MUSIC

Reissue of Ital Dub, originally released in 1975. This is Augustus Pablo's first collaboration with King Tubby.

Tsapiky music from Southwest Madagascar features wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and the amphetamine beat! Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you've always wanted - ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike. In Toliara and its surrounding region, funerals, weddings, circumcisions and other rites of passage have been celebrated for decades in ceremonies called mandriampototse. During these celebrations – which last between three and seven days – cigarettes, beer and toaky gasy (artisanal rum) are passed around while electric orchestras play on the same dirt floor as the dancing crowds and zebus. The music, tsapiky, defies any classification. This compilation showcases the diversity of contemporary tsapiky music. Locally and even nationally renowned bands played their own songs on makeshift instruments, blaring through patched-up amps and horn speakers hung in tamarind trees, projecting the music kilometers away. Lead guitarists and female lead singers are the central figures of tsapiky. Driven as much by their creative impulses as by the need to stand out in a competitive market, the artists distinguish themselves stylistically through their lyrics, rhythms or guitar riffs. They must also master a wide repertoire of current tsapiky hits, which the families that attend inevitably request before parading in front of the orchestra with their offerings. This work, a constant push and pull between distinction and imitation, is nourished by fertile exchanges between various groups: acoustic and electric, rural and urban, coastal or inland. What results during these ceremonies is a music of astonishing intensity and creativity, played by artists carving out their own path, indifferent to the standards of any other music industry: Malagasy, African or global.

Gondwana Records is pleased to announce ‘Interlude’, the second album from Estonian-born, London-based composer and pianist Hanakiv. Showcasing an expanded sound, the compositions trace a journey of overcoming the past, unfolding into a seductively unconventional style imbued with hope and a therapeutic quality. Existing in a liminal space between genres, Interlude , the second album from composer, pianist and now singer Hanakiv is as mysterious as it’s seductively unconventional, with piano, often prepared, only one of its elements, both analogue and electronic. First inspired by “those crystallised moments where time almost stands still, pain hasn’t yet fully set in, and happiness is still just a glimpse,” it provides, all the same, “a sense of hope that standing still is part of living.” Interlude’s range is further intimated by its contributors, including Portico Quartet’s Milo Fitzpatrick, who, as well as playing double bass throughout, co-wrote the refreshed long-term live favourite, ‘Intro’, and the eloquent closer, Stillness’. Also present are saxophonist Pille-Rite Rei, cellist Joanna Gutowska, violinist Gabriel Green, and PIKE on drums, helping capture the instances Hanakiv calls “in-betweens”. Unpredictable, unfathomable, candid and carefree, Interlude embodies flaws embraced as well as senses regained. This record is a product of creative and personal revelation, earned only when one’s true self.

Strut proudly presents the first-ever reissue of a landmark 1974 Ghanaian highlife classic Sikyi Highlife by Dr K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings, originally released on Essiebons. A defining recording of the era, Sikyi Highlife bridges tradition and innovation at a pivotal moment in Ghanaian music. Deeply rooted in the classic 1950s–’60s highlife sound, K. Gyasi drew inspiration from the ancient sikyi drum-dance of the Akan people of southern Ghana, shaping the album’s rhythms around its distinctive pulse. The vocal arrangements echo the traditional Akan modal style, grounding the music firmly in Ghana’s cultural heritage. Yet Sikyi Highlife is equally forward-thinking. As electric guitars became standard in highlife during the 1960s, the 1970s ushered in further experimentation. The Noble Kings broke new ground as the first highlife guitar band to incorporate keyboards and a full horn section into their sound, expanding the genre’s sonic possibilities while retaining its rootsy spirit. Gyasi’s approach was part of a broader indigenisation movement among Ghana’s electric highlife bands in the post-independence era. Inspired by the nation’s ‘African Personality’ ethos and reinforced by Afrocentric messages arriving from American soul and funk, artists began reclaiming traditional forms within modern arrangements. Contemporaries included Koo Nimo, who revived the older palmwine style, and drummer Nii Ashitey, whose Wulomei band pioneered a folklorised Ga highlife sound from 1973. Like many musicians of his generation, Gyasi was a passionate supporter of Ghana’s independence movement. In 1963, he travelled as a musical ambassador alongside Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, performing across North Africa and the USSR and carrying Ghanaian culture onto the world stage. The Noble Kings’ mid-’70s line-up featured some of the country’s finest musicians, including guitarist Eric Agyeman (who led the band at the time), Thomas Frimpong on drums and vocals, Ernest Honny on organ, and bassist Ralph Karikari - who was renowned for his innovative technique of translating the rhythms and tonal language of the traditional talking drum onto electric bass. Upon its original release, Sikyi Highlife became one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1970s for Essiebons, earning Gyasi the affectionate honorary title of “Dr” from his devoted fans. Today, the album remains an evergreen classic, still cherished across Ghana and beyond.

Nigerian percussionist Gasper Lawal’s groundbreaking debut Ajomasé, originally self-released in 1980 on his own CAP label, finally sees an official reissue via the esteemed Strut imprint. Having honed his craft through collaborations with giants like Stephen Stills, Funkadelic, and Vangelis, Lawal crystallized his vision using hand-built instruments and meticulous multi-tracking to create a work of singular depth. Merging Afro-rhythmic intensity with experimental sensibilities, the album garnered international recognition after airplay from John Peel and others. A historic masterpiece where West African shamanism collides with Fourth World psychedelia, deep-rooted funk, spiritual resonance, and an avant-garde ethnomusicological spirit. Fully remastered from the original tapes.

Strut proudly presents a new edition of one of Sun Ra's most celebrated albums, Sleeping Beauty, reissued in its original artwork for the first time. Originally released in 1979 on his independent Saturn label, Sleeping Beauty captures Sun Ra and his Arkestra at their most soulful and serene. A masterclass in cosmic jazz, the album blends lush grooves, celestial soul, and meditative funk with Ra’s singular spiritual vision — a sound both grounded and otherworldly. The album emerged during an extraordinarily fertile period for Sun Ra in late-‘70s New York. Between 1978 and 1982, Ra “occupied” Variety Recording Studios on West 42nd Street, often staging marathon sessions following late-night Arkestra gigs around the city — from the Village Vanguard to Sweet Basil and even a wedding in Central Park. These were not just recordings; they were rituals. Ra and his core players — John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, June Tyson, Michael Ray, and others — would begin sessions mid-morning, often continuing past midnight, much to the dismay of the studio owner. Out of this creative whirlwind came some of his most enduring work, including A Fireside Chat With Lucifer, On Jupiter, and Sleeping Beauty. Across its three tracks, Sleeping Beauty showcases the Arkestra’s gentler side. From the dreamy sway of “Springtime Again” to the funk-deep uplift of “Door Of The Cosmos” and the title track’s meditative drift, this is music that floats, beckons, and unfolds. It’s a record of hypnotic beauty and quiet power — cosmic jazz for dreamers and seekers alike. This new edition features a selected version of the hand-drawn original cover, embossed with the Sun Ra logo and housed in a heavyweight card sleeve. Liner notes come courtesy of Arkestra member Knoel Scott and Sun Ra authority Paul Griffiths. Remastered by Technology Works. “Music is a language. You see, it’s not notes — it’s a language of the spirit. That’s why it’s so important.” – Sun Ra

Matthew Herbert and drummer/ vocalist Momoko Gill announce the release of new album Clay via Strut in June 2025. A soulful, elastic collaboration, Clay treads nimbly between the dancefloor and the more introspective moods of the early hours, both reminiscent of Herbert’s iconic album Around The House while taking off in a compelling new direction. Agile and open-hearted, Clay is a thrilling, sonically adventurous record from two of the UK’s most forward-thinking artists.

Orbiting around Herbert’s fleet-footed productions and the ingenuity of Momoko Gill’s dexterous, melodic writing, Clay is at once stripped-back and rhythmically complex, drawing on a variety of found sources - from japanese kotos to basketballs - to give the sound an unmistakably organic feel.

Bringing together original sampling techniques, live improvisation and lush, expansive arrangements, Clay is lifted into higher realms by Momoko Gill’s intimate vocal performance, soaring wide-winged across the album’s eleven tracks, whether on the euphoric melancholia of ‘Mowing’ or the emotive duet ‘Heart’.

Clay follows the 2024 release of debut collaboration ‘Fallen’ and Momoko Gill’s remix of Matthew Herbert’s ‘The Horse Is Here’. And yet, although Clay marks the first full-length release between Herbert and Gill, the duo’s shared passion for pushing sonic boundaries has played a crucial role in their respective careers to date.

For Herbert that means treating the world as an instrument, making music using everything from the sounds of a bomb exploding in Libya, a horse skeleton, a tank driving over a meal made for Tony Blair, 20,000 dogs, 245 shops and countless other noises. His album ONE PIG – which follows the lifecycle of a pig from birth to plate – remains one of the most ambitious and provocative pieces of electronic music this century, cementing his reputation as an utterly singular composer, artist and producer.

Self-taught in drums and composition, Momoko Gill’s journey to Clay has been similarly experimental – cutting her teeth in South London’s multi-disciplinary music scene, embracing new challenges and collaborating with the likes of Coby Sey, Tirzah and Alabaster DePlume. Although drums and vocals are her mediums of choice, Gill’s multi-instrumental talents were on full show on 2024’s EP as An Alien Called Harmony with poet/rapper Nadeem Din-Gabisi, and she continues to hone her style in the frictions between genres.

With an intuitive feel for one another’s sound, Clay is a meeting of musical minds that resonates far beyond the sum of its parts - a startlingly fresh, beautifully conceived record from two artists who sound like they’ve been playing together all their lives.

Matthew Herbert and drummer/ vocalist Momoko Gill announce the release of new album Clay via Strut in June 2025. A soulful, elastic collaboration, Clay treads nimbly between the dancefloor and the more introspective moods of the early hours, both reminiscent of Herbert’s iconic album Around The House while taking off in a compelling new direction. Agile and open-hearted, Clay is a thrilling, sonically adventurous record from two of the UK’s most forward-thinking artists.

Orbiting around Herbert’s fleet-footed productions and the ingenuity of Momoko Gill’s dexterous, melodic writing, Clay is at once stripped-back and rhythmically complex, drawing on a variety of found sources - from japanese kotos to basketballs - to give the sound an unmistakably organic feel.

Bringing together original sampling techniques, live improvisation and lush, expansive arrangements, Clay is lifted into higher realms by Momoko Gill’s intimate vocal performance, soaring wide-winged across the album’s eleven tracks, whether on the euphoric melancholia of ‘Mowing’ or the emotive duet ‘Heart’.

Clay follows the 2024 release of debut collaboration ‘Fallen’ and Momoko Gill’s remix of Matthew Herbert’s ‘The Horse Is Here’. And yet, although Clay marks the first full-length release between Herbert and Gill, the duo’s shared passion for pushing sonic boundaries has played a crucial role in their respective careers to date.

For Herbert that means treating the world as an instrument, making music using everything from the sounds of a bomb exploding in Libya, a horse skeleton, a tank driving over a meal made for Tony Blair, 20,000 dogs, 245 shops and countless other noises. His album ONE PIG – which follows the lifecycle of a pig from birth to plate – remains one of the most ambitious and provocative pieces of electronic music this century, cementing his reputation as an utterly singular composer, artist and producer.

Self-taught in drums and composition, Momoko Gill’s journey to Clay has been similarly experimental – cutting her teeth in South London’s multi-disciplinary music scene, embracing new challenges and collaborating with the likes of Coby Sey, Tirzah and Alabaster DePlume. Although drums and vocals are her mediums of choice, Gill’s multi-instrumental talents were on full show on 2024’s EP as An Alien Called Harmony with poet/rapper Nadeem Din-Gabisi, and she continues to hone her style in the frictions between genres.

With an intuitive feel for one another’s sound, Clay is a meeting of musical minds that resonates far beyond the sum of its parts - a startlingly fresh, beautifully conceived record from two artists who sound like they’ve been playing together all their lives.

UK supergroup Flock return with their anticipated sophomore album ‘Flock II’. Comprising an exceptional line-up featuring Bex Burch (fresh from her debut solo album on International Anthem), Sarathy Korwar, Tamar Osborn (Collocutor, Dele Sosimi, Unknown To Known), Danalogue (The Comet Is Coming / Soccer96) and Al MacSween (Kefaya), the new recordings showcase Flock’s ability to push the boundaries of the composition process and craft unique tracks based on their collective spirit. Recorded amidst the serene landscapes of the Welsh countryside during 2022, 'Flock II' emerges as a compelling departure from their debut album, which was captured in a single day at London's Fish Factory. Nestled within the enchanting environs of the Druidstone, a mystical coastal retreat in West Wales, the group embarked on an immersive week-long recording session. Here, they crafted unique "jump-off" devices for each musical piece, drawing inspiration from unconventional structures and atmospheres. From diagrams utilising shapes and repeated patterns to a revolving lamp throwing out dappled light and a mobile app creating intense strobe effects in front of each musician, each device set a state of mind and a unique approach to their compositions. Studio Owz, housed in a converted country church, provided an ideal setting for their creative exploration. The resulting compositions, ranging from intense to hypnotic, invite listeners to embark on a deeply personal voyage, weaving their own narratives amidst the ethereal soundscape. The fruits of a strong and joyful bond between five of the UK’s finest musicians, ‘Flock II’ stands as another essential recording without genre or category. Cover artwork illustration is courtesy of the brilliant Muhammad “Rofi” Fatchurofi, providing the ideal nebulous artistic foil to Flock’s creation.

Strut present the first international reissues of two classics of South African jazz by Malombo Jazz Makers, ‘Malompo Jazz’ (1966) and ‘Malombo Jazz Makers Vol. 2’ (1967). Formed in Mamelodi township near Pretoria, the group started out as Malombo Jazz Men with Julian Bahula on malombo drums, Abbey Cindi on flute and Philip Tabane on guitar. Fusing traditional and improvised rhythms with jazz, Malombo became renowned as one of the first South African bands to fully connect jazz with the African traditions. Despite his undoubted genius, Tabane became erratic on tour and Bahula brought in another Mamelodi-based talent, guitarist Lucas “Lucky” Ranku, renaming the band Malombo Jazz Makers. The group played stadiums and festivals and were soon signed to Gallo. Recording at a studio in Pretoria, the trio debuted with the album ‘Malompo Jazz’ in 1966, showcasing the simple, spacious beauty of the Malombo sound and Abbey Cindi’s compositions, with Mahotella Queens’ Hilda Tloubatla on guest vocals. The partner follow-up album ‘Malombo Jazz Makers Vol. 2’ was recorded a year later, continuing the earthy flow of Malombo’s music. The two albums have since been recognised as unique landmarks of South African jazz through popular tracks like ‘Sibathathu’, ‘Jikeleza’ and ‘Emakhaya’. Alongside full original artwork, the albums feature a new interview with Julian Bahula.

Strut presents an exclusive new collaboration between UK jazz keyboardist Greg Foat and Venetian ambient / electronic maestro Gigi Masin on ‘Dolphin’. Recorded remotely during 2021-2022 the album took shape in the form of mutual compositions, gradually developed and embellished online. Final recording sessions took place at the majestic Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle Of Wight with Moses Boyd (drums), Tom Herbert (bass) and Siobhan Cosgrove (flute, clarinet) adding elements to several pieces. Tracks include the reflective, wistful single ‘Viento Calido’ and drifting ambient piece ‘Sabena’, a beautiful tribute to Gigi’s wife who sadly passed away during 2022. Greg Foat has recorded prolifically in recent years for Athens Of The North, Jazzman and Strut including acclaimed albums Symphonie Pacifique (2020) and The Mage (2019). Best known for his 1986 ambient masterpiece Wind and as a member of Gaussian Curve, Gigi Masin has enjoyed a revival in recent years through his Calypso album on R&S’s Apollo label and renewed touring. Dolphin represents Greg and Gigi’s first landmark recording collaboration together. “I first heard Gigi’s album Wind in 2016,” remembers Greg. “I was living in Miami and I heard it playing one Summer evening. Since then, it has always been in my mind to be able to record together.” Dolphin is mastered by Mark Ashfield at Cosmic Audio with newly commissioned artwork by Niul Foat. The LP comes as transparent vinyl in a thick card outer sleeve.

Strut proudly presents the first official remastered reissue of the funk/Afro classic, Lafayette Afro Rock Band's 'Soul Makossa' from 1973.

An electrified meeting of minds, Candy Girl is a lost 1975 session by jazz pianist Mal Waldron, recorded in Paris with core members of the mighty Lafayette Afro Rock Band, the American funk unit who had made France their home and whose deep grooves would later be mined by generations of hip-hop producers.

By 1975, Waldron was a decade into his self-imposed exile from the United States—a transformed musician who had reassembled his sound in Europe and Japan after a devastating breakdown in the early '60s. His post-1969 output had stripped jazz down to its core elements: modal intensity, locked grooves, and hypnotic repetition. Candy Girl doesn’t interrupt this trajectory—it extends it, wrapping Waldron’s minimalist mantras around the funked-up chassis of the Lafayette rhythm section.

Originally released in microscopic quantities on the Calumet label and long shrouded in obscurity, Candy Girl was recorded spontaneously in the studio of French producer Pierre Jaubert, whose Paris HQ had become the workshop for both avant-garde jazz (Archie Shepp, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Steve Lacy) and psychedelic funk (Lafayette Afro Rock Band AKA Ice). This session finds Waldron jamming freely with bassist Lafayette Hudson, drummer Donny Donable, and keyboardist Frank Abel on clavinet, Moog and more—laying down raw, unfiltered instrumental funk with an experimental edge.

Highlights include the low-slung vamp of “Home Again”, the crisp, break-laden groove of “Red Match Box”, and the mesmeric swirl of the title track “Candy Girl”—a minor-key electric piano waltz with hints of cosmic soul. There's even a deep cut for the crate diggers: the somber yet meditative “Dedication to Brahms”, where Waldron deconstructs the Romantic composer’s third symphony into a sparse jazz reverie.

Unlike his polished sessions for Japanese labels or the avant-garde swing of his earlier Prestige work, Candy Girl feels more spontaneous, even accidental — and that’s part of its power. It’s a document of Waldron as bandleader, collaborator, and explorer, captured in the midst of a vibrant, cross-cultural scene in mid-70s Paris. Never officially issued with a cover and barely released at all, Candy Girl is a rare convergence of two underground traditions: Waldron’s Euro-exile electric jazz and the raw, sampled-future funk of the Lafayette Afro Rock Band. Now finally resurfaced, it deserves its rightful place in both stories.

This official edition features audio remastered by The Carvery, new liner notes by Francis Gooding, and packaging that pays tribute to the obscure original release, complete with replica Calumet label artwork. For years it lived in the shadows; now Candy Girl finally steps into the light — a vital rediscovery from one of jazz’s most distinctive voices.

Strut present the first ever official compilation bringing together the complete in-demand reggae / disco singles of Risco Connection between 1979 and 1980.

Drummer “Drummie” Joe Isaacs had already created history as the house drummer at Studio 1 in Jamaica on countless pre-reggae classics before moving to Canada in 1968 and is credited with slowing down the fast pace of ska during the rocksteady era. With Risco Connection, Isaacs released a series of choice reggae / disco covers, from ‘Ain’t No Stopping Us Now’ and ‘Good Times’ to ‘I’m Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair)’ and ‘It’s My House’ as limited 12” singles on his own Black Rose imprint. “Arriving in Canada, we were one of the first set of musicians out of Jamaica coming here,” explains Isaacs. “With Risco Connection, we wanted to try something new, songs that would have a crossover between disco and the rocksteady feeling and the right lyrics. We had trouble getting them well distributed widely at the time but people still picked up on the sound.”

Recorded at Glen Johansen’s small studio Integrated Sound in Toronto, musicians included Jamaican, US and Canadian players with Isaacs on drums and percussion, bassist Clarence Greer, guitarist Tony Campbell and keyboardist/singer Glen Ricketts. Isaacs also called on a number of great independent vocalists including Terry Hope (‘It’s My House’), Merlyn “Lorna” Brooks, (‘Caught Up’), Otis Gayle and Juliette Morgan (‘Bringing The Sun Out’ and ‘Sitting In The Park’) and Tobi Lark (‘Good Times’). The biggest hit of all the singles was Risco’s dynamite cover of McFadden and Whitehead’s ‘Ain’t No Stopping Us Now’. selling over 5,000 copies in Toronto and New York with the dub version becoming a firm favourite of David Mancuso at his famed Loft parties.

‘Risco Version’ brings together all of the vocal versions, dubs and extra tracks from the singles. Both formats feature an interview with Joe Isaacs and liner notes by journalist Angus Taylor. Audio is restored by Sean P and fully remastered and cut loud and proud by The Carvery. 

 

The third in Strut’s Inspiration Information studio collaboration series brings together an intriguing pairing between one of Africa’s great bandleaders, Mulatu Astatke, with the next level musicianship of The Heliocentrics collective from the mighty roster of Stones Throw / Now Again.

Known primarily through the successful ‘Ethiopiques’ album series and the film soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Broken Flowers’, Mulatu Astatke is one of Ethiopia’s foremost musical ambassadors. Informed by spells living and studying in the UK and the USA, his self-styled Ethio-jazz sound flourished during the “Swinging Addis” era of the late ‘60s as he successfully fused Western jazz and funk with traditional Ethiopian folk melodies, five tone scale arrangements and elements from music of the ancient Coptic church.

The Heliocentrics have become known as one of the UK’s foremost free-thinking collectives of musicians, inspired by a wide palette covering Sun Ra, James Brown, David Axelrod and all manner of psych, Afro and Eastern sounds. Now a fixture within the Stones Throw / Now Again roster, they forged their own genre-breaking directions in the astral analogue groove on their 2007 debut album, ‘Out There’.

“ It’s like going back to the feel of the ‘60s, it really feels like that,” explains Mulatu. “There’s a new composition, ‘Cha Cha’, and ‘Dewel’, heavily influenced by an Ethiopian Coptic Church composer called Yard. The band took it and added what they feel. It’s a nice experiment.” 

Award-winning composer and producer Sarathy Korwar to release new album celebrating the melodic power of the drum ensemble Sarathy Korwar, genre-breaking drummer, producer and composer, announces the release of his seventh album, There Is Beauty, There Already, out on Otherland on 7th November 2025. Celebrating the melodic power of the drum ensemble, the album follows his 2022 Indofuturist manifesto KALAK with a deeply immersive longform suite of percussion-led compositions. Playing as a 40-minute suite of hypnotic and transcendent drum improvisations, the album beats through a repetitive, circular structure that brings to mind Indian folk music, jazz drum ensembles like Max Roach’s M’Boom and the contemporary classical minimalism of Terry Riley and Steve Reich. From the undulating bass tones of the tabla to the tonal varieties of South Indian clay pot ghatam, the snare drum snap of the drum kit, and shades of electronic texture through the Buchla Easel, Korwar’s ensemble bubbles and flows through a stream of steady rhythm, forever in motion like the ceaseless energy of a river.

“The album is me finding my voice as a composer again and going back to the thing I know best, which is the drums,” Korwar says. “It’s me falling back in love with percussion and expressing just how melodic and emotive it can be. Unlike my other albums that have often engaged with weighty themes like migration, identity and futurism, this is a raw act of placing myself front and centre – letting the drums speak instead.”

Written and recorded over four days at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, Korwar is joined by drummers Photay, Magnus Mehta, and Joost Hendrickx. Setting up an array of drums in the live room – from drum kit to tabla, marimba, balafon, udu and ghatam – Korwar gave himself and his instrumentalists free reign to flow through and play whatever complimented their ever-developing music, while triggered attachments to synthesisers and the Buchla Easel added unexpected elements of electronic texture. "By day three, we realised that we kept coming back to this single, repeated 40-minute pattern, which was locking us in and making us hypnotised by its rhythm," Korwar says. "I decided to do multiple takes of that idea to build a structure – and that’s what you ultimately hear on the record." A riposte to our flitting attention spans, the album is designed to be played from start to finish as a singular, longform suite of music, evoking a constant sense of motion and intent. Drawing on the idea of repetition to the point of going beyond monotony and into the unknown – like a word repeated so many times it loses meaning – the record becomes a remarkable exploration of rhythm as trance and transformation. Exploding onto the international jazz scene with his 2016 Ninja Tune debut Day to Day, Korwar has released four albums exploring everything from the folk music of the Indian Sidi community to hip-hop, electronics, contemporary jazz and Indian classical music. He won the 2020 AIM Award for Best Independent Album and MOJO’s Jazz Album of the Year for 2019’s spoken word-influenced More Arriving, as well as being nominated at the Jazz FM and Worldwide Awards and in 2023 won the Songlines Award for Best Album (Asia/Pacific) with KALAK.

As a musician and producer, meanwhile, he has collaborated with Shabaka Hutchings and producer Hieroglyphic Being on 2017’s A.R.E. Project, as well as releasing a collaborative album with Auntie Flo in 2022, and forming jazz supergroup FLOCK with Bex Burch, Tamar Osborn, Danalogue and Al MacSween. He is also currently a member of sitarist Anoushka Shankar’s band and produced and co-wrote her 2025 album, Chapter III: Return to Light. Almost a decade on from his debut, There Is Beauty, There Already sees Korwar producing some of his most personal and vulnerable work to date. From the album cover – a grid of self-portraits taken at his local Co-Op checkout over the past five years, “a ritual story of my life in images” – to an accompanying, self-written poem reflecting on beauty, the record marks a new direction. It also signals the launch of Korwar’s own label, Otherland. “It’s a home for my own future music and music from others that doesn’t tick many boxes – that doesn’t have a motherland or fatherland of its own," he says. "It’s about embracing this music as it is, finding the beauty in it and recognising it, just as the album title says." The album will launch with an exclusive show at The ICA on 15 November 2025 as part of the London Jazz Festival, where Korwar will expand his ensemble to a dozen drummers, guiding live improvisations through the record’s percussive textures from start to finish. There Is Beauty, There Already is released on Otherland on 7th November 2025, distributed worldwide by !K7.

Based in musically fertile Leeds, the 14-member jazz ensemble Ancient Infinity Orchestra have made an album (their debut for Gondwana Records) that marries influences like John and Alice Coltrane with an emphatically Northern style, alongside a communal aspect of recording that fits both the aforementioned artists and the thriving jazz scene of their hometown. River of Light was recorded in just 3 days, the massive cast of players – key member and saxophonist Matthew Halsall is part of a rotating lineup of violinists, harpists, flautists and more – working with a similarly sized choir of Brighton friends. Over this time, the collective made food together and jammed in the heat between tracks, inducing a wholesome, exuberant warmth that percolates throughout the album.

Saadia Jefferson is a glorious act of vandalism on Yemeni traditions led by inventor, carpenter, musician, and composer Eyal El Wahab. Dismantling lyrics, melodies, and compositions from Yemeni folk songs, El Khat delve into uncharted sonic territory updating Yemen's ancient culture. Using an orchestra of instruments old and new, many repurposed from junk objects and turned into instruments that sound similar to traditional Arabic and North African lutes and percussion, Tel Aviv based El Khat have imagined an indelible stamp of polyphonic, harmony soaked, pan-Arabic braindance. Hover over the tracks and you can pick out certain influences such as Omar Souleyman and dabkefolk characterised by trance-inducing chants (Wahed Mozawej), the searing Ethiopique organ of Mulatu Astatke (Ala Jina Nuhayiykum), and the unashamedly sing-along choruses of Bowie or McCartney (Balagh Al Achbaab), but the over-arching concept within Saadia Jefferson is Eyal's sense of identity, or lack of it, as a Yemeni living in Tel Aviv. The album is the rewards of a self-imposed mission to discover Eyal El Wahab's Yemeni roots.

First reissue of these cult 1974 recordings of a Mayan brass band playing funeral dirges and popular songs in its distinctive extended harmonic and rhythmic style. The members of the San Lucas Band lived in the mountain village of San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala, playing local events of both religious and social nature. The pride of its town since 1922, the band represented a fast-disappearing musical tradition when these recordings were originally released in 1975. Its unique sound derived from an unusual combination of instruments, a repertoire including pieces dating from more than fifty years before the recordings were made to more recent ones, and above all from the highland Maya style of its playing, which is characterized by a preference for freer rhythmic structures and a wider variety of pitches than Western scales allow. One of Jon Hassell and Charlie Haden's favorite records, it was nominated for a Grammy Award upon first release and has remained much beloved by a small community of enthusiasts for decades. A profound and rewarding musical experience for all adventurous listeners, notably fans of Albert Ayler, microtonal and raw cosmic music.

Bongo Joe records is pleased to present La Contra Ola, a compilation recording dedicated to the early 80’s Spanish Synth Wave and Post Punk scene. First to be published outside Spain, this anthology explores the electronic music side of the independent music produced in the days in the Iberian Peninsula: Synthetic pop music with industrial sounds including futurist Art Rock, dance-floor productions and low-fi experiments on cassettes. Classics or true hidden treasures, this selection of nineteen songs is symbolic of the musical dawn that Spain experienced during the decade marked by the return of democracy and by the creative freedom initiated by Punk music.

Following two 12-inch singles released via the self-run label Plastic & Sounds, which launched unexpectedly this past July, the culmination of their work to date—the album Silent Way, comprising ten tracks—will be released on 27th March as a coloured vinyl 2LP (gatefold sleeve/33RPM/limited press) and digitally.Mastering and record cutting by Rashad Becker in Berlin. The artwork centres on photographer Yusuke Yamatani's work, with Satoshi Suzuki—who handles all P&S releases—constructing the overall aesthetic.Last October, they appeared on Resident Advisor's popular series “RA Podcast”, with audio from their world premiere live performance in April 2023 released. They held the “Plastic & Sounds” label launch party at Shibuya WWW. In January 2026, they performed a live set of their acclaimed album “Haet” at the venue's New Year's party.This release comes amidst growing international acclaim, with their previous album ‘Discipline’ featured in Pitchfork's ‘The 30 Best Electronic Albums of 2025’, and one of their signature tracks, ‘Butterfly Effect’, selected for RA (Resident Advisor)'s ‘The Best Electronic Tracks of 2000-25’.

Zulu Guitar's Pioneering Tricksters

But for this compilation of rescued songs masterfully restored from rare 78 rpm shellacs, few could imagine the diversely beautiful roots of Zulu Guitar Music emerging during the period 1950 – 1965. Story-tellers and master musicians appropriate outlaw personae, re-purpose country and western, Hawaiian and other styles, to stretch and challenge our notion of “the Zulu guitar”.

Twenty-five songs (18 on vinyl) plunge us into the depths of the migrant experience. Translations in the liner notes offer us glimpses of pugnacity, melancholy and heartache, all coloured by the paternalism that circumscribed the singers’ apartheid-dominated lives.

The early mbaqanga undertow in many of the songs subverts the wanderlust of Country and Western music into a fugitivity burdened by nostalgia. Something irretrievable has been lost, prompting a blending of ideas and cultures to make sense through thankless acts of musical divination. Inadvertently they have been thrust into the role of the antihero, where outwitting competition for lovers is as important as evading the Black Jacks (apartheid’s municipal cops) and their informants.

Considering the politically repressive period that this music emerges from, we can surmise that the specificity in the storytelling went a long way towards evading censure. But even when words are absent, there is a narrative arc suggested by the musical expression.

With most of the master tapes wilfully destroyed or lost, modern transcription and restoration techniques from the original shellac discs present the original sound most likely more clearly than ever heard before.

Welcome to the world of Edward Blankman, a retired dentist who wrote elegant, minimalist jazz in obscurity circa 1970.

At least that’s the story. In truth, Edward Blankman’s Cape Cod Cottage is the 2021 concept album from Echo Park composer Brendan Eder.

A tender, wistful follow up to 2020’s To Mix With Time, the Cape Cod Cottage sound evokes the spirit of Erik Satie, Miles Davis with Gil Evans, and Stevie Wonder, balanced with the accessibility of 1960s lounge-exotica.

Eder created Blankman’s story to channel his own grief, with bittersweet tenderness. Read the liner notes (or watch the mini-doc), and you’ll be transported to the quiet shores of Cape Cod, where a lonely retiree mourns his late wife, Natalie, with walks in nature and evenings at his Wurlitzer.

The story is brought to life with a meticulously crafted package sporting classic liner notes, faux 1970s photographs documenting Edward with the musicians (taken during the actual session), a make-believe jazz label, and a commissioned oil painting of Edward’s cottage.

Eder brought together a dream line up with a ton of chemistry for the project; drummer Christian Euman (Jacob Collier), saxophonist Josh Johnson (Jeff Parker, Leon Bridges), and bassist Alex Boneham (Billy Childs), who all studied together at the Hancock Institute of Jazz. Rounding out the group is flutist Sarah Robinson, a recurring player in Eder’s ensemble, and Edward Blankman (Brendan) on the Wurlitzer.

The cast was booked for a single date with coveted engineer Michael Harris (Kamasi Washington, Angel Olsen) at famed Electro-Vox Recording Studios. To create realism for Edward’s story, the charts were purposefully withheld from the musicians until they arrived at the studio. The result is an authentic and natural performance delivered by players at the top of their game, captured on lauded vintage equipment including the legendary Neve-8028 console.

Cape Cod Cottage will be released on September 10th including a gatefold vinyl.

The first album ever to release on Jahtari vinyl, back in circulation for the first time since it’s original release in 2009! Twelve meticulously crafted lofi Dub oddities by disrupt, off-the-grid hiphop riddims with lots of SciFi samples, cheap synths and effects from another world, all soaked in gnarly but deeply cosmic textures and with expert low end mastering by peak time CGB1 at D&M in Berlin. This new vinyl LP version includes all-time classics like “SEGA Beats”, a killer chiphop dub cut of Misora Hibari’s “Ringo Oiwake”, as well as “Berzerk Dub” and “Echobombing” (the instrumental to Kiki Hitomi‘s “Nighwalkers“), which only have been released on CD or limited 7″ before. “The Bass Has Left The Building” comes with iconic cover art by Jimmy Cauty (KLF) – and an inlay poster with an exploding sound system…