This week’s guide is by CF Smith and contributors, Words By Shoaib and Irfan Ayaan.
Welcome to our latest Between the Cracks. Six releases that you really need to hear. We have everything from jazz, indie folk, psychedelic soundscapes, trip hop, sound poetry and more. Dive into our latest selection, and if something tickles your eardrums, follow the buy link to make it yours! Enjoy the music, and have a great weekend!
Albums
Knats – Knats
Newcastle’s Knats delivers a debut that pulses with personal narrative and regional pride. Bassist Stan Woodward and drummer King David-Ike Elechi form the quintet’s backbone, joined by trumpet virtuoso Ferg Kilsby and rotating collaborators who enrich their modern jazz fusion landscape. The album unfolds as a tapestry of dedications—emotional tributes that give the collection surprising depth. Tortuga (For Me Mam) showcases Woodward’s melodic sensibilities, enhanced by stirring string arrangements, while the brooding Se7en explores father-son dynamics with Tom Ford’s electric guitar, adding textural complexity. Adaeze, perhaps the album’s most moving moment, transforms a gospel folk melody into a poignant West African-influenced memorial to Elechi’s sister. Producer Darrel Sheinman and legendary mixer Hugh Padgham provide a pristine sonic foundation that allows the band’s compositional strengths to shine. This soulful collection establishes Knats as formidable instrumentalists and storytellers, firmly placing Newcastle on the contemporary jazz map. – IA
Hannah Cohen – Earthstar Mountain
On this first outing for Brighton’s Bella Union, Hannah Cohen offers up five tracks that are as bright and expansive as the titular mountain itself. Featuring contributions from Sufjan Stevens, Clairo, Liam Kazar, and more, Earthstar Mountain dances between genres, showcasing an alternative folk AOR style that effortlessly transitions into moments of country-infused funk. Cohen playfully throws a musical potluck and invites every genre under the sun, resulting in a feast for the ears. The album features standout tracks that showcase her versatility. ‘Summer Sweat, for instance, embodies a disco soul vibe. On the other hand, ‘Mountain’ embraces a folky ambience reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, infused with a spiritual essence. The show-stopping ‘Earthstar’ embodies a blissed-out Balearic vibe, with shimmering guitar riffs and a laid-back groove that could easily soundtrack a lazy afternoon by the beach. These contrasting elements lend the album a dynamic quality that keeps you coming back for more. If you’ve overlooked Cohen’s previous work like us, this record will be a delightful surprise. – CFS
Light-Space Modulator – The Rising Wave
Light-Space Modulator introduced The Rising Wave, the first musical union between singer-songwriter Marlene Ribeiro (GNOD) and electronic producer Shackleton. The album delivers exactly what you’d expect from this pairing – Ribeiro’s enchanting tones floating gently over Shackleton’s textural production and complex percussion work. Kicking the album off is ‘Secrets Kept’, which creates an atmosphere of inner reflection through its elaborate sonic structures and melancholic instrumental lines. The duo displays a masterful execution of dreamy psychedelia on ‘These Things’, offering a meditative, trippy vibe. Clocking in at 11 minutes, the meandering ‘Onda / Do You Believe?’ weaves Ribeiro’s mantras with beautifully interlaced kalimba sequences. Ribero’s avant-garde soundscapes glide like a sleek river, perfectly mingling with Shackleton’s rhythmic waves that measure between decrease and increase to create a hypnotic experience. A transformative healing process forms the pivotal part of The Rising Wave that steers perception toward change. Each song on The Rising Wave showcases the duo’s talent for creating unique works of art that are as emotionally captivating as they are musically complex. – WBS
Inkasso & ML – Fashion Recession
This collaboration, born from the creative cauldron of Berlin’s avant-garde music scene, is not for the faint of heart. Berlin-based duo Inkasso and producer ML strike gold in their audacious album, “Fashion Recession”, which challenges contemporary musical norms’ very fabric (see what I did there). The trio’s chemistry is palpable as Inkasso create the futuristic and ghostly soundscapes on which ML lays down the sound poetry. Cold synths, noisy beats, and an array of mind-bending sounds serve as the backdrop for ML’s incisive cut-up lyrics and text. The ebb and flow of the music mimic the highs and lows of fashion trends—one moment soaring with optimism, the next grounded in stark reality. Inkasso and ML explore how fashion, recession, industry, and poetry collide, unravelling these intersections’ emotional and psychological aftermaths. The snippets of spoken word are haunting and hypnotic, drawing you deeper into the narrative as it unfolds. So, grab your headphones and prepare to be transported to a world where fashion meets philosophy—it’s a recession worth experiencing. – CFS
Gajek – Cutting Together Apart
Matti Gajek’s Together Apart is a haunting sonic journey through the fragments of memory, creating an electroacoustic tapestry that resonates with personal and political history. The Berlin-based producer draws from his experiences as a child of the German Democratic Republic, crafting textured soundscapes that blur the boundaries between ambient, experimental, and folk traditions. The album’s atmospheric compositions feel both nostalgic and forward-looking, with layers of field recordings and synthesisers creating a dreamlike quality throughout.vPhantom Memory stands as the album’s emotional centre, where pulsing electronics intertwine with ghostly vocal samples to evoke the disorientation of cultural transition. Meanwhile, the eight-minute opus Software For Ossis brilliantly juxtaposes harsh industrial elements with moments of unexpected tenderness. Gajek has created something remarkable here—a deeply personal work that transforms historical trauma into beauty, inviting listeners to explore the resonant spaces between remembering and forgetting. – IA
Anneleen Boehme – Eunoia
Double bassist Anneleen Boehme unveils her first solo album, Eunoia, through the ever-brilliant W.E.R.F. Records. Boehme steps into the spotlight with a deeply personal album that demonstrates her virtuosic skills and compositional talent after performing with LABtrio and Grand Picture Palace. Boehme displays her exceptional talent for emotional communication through the double bass throughout the nine tracks. The opening track, ‘The Tempest’, quickly displays her knack for mastering complex rhythms and chord changes, as she fully uses her instrument’s tonal depth to mirror the composition’s title. ‘A Mother’s Waltz’ is a tender piece that envelops listeners in emotive warmth with its melody, showcasing her talent for composing moving works. The double bass typically sings its lonely solo in most songs, but in ‘Fuga Ante Proelium’, Anneleen’s voice adds a delightful duet with her instrument. Boehme uses Eunoia to discover new musical potentials for the double bass by connecting the worlds of jazz and classical music. Her arrangements create beautiful, complex pathways through music, leading listeners toward a deep, crystal-clear double bass performance. – WBS
