Manchester-based mega-talent Matthew Halsall is releasing a new album, called ‘Salute to the Sun’, via his Gondwana Records imprint this November.

The album features a brand new hand-picked ensemble featuring some of Manchester’s finest young musicians: Matt Cliffe (flute, saxophone), Maddie Herbert (harp), Liviu Gheorghe (piano), Alan Taylor (drums), Jack McCarthy (percussion) and long-time Halsall collaborator, Gavin Barras(bass).

Citing influences including Alice Coltrane and Phaorah Sanders, its 7-tracks are inspired by ambient rainforest and jungle field recordings.

Speaking about the album, Halsall says:  “I feel Salute to the Sun is a positive earthy album. I wanted to create something playful but also quite primitive, earthy and organic that connected to the sounds in nature. I was listening to lush ambient field recordings of tropical environments such as jungles and rainforests and found myself drawn to percussive atmospheric sounds which replicated what I was hearing (bells/shakers/chimes/rain sticks) and I started to experiment with more wooden percussive instruments such as kalimba and marimba”.

The album is preceded by lead track ‘Joyful Spirits Of The Universe’.

Listen below, and you’ll get a sense of what to expect from the upcoming album.

Tracklisting:

1. Harmony With Nature
2. Joyful Spirits Of The Universe
3. Canopy & Stars
4. Mindfulness Meditations
5. Tropical Landscapes
6. Salute To The Sun
7. The Energy Of Life

Press notes:

The album draws energy from these sessions and inspiration from themes and ideas that have inspired Halsall through the years (on albums such as Oneness, Fletcher Moss Park and When the World Was One) ideas of ecology, the environment and harmony with nature. His rich music draws on the music of Alice Coltrane and Phaorah Sanders, contemporary electronica and dance music alongside his travels in Japan, the traditional art and music of which, has left a lasting impression on his compositions.