Bloto has never cared much for dominant aesthetics. Instead, the band has consistently chosen paths less travelled, unexplored territories and uncharted routes where experimentation is not so much a conscious decision as a natural state of being. After years of a rather hermetic approach to recording their albums, the time for change has come. A trip to Bucharest and the opportunity to collaborate with the community of musicians associated with the underground label Future Nuggets, led by Ion D, resulted in many hours of recordings, which will be presented by Astigmatic Records in a series of releases across 2026. It opens with a 7-inch vinyl titled "Zmiany / Schimbari", recorded in collaboration with Ion D and Plevna.

During the recording sessions in Romania, the musicians remained true to their method of collective improvisation, while consciously taking a step further. Moving beyond their own limitations, they opened up to other artists and to an entirely new environment. A warm autumn in Bucharest proved to be a change of climate in the most literal sense, becoming a direct impulse for action. Working solely with their skills and the equipment available at Ion D’s N-am studio, the musicians quickly entered an intense creation mode. It is precisely there that the recordings centered around the Bucharest-based label Future Nuggets are created: a place built on a foundation of experimentation and the consistent cultivation of a local, broadly defined psychedelic scene. It is no wonder that during these sessions everyone gladly abandoned the word "jazz", which gave room for a sense of creating something new and free from labels or any need for classification.

The hospitality, openness and personality of Ion D filled the studio in a palpable way. As a creator and researcher, he moves between new musical inventions and the history of the region, its folklore and traditions, and these worlds naturally permeated the recordings. Long discussions and exchanges of experience found their reflection in sound. Time gradually lost its meaning, and the sessions extended almost unnoticed late into the night. In this atmosphere of creative focus, electronic music producer Plevna quietly emerged at the synthesizers, leaving a distinct mark on the tracks "Zmiana czasu" and "Zmiana klimatu" with his melodic and catchy motifs.

To better understand the metaphorical dimension of the music, it is worth looking at the place where it was recorded. The sessions took place at the intersection of the Doroban?i and Floreasca districts, an area where traces of earlier times are still visible. Ion D’s studio is located in an old house from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, repeatedly rebuilt and bearing the marks of successive eras. At that time, Floreasca functioned under the name Mahala. It was simply a slum, also known as Groapa Floreasca, meaning a pit or hell. As Ion notes, it is striking that both Doroban?i and Floreasca have become some of the most expensive districts in Bucharest. Rather than representing genuine revitalization, this is an experience well known not only in Romania, but across Poland as well. The gentrification of places where we grew up has become a defining feature of every major city. From extreme poverty to demonstrative wealth following the political transformations of 1989, this is where the traumas of transition and late capitalism lead us. We have more in common than it might initially seem.


A1. Zmiana czasu / Schimbarea timpului
B1. Zmiana klimatu / Schimbarea climatului

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After a three-year hiatus from releasing new music, Bloto knew they had to make up for the long wait with a flood of fresh material. Their fruitful recording sessions at Studio Pasterka produced a wave of new tracks—like mushrooms springing up after the rain. These sessions have already brought us two 7" singles, the Grzybnia LP, and now, rounding off this chapter, comes the final piece: the album Grzyby (eng. Mushrooms).

Anticipation for new Bloto releases reached a fever pitch. Vinyl collectors quickly snapped up all copies of the singles Szlam / Scieki and Bakteria, the latter featuring a guest appearance by DaM-FunK. In less than six months, nearly all copies of Grzybnia were sold out—setting a record pace for Astigmatic Records. In the meantime, the album was nominated for a Fryderyk Award in the Alternative Music category. Though Grzybnia didn’t take home the prize, Bloto did win a Fryderyk for their track “Godzina W”, featured on the WAWA album dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising. It’s been an electrifying time for the band, filled with shows across Poland and abroad.

Grzybnia laid the foundation. It emphasized the importance of collaboration and the collective spirit—just as mycelium builds connections between plants in the forest. Since its release, not much has changed around us. Societies still fall short of functioning like mycelium. If anything, the global situation has worsened. The idea behind Grzybnia was to present an alternative to egoism and individualism. Yet today, it seems even harder to find common ground. We build more and more walls—first within our own families, then in increasingly polarized social bubbles, and ultimately at political levels. Perhaps those political forces are what trickle down and rupture our social bonds? This is where Grzyby comes in. What can the fruiting bodies of fungi teach us? They are in constant communication, using the mycelium’s vast underground network—the “internet of the forest”. Dialogue, negotiation, and communication should be the antidotes to polarization. In uncertain times, we must learn to connect beyond our divisions.

The album Grzyby features fungi with medicinal properties on Side A—and one parasite on Side B. These aren’t your typical mushrooms you’d throw in a culinary basket. “Wrosniak” helps fight autoimmune diseases, “Maczuznik” has antibacterial properties, “Chaga” eases digestive issues, and “Soplówka” stimulates the immune system. Side B brings “Plesniak”—a toxic mold. Poisoning from this fungus can be dangerous, causing damage to the liver, skin, and mucous membranes. Yet even “Plesniak” has a silver lining. It played a key role in the development of penicillin—the antibiotic used to treat tonsillitis, pneumonia, and more. Under controlled conditions, it's even used in cheese production.

For optimal listening experience, Grzyby has been pressed onto 12-inch vinyl at 45 RPM—enhancing the low frequencies that are abundant on this album full of broken beats and club energy.

The record will be released in a limited edition: 1,000 vinyl copies.


A1 - Wrosniak
A2 - Maczuznik
A3 - Chaga
A4 - Soplówka
B1 - Plesniak



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Bloto’s bold 2020 debut brought forth three albums in just twelve months. This prolific creative burst, followed by an ongoing tour and involvement in other projects, meant fans had to wait over three years for the next release. During this time, new ideas took shape, and the vision for their fourth LP crystallized. The wait for Bloto's new album is nearly over. As always, autumn signals the arrival of Grzybnia (Mycelium).

The idea for the album had been simmering within the band since the release of Kwasy i zasady and finally took shape in early 2023 at Warsaw's Studio Pasterka, under Piotr Zabrodzki's guidance. It was the group's most fruitful session, resulting in two singles, Szlam / Scieki and Bakteria, as well as material for an EP to be released next year.
The seemingly chemical title of Kwasy i zasady (Acids and Bases) referred to interpersonal relationships, describing traits that prevent harmony and reflecting the polarization of modern societies. The metaphor of Grzybnia (Mycelium) goes further, emphasizing cooperation as a skill that yields diverse results, both good and bad. Above all, it underscores the power of collective action.

In a fragmented, unstable world, mycelium offers a powerful model. It thrives in degraded, lifeless environments created by humans. Cooperation benefits all parties involved, where each contributes something and receives something in return. Mycelium forms a symbiotic relationship with certain tree species through mycorrhiza, where roots and mycelium exchange life-sustaining substances, benefiting both. This cooperation is key to survival and growth.

Like a mushroom that dies, yet whose mycelium endures, Bloto’s music is an organic and evolving force. The band operates much like mycelium itself, drawing on cultural products and transforming them into new forms. The collaboration of Latarnik, Cancer G, Wuja HZG, and OlafSaxx produces surprising combinations, resulting in music that blurs the lines between genres like jazz, house, techno, and improvisation.

A1 - Lysiczka
A2 - Kozak
A3 - Shiitake
A4 - Boczniak
A5 - Prawdziwek
B1 - Podostroma
B2 - Muchomor
B3 - Szatan
B4 - Zaslonak

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The Bloto quartet had made a comeback six months ago with their first singles in over two years dropping “Szlam” and “Scieki”. These tracks were pressed on a 7-inch vinyl by Astigmatic Records, but this only whetted the appetites of the band’s mud-loving fans, as the singles sold out instantly. And so, the band's musical onslaught continues. Ahead of their upcoming LP “Grzybnia” set to release in autumn 2024, Bloto is putting out another bacteria-laden 7-inch to conclude this brief series of singles. This time, the release features a remix by none other than the modern funk maestro DaM-FunK, hailing from sunny Pasadena, California.

Wading through the sludge of sewage, one can encounter colonies of bacteria. They are well-known for their dark side – causing serious diseases. Nevertheless, they are with us all the time. They exist in humans and all other living organisms – fungi, plants, and animals. They can be found in soil and water. They are even present in radioactive areas, proving that they are truly hard to eliminate. Such is the music of Bloto. Like a post-apocalyptic bacterium, it’s capable of surviving in the harshest conditions.

Sinister, biting, and primitive – just like colonies of microorganisms. This is Bloto's latest single. Drawing heavily from classic acid house, it can truly infect the mind, inviting you to join a rave in Bloto on the eastern flank of Europe. Quartet’s “Bakteria” is a direct continuation of their first 7-inch release. However, this time, during their collective improvisation at Studio Pasterka, the band has entirely forsaken acoustic instruments in favor of a full array of synthesizers accompanied by drums.

Certainly, the dichotomous nature of these organisms presents a paradox. While capable of causing harm, without bacteria, life as we know it would cease to exist, and human civilization would not have reached its current state. Bacteria fulfill numerous essential roles. They serve as decomposers, crucial in maintaining biogeochemical cycles, and contribute to processes such as fermentation and decay. As symbiotic organisms living within other organisms, they are vital for functions like digestion. Their versatility extends to diverse applications, from biological wastewater treatment to the production of various food products.

Such are the properties of the beneficial probiotic titled “Bakteria Re-Freak” by DaM-FunK (renowned for his classic albums released on Stones Throw, like “Toeachizown” and “7 Days of Funk” with Snoop Dogg). It offers a 180-degree transformation of the dark atmosphere of the original version. The track evolves towards G-Funk, brimming with sunny synths and a drum machine. It portrays a vision of a biopharmaceutical bacterium lazily roaming the streets of warm yet perilous Los Angeles.

The 7-inch will be released on July 19, 2024, by Astigmatic Records. The vinyl single is limited to 700 copies.

A - Bloto - Bakteria
B - Bloto - Bakteria (DaM-FunK Re-Freak)

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2023 was a breakthrough year for EABS in many ways. It was all thanks to the well received, fully self-produced album entitled In Search of a Better Tomorrow, recorded in collaboration with the Pakistani band Jaubi. EABS' forthcoming sixth album is a return to their roots – literally and figuratively. It is an in-depth study on rhythm, which materialised in the form of the album titled Reflections of Purple Sun.

The back to the roots part not only manifests itself in the lack of guest instrumentalists, but also in a renewed focus on the history of Polish jazz. The band's debut album Repetitions... was dedicated to Krzysztof Komeda. This time, the band picked up the entire Purple Sun album, which Tomasz Stanko recorded half a century ago. From the POV of Purple Sun fans, a hard-to-find and somewhat forgotten album, it may seem like a doomed undertaking. However, in order to pay tribute to one of the most iconic figures of Polish jazz, it was worth embarking on this mission and attempting to engage in a non-verbal conversation with the Slavic spirit that Master Tomasz Stanko undoubtedly was.

You can learn more about Reflections of Purple Sun through the comprehensive booklet accompanying the record. The cover art was created by the label's regular collaborator, Animisiewasz, whose design pays tribute to Pia Burri's original Purple Sun concept. Release date is 10 May 2024.

A1 - Boratka
A2 - Flute's Ballad
A3 - My Night, My Day
B1 - Flair
B2 - Introduction (for Janusz Stefanski)
B3 - Purple Sun

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Revision of new beats on the horizon
Every 20 years or so, certain musical movements come full circle. Young musicians are inspired by genres dating back two decades, channelling them through their modern sensibility. The legendary J Dilla’s Donuts album was released in 2006 and instantly marked a starting point for the work of musicians worldwide, laying the foundations especially for the beat scene in Los Angeles. A whole young generation of musicians brought up on the new, instrumental and abstract hip-hop has carried jazz into a new era. The four London-based musicians who make up Uniri have gone one step further by abandoning the idea of a jazz band and "bedroom production" in favour of collective composing, creating a new look at the new-beat aesthetics, framing it as a road novel set in an unspecified time and space.

Uniri translates as ‘one unified dream’ and is the key driving motto of the project conceived by Chiminyo (Cykada, Maisha), the band's founder and head honcho. The project materialised in his private studio, where he invited fellow jazz musicians Amane Tsuganami (Jorja Smith, Maisha), Al Macsween (Nubya Garcia, Gary Bartz, Kefaya) and Luke Wynter (Nubyan Twist, Golden Mean) to spontaneously compose together. Hence, despite this being the band's first album, it wouldn't be right to call them rookies. The result of Uniri's collaborative work is the psychedelic, rhythmic album Infinite Reflections, packed with cosmic and warm synths, which neatly balances hip-hop beat and jazz composition. It's safe to say this music is even more appealing when played live, although it's equally suited to the club dancefloor.

UK Jazz has become a permanent fixture in the London landscape, but also across Europe and the US. Today, the musicians who shape the new wave of jazz are drawing on more and more genres, reducing solo improvisation for the benefit of composition and increasingly drawing on influences from the beat scene. Among such formations are the British NOK Cultural Ensemble, the Polish Bloto, the Belgian ECHT!, and the Dutch Comité Hypnotisé. Uniri is part of this emerging yet already international trend, creating an entirely fresh aesthetic that echoes artists such as Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Dorian Concept, Ras G and Nosaj Things oriented around the Californian 'new beats generation' scene.

The title Infinite Reflections alludes to a phenomenon observable on the open sea or during intercontinental flights. Gazing at the horizon blurs the boundary between the ocean and the sky, forming an infinite palette of blue shades. This inspiration sparked an elusive musical narrative, navigating between a sea voyage and an astral journey, destination unknown.

The album will be released by Astigmatic Records, with the album scheduled for release on March 29, 2024.

A1 - Soar
A2 - Oneiric Voyage
A3 - Oumuamua
A4 - Outer Sea
A5 - Solaris Ocean
A6 - Neptune's Arck
B1 - Cetus
B2 - Celestial Waves
B3 - Astra's Charge
B4 - Earth-Diver
B5 - Asteroidea


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4th Press - 600 copies only

It didn't take long for Bloto to become a thing, shrouded by underground secrecy. First, there was the gig during Spring Break 2019 in Poznan where the Blue Note club was packed to the brim. That event gave momentum to 4 more performances in Warsaw and Wroclaw, with no music released at that time. Then, the first pressing of the vinyl was sold out within 24 hours without any single nor cover revealed.

The word about Bloto has spread, increasingly gaining ground, reaching Japan, where the album will also be available on CD. No one expected such a turn of events. In fact, neither did the band itself; after all, Bloto came to being accidentally, yet naturally, like a puddle after a rainy day.

It all started in the summer of 2018 when EABS was touring and the band had a day off. As they were approaching Tricity, people were getting off and eventually there were only four musicians. An evening off, a well-tuned rhythm section on the road, harmonious as can be, and a great deal of creative potential within the members of Bloto band forming at that very moment stirred up common enthusiasm. The album was created without much deliberation, stemming from the need of the heart and the joy of making music together. As a result, 90 minutes of music was recorded of which about 40 made it to “Erozje”.

The music is deeply rooted in brutal hip-hop grooves, referring to the sound of 90’s New York. Dirty and uncompromising, this music’s strength lies in the drums and bass as its sound refers to classics such as Wu-Tang Clan and Company Flow. Radical in a sense, it also captures the atmosphere of the times in which it is created. The times of the planet on the verge of disaster, distinct social divisions, hate speech, growing nationalism, police brutality, nepotism, and various political deals. All this is happening before our eyes. The soil of the world as we know it is eroding right now.

Tracklist:

A1 - Kaluze
A2 - Mady
A3 - Czarnoziemy
A4 - Bagna
A5 - Czarne ziemie
A6 - Redziny
B1 - Bielice
B2 - Ziemie zdegradowane przez czlowieka
B3 - Glina
B4 - Gleby brunatne

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A lot of water has flown under the bridge since B³oto released their last album. Sadly, in Polish rivers it wasn't just water
flowing, but also all sorts of sewage of unknown origin, which destroyed the condition of these once vibrant bodies of water;
it eventually led to a real catastrophe on the Odra River, which, after all, surrounds the entire city of Wroclaw, the band's
birthplace. It is time for a decisive response. B³oto is making a comeback with a seven-inch vinyl and their first singles in
over two years - "Szlam" and "Œcieki".
Climate change had already led to a permanent hydrological drought, which was echoed on Erozje LP. Today, as many as
91.5 percent of Poland's rivers are in very poor condition. It is not only drought that threatens rivers, but also excessive
salinity. This is precisely the kind of disaster that happened on the Odra river. It resulted in 360 tonnes of dead fish and
death of the river along a stretch of almost 500 km, and the reason for that was short-sighted human activity that could
have been avoided. Still, the decision was made to turn the river into a cesspool.
Two years of hiatus is far too long. During this time, reality has not let up for a moment, providing new inspiration. Szlam
(eng. sludge) is the sediment that forms on the river bed and sometimes the river banks. The Polish word derives from
German (Schlamm), which means swamp - or mud. Szlam is therefore a sticky and unsettling remorse that rests somewhere
at the bottom of the human consciousness.
In "Szlam" and "Œcieki" tracks, you will not only hear references to Erozje, but also to Kwasy i Zasady LP. For it is also a
metaphor for everything that pours out of the media, smartphones, and then flows into one's head. The constant bickering,
conflicts and dirty play in political campaigns, scandals to which we are already numb. On top of this, hate speech, lowquality
stupefying influencer content, resulting in an ever-decreasing cultural capital of a society that breeds conformists,
individualistically-minded egoists and mindless consumers. This state of affairs spawns a society of egoists, incapable of
critical reflection, questioning and rebelling against reality.
The sound and genres explored by the band are, as usual, difficult to pigeonhole. These two musical miniatures contain a
lot of anxious and neurotic sounds, as well as synth glitches evoking emotions such as fear, anger, sadness and guilt. The
quartet consisting of Wuja HZG, OlafSaxx, Cancer G and Latarnik managed to distill this mental state by encapsulating it in
shades of breakbeat ("Szlam"), and broadly defined house music ("Œcieki").

A. Szlam
B. Œcieki

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When Cicadas appear in the area they cause a huge uproar. It’s hard to escape the distinctive noise these critters make, reaching up to 120 decibels. The hypnotic, trance-inducing sound disappears with the insects. A few months after Cykada's explosive debut, the world was hit by turbulence and from Cykada there was silence - fortunately only seemingly, because the next cycle began underground, in the privacy of the studio. It was there that the cicadas matured, waiting for a metamorphosis.

The year 2019 was very successful for Cykada, with a brilliantly received debut album, concerts at numerous festivals in the UK and Europe such as Glastonbury, Wilderness, London Jazz Festival, BAM Festival, La Defense Jazz Festival or Love Supreme Festival, along with constantly composing and preparing material for the second album. As the musicians entered the studio, the coronavirus pandemic was already in full swing across the globe. It was clear then that the world would never be the same. With increasing restrictions Cykada went underground, waiting for changes to surface again. Unfortunately the expected change that was happening seemed only for the worse - Brexit and its socio-economic consequences, worldwide disinformation, accelerating climate catastrophe and Russian invasion of Ukraine. The collapse of the old world order is the perfect moment for metamorphosis and with this message Cykada steps out again into broad daylight, matured and carrying a message with their long-awaited second album “Metamorphosis”.

The meaning behind the title is multifaceted. It refers both to changes taking place in our society and changes to our world as nature defends itself from human stupidity and greed. It is also a reference to the personal and musical development of the band members in that difficult period. It all became a foundation to bravely attempt to make new beginnings.

The metamorphosis is also clear in the musical aspect of Cykada. Their debut album was already difficult to shoehorn into specific genres with their sound that balanced jazz, electronics and elements of global music styles. With the second album their eclectic style has evolved into something distinct and innovative, combining folk/jazz song form and improvisation with heavier sounds inspired by sound system culture and rock. The band grew into a septet thanks to multi-instrumentalist Rob Milne, expanding the horn section to 3 instruments and galvanising its sound. But the biggest change that happened compared to the first album is the singing of Cykada leader Jamie Benzies in singles “So Divided” and “The Crack in the Bricks”. Both songs carry an important message, showing us that the changes in the world are already happening and that only we can make it head in the right direction. This unique sonic mix along with the message unleashes a powerful energy that the musicians want to send to and infect every listener.

A1 - Crystalline Peaks
A2 - Fallacy
A3 - So Divided
A4 - 3301
B1 - The Cracks in the Bricks (Prologue)
B2 - The Cracks in the Bricks
B3 - Ashen Faun
B4 - Last Throes of the Temporal Monolith

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It would appear that Polish jazz is a well-known subject through and through. Dozens of outstanding albums, biographies of the masters,
hundreds of journal articles. As it turns out, it is still possible to find music that has been waiting for years to be discovered. On the 80th
birthday of Tomasz Stañko, Astigmatic Records presents the first part of Wooden Music, a conceptual project created by the maestro
and his legendary quintet, which has been stored in the archives of Radio Bremen for 50 years.
Tomasz Stañko was an exceptional Polish jazz trumpeter. He passed away in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of numerous releases,
soundtracks, concert recordings and wild stories involving him. Before rising to the top, he honed his craft alongside Krzysztof Komeda
and Andrzej Trzaskowski. In the mid-1960s, he appeared on Astigmatic and Polish Jazz Vol. 4 – the albums that were a creative
manifesto for Polish jazz of those years. However, all this time he was constantly thinking about starting his own band.
In 1968 he completed the line-up – Janusz Stefañski on drums, Bronis³aw Suchanek on double bass, Janusz Muniak on tenor
saxophone and Zbigniew Seifert on alto saxophone, which he soon replaced with the violin. Stañko classified the quintet's output into
three periods. The first, composed, is associated with Music for K, Stañko's publishing debut as a leader, which became a permanent
entry in the canon of Polish jazz records. The second period is wooden music – it's the free jazz period, the least known in the quintet's
history despite the fact that it spanned more than three years. The third and final period is linked to the release of the band's final album,
the cult Purple Sun. However, the entire period between Music for K and Purple Sun is shrouded in mystery, as the band was mainly in
Western Europe at the time. In the early 1970s, all the musicians take one-year visas. In between tours they live in Germany: first in a
hippie commune in Wurtzburg, then in Darmstadt. They play in clubs on a day by day basis. The quintet is said to be distinguished from
other bands by their ability to completely "burn" in the fire of improvisation. They lead their lives as a single organism, touring without
wives or girlfriends. The compositions are blurred, the fascination with free music prevails. Short pieces and motives are the starting point
for further performance. The ensemble does not plan, they just play. On 28 May 1972 they play at the Iserlohn jazz festival. JG Records
would release this performance as Jazzmessage from Poland. The very music recorded there represents what the quintet called Wooden
Music.
The foundation of wooden music is the sound of the double bass and the violin, but it soon becomes apparent that all instruments except
for Tomasz Stañko's trumpet are wooden. A string orchestra is born, over which the metal trumpet can weave all sorts of hues
accompanied by the saxophone. What fascinates the quintet in wooden music is the melody, rhythm and timbre - where these are usually
just an element, they fill the entire piece in their case. Bronis³aw Suchanek, the last living member of the quintet, recalls:
"Wooden music is all about total improvisation. We used to arrive at a gig, start playing without really knowing where we were heading.
The only thing that guided us was the common and mental compatibility, understanding, friendship and respect along this musical journey.
Music was the first most important element to attribute to – it was free jazz in its purest form. If there are any moments that seem
orchestrated it is because we played together for several years, evening after evening, going from club to club. We knew each other
better than our parents knew us, we had total trust in each other – that's what made this music exist in the way it did."

A1 - Piece 1
A2 - Piece 2
A3 - Piece 3
A4 - Piece 4
B1 - Piece 5
B2 - Piece 6

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The discovery of Tomasz Stañko's archive recordings from 50 years ago at Radio Bremen demonstrated the dynamic development of
this shrouded in mystery quintet, which was a blank spot in the history of Polish jazz. Released by Astigmatic Records, the album
turned out to be a surprise and a huge musical treat for many fans who no longer remember such a fiery period in the career of the
outstanding trumpeter. The record received much critical acclaim and sold out in a blink, and Jazz Forum magazine recognised Wooden
Music I as the historic album of the year. Now the time has come for the 2nd and final installment of wooden music.
It takes more than one album to fully illustrate the evolution of the band with which Tomasz Stañko, as its leader, recorded Music for K,
one of the most important albums in Polish jazz. It is the early 1970s, Zbigniew Seifert gives up the saxophone in favour of the violin, so
the band's sound becomes more 'wooden', and around this expression Stañko builds the foundations of a philosophy, which he wrote
down on four small sheets of paper, still kept by Bronis³aw Suchanek, the quintet's bass player:
We seek to create the kind of music that, while operating with all the elements of the most genuine jazz, attempts to look at it from a
different angle, from a different mental plane. We do not experiment with the material, but with the form. For the form does not have to
be a logical and strict construction of the entire piece, it can be free, improvised while playing, resulting from the mood, or atmosphere
existing at a given moment, or random things, creating with their free fluidity that specific "magical mood". This, of course, excludes
compositions in the traditional sense - Tomasz Stañko wrote at the time.
Wooden Music is therefore like a postcard - not so much of a specific gig, but of the entire period of the quintet's activity. It opens with
compositions featured on Jazzmessage from Poland. Wooden Music I recorded in Bremen on 15 June 1972 is its peak - when the band
plays free, vigorous music, but more sensitively planned, as the group is more in-tune after hours of joint stage encounters. Wooden
Music II, recorded in Hamburg on 9 November 1972, is the conclusion of their vision of free-jazz - the final phase where composed
pieces ("Calme" and "6 & 8") begin to emerge from wild improvisation. Some of these would, a few months later, find their way onto an
iconic piece in Tomasz Stañko's discography - the Purple Sun album (e.g. "Flute's Ballad")... but with a slightly different line-up. When
the band decides to wrap up, they are at the peak of their form, each feeling the need to develop on their own. They know when to step
off the stage. They are invincible. Tomasz Stañko Quintet was one of the most outstanding European free jazz ensembles of its time.
The Polish musicians, plus a plethora of individuals such as Brötzmann, Mangelsdorff, Schlippenbach, Vesala or Surman, contributed to
a movement which, while co-operating with the American avant-garde, had its own specificity and its own unique audience. Polish
jazzmen, newcomers from behind the Iron Curtain, were seen as carrying a message of freedom to the countries of the region. It took
many years for this message to come true. Today, European jazz seems to be far more erudite, emotionally restrained, intellectual, seeking
links with contemporary avant-garde and ethno music. It's all very beautiful, but sometimes one would like to discard all of this extra
wrapping and bring out the essence of jazz - the synergic energy and striving for the limits of expression, even if it poses the risk of a
musical explosion - Tomasz Szachowski states in Jazz Forum. Therefore, it is time to see if we are dealing with explosive material in the
case of the second installment of wooden music.
Thus, the Wooden Music series culminates with its second part coming from the archives of NDR radio, which recorded the footage in a
small club in Hamburg called Jazzhouse. This time, the additional stem-mastering was done by Marcin Cichy, who perfected the sound
on the album even more.

A1 - Calme
A2 - 6 & 8 I
B1 - 6 & 8 II
B2 - Flute's Ballad

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After the very well received, both by the audience and critics, debut album Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda), focusing on the lesser-known works of the legendary Polish composer, the Wroclaw-based EABS decided to further expand this lead and released two more vinyl records, "live" and "on tape", which crowned the "Komeda triptych". The astounding reception of the band's debut whet listeners' appetite for completely new recordings. It took 2 years for the new album to materialise, this time, however, it is filled with 100% original material.
This time the EABS band did not directly address the legacy of the Polish school of broadly understood popular music masters. At the same time, the musicians kept in mind that such legacy is, in a sense, the capital of the past which adds up to identity and builds the future. Therefore, in their further musical quest, the band stayed observant of the signs and inspirations from their predecessors from the jazz and big beat era, who paved the way through their willingness to experiment and pursue a unique sound. Thanks to these concepts, the ensemble decided to listen even more intently to their inner voices. This has enabled EABS to avoid the obsession of imitating the Western sound, which conquers the increasingly generic domestic music industry.
The conceptual direction and the first sketches of compositions were already prepared shortly after the summer of 2017. However, the fast-paced life on tour and the desire to expand the line-up with a soprano saxophone and flute eventually played by Tenderlonious did not allow for quick studio manoeuvres. Especially that the London guest artist needed to arrive for the sessions in Wroclaw. Thankfully, time has only worked in favour of this material. The band was already incredibly harmonious while implementing all the assumptions during the recordings. The compositions have matured and evolved even more.
The idea for “The Darkness”, the composition opening the Slavic Spirits LP, was born out of collective improvisation performed before a Komeda-inspired medley of “Free Witch and No Bra Queen / Sult” played in concert. It came as a surprise to us that this new album, devoted to broadly understood Slavism, turned out to have its roots in the combination of compositions about a witch and hunger. Both were present in Central Europe, not only in the Early Middle Ages. During the tour, while travelling together, we talked a lot about Poland’s difficult history. We noticed a number of dreadful episodes and unresolved traumas that have been haunting us until this very day – Marek Pedziwiatr recollects.
Inspired by deliberations of many musicians, but also historians, journalists, writers, and even psychotherapists, new compositions began to appear rapidly, pouring out of the band’s spirit and imagination. The material is also an attempt to radically break out of the status quo of national mythology which currently steers the collective imagination of the Polish society. The musicians turned to Slavic mythology and Polish demonology, while pondering upon the contemporary spiritual condition of Poles. The enigmatic “Slavic melancholy” remains the main inspiration for the following album, as the band tried to extract it from their own DNA. Slavic Spirits is an an endeavour to get in touch with the world of a long- and brutally lost culture which, due to lack of sources, will never be thoroughly explored. A piece called “The Darkness” is a metaphor of this obscurity and the blank page in the history of our ancestors. What follows is a trip to the woods and fields where we face two demons ruling those realms, namely “Woodland Spirit” and “The Noon Witch”. In the end, we climb a marshy and foggy holy mountain (“Sleza”) to eventually practice ritual “Sun Worship”.

A1 - Ciemnosc = The Darkness
A2 - Leszy = Woodland Spirits
A3 - Poludnica = The Noon Witch
B1 - Sleza (Mgla) = Sleza (The Fog)
B2 - Sleza = Sleza
B3 - Przywitanie Slonca (Rytual) = Sun Worship (The Rite)
B4 - Przywitanie Slonca = Sun Worship

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More copies coming in July!

Seven years after the haunting resonance of Voids, electronic pioneer Martyn returns to the album format with Music For Existing. Arriving on 15 May 2026, the record is more than a collection of tracks; it is a profound exploration of what it means to remain devoted to a craft in an era of relentless noise.

The album’s announcement is heralded by the lead single "Heavy Sound." The track serves as the perfect bridge between Martyn’s past and present - a masterclass in tension and release that previews the album’s dialogue between the producer, the musicians, and the audience. We live inside a culture that has prioritised and monetised restlessness. The modern apparatus runs on the continuous production of "next," driven by algorithms that value novelty over depth.

Music For Existing serves as a love letter to the communal act of making music - something that is both healing and inherently defiant. For Martyn, a musician often finds solace in musical conversation with others; in the moment we press record, we simply exist together. This record is an invitation to build human infrastructure around what we love, leaning into the fluid nature of community and seeing exactly where the music takes us when we choose to listen.

The album is a sprawling, "off-the-grid" tapestry that echoes Martyn’s profound appreciation for jazz - free, instinctive, and bursting in every sonic direction. This collection features an expansive cast of collaborators, including Duval Timothy, Dan Only, Lucinda Chua, and Mark Cisneros. The record is further elevated by the contributions of jazz talents Mischa Porte and Cees Bruinsma, alongside the evocative words of writer and poet Musa Okwonga.

While the acoustic textures and improvisational spirit of this record may feel like a departure, they represent a homecoming. Jazz has always been ingrained in Martyn’s work; even in his most stripped-back club tracks, the DNA of swing, syncopation, and free-form structure was always present, if not always visible.

Music For Existing marks the beginning of an exciting journey that will continue from the studio to the stage, celebrating the radical act of existing in the moment.

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Four years after Nuova Napoli, Nu Genea are back with Bar Mediterraneo, a new album and journey, which projects the
sounds of the Neapolitan duo formed by Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina even further.
Nu Genea's Bar Mediterraneo is an idea of a shared place where people meet and fuse together; a space that leaves its
doors open to travellers and their lives, always exposed to the whims of fate. Some of this can be experienced through the
multitude of sounds that come together in the tracks, layers of different acoustic instruments, voices and synthesizers
merging in a unique musical blend.
Opening up to the voices of many different people, separated by languages but united by the sea and the music, Nu
Genea's hometown, Napoli, becomes a true place of encounter.
You can hear this all along. In "Gelbi", a gorgeously deep and propulsive Ney flute plunges into murky waters of the
melancholic Tunisian dialect sung by Marzouk Mejri. In "Marechia'", unbridled happiness and sun ooze from the delicate
vocals of Célia Kameni and create an acrobatic bridge between French and Neapolitan language. In "Straniero", your
soul is arrested from the moment the slow spell-binding mandolin ignites the hypnotic patterns recorded by the legendary
Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. In "Bar Mediterraneo", the title track, bittersweet guitar’s riffs, analog waves and choirs are
overwhelming the song giving you what you would like to hear on a boat trip along the Amalfi Coast.
Nu Genea couldn't afford to overlook their firmly anchored roots into the Neapolitan culture and its dialect with "Tienaté",
where the power of neapolitan language (interpreted by Fabiana Martone) supports those quarter-tone strings and the
uncessant folk-disco groove that spreads to the entire song. In "Praja Magia", repetitive mandolin riffs lead the song,
giving space to a choral yet tight vocal line that speaks of Varcaturo, a village close to Napoli. In "Rire", a volley of poetic,
deceptively laidback, lyrical fury interpreted by Sicilian Marco Castello intimately combines with a highly musical, multitextured
instrumental backbone and the swoon of a chanson in its heart. In "La Crisi'', the lyrics of a Raffaele Viviani’s
poem from 1930 have been adapted to a laidback jazz-funk groove in full NG style. In "Vesuvio", revaluing the evocative
verses and powerful mantra of Vesuvio, Nu Genea re-adapted to the dancefloor a folk song by the working-class band E’
Zezi from Pomigliano D'Arco, combining the voices of a school choir with Jupiter-6 arpeggios and bold percussions.
Bar Mediterraneo is the place where people constantly return to transform curiosity into participation, tradition into
sharing, unfamiliar into familiar. When travellers come through its “doors”, carrying their treasures of words and emotions,
they aren’t strangers any more. They take part in a shared experience, enriching themselves and others by leading to
unexpected musical journeys.

TRACKLIST:

A1. Bar Mediterraneo
A2. Tienaté
A3. Gelbi (with Marzouk Mejri)
A4. Marechià (with Célia Kameni)
A5. Straniero
B1. Praja Magia
B2. Vesuvio
B3. Rire
B4. La Crisi

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Repress!

johnny’s disk record is an independent jazz label run by the owner of jazz cafe kaiunbashi no johnny located in rikuzentakata city in iwate prefecture, japan.

the legendary label released a string of albums of high quality but down-to-earth music, spanning from modern jazz, avant-garde jazz to left-field pop. albums such as “farewell my johnny / left alone” and “aya’s samba” has reached cult status among fans as some of the best works to come out of the japanese jazz scene.

another japanese jazz classic, aya’s samba was a debut effort by bassist eiji nakayama, who played as part of elvin jones’ jazz machine and toured with don friedman.

this album is an important release in the johnny’s disk catalogue, not only because it is the first ever release, but also because the owner hearing the band play was the reason why the label came to be.

“aya’s samba” is a mellow jazz samba in minor key that’s considered a japanese jazz classic. slow ballad “yellow living” is drenched in melancholy with emotive keys and sax notes, while the dreamy “sea sea town” impresses with a captivating, expressive sax solo. the 4 tracker ends with “far-away road,” an uptempo tune with rhythmic keys.

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Tresor & Wordandsound A1-Poster Campaign - 100% Donation for Ukraine - 500 Posters Available - Minimum Price 5 EUR per Poster.

Become Part of our Buy/ Resale Poster Campaign - 100% of all income will be donated to the Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund. https://www.unocha.org/ukraine/about-uhf

Buy the Poster and Resell it To your Customer - ideally for the same price. The more we sell the more we can Donate.

The Price starts at EUR 5,00 per Poster, but you can pay more. The More you Pay, the More we can donate.

As time is precious, Wordandsound already started with a Donation of EUR 500,00. We will inform you about further possible Donations through this as we proceed.

Thank you for helping.

500 A1 Posters available. All Posters will be shipped folded!


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Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske's At Source resounds music as wellspring, that which is essential and unknowable, and yet utterly primary. It finds two acclaimed composer-musicians building a world together in self-contained collaboration between analogue synthesis and an extended approach to the saxophone that conjures its own universe of sound.

Listen: https://listen.k7.com/1c1166cc-68f0-4afc-a273-479eb8ac10b1

Tracklist:
A1 Intuition, Nimbus
A2 Alignment, Orbits
B1 Impatience, Magma
B2 Persistence, Buds

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Over the course of 2025 International Anthem will be celebrating their eleventh year of existence by revisiting some of the most celebrated (and hard to find) entries in their decade of releases. These LP packages will be presented with new liner notes, new insert booklets, and the fresh 2025 redesign of their iconic obi strip and dome logo. They will also be at a price point intended to help make it easier for stores to stock and sell these essential pieces of their catalog.
Makaya McCraven’s International Anthem debut In The Moment is the album that properly introduced the then-burgeoning drummer/producer to the world.
140g Classic Black LP in heavyweight jacket, with 12x12" insert booklet, IA OBI strip & printed poly-lined inner sleeve. Pressed at Pallas in Germany.


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Reissue of the classic.

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Continuing his inspired path into fractalised micro-dub-techno, John Howes lands his Paperclip Minimiser project amongst kindred spirits on Blank Mind. Crooked rhythms and tender machine hums hang in crisply defined virtual space — a gallery of science and soul that follows a natural lineage from the breakthrough years of the clicks n' cuts era by way of UK bass permutations.

Operating out of the UK's North West, Howes has been incubating a singular sound through his ongoing development of intuitive production and performance tools under the Cong Burn banner. The sometime record label and software stamp has a long-standing friendship with Blank Mind—the affinity is easy to hear in their shared exploration of modernist broken techno. Having just released a second album under his Paperclip Minimiser alias for similarly spirited West Coast US lodestar Peak Oil, Topology Transform extends the project's sound world with three tracks carved from the same period of studio orienteering. Free of the constraints of the LP format, these three tracks open up broader possibilities from Howes' customised systems, navigating the outer edges of the Paperclip paradox.

The A side opens on a 150BPM cascade of crunchy percussion and pin-prick ripples, driven by twitchy kinesis while maintaining a light-footed dexterity. If the first track finds its locomotion through double-time intensity, the second track celebrates the space that opens up around half-time pacing — two sides of the same tempo that radiate distinct energies. Conversely, the B side stretches out into an extended ambient repose. The consistency between this beatless excursion and the more propulsive A side speaks to the clarity of Howes' craft—a shimmering, blue-hued pool of advanced sonic treatment from a producer in command of a truly personal studio practice.


Mastered at Manmade by Marine Benabou
Design by Sam Purcell
Press release by Oli Warwick

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Today Chicago-based percussionist, composer and producer Makaya McCraven announces the details of his new album In These Times, which is set for release on September 23rd via International Anthem / Nonesuch / XL Recordings. The first offering from the new album is a song tiled "Seventh String," which encapsulates the various musical dimensions present on McCraven's new album, a career-defining body of work that is a remarkable new peak for the already-soaring McCraven. In These Times is a collection of polytemporal compositions inspired as much by broader cultural struggles as McCraven's personal experience as a product of a multinational, working class musician community. It's the recording that he's been trying to create for 7+ years, as it's been consistently in process in the background while he's put forth a prolific run of releases including: In The Moment (2015), Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), Universal Beings (2018), We're New Again (2020), Universal Beings E&F Sides (2020), and Deciphering the Message (2021). With contributions from over a dozen musicians and creative partners from his tight-knit circle of collaborators - including Jeff Parker, Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, and Marquis Hill - the music was recorded in five different studios and four live performance spaces while McCraven engaged in extensive post-production work at home. Featuring orchestral, large ensemble arrangements interwoven with the signature "organic beat music" sound that's become his signature, the album is an evolution and a milestone for McCraven, the producer. But moreover, it's the strongest and clearest statement we've yet to hear from McCraven, the composer. Profiled in the New York Times, Vice, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and NPR, among other publications, Makaya and the music he makes today is what Passion of Weiss explains, "is part of a necessary conversation about the next evolution of the Black improvised music known colloquially as 'jazz.' He's found the threads connecting the past with the present, and is either wrapping them with new colors and textures, or he's plucking them gleefully like the strings of a grand instrument." McCraven, who has been aptly called a "cultural synthesizer" and "beat scientist," has a unique gift for collapsing space, destroying borders and blending past, present, and future into poly-textural arrangements of post-genre, jazz-rooted 21st century folk music. In These Times encompasses his artistic ethos, his experiences, identity and lineage, while pushing his music to new heights.

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Moving Images is a collaborative album by composers Frank Maston and Greg Foat, and marks the inaugural release on Magic Hollow, the new imprint founded by Daniel O'Sullivan. Rooted firmly in the tradition of classic library music, the album draws from the deep, elegant end of the form: vintage keyboards, analogue synthesis, drum machines, and melodic economy, realised with clarity, warmth, and restraint. Recorded in February 2025 at Ritmo Studios in Leysin, Switzerland, high in the Alps, Moving Images unfolds as a suite of finely balanced cues, defined by restraint, texture, and a discerning sense of tone.Swiss bassist Elie Ghersinu features prominently throughout the album, his rich and fluid bass tone providing a continuous anchor. The record draws inspiration from the golden age of European library music, channeling the spirit of De Wolfe and Bruton releases such as Alan Hawkshaw's Frontiers Of Science, the Push Button albums by Karl Jenkins and Mike Ratledge, Edmondo Giuliani's refined orchestrations, and Alessandro Alessandroni's Romance and Drama for Coloursound. Rather than pastiche, Moving Images internalises the discipline and elegance of these recordings, translating their grammar into a contemporary context.

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