This week’s guide is by CF Smith and contributors Words By Shoaib, Neil G, and Imran Mirza.
Hello folks, welcome to your new Between The Cracks selection. Once again, the end of the week brings six new discovries that have popped up on our radar. So, without further ado, here are new releases from Clay Kin, Ramiro Zayas, and Collettivo Immaginario to name a few. As always, enjoy the music, and support artists and labels.
Albums
Clay Kin – Vevey
Remarkably, there’s been so little buzz surrounding this album so far—don’t forget, you read about it here first! This stunning collaborative effort between Swiss percussionist Julian Sartorius and UK electronic artist Dan Nicholls encapsulates the spirit of spontaneity and organic creation. Their album, Vevey, comprises seven tracks, each a distilled fragment of over seven hours of raw, unfiltered creativity. Recorded in the picturesque landscapes surrounding Vevey, Switzerland, the duo’s choice of outdoor settings—pedalo boats, mountain peaks, and serene forests—infuses the music with an authentic sense of place. Whispers of birdsong and the gentle rush of water weave seamlessly into their creations. Visual artist Lou Zon (Louise Boer) rounds out the group, creating videos to accompany both the recorded music and the live experience. Many of you will truly love this album! – CFS
Ramiro Zayas – Collector
‘Collector’ marks the latest release from Argentine pianist and composer Ramiro Zayas whose imaginative new effort proves a definitive and compelling piece of work. Finding its home on the US label, ears&eyes Records, Zayas’ third full-length project perfectly slots into the Chicago-based label’s vast and all-encompassing affections for music ranging from contemporary jazz releases that elegantly sit alongside projects under the soul, folk and classical umbrellas. Featuring an excellent supporting cast that includes Sebastián Greschuk (trumpet), Yossi Itskovich (trombone), Jonathan Acevedo (sax), Baptiste Stanek (sax) and Gianni Narduzzi (double bass), ‘Collector’ revels in its creative freedoms; its ability to use the space afforded to it as a means of defining its own sound and its own expectations. Once again, ‘Collector’ serves as a project that strikes an inspired balance between music born of the moment and pieces that have previously been conceived by Zayas that all add up to an enriched listening experience. Eschewed along with a series of well-placed interludes that help to navigate between more spirited, and at times frenetic, pieces there’s a sublime contrast in compositions that find a comfortable joy in their solace. Ramiro Zayas delivers a fantastic project continuing along the incredible lineage of his past releases. With more music on the horizon, Zayas is cultivating a masterful ability in interweaving compelling narratives into each release and he clearly has many more stories to tell. – IM
Domenique Dumont – Deux Paradis
On Deux Paradis, Domenique Dumont crafts a shimmering, otherworldly journey that feels both sun-kissed and dream-drenched. The album channels ambient synth-pop through dub, house, and baroque lenses, evoking rituals, inner spaces, and a surreal sense of time. Opening with ‘Enchantia’, the record sets a whimsical tone with its candy-striped dub textures and gently spiralling melodies. It’s a playful wake-up call that feels like stepping into a sunlit memory. Later, ‘Visages Visages’ pulses with hypnotic synths and disembodied vocals, a glowing homage to Desireless’ synth-pop classic, yet steeped in Dumont’s distinct mysticism. Across ten tracks, the duo Arturs Liepins and Anete Stuce tells a subtle story of daily rhythms, fading romance, and spiritual cycles. Stuce’s voice drifts like a dream across Liepins’s retro-futuristic synth work, recorded across Paris, Riga, and a windmill on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. While Deux Paradis leans into nostalgia, its tone feels timeless. Each track holds space for both joy and longing, proving Dumont’s gift for making dance music that moves the spirit as much as the body. – WBS
Collettivo Immaginario – Oltreoceano
The Italian jazz group Collettivo Imamginario has recently dropped their second full-length album release, ‘Oltreoceano’ — and it is a wonderful fusion of different musical genres that come together to create a chaotically beautiful collection that is pumped with energy and raw emotions that are undoubtedly embedded in every song with a passionate bravado. Known for their firm grasp on traditional jazz and high-energy live performances, Collettivo Immaginario carries the same impactful vibe in Oltreoceano as they flex their musical muscles with majestic compositions that combine funk, jazz, and 70s nostalgia into a single album that is memorable from start to finish. – NG
Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka– Hiraeth
Hiraeth is a stunning meditation on memory and longing, created by Danish sound artist Sofie Birch and Polish vocalist Antonina Nowacka. Recorded in Poland’s countryside using reel-to-reel tape and acoustic instruments, the album’s tactile warmth is both intimate and transportive. Across 13 tracks, Birch and Nowacka craft a world suspended in time. “Collecting eyes,” the album’s centrepiece, stretches nearly nine minutes; its slow evolution from gentle harp strums to layered vocal loops feels like a trance. You don’t just listen to this track; you dwell inside it. ‘Rabbit’s Hole’, the opener, is brief yet enchanting, setting the tone with its soft ambient wash and whispered melodies. It feels like the first breath of a dream. Rather than chase nostalgia, Hiraeth explores the weight of intangible longing, evoking forgotten places or lives never lived. The album thrives in its imperfections: tape hiss, birdsong, breath. It’s ambient music at its most human, and its quietude lingers long after the final note has been played. For those drawn to the earthy, ephemeral, and deeply emotional, this is essential listening. – WBS
EP’s
Kronos Quartet + The Hard Rain Collective EP
So, what do we have here? Three powerful and brilliant reinterpretations of Bob Dylan’s classic song ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall ‘. The remakes by Kronos Quartet were released to mark 80 years since 16th July 1945, when the world’s first nuclear bomb was detonated in New Mexico at 5:29 am. This is awe-inspiring stuff from the KQ and their many musical friends, who include Allison Russell, Iggy Pop, Satomi Matsuzaki (Deerhoof), Stephin Merritt (The Magnetic Fields), Tanya Tagaq, Gustavo Santaolalla, Laurie Anderson, Asha Bhosle, Slowspin, Peni Candra Rini, Willie Nelson, and more. First, there is the extended version, then a ‘drone’ version, and finally a raga. Seriously, this ticks all the right boxes for me. – CFS
