This week’s guide is by CF Smith and contributors Words By Shoaib, Neil G, and Irfan Ayaan.
It’s Friday and ‘Between The Cracks‘ lands on the site once again. Six fresh finds from across the board have wriggled their way into view as the week wraps up. Sergeant, Peter Somuah, Atabasca and more are in the mix this time. Dive in, enjoy, and keep showing love to the artists and labels. Check out our latest picks below.
Albums
Heith & Tarawangsawelas – Duori
Duori sits in a strange, beautiful in-between space. Heith and Tarawangsawelas don’t just fuse styles; they let them blur into each other until the edges disappear. ‘Blue Kembang’ is the most immediate entry point. Built around delicate kacapi and breathy vocals, it feels intimate, almost fragile, until subtle electronic textures begin to bend the atmosphere. Nothing dominates; everything coexists. The title track ‘Duori’ stretches that idea further. Traditional instruments circle around low, flickering electronics, creating a hypnotic loop that feels both ancient and slightly corrupted, like a field recording passed through too many hands. It’s meditative, but never still. What makes the album work is its sense of distance. You can hear the geography in it, the gaps, the transfers, the imperfections. Instead of polishing those out, the duo leans into them. The result isn’t clean or easily defined. It feels lived-in, spiritual, and quietly disorienting, music that exists somewhere between memory and transmission. – WBS
Sergeant – Symbols
Symbols doesn’t behave like a typical record; it unravels itself as you listen. The Belgian group Sergeant pushes their self-sampling process further here, breaking their own recordings into pieces and stitching them back together into something unstable but oddly cohesive. ‘Are You Ready to Know that Seen from up Close Things Have No Shape?’ captures that idea best. It pulses with a loose, shifting rhythm while voices drift in and out like half-formed thoughts. Nothing locks in, yet it never loses direction. ‘Oh Sweet Martyrdom of Not Knowing How to Speak but Only Bark’ leans more abstract. The vocals feel fractured, almost language-less, riding over textures that flicker between structure and collapse. It’s disorienting, but deliberately so. What stands out is how comfortable the album is with ambiguity. Hooks appear briefly, then dissolve. Patterns repeat just long enough to feel familiar before mutating. Instead of chasing clarity, Symbols finds its identity in fragmentation, and that tension is exactly what makes it compelling. – WBS
Peter Somuah – Walking Distance
Walking Distance is the fourth album of Ghanaian trumpeter Peter Somuah, who learned to play by listening endlessly to his trumpet heroes Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Roy Hargrove. It’s an album with all the right ingredients to appeal to jazz fans, young and old. Backed by a sharp quintet, Anton de Bruin‘s keys, Jens Meijer‘s crisp drumming, Marijn van de Ven‘s steady bass lines, and Danny Rombout‘s percussive spark, the ensemble moves as one, each player adding their own shade to the sound. We recently came across the singles ‘Nearby and ‘Roundabout‘ and were instantly transported to his global soundworld, and the album sure doesn’t disappoint. Allow Somuah to rock your world with his elegant interpretation of modern jazz, expertly blending post-bop jazz with Ghanaian Highlife, Latin grooves, funk, blues, and Arabic influences. This is a seriously strong album, don’t sleep on it. – CFS
Study With Midnight Noise & Tomer Baruch – Saturn’s Rings Hotel & Spa
There’s a fine line between concept and gimmick, and Saturn’s Rings Hotel & Spa walks it with surprising confidence. Tomer Baruch and Study With Midnight Noise sink fully into the idea, a fictional resort floating somewhere in Saturn’s orbit, but the music actually sells the illusion. This isn’t just sci-fi wallpaper. It’s detailed, playful, and quietly addictive. ‘Rolling Space Hills‘, one of the early previews, sets the mood perfectly. It’s got that gentle forward motion, soft grooves, warm analogue tones, like drifting through a lobby where time doesn’t quite exist. Then the title track, ‘Saturn’s Rings Hotel and Spa‘. sharpens the concept. It feels more curated, almost like a theme song for the place itself, balancing lounge ease with subtle melodic hooks that linger longer than expected. Other highlights include ‘Goodbye Supernova‘, ‘The Last Resort’ and ‘Wired Like A Child‘. The album’s strength lies in its restraint. Nothing tries too hard. Instead, it builds a cohesive atmosphere, retro-futuristic, slightly surreal, but grounded in groove. What you’re left with is less a narrative and more a feeling: a strange, soothing escape that knows exactly how far to go. – WBS
Atabasca – Atabasca
Italian instrumental trio Atabasca make their debut on Rome-based label Killer Groove Records with a self-titled album where funk, psychedelia, and desert grooves converge. The 9-track record was cut live in single takes; what you get is lap steel, kalimba, and guitar textures riding over driving bass and drums, shifting between cinematic tension. Very eclectic, the trio draw from jazz-funk, afrobeat, world music, and Italian soundtrack traditions. It’s an album that rewards when taken as a whole, though ‘Dune’, ‘Paco‘, ‘Cacopoulos‘ and ‘Papambra‘ emerge as standout moments. Analog-warm and globally-minded, those who enjoy Khruangbin, Surprise Chef, and instrumental psych-funk, will be psyched!– NG
Rossano Snel, Marcelo Chacur Politano & Francesco Pio Russo – Sketches of Tallinn
Sketches of Tallinn feels like a series of nocturnal postcards from the Estonian capital. Brazilian pianist Rossano Snel’swriting anchors the trio in lyricism. Marcelo Chacur Politano’s tenor sax and overtone flute, plus Francesco Pio Russo’s bassoon, move around him like shifting winter light. The music carries Brazilian roots in its gentle syncopations and song-like phrasing. It also absorbs the cool air and echo of Northern Europe. The album kicks off with Kena, an energetic opener where Politano’s overtone flute takes centre stage, revealing the trio’s more vibrant, high‑spirited side. One of the emotional peaks is ‘And I Miss You‘ a piece in which Snel’s melody sits very still while the winds circle with restrained intensity. Tallinn Reggae melts jazz’s free‑flowing phrasing into reggae’s easy sway. Three prepared‑piano interludes by Snel ripple through the album, their muted chimes and ghostly overtones delicate detours that deepen the album’s inner world. Elsewhere, the trio lean into free interplay. Piano will sketch a simple figure, then sax and bassoon (check ‘Cesco’s Bassoon‘) stretch it into something more questioning. The spiritual side of the project emerges in the long, breathy tones and in the way silence is left intact. It feels like three voices listening closely to each other and to the city outside. – IA
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