In dire need of a sonic facelift for your weekend? Look no further! Your ears deserve a luxurious treat, and our Between The Cracks feature is just the thing. Dive into a trove of fresh musical gems we’ve discovered. Trust us, your ears will thank you!
Albums
Floating World Pictures with Ocean Moon – Floating World Pictures & Ocean Moon
Floating World Pictures and Ocean Moon’s collaboration is a transcendent journey. The duo, keyboardist Chestnutt, visual artist Raimund Wong, and producer Jon “Ocean Moon” Tye, deliver a hypnotic successor to FWP’s debut. The album, divided into two parts, revisits and reinterprets FWP’s earlier work in a four-part suite before exploring new aural landscapes in three additional tracks. Their fusion of ambient soundscapes, analog synths, tape loops, and found sounds is enchanting. The “Look Now For The World Is Shining Bright” suite stands out, with reimagined pieces enriched by collaborators like Alabaster Deplume and Danalogue. Recorded in Tye’s Cornwall studio, “Have You Met Your Maker?” is an improvised exploration of light and shadow, blending field recordings with ethereal tones. Ambient and experimental lovers will cherish this album’s meditative depth and intricate textures. Floating World Pictures and Ocean Moon have created an immersive masterpiece, offering a sonic retreat from the mundane. It’s a must-listen for those yearning for sonic escape.
Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes – The Doober
Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes return with The Doober, an intriguing exploration of melody and freedom on saxophone and bass. Building on the chemistry showcased in their previous duet albums, the pair ventures into new sonic terrain with Gendel on C-melody sax and Wilkes on Fender P-bass. Both fixtures of the LA jazz scene, Gendel and Wilkes, are known for their innovative approaches to their instruments. On The Doober, they further push their unique duo concept with daring arrangements of selected material alongside original compositions. The stripped-down sax and bass format allows them space to experiment. Tracks like “Rugged Road” and “Milton Suite” highlight their virtuosic interplay and knack for unconventional yet captivating melodies. Wilkes’ bass provides a harmonic and rhythmic foundation for Gendel’s expressive C-melody sax.With its focus on imaginative two-piece orchestration and improvisational derring-do, The Doober is another winning entry in Gendel and Wilkes’ musical dialogue. Fans of adventurous jazz duets will find much to savour. While not for all tastes, those willing to take the ride will be rewarded with genuinely singular music from two artists at the top of their game.
Unstern – Es Geht Der Tag
It’s time for some devotional music courtesy of Unstern, a collaboration between deep ambient artist Arzat Skia and prodigious pianist Leo Svirsky. This album blends Skia’s atmospheric soundscapes with Svirsky’s emotive piano compositions. The result is a unique, meditative experience that transports listeners to a transcendent realm where every note and texture is thoughtfully crafted. Skia’s enveloping sound designs find an ideal foil in Svirsky, whose piano work moves effortlessly between subtle nuance and powerful emotion. Find a quiet space, shut out the noise of everyday life, pause, reflect, and listen with an open mind.
Headpiece – Out of the Loop
Looking for some contemplative and introspective music that digs into the nuances of feeling disconnected from the rhythms and routines that others seem to fall into so effortlessly? Look no further than “Out of the Loop” by Headpiece. Lovely, understated instrumentation sets a melancholy tone that’s both soothing and reflective. Adding another layer of depth, carefully placed turntablism piques the listener’s interest even further. The subtle scratches and rhythms create a captivating contrast to the gentle wandering piano keys and soft sax and flute notes. The production emphasises simplicity, stripping back the layers. This minimalist approach makes the emotional highs and lows hit that much harder. Anyone who has ever felt adrift in a world that spins on relentlessly give “Out of the Loop” a listen.
Max Stadtfeld – Stax – Fancy Future
Contemporary jazz sounds from the vibrant Leipzig cultural hub. Drummer and improviser Max Stadtfeld whisks his quartet, STAX, away on a beautiful and enchanting voyage through a labyrinth of melodies, rhythms, harmonies, and textures. This is free-flowing creative music at its best – notes dance, and pirouette, melodies meander with graceful unpredictability liberated from the shackles of rigid structure.
Pablo’s Eye – The light was sharp, our eyes were open
‘The light was sharp, our eyes were open’ is the latest endeavour by Pablo’s Eye. Apart from the regular members of this Belgian collective, this album features Noor-e-Sehar Ali and Ludwig Lepauw. Led by Brussels-based producer and founding member Axel Libeert, Pablo’s Eye is an international collective of musicians and artists with a shared vision to make magic through music. The ambience heavily influences this album, and the tracks flow intimately into one another without missing a single ‘beat’. Everything is spread out; each layer is distinct and has its own space. Mixing different musical forms, cultures, and ideas has always been what Pablo’s Eye intended. This album delivers perfectly with tracks like ‘Stories are what they are’, ‘Red light returning’, ‘The dog days are long gone and ‘Nadar’. Do yourself a favour and check it out now!
