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Cat-No:SDBANULP47
Release-Date:10.10.2025
Configuration:LP
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Last in:10.10.2025
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Last in:10.10.2025
Cat-No:SDBANULP47
Release-Date:10.10.2025
Configuration:LP
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1
KAU - opening_words
2
KAU - morph_303
3
KAU - stratford
4
KAU - cr_eye
5
KAU - unknown_waveforms
6
KAU - isle_of_man
7
KAU - pray
8
KAU - 4U
9
KAU - glow
10
KAU - no_comply
11
KAU - dive
12
KAU - dive_deep
13
KAU - 2hi2lo
14
KAU - ping_pong
15
KAU - shuvit
16
KAU - heads_up
17
KAU - tränenmeer (cr_eye reprise)
In an increasingly digital world, KAU takes a different route, with an album rooted in human connection, live energy, and creative spontaneity.Here, the trio reflect their take on instrumental music, drawing heavily from jazz, hip hop, and electronic influences.

Unknown Waveforms is the forthcoming album from Belgian trio KAU, set for release on October 10, 2025. Marking an evolution since their 2023 release The Cycle Repeats, this new record captures a more personal, immediate, and unfiltered version of the band's sound. In an increasingly digital world, KAU takes a different route, with an album rooted in human connection, live energy, and creative spontaneity. Here, the trio reflect their take on instrumental music, drawing heavily fromjazz, hip hop, and electronic influences.

At the heart of Unknown Waveforms lies the starting point of three musicians in a room, writing and composing music on the spot. For KAU, this idea mirrors their working method: long jam sessions, free-flowing experimentation, and shared moments of inspiration. Songs often take shape slowly, unfolding over hours or days, but always built collaboratively as a trio.

The album's title reflects the mystery behind how music comes together, but is also both literal and symbolic. Unknown waveforms are the sounds that arise when machines and people interact in unpredictable ways. Whether you're an experienced musician or just starting out, the creative process often feels elusive and hard to fully understand. But there are also certain moments: creative sparks that can't be planned or programmed. It ends up being more than notes, gear, or structure, it's about the process, the tension and energy that builds when people connect and create in the same room.

The title track, Unknown Waveforms, captures that exact process. It opens with a quote from synth pioneer Wendy Carlos: "I'm just trying to show you how we get some of these sounds", inviting listeners directly into the creative space. The track focuses less on a polished outcome and more on the moment before a song is "finished": it's a portrait of experimentation, feeling, and raw expression.

This commitment to honesty permeates the entire album. KAU kept overdubs to a minimum, avoided excessive editing, and prioritized spontaneous choices over calculated ones. In a time when the future of live, improvised music feels uncertain, they double down on the physical, the real, and the immediate. The album resists the pristine polish of modern production, favoring the warmth and imperfection of analog synthesis. The band embraces the character of their instruments, particularly vintage gear, where subtle flaws add beauty, depth, and personality.

One standout track, cr_eye, is driven by the Moog Subphatty-a key instrument in the band's toolkit for its analog warmth and powerful sub-bass. The track centers around the conversation between bass and drums, allowing the keyboards to recede and create space. It draws emotional threads from earlier KAU tracks like Kampala and Kautokeino, bridging past and present with a shared atmosphere and rhythmic interplay.

Another highlight, Stratford, finds inspiration in London's transport system and the UK jazz scene that has long influenced KAU. A field recording snippet of the London Underground kicks off the track, connecting it to the rhythm of everyday commutes. Built around a hypnotic sequencer line from the Roland JX-3P, the track evokes the motion of a metro journey. Artists like Nubya Garcia, Yussef Dayes, and Alfa Mist, giants of the scenethat the band has admired for years, resonate subtly throughout.

Above all, Unknown Waveforms is a statement of intent from KAU: a celebration of imperfection, creative honesty and an insight in the process.



Tracklist

A1. KAU - opening_words
A2. KAU - morph_303
A3. KAU - stratford
A4. KAU - cr_eye
A5. KAU - unknown_waveforms
A6. KAU - isle_of_man
A7. KAU - pray

B1. KAU - 4U
B2. KAU - glow
B3. KAU - no_comply
B4. KAU - dive
B5. KAU - dive_deep
B6. KAU - 2hi2lo
B7. KAU - ping_pong
B8. KAU - shuvit
B9. KAU - heads_up
B10. KAU - tränenmeer (cr_eye reprise)


Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More