Drumroll, please! It’s that time again where we dive headfirst into the new release wonderland, bringing you another week of under the radar gems. Welcome back to your sonic treasure hunt—our Between The Cracks guide! This week, two site faves Culrose Close, and Hector Plimmer, return with seminal releases. Àbáse beckons us to embrace the cyclical nature of existence. While Anja Ngozi + Ayana + Marysia Osu share an exquisite offering that soothes the soul while opening hearts to a worthy cause. Hopefully, you’ll stumble upon some new favourites that’ll have your finger twitching over the buy button. Check out latest our picks below!
Albums
Culross Close — Learning to Let Go
With “Learning to Let Go,” the brilliant Kieron Ifill (aka K15) may bring his acclaimed Culross Close series to a meditative close. This album bathes the listener in a transcendent blend of cinematic jazz, ambient textures, and electronic flourishes – all meditating on the themes of release, acceptance, grounding, and surrendering to life’s ceaseless flow. Standouts include the aptly titled “Becoming Present”, which eases you into the album’s contemplative state through shimmering textures and Ifill’s deft keyboard work. The gorgeous “Attachments” is a high point, blending harp, flute, and grounding bass lines. The climactic “Letting Be” is a sprawling spiritual jazz odyssey not to be missed. Overall, “Learning to Let Go” feels like the culmination of the Culross Close journey thus far. Ifill’s imaginary ensemble has crafted a stunningly immersive album encouraging you to release mental baggage and be present in the eternal moment. If this is the swan song for Culross Close, then it is worthy of a Broadway closing night. Picture it: glittering soundscapes, heartfelt grooves, and maybe even some transcandent jazz textures.
Hector Plimmer – Duality
Duality, the latest from South London’s Hector Plimmer, is an introspective journey through life’s inherent contradictions. Plimmer masterfully blends synth loops, jazz samples, and crisp drum machines to create contemplative soundscapes. The album begins with “Water Flows,” which sets a reflective mood with its evolving piano loop. “Joy & Sadness” captures the album’s theme of emotional interplay, reflecting Plimmer’s highs of his son’s birth in 2021 and the lows of losing his friend and collaborator Matt Gordon (Pie Eye Collective) in 2023. Standouts include “Under,” with its melancholic chords and atmospheric layers, and “Playtime,” where Laura Misch’s chopped vocals and sax drift over a bubbling groove. The closing track, “Soft Laughing,” leaves listeners in reflective contemplation with its bittersweet chords and intricate drum patterns. Duality is Plimmer’s deep reflection on finding solace and beauty within life’s paradoxes. It’s a mature, thought-provoking EP that invites listeners to immerse themselves in its nuanced emotional landscapes. We’ve gushed about all his endeavours, but this could be his best yet!
Anja Ngozi + Ayana + Marysia Osu – 一黙黙祷 A moment for a prayer
Tranquillity and contemplation flow through “一黙黙祷 A Moment for a Prayer,” an ambient offering from Anja Ngozi, Ayana, and Marysia Osu. This improvisational collaboration, recorded live at the Tate Modern’s “Philip Guston” exhibition, pays reverence to the Japanese traditions of “mokuto” (silent prayer) and “ichimoku” (the profundity of silence). The trio of experimental artists, each bringing their unique sonic textures, weave a meditative tapestry that envelops the listener in a sense of serenity. Ngozi’s deft manipulation of the OP-1 and SP404 lay a lush bed of atmospherics. Osu’s harp and pedal work shimmer like sunlight filtering through trees. Ayana’s ethereal vocals, overflowing with emotion, are the thread binding these evocative sounds. Standouts include the wistful “教えて 🌳” and the enveloping “🛸❤️♻️🌀📡,” where melancholic harmonies ebb and flow like the tides. But the entire album is a transcendent experience, each piece a meditation on inner peace and compassion. More than just an artistic statement, this album’s profits benefit the Darfur Women Action Group, making it both a sonic balm and a catalyst for social change. An exquisite offering that soothes the soul while opening hearts to a worthy cause.
JJ Whitefield & Forced Meditation – The Infinity of Nothingness
JJ Whitefield’s “The Infinity of Nothingness” is an entrancing astral jazz journey that showcases the German guitarist’s skill in meditative improvisation. Known for his work with the Whitefield Brothers, Witch, and The Poets of Rhythm, Whitfield’s grooves are authentic and timeless, eschewing passing fads. Released by Jazzman Records, the album is a nuanced exploration of cosmic soundscapes, echoing Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. Whitefield skillfully blends hip-hop, library music, and avant-garde touches into a trance-inducing tapestry marked by deep contemplation. The album begins with the sparse “Nothingness,” setting a meditative tone, while “Solar Breeze from the East” unfolds as a 14-minute astral odyssey. The “Infinity Suite,” with its parts “Time,” “Space,” and “Energy,” epitomises the album’s themes of spiritual transcendence and cosmic journey. Whitfield’s reverence for his influences is evident, yet he avoids imitation, offering a unique and immersive experience. “The Infinity of Nothingness” is a work that matches the legacy of its forebears and defies temporal boundaries, promising to resonate with audiences for years ahead.
Mark Guiliana – MARK
Mark Guiliana’s new solo album “MARK” is a mesmerising voyage into the mind of one of contemporary jazz’s most innovative voices. From the first hypnotic rhythms, the acclaimed drummer/composer draws you into an immersive sonic tapestry woven with intricate layers of drums, vibraphones, synthesisers and spoken word. Guiliana has earned his reputation for pushing boundaries, and on “MARK”, he explores uncharted territory as a multi-instrumentalist. With each composition, he shapes compelling narratives that transcend genre. Tracks like the pulsing “Just Listen” and the atmospheric “Kamakura” showcase his quintessential grooves interwoven with entrancing percussive textures. The aptly titled “Hero Soup” stands out, with Guiliana’s virtuosic drumming melding seamlessly with undulating synth lines. On “Costello,” his deft vibraphone melodies dance over an insistent backbeat, building a hypnotic momentum. Guiliana lets his instruments breathe and converse, making for an extraordinarily cohesive yet kaleidoscopic album. “MARK” peels back layers to reveal an artist constantly seeking to express his uncompromising creative vision. Guiliana has spun a sonic woven wonder that’s part thrill ride, part soul search, and entirely out of this world.
Àbáse – Awakening
With Awakening, Hungarian producer and pianist Szabolcs Bognár’s project Àbáse beckons us to embrace the cyclical nature of existence. Backed by a cadre of standout players from the Budapest and Berlin scenes, Bognár dives deep into analog sonics, his spiritual immersion in the Candomble faith reverberating through the grooves. The album’s overarching sound is a heady fusion of modal jazz, spiritual jazz, and global rhythms filtered through a contemporary lens. Bognár’s exploratory piano and Rhodes’s work anchor the cosmic expeditions, bolstered by a killer rhythm section and guests like violinist Youka Snell and members of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Standouts include the hypnotic “Menidaso (My Hope),” a nearly 9-minute trance-inducer propelled by Eric Owusu’s intricate polyrhythms. The haunting “Gyászba borult Isten csillagvára” reimagines a Hungarian folk lament as a spiritual jazz incantation. And “Sun Is Away” brings the cosmic funk, with Knoel Scott and Cecil Brooks’ gritty solos riding the groove. Awakening distils the joys, sorrows, and profound revelations that have marked Bognár’s journey into a deeply immersive album. By tapping into ancient spiritual traditions and the eternal continuum of life, he has crafted a transcendent meditation on the human experience.
