London-based producer Pascal Bideau, also known as Akusmi, has gifted listeners with the release of his new cosmic jazz album Fleeting Future. The French-born multi-instrumentalist created a master class in minimalism, progressive and precise production, and instrument choice. It’s a short yet powerful album with global influences, driving beats, and carefully placed riffs.

Starting with the track for which the album is named, we enter Akusmi’s world by way of upbeat and cheerful horns. As it continues, the track becomes more hurried and frantic, but in a measured way, eventually bridging back to hopeful tones but ending with a sombre saxophone outro and a hunting final note.

Each track has a totally different feel, and we’re introduced to that brilliant dissonance immediately upon hearing the second song, “Sarinbuana.” Riotous and head-spinning, listeners are whirled around a bit through this and a few more tracks with a modern feel thanks to Akusmi’s use of electronic sounds and new-age production before landing in the dream-like, kaleidoscopic soundscape that is “Longing for Tomorrow.”

Another high moment comes from the xylophone on “Concrescence,” and we’re reintroduced to that bouncy instrumentation on the album’s final song, “Yurikamome.”

And it’s in that track that we fully begin to understand the album. The album title is correct – the future is fleeting. This record guides us through the emotions we feel when we come to that realisation. What are we going to do with this little time we have on Earth? Akusmi is going to make good music.

At times, Fleeting Future feels chaotic, but the moments of true chaos are short. Wholly, it’s an exercise in managing the outside noise to create something unexpectedly beautiful, which we all need to do with our fleeting futures.

Fleeting Future is out now via Tonal Union – buy here.