With so much good music coming through thick and fast, it’s easy for brand-new music to drop online and go overlooked. To help prevent this, we’ve picked five new releases you may have missed but need to hear — stream music from O Terno, Ekiti Sound, Teotima, Àbáse, and Fire! Orchestra. If you like what you hear, hit the links and support the artists.
O Terno – <atrás/além>
Brazilian band O Terno follow their acclaimed 2016 release ‘Melhor do Que Parece’, with <atrás/além>. The 12 track recording features unreleased compositions and musical experimentations that take a slightly different direction to past work. Filled with orchestral arrangements, layers of lush instrumentation and captivating vocals this new record represents a bold original path for the band.
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Ekiti Sound – Abeg No Vex
Ekiti Sounds debut album will take you on a trip to Lagos via London and back again. It’s a journey through UK soundsystem culture, hip-hop, pop and Afrobeat and he’s undoubtedly exploring new sonic territories on Abeg No Vex. Rolling African percussion, earth shaking basslines and big hip-hop beats are the order of the day on this no-nonsense dancefloor destroyer.
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Teotima – Weightless
London-based soul/jazz ensemble Teotima return after a six years hiatus with ‘Weightless’. Across the seven-track album, the band draw on the music of West Africa, Cuba, Brazil, American funk, soul, folk, jazz and cinematic music. The record is a celebration of friendship, creativity, love, meditation, progress, and the work of being happy. From the East African grooves of opener ‘Suddenly’ to the Gil Evans style orchestration of ‘From A Distance’ and beyond, it’s a wonderful record. A thoroughly enjoyable listen that will place you in a trance and have you reaching for the repeat button.
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Àbáse – Invocation
We’ve been fans of Berlin-based keyboard player and producer Àbáse for a while now, and we’re thrilled to hear this full-length project from him. Invocation is a collection of seven songs recorded over two years in different locations, capturing Àbáse collaborating with some of the most talented musicians from the buzzing Budapest music scene with exceptional guest performers from Africa and Brazil. Like Teotima, this is another release that will have you searching for the repeat button.
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Fire! Orchestra – Arrival!
Nordic experimental supergroup Fire! Orchestra return with Arrival! Stripping the group down from 21 players to 14, the core trio of Fire! (Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin) and the two singers Mariam Wallentin and Sofia Jernberg being the only constant members since the beginning. While their three previous albums can be considered as uniform works, if not conceptual, Arrival! is a collection of more individual compositions and songs, including two stunning cover versions. Worth purchasing just to hear their brilliant reimagining of Robbie Basho’s ‘Blue Crystal Fire’. This record will undoubtedly be one of the best experimental jazz albums this year.
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