Alex Gallacher

Okkyung Lee is set to release her new album, Just Like Any Other Day (어느날), on September 5. The second preview track, “let’s walk down to the swamp together,” reveals a significant shift in the celebrated cellist’s approach. Inspired by a mistranslated memory from her childhood in Korea, the track is a mesmerizing, ambient journey into the unknown and a powerful exploration of memory.

Mulatu Astatke, the “father of Ethio-jazz,” is releasing “Mulatu Plays Mulatu,” on September 26th via Strut, his first major studio album in over ten years. Featuring LA-based artists Carlos Niño and Kibrom Birhane, the album features new arrangements of his classic compositions, with the second single, “Kulun,” reimagining a traditional Ethiopian wedding song. The album is described as a culmination of his life’s work in bringing Ethio-jazz to the world.

Beverly Glenn-Copeland shares poignant covers of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and “Save The Children” ahead of his October tour. These new recordings are a direct response to contemporary issues like the conflict in Gaza, the attacks on Trans rights, and the Black Lives Matter movement, articulating his lifelong mission to foster community and speak truth to power.

Fruit Bats’ new single, “Let You People Down,” is a sparse and captivating track that sets the tone for the upcoming album, Baby Man. A departure from his usual sound, the song is a raw, intimate solo performance that Eric D. Johnson calls an “ode to the people pleasers.” It’s a vulnerable look at self-doubt and the anxieties of an artist.

Coming this October is the self-titled second album from Portland’s Cosmic Tones Research Trio, a record that solidifies their place in modern spiritual jazz. Led by the virtuosic saxophonist Roman Norfleet, the trio crafts layered, transcendent soundscapes that are both meditative and rhythmically compelling. Their lead single, “Sankofa,” is out now, offering a glimpse into the album’s deep improvisational traditions and thoughtful compositions.

Perpetual Doom Records has announced the September 19th release of “Best Of Generifus,” a retrospective compilation from Washington State’s Spencer Sult. Spanning two decades, the album gathers 15 tracks from his ever-evolving catalog, highlighting Sult’s intimate, enduring songwriting. These songs, drawn from bedroom tapes and recent full-lengths, offer a beautifully distilled introduction to an artist whose melodies feel found rather than made—a gentle monument to staying true while moving forward.

Hannah Frances has announced her new album, Nested in Tangles, will be released on October 10th via Fire Talk. The composer, vocalist, guitarist, and poet has also shared the video for the lead single, “Surviving You,” a poignant reflection on generational trauma and self-preservation. She has also shared details of a headlining tour to support the release.

Marking their 11th Anniversary, International Anthem continue their reissue series with Angel Bat Dawid’s 2019 debut, The Oracle. Originally recorded and mixed on her cell phone, this influential album solidified Dawid as an essential voice in improvised music. The new IA11 edition features redesigned artwork and new liner notes by percussionist Asher Gamedze, celebrating the album’s powerful blend of emotive songs, free improvisation, and enduring magic.

Japanese artist Nobukazu Takemura has shared “an ephemeral radiant,” a new single from his upcoming album, knot of meanings, due September 26th. The track captures Takemura’s singular blend of electro-acoustic instrumentation with sublime, understated arrangements. Steady piano figures are dappled with melodic motifs from cello synth, plinking electronics, and a trilling vibraphone, alluding to sparks flying from struck stones.

Taken from his new album, Hillbilly Ragas, Sir Richard Bishop’s latest single, “Pass the Juggernaut,” is a ferocious, brooding track that channels tradition, near severed from its source. It’s a journey into the “dark woods” of sound, with Bishop’s jagged, blunted strikes creating an intense and intimate musical experience that is both aggressive and profoundly soulful.

Fletcher Tucker shares the video for ‘Great Flowering Mind’, the final single from his forthcoming new album Kin (out this Friday). “…a song of kinship with the more-than-human – boulders, rivers and trees, spirits of place and long-dead ancestors…a song which describes and embodies the practice of kin-making (kinning).”

Our latest Monday Morning Brew playlist features tunes from Big Thief, Cass McCombs, Shrunken Elvis, Geir Sundstøl, Laura Veirs, Sam Shackleton, Jack Norton & Charlie Parr, Joan Shelley, Sō Percussion, Benedicte Maurseth, Swimming Bell, P.G. Six, Lucy Dacus, Kissing Other ppl, Dana Sipos, Tom Skinner, Floating Action and Caimin Gilmore.