This week’s guide is by CF Smith and contributors Words By Shoaib, Benny Thomas, and Irfan Ayaan.
We’re back with a new Between The Cracks feature. As ever we thrive in the underground, and cherish those adventurous artist who relish creating something truly distinctive. From Organic Pulse Ensemble to V.B.Kühl we have six releases that live in the spaces unoccupied by the mainstream and refuse to be neatly pigeonholed into any one box. 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
Organic Pulse Ensemble – Oppression is Nine Tenths of the Law
Could it be? This might be the best album from Organic Pulse Ensemble to date! As a one-person band, Gustav Horneij sets sail on a dense, groove-infused six-track trip. Drawing inspiration from jazz legends who used their music as platforms for protest and awakening, Horneij adds his own flair to the tradition of liberation music. The music on ‘Oppression is Nine Tenths of the Law’ still cruises along the spiritual jazz highway, but this time it’s taking a much murkier, raw detour compared to his earlier ventures. The opening title track plunges us into a sizzling world filled with deep grooves, a tapestry of percussion, and bursts of saxophone. In contrast, tracks like ‘Peace As A Political Statement’ and ‘Double Standards’ engage in a tug-of-war filled with tension and contemplation. If Horneij set out to uplift, unite, and empower people and communities as they strive for peace and freedom from oppression, he’s done an impressive job. – CFS
Nina Maia – Inteira (Deluxe Edition)
Inteira announces Nina Maia as Brazilian music’s most promising young voice, weaving traditional heritage through a startlingly contemporary lens. The 22-year-old São Paulo-based artist, already credited on six feature film soundtracks, creates something entirely unique on this remarkable debut. Rich in Brazilian heritage through influences such as samba canção, MPB, and Clube da Esquina, Inteira simultaneously channels the sounds of Portishead, Massive Attack, and contemporary jazz-electronic fusion into twelve captivating tracks. CARICATURA opens with tempo-switching complexity, flipping from sultry blues to manic bossa nova at a heartbeat. KAÔ pulses with electronic waves while MAR ADENTRO uses thick bass synths to swim through Nina’s mental blues. SUA strips everything back to showcase her layered vocal arrangements over minimal instrumentation. MENININHA transforms into post-industrial trip-hop with metallic production and percussive vocal beatboxing, a personal highlight that defies expectations. AMARGO offers a beautiful ballad respite, with washed-out strings clouding the mellotron performance, while SALTO DE FÉ builds from hushed electric piano into a bombastic symphonic romance. The triumphant INTEIRA finale pounds out celebratory Samba rhythms supporting Nina’s uplifting vocal arrangements. This ambitious debut expresses Nina’s vision without constraints, making it an essential listen that showcases Brazil’s thriving contemporary scene. – IA
Rabbath Electric Orchestra – Amall
The collaboration between double bass legend François Rabbath and his son Sylvain distils six years of global touring into a remarkable sonic travelogue that transcends conventional genre boundaries. This intergenerational project transforms landscapes and cultural encounters into compositions that seamlessly blend Middle Eastern classical traditions with contemporary jazz-soul orchestrations. François Rabbath’s revolutionary bass technique, which has influenced generations of players since the 1960s, finds new expression through his son’s modern sensibilities on keyboards and synthesisers. Tracks like ’66 Grand Street’ and ‘Espoir’ demonstrate the elder Rabbath’s mastery of the instrument’s high register, where few dare to venture, creating melodic lines that serve as both narrative voice and harmonic foundation. The album benefits from stellar guest contributions, including guitars by Keziah Jones and Matthieu Chedid, piano by Laurent de Wilde, bass by Victor Wooten, saxophone by Raphaël Imbert, and percussion by Minino Garay. These additions enhance the scale and richness of the arrangements without overwhelming the core father-son dynamic. ‘Twin City’ exemplifies their approach, weaving Middle Eastern classical elements with subtle electronics and improvisational jazz to create compositions that serve as cultural bridges between continents. The result is deeply personal yet universally accessible, confirming the enduring power of musical dialogue across generations. – IA
Yara Asmar – everyone I love is sleeping and I love them so so much
Yara Asmar’s everyone I love is sleeping and I love them so so much, is a fragile and haunting collection of sound sketches that sit somewhere between memory and dream. Over 11 pieces, the Beirut-born musician transforms grief, displacement, and discovery into shimmering sonic vignettes, utilising deconstructed toy pianos, engraved music boxes, and family field recordings to chart the contours of a life spanning continents. The result is intimate and surreal, a music of presence that resists nostalgia while dwelling in the weight of survival. Two early tracks already suggest the album’s depth. “after all this time, Beirut” folds faint accordion reeds into soft mechanical clatter, a tender ode to a city both cherished and scarred. Meanwhile, “to die on any hill (if it’s easy enough to climb)” takes a more skeletal form, delicate tones brushing against silence, fragile yet insistent. Both pieces capture Asmar’s ability to make vulnerability feel radiant. With everyone I love is sleeping…, Asmar extends an invitation: to sit inside the sound, and listen as absence becomes a song. – WBS
EP’s
Tema Due – EP2
The second EP from Tema Due, the collaboration between Bari-based producers Nicola Conte and Nico Lahs, arrives as a masterclass in sophisticated club music that transcends the typical boundaries between spiritual jazz and leftfield dance. Following their acclaimed debut EP1, ‘EP2’ solidifies what Schema Records calls “a refined club scene, attentive to the depth and purpose of sound” – a mission statement that this three-track project fulfils with remarkable grace. The result of their connection is music that, as You and the Music notes, “turns the dance floor into a ritual space, where body and spirit move in harmony.” Opening the EP is ‘Galaxy Bloom’, featuring hypnotic percussion by Brazilian virtuoso Gabriel Prado, whose congas and percussive work create a “head-nodding pulse.” Next up is ‘Share Your Love’, featuring the sublime vocals of Brazilian singer Nina Miranda, whose voice brings what the press materials describe as “emotional depth to a track that talks about peace, sharing and love between peoples.” Giovanni Guidi’s additional Fender Rhodes and synth work creates lush harmonic landscapes that recall the finest moments of 1970s spiritual jazz, while the production maintains a distinctly modern club sensibility. ‘Praise To The Sunshine’ closes the collection. Here, Tema Due demonstrates its ability to balance heavy percussion with accessible melodies, creating music that works equally well in intimate listening sessions and clubs. If we have one complaint, the EP’s brevity—at just three tracks—functions more as an appetiser than a full meal. – BT
V.B.Kühl – Direktsaft EP
Get ready to sip on some seriously delicious grooves! V.B.Kühl is back with his latest offering, the ‘Direktsaft’ EP – and just like its name suggests (Direktsaft means fresh-pressed fruit juice in German), this release is all about pure, unfiltered musical goodness straight from the source. The EP kicks off with ‘Passat’, a track that eases you in with dreamy, jazz-tinged atmospheres before hitting you with those chunky hip-hop beats that’ll have your head nodding without permission. Things get a bit more experimental with ‘Blue View’, where V.B.Kühl dips his toes into house territory while keeping one foot firmly planted in funk. The title track ‘Direktsaft’ is where things come alive. Breakbeat meets lush chord progressions dancing with funky guitar licks, organ stabs and brass. The journey wraps up with ‘Turning Point’, a deep house cut that has a whole lot of grimey, basement energy (literally recorded in V.B.Kühl’s basement). V.B. Kühl creates a distinct sonic signature that spans genres, seamlessly blending jazz-hop vibes with four-on-the-floor rhythms. ‘Direktsaft’ delivers exactly what its name promises – pure, concentrated musical flavour with no artificial additives needed. – BT
