Album Recommendations
In his latest release, Archipelago of Shadows, Belgian composer Lieven Martens presents a work of profound gravity. The album, a five-track suite of field recordings and electronics, is directly shaped by his experience as a humanitarian aid worker in eastern Congo, where he interviewed survivors of sexual violence—a practice deliberately used as a weapon of war to shatter communities.
Melvin Gibbs’s new album, Amasia: Anamibia Sessions 2, drops October 14, 2025, via Hausu Mountain. This avant-jazz odyssey channels the spirit of Miles Davis’s ’70s fusion, blending recordings across two decades with collaborators like Greg Fox and the late Pete Cosey. Gibbs’s ‘amalgam of ideas transcend genre and categorization.’
Here are ten new albums to dive into. From the psychedelic desert folk of Foot Ox and the soulful Americana of The Fishermen Three to the timeless duets of Tamar Korn and Kyle Morgan, this list offers a range of sounds. Explore the genre-bending jazz of Shrunken Elvis, the cosmic collaboration between Ivan The Tolerable & Hawksmoor, and the experimental folk-pop of Greg Jamie.
In his new album Só Ouço, German-Spanish artist Wolfgang Pérez chronicles a two-year journey through Rio de Janeiro that profoundly reshaped his musical perspective. The project, which started as a formal study, evolved into a full immersion in the city’s rhythms and culture. The result is a vibrant musical dialogue between his European roots and the complex soul of Brazil, born from unexpected collaborations.
Radio Lusaka marks the first-ever vinyl compilation of Alick Nkhata’s work, a golden-voiced singer, freedom fighter, and a pivotal figure in Zambia’s freedom movement. The album is accompanied by a booklet featuring lyric translations by Zambian author Ellen Banda-Aaku and in-depth notes by scholar Jamal Khadar. The album reveals the legacy of a man whose music and voice were deeply connected to his country’s journey towards independence.
Georgia Harmer’s new album, Eye of the Storm, is a powerful testament to emotional growth and self-discovery. This deeply personal sophomore release, recorded in intimate settings from living rooms to garages, offers a stripped-down sound that feels both raw and vulnerable. Harmer’s meticulous songwriting and production shine throughout.
C.R. Gillespie’s new album, Island Of Women, is a moving sonic tapestry woven from personal experience. Conceived during the pandemic, the album began as modern-classical demos that Gillespie meticulously transformed into a humanistic soundscape. Inspired by a family trip to Mexico’s Isla Mujeres, the record is a beautiful, balmy blend of organic textures, electronics, and field recordings that capture the profound experience of fatherhood and quiet isolation.
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.
A new compilation from DJ and curator Edna Martinez celebrates Colombia’s Picó culture—the colossal, hand-painted sound systems at the heart of coastal street parties. As the culture faces pressure at home, it has found new life abroad, with authentic picós now being built as far as Australia. This album captures the raw, transatlantic sound of a local tradition that has gone global.
In the heart of Kyoto, a city renowned for its timeless beauty and rich artistic heritage, a singular musician is crafting a sound that is both deeply personal and daringly experimental. Kita Kouhei—a sound artist, composer, and master of the rare Array Mbira–builds immersive soundscapes that seamlessly blend the organic textures of live instruments with the limitless possibilities of electronic music, creating a world that is uniquely his own.