Horse Lords unveil video for title track ‘Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive!’; new album out this Friday

10 June 2026

Photo: Kasia Zacharko

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Horse Lords’ new album, Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive!, ever since they announced it back in March. Having already shared the insanely brilliant and infectious ‘Eureka 378-B’ and ‘Brain of the Firm’, followed by the jaw-dropping ‘First Galactic Utopia’, Horse Lords continue to prove they are one of the most exciting bands out there. Now, with the album’s release just a couple of days away, the quartet keeps raising expectations. They have unveiled its glorious title track, ‘Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive!’, an ecstatic and propulsive track, pulsing with energy and packed with the kind of intricate interplay that Horse Lords make sound effortless. The single arrives with a mesmerising accompanying video created by Dan Conrad, who explains:

“In the 70s, I built a visual performance instrument that displayed areas of colored light on a translucent screen and used manually controlled dimmers to change the colors. I named the instrument a ‘chromaccord’, meaning ‘colors together,’ and performed it live with musicians.”

When Horse Lords invited Conrad to create a visual accompaniment for their new album, he turned to an evolved LED version of the Chromaccord, developing a series of patterns and improvising colour changes in response to the movement of ‘Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive!’. The performance was filmed by Will Schorre and edited into the final video, which you can watch below.

Horse Lords’ Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive! is out this Friday, June 12th, through RVNG Intl.

Firas Zreik announces third album, Tarabesque, and shares lead single ‘Fields of Figs’

08 June 2026

Photo: Felicia Abban

Some records take a while to find you. Tarabesque did, but we have barely stopped listening since. The new full-length from Palestinian composer and kanunist Firas Zreik is the third release from Amir ElSaffar’s Maqām Records, and another stunning addition to the musical worlds the label is bringing into focus. Based in New York City, Zreik is a Palestinian composer, performer, lyricist and educator, widely recognised as one of the most compelling voices working with the kanun, a Mediterranean harp. He has spent years performing, recording and collaborating across the world, expanding perceptions of the instrument and preserving its identity while revealing its remarkable versatility across different musical settings and traditions. Zreik’s music draws on the improvisational spirit of the maqam tradition, treating it as a living and evolving language open to new possibilities. On Tarabesque, Zreik places the kanun at the centre of a jazz quartet, a hybrid ensemble and an Arab takht ensemble. The new album sees him creating a musical world where maqam-driven melodies move effortlessly through rich harmonic and modal landscapes. The result is an enthralling and beautiful piece of work, rooted in tradition but also open to new sounds and forms.

Coinciding with the album announcement, Zreik has shared the gorgeous and compelling ‘Fields of Figs’ as the first single. The track comes with an accompanying video and you can watch it below.

APNI shares reinterpretation of ‘Yaar Vehko’ feat. Matthewdavid and Stuart Bogie

06 June 2026

Photo: Guarionex Rodriguez, Jr.

APNI is the brainchild project of multimedia artist and composer Surabhi Saraf, bringing together her interests in voice, experimental sound, and composition. Rooted in her training in Hindustani classical music and informed by years of work across sound and performance, the project has become a space for immersive and carefully crafted listening experiences. She has unleashed a new single, ‘Yaar Vekho’, an ambient interpretation of the traditional Sufi song, combining layered vocals with electronics and clarinet. Featuring Matthewdavid on electronics and Stuart Bogie on clarinet, the track unfolds with patience and emotional depth. Speaking about her latest release, APNI shares:

“I enter this chapter with a reverent curiosity toward the Divine. This song carries a devotional longing, a reaching toward love beyond identity, almost like a blueprint for what might be possible. It feels like an offering from the oldest part of me to the part still brave enough to love.”

Gentle and soothing, ‘Yaar Vekho’ is a real transportative listen. Here it is.

Play Time set to release debut album, Magic Object, in July

04 June 2026

Play Time is the new trio of percussionist Booker Stardrum, synth player Ben Vida, and saxophonist Will Epstein, three incredible musicians known for a wide range of solo work and collaborations. The project began in 2021, after Stardrum and Epstein relocated to New York’s Hudson Valley, joining Vida, who was already based there. The three began meeting regularly at Vida’s house to improvise and spend time together, and started performing locally, including a residency at Kingston venue Tubby’s. Play Time developed a style rooted in improvisation, repetition, and group interaction, drawing on elements of ambient music, minimalism, jazz, and electronic music. Their sound is described as “a polymetric blend of improv and pulse minimalism for saxophone, drums, and Moog”. Comes July 3rd, they will release their debut album, Magic Object, through Balmat, the experimental label run by Albert Salinas and Philip Sherburne. The album was recorded over two days in a converted barn studio. According to the band, the recording process played a key role in defining what Play Time would become. “You’re hearing us discover the voice of the band in real time,” Vida explains. “We finished those sessions and we were like, ‘Oh, that’s what our band sounds like now.’”

Ahead of the album’s release, Play Time have shared the first preview of the album in the form of opener ‘Open The Door, Joey’, a celestial and stunning track. Take a listen below.

Akusmi previews upcoming album, Terra Incognita, with second single ‘Rain Dance’ featuring Sarathy Korwar

03 June 2026

We fell head over heels for Akusmi’s new album, Terra Incognita, the second it was announced. Pascal Bideau, the ingenious French-born, London-based composer who spearheads the project, crafted a spellbinding collection of tracks. Seamlessly blending global and spiritual jazz with minimal repeating patterns, Akusmi’s forthcoming album is pulsing with the vibrant energy of Afrobeat, Highlife, and electronic Afro-pop.

Following the bright, entrancing and uplifting ‘Anima’, Akusmi is teasing the album again with new single ‘Rain Dance’, an entrancing and high-energy song featuring virtuoso tabla player and drummer Sarathy Korwar. Listen to ‘Rain Dance’ below and grab Terra Incognita when it drops on July 3rd through Tonal Union.

Watch Leenalchi’s video for new single ‘Bird’

03 June 2026

Photo: Swan Studio

Seoul-based septet Leenalchi are gearing up to release a new EP titled Here Comes That Crow, out on June 12th through Luaka Bop. Following the EP’s title track, and with release date just over a week away, Leenalchi have unleashed a second single called ‘Bird’. Their music draws from pansori, a traditional Korean form of musical storytelling, which they rework into a striking rhythm-driven format. New single ‘Bird’ is inspired by a classic pansori piece called ‘Saetaryeong’, which depicts a calm natural environment beaming with birds, and sees them masterfully using onomatopoeias to echo natural sounds. ‘Bird’ comes with an accompanying video filmed by Nathan Webber and you can watch it below.