumental Indie(Rock) underground vibes with a dynamic, yet slightly twangy touch subsequently followed by "Dalecarlia Always", most likely the most inward-looking and romantic outing on "Black Jacket", before the concluding "Fugitive" opens with rather raw electronic synths only to drift off into a worldof ever spiralling krautsiness in PostRock. Lovely. Go check.

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Josh Cohen - We Are Home [T.Sound 004]

Scheduled for release on September 25th, 2k26 via the Canadian T.Sound imprint is "We Are Home", the latest album outing by bass player and composer Josh Cohen. Usually focusing on extensive and intricate solo bass techniques Cohen switches things up - not only a little but a lot - for his new longplayer and acts as the lead figure of a five, on two tracks even six piece ensemble and fully embeds his instrument in this extended and expansed setting over the course of eight pieces and roughly 53 minutes. With the opener "Supernueve" the group lays out a path of groove driven Jazz fusion tracks featuring extensive electric guitar solo rides as well as beautiful piano lines and dense, slightly 80s informed arrangements whereas "Five On The Floor" follows up with a more intricate musical setting, long build ups and ethereal, almost Trance-like key pads and overall Dancefloor Jazz vibes, yet presents a raw and slighty unhinged edge towards the end, especially when seen in contrast to the beautiful and intricately meandering piano intro and almost psychedelic guitars of "Next Steps" before the group explores a deeper, inward looking late night vision of mostly solo piano led Jazz with the aptly titled "Newborn". Furthermore we see the "Operation Mexi-Can" bringing forth a bit of an 80s-infused and surely summer sun soaked Jazz Funk vibe once again followed by "Inner Embrace" and its tender full on late night romanticism whilst "Elevate" earns the title of the most uplifting and, in the best of all possible meanings, easy and genuinely unbothered cuts on this album whereas the closing cut named "My Lima" waves goodbye on an almost krautsy and enchanted tip before building up towards an electric guitar-driven climax and finally riding out an intricate array of interweaving melodies towards the very end. One for the dedicated collector of Jazz Fusion sounds.

Etienne Nillesen - Twee [Sofa Music 609]

Put out on the circuit on May 22nd, 2k26 via the Norwegian staple that is Sofa Music is "Twee", the most recent musical outing by originally Dutch, now Cologne-based drummer, composer and solo performer Etienne Nillesen who - throughout the entirety of this 35 minutes one track album - focuses solely on what he describes as extended snare drums as singular instrument and sound source. The result of this conceptual approach, which initially might evoke the idea of an extended percussive drum exercise when laid out on paper, might surprise many a listener unfamiliar with Nillesen's work as there is no initial drum, no hard hitting percussive brutalism and not even an echo of intricate and complex Jazz rhythmicity to be found in here. Instead the album starts with meandering ethereal and otherworldly high and mid-frequency movements unbound by time, space and the universe in general, a crystalline ambience of rather electro-acoustic nature, harmonic, yet occasionally offset by metallic squeaks and screeches, with echoes of echoes of angelic choirs and voices seeping through from another dimensions creating a fragile forever presence sometimes drifting off into minimal distortions and spiralling, dubbed out modulations which are becoming relatively dramatic and agitated for a short while before finally finding back to longing, siren'esque and rather seductive beauty. This is not an album. This is a monument in sound. And a recommended one for sure.

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and then... there's MERZBOW

Mesmer - Terrain Vague II [Arbitrary 025]

Released via the Danish Arbitrary imprint on April 24th, 2k26 is "Terrain Vague II", the most recent album outing by Emil Jensen, Victor Dybbroe and Anders Filipsen which form the electro-acoustic trio named Mesmer. With nine tracks structurally based on a set of Field Recordings captured in various locations around the country, reprocessed and accompanied by electro-acoustic improvisation the trio serves a sonic journey of roughly 31 minutes total playtime, starting from an angle of playful, seemingly modular percussions reminiscent of Felix Raeithel's 2024 album "Dance With Uncertainty" before decaying into brittle arctic winds with "Lodsbad" whereas the subsequent "Vind & Maskiner" brings forth a combination of slow and sluggish Industrial-informed Downbeat x Illbient structures and calm, almost angelic pads and sounds later subdued by a heavy crescendo leading straight into a giant abrasive swarm of metallic "Insekter" attacking from a realm in between interdimensional realms. With "Sejlturen Til Laesø" Mesmer explore tectonic low end movements in conjunction with unidentified surface noise scraping, surprisingly tender piano tones, elegic sustained saxophones and what seem to be rather unprocessed Field Recordings, bird sounds included, whereas "Salt & Kompressor" harks back to friendly, at times tongue-in-cheek and certainly tentative modular micropercussions backed by occasional dry rhythmic quasi drum hits before suddenly turning towards crystalline and festive church organ emulations with "Fløjten" following up with fast and fluttering noise rhythms, dramatic quasi Jazz fanfares and retrofuturist synth hoverings. Furthermore we see "Budolfi" fusing electro-acoustic melancholia, classic Ambient dreamscapes and world shaking waves of subsonic bass emerging from the vast nothingness of space contrasted by the raw, echoing and heartfelt deep alpine forest romanticisms of "Trompet & Propeller" whilst "Under Limfjorden" waves goodbye on a rather sub-aquatic tip with the sound of gurgling underwater movements interrupted by sci-fi pings, digital glitches, small clanging metal pieces and a beautifully lonely little melody wandering through the sonic realm before disappearing on the far side of the sonic horizon. Deep Listening Music at its best. Go check.

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Theriot. - The Other. [KS.Theory 011 Promo]

Incoming from Toronto / Canada these days is "The Other.", the latest album outing by Vermont-based Jazz composer and musical master of many trades Kyle Saulnier, this time employing the new moniker Theriot. for his musical ventures brought to life alongside an illustrous set of participating musicians. Scheduled for release on September 18th, 2k26 we see Saulnier, probably best known by many as the leader of the Awakening Orchestra, catering a sonic menu of eight brand new pieces over the course of roughly 50 minutes, bringing on a rather dramatic intro sequence in the opening piece "The Other, Pt.1" which transforms into a chiming fusion of late night Jazz and organo-acoustic Downbeat x NuJazz with a bit of an almost Scandinavian quality before taking a turn toward Blaxploitation-infused funkiness at around minute 5 followed by "The Darkest Hour" which starts from an angle of plucked, almost rural and naturalistic Folk Improv leaning string tones which become the rhythmic lead and foundation for tender melodies and carefully layered brass harmonics telling tales of romantic love and longing throughout a night, and a lifetime. A little further down the line the "Interlude: The Sound Of Silence" adds a moment of inward-looking acoustic bass improvisation and leads the way into the most extended composition on this longplayer, "Fathers And Sons", with its ultra slow, yet emotionally touching late night movements which for us seem to evoke faint memories of the mid to late 90s TripHop minimalisms of Spacer and especially their "Atlas Earth" album on Pussyfoot Records vibewise and therefore might be our favorite cut on here alongside the dark Dope Beat driven "The Other, Pt.2" which might represent the most classic Jazz workout on "The Other." just to name a few. File under: Deep Jazz for nocturnal listening sessions. Good stuff.

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JARR - Afterimage [Sound In Silence 132]

John Attwood and Ray Robinson are back on the Greek Sound In Silence label, making a return with "Afterimage", the brand new 12 tracks and roughly 61 minutes album cooked up and conceived under their shared artistic moniker that is JARR. Following the idea of a colour palette evolving from a warm yellow to grey as an embodiment of dissolution over the course of twelve tracks, each representing a specific visual colour in this journey, and a total runtime of 61 minutes the duo embarks on this conceptual journey starting from a point of fogged out autumnal misty melancholia as well as distinct emotional longing and innate sadness with the opener "Morning Exposure" followed by the rather minimalist, yet tender and beautifully arranged "Before The House Woke" and its chiming melodic minimalisms and sparsely plucked guitar strings and the glistening mixture of Ambient Shoegaze and yearning Post-PostRock that is "Tender". With these three tracks laying out the foundation for things to come we see pieces like "Everything At Once" weighing in an almost Oval-like sense of decay and drifting off into darker, droning and more threatening UnAmbient territories before surprisingly moving towards more relaxed guitar processings whereas "What Stayed", representing burgundy in the colour spectrum, provides more of a rather psychedelic and drifting Post-PostRock feel deeply embedded in echoes of Krautrock and urban Berlin School melancholia with "Distance, Inward" bringing on quasi-rhythmic tectonic low end rumblings alongside glacial electric dronings with the final - grey - title track that is "Afterimage" returning to an almost folksy and certainly calm and inward looking musical approach just to name a few. A beautiful album for this coming fall and many a month beyond.

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Akusmi - Terra Incognita [Tonal Union 020]

Released via the Berlin- / London-based Tonal Union label on July 3rd, 2k26 is "Terra Incognita", the third ever release of the Pascal Bideau-led ensemble operating under the Akusmi moniker ever since 2022. With a total of seven pieces unfolding over the course of roughly 48 minutes the group takes the albums title as a conceptual guidance for sonic exploration out of which emerges a deeply enchanted tonal realm infused by Deep Jazz and unscathed rural naturalistic landscapes from the very first seconds of the chiming and ever floating opener that is "A Waking Dream" which develops into a densely layered and rather spiritual vision followed by the percussive tribal rhythmicity and innate loopings of the subsequent Jazz outing that is "Anima" which probably draws structural inspiration from Minimal Music developed by the likes of Steve Reich whereas "Club Subterranea" weighs in rather deep, comforting and tender late night Jazz tendencies backed by interesting synth bleeps of most likely modular origin providing a foundation for a myriad of interwoven and intertwined harmonic lines, winding, floating and meandering in an almost surreal and surely slightly psychedelic manner. With "Pleine Lune" Akusmi harks back to Minimal Music-infused percussive rhythms, yet floats and akmost drowns these with a triple thick coating of overwhelming lush and rich harmonies working their way up until the piece ends rather abruptly, giving way to the quiet bird song intro of "Drongo's Flute" which later incorporates elements of Future Tribal and deep Spiritual Jazz as well as dissolving non-vocalisms drowning deep within the overall mix before "Rain Dance" brings forth a hypnotic, syncopated and almost trance-inducing groove of almost krautsy and surely time dissolving quality before "Dawning Dusk" rounds things off with a lively rhythmic attitude evoking a slightly South East Asian feel as a foundation for sustained, elegic and sometimes even deeply romantic sax lines and emotionally touching chants for a closing. One for a fanbase of Contemporary Jazz afficionadoes, this.

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Calum Builder - Although Changed, I Arise The Same [Thanatosis Produktion 053]

Scheduled for release on the highly recommended label operating under the name of Thanatosis Produktion on September 25th, 2k26 is "Although I Changed, I Arise The Same" - the most recent twin release cooked up by Calum Builder on his so-called (Re)Constructed Pipe Organ which the artist has assembled from salvaged church organ pipes gathered and saved all over Norther Denmark which is available on CD, digitally and as a limited 10" lathe cut edition which features alternative versions of the tracks in comparison to the aforementioned formats. Over the course of four extended pieces and a total playtime of a little more than 36 minutes Calum Builder serves a deep dive into the tonal qualities of his self-developed instrument starting with the mystical "Where Can I Go?" which pairs a partially glacial, partially almost breathing combination of Dark Ambient and Deep Listening music with what seem to be skitty echoes of enchanted flutes and ethereal vocalisms provided by Zola Mennenöh and Johana Sulkunen before dynamically and powerfully erupting unexpectedly at around ten minutes into its 15 minutes runtime. The subsequent follow up that is "Surely" brings forth a somewhat fluttering, unsettling take on rather rural and naturalistic late night (Un)Ambient and evokes memories of solo camping near the arctic circle, surrounded by unscathed woodlands and scattered wolves under brightly star-sprinkled skies whereas "Is As Light" sees an ethereal and perfectly executed vocal interplay and dialogue unfold atop a foundation of slow moving and sub-heavy Dark Ambient drones. Quite an intriguing release, this, which will - even though probably unintendedly - also resonate with a certain audience with the Goth spectrum for a reason or two.

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