Category: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Yeisy Rojas Returns with Hopeful “¿Dónde está el amor?”

JOVM mainstay Yeisy Rojas is a Grammy Award-nominated and Latin Grammy Award-nominated Cuban-born, Oslo-based, classically trained, jazz violinist, singer/songwriter and composer.

Her recently released album Inmigrante features the previously released “LATINO” and the album’s latest single “¿Dónde está el amor?” “¿Dónde está el amor?” begins with a cinematic jazz pop introduction in which the JOVM mainstay’s excessive vocal is accompanied with piano and subtly Latin percussion before morphing to a decidedly upbeat soul and gospel-influenced — with the song moving from heartbreak to joy and hope.

“The song grew out of a question that kept coming back to me as I looked at the world around us: Why do we treat each other this way? Where is the love?” The Oslo-based artist says. ” I wrote it sitting at the piano, moved by the sadness and helplessness I felt watching a world becoming increasingly divided—shaped by conflict, persecution, raids, hatred, and a growing lack of empathy. But I didn’t want to write a song rooted in hopelessness. I wanted to turn those feelings into something that could remind us of what still connects us. Musically, “¿Dónde está el amor?” begins as an intimate, vulnerable ballad, gradually weaving in Afro-Cuban rhythms through the tumbadoras. It continues to build until it opens into a powerful gospel choir, where gospel and Afro-Cuban rhythms come together in a call for unity, hope, and love. What begins as a deeply personal question ultimately becomes a collective voice—an invitation to rediscover our empathy and remember the humanity we share, especially in times of profound division. Rather than trying to provide an answer, I hope the song leaves one question lingering long after the music ends: amid everything that separates us today, where is the love?”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Shudder To Think Shares Angular and Anthemic “Who Sent You”

Back in 2024 Shudder To Think — currently Craig Wedren (vocals), Nathan Larson (guitar), Clint Walsh (guitar), Jherek Bischoff (bass) and Adam Wade (drums) — celebrated the 30th anniversary of their groundbreaking 1994 effort, Pony Express Record, their Epic Records debut, which followed several releases on Dischord Records.

After the initial release of Pony Express Record, the band dove into the world of scoring films and creating music for soundtracks with the 1998 releases of Jesse Peretz’s First Love, Last Rites, Lisa Cholodenko’s High Art and Todd Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine. Shudder to Think’s Wedren and Larson have gone to be prolific film and television with Wedren working on YELLOWJACKETS, Wet Hot American Summer, School of Rock, Laurel Canyon and more; and Larson working on Our Idiot Brother, The Skeleton Twins, Juliet, Naked, the High Fidelity TV series and a list of others.

Last year, the band made their first live performances in over a decade and released the “Thirst Walk”/”Playback” 7 inch, which drew on the band’s classic, beloved sound — melodic, unpredictable and unmistakably their own. The 7 inch vinyl sold out quickly and has been repressed and will be available for their upcoming live shows in Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles and at select record stories. As always, tour dates are below, y’all.

Along with the tour, Shudder to Think will be releasing the three-song Who Sent You EP on September 11, 2026 through Dischord Records. The EP is the first new project from the band from in almost 30 years. The EP’s first single, EP title track “Who Sent You” is a track that’s a blend of slinky art punk, angular post punk and 120 Minutes-era indie rock that’s anchored in deeply introspective and lived-in lyricism and catchy hooks.

The song, which the band’s Craig Wedren says “unintentionally encompasses multiple eras of Shudder to Think” is “about my teenage years in Cleveland in the 1980s, just before I moved to D.C. with my outsized emotions – young, horny, bored, It’s both a collage of memories, refracted through the prism of time, and a message back to my younger self (‘sense your way home’). Above all, it’s a nocturnal THANK YOU to all of the girls, family, friends, music, and invisible hands that lit the path, angels and devils both. Who, indeed, sent you??” 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Good Health Good Wealth Shares Punchy “Susanna”

London-based duo Good Health Good Wealth — Bruce Breakey (vocals, production) and Simon Kuzmickas (guitar, production) — exploded into the national scene with 2024’s breakout track “Full Circle,” which has since amassed 1.5 million Spotify streams and lead to the pair making the runs of the national festival circuit with sets at Reading Festival, Leeds Festival, Truck Festival, Boomtown Festival and Latitude Festival.

Since “Full Circle,” subsequent releases have received airplay on BBC 6 Music, Radio X and BBC Introducing with their latest single, “Who What Where Why” landing on Spotify’s All New Punk playlist.

The London-based duos full-length debut, The Disco Never Ends is slated for an October 16, 2026 release. The album reportedly sees the rising duo documenting life as it happens: Relationships that start and end a quickly as they started, shit jobs, nights out getting older, grief, sex, friendship, arguments, strangers, drinking, dancing and all the mundane moments that somehow become the ones you remember. The album’s title comes from a rather simple idea: that time doesn’t stop, people come and go, places change and one chapter of your life tumbles into the next one and the next one and the next one . . .

The Disco Never Ends‘ latest single “Susanna” is a punchy dance punk song that seemingly channels Gang of Four and LCD Soundsystem while showcasing the duo’s deliberate attention to catchy hooks. The song’s narrator describes how infatuation and obsession can overwhelm common sense, with the narrator tacitly admitting that despite the fact they’re aware of a love interest probably being terrible for them, that they’re okay with — for now, at least. And as a result, the song is rooted in the sort of restlessness, masochism and self-flagellation of someone who’s desperate, horny and a bit stupid.

“We wanted to write a proper stomper for the new album to give us a bit of light from the shadier moments while retaining that darker mood that the album has overall,” the duo explain. “‘Susanna’ is about that girl you’ll let walk all over you, you even let her off for putting the milk in before the tea bag, putty in her hands. We played it live for the first time at Boomtown and it did exactly what we were hoping, made the tent rattle.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Mathis Picard Shares Gorgeous, Soulful “Portrait of Lizzy”

Born in France to a French father and a Malagasy mother, acclaimed composer, bandleader and pianist Mathis Picard began playing piano when he was four and pursued a rigorous musical education across the US, France and the UK. Currently based in New York, Picard is a Juilliard School graduate, an ASCAP Next Generation of Songwriters recipient and a member of the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation. Adding to a growing profile, the French-born, New York-based artist has performed with Ron Carter, Lillias White, Céceile McLorin Salvant, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride and a lengthy list of others, while making a run of the global touring and festival circuit, playing sets at Umbria Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival and The Jazz Cruise.

Picard’s newest band The Sound Orchestra can trace its origins back to when he was 13: Back then he led a similar ensemble while studying at Chetham’s School of Music in England. The first iteration of his US-based Sound Orchestra bean as a three-horn ensemble performing the French-born composer and musician’s original work, featuring Giveton Gelin and Ruben Fox. The band continued to expand over the years into a full-fledged orchestral unit featuring a saxophone section, electric bass and an expansive percussion section providing the rhythmic foundation for Picard’s genre-bending compositions.

The project’s debut, The Sound Orchestra, which is slated for a November 6, 2026 release through La Reserve Records is the latest chapter in Picard’s career — a career that has seen him emerge as one of the most distinctive young artists and voices in contemporary jazz. Throughout the band’s debut, Picard’s arrangements draw from and musical worlds that have shaped him e rhythms from his mother’s native Madagascar meets Afro-Cuban music, 1970’s Earth, Wind & Fire-like funk, Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. “This is not your traditional Big Band record,” Picard explains. “The goal of the band was always for it to make people dance. Whether it be swing music, house, dubstep, waltz, or even a ballad, I wanted to connect with the audience through dance. Dance for me is this wonderful way to express our bodies, and for us to be together in community.”

The Sound Orchestra‘s first single “Portrait of Lizzy” is a celebration of Picard’s life through a re-imagining of the American standard “Portrait of Jennie.” Released on the couple’s third wedding anniversary, “Portrait of Lizzy” is an old-school, Big Band-styled ballad specifically meant for those deeply in love romantic couples to slow dance, cheek-to-cheek, rooted in some soulful and gorgeous performances.

Mathis and Lizzy were married at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club, an institution with a deep connection to Picard’s career and his time at The Juilliard School. Picard has also performed with The Sound Orchestra at Dizzy’s dance parties, including a night celebrating the legendary music of Earth, Wind & Fire. Continuing his relationship with Lincoln Center, Picard will play a solo set on October 9, 2026 at Lincoln Center’s Kenneth C. Griffin Sidewalk Studio to honor the musical legacy of San Juan Hill.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Moon Construction Kit Returns with Breezy and Anthemic “Right Across the USA”

Olivier Cornu is a a Lausanne-based singer/songwriter, musician, producer and creative mastermind behind Moon Construction Kit, With Moon Construction Kit, Cormu specializes in a sound that draws from and blends elements of indie pop, psych pop, synth pop, late 1960s pop and film scores.

The Swiss producer, singer/songwriter and musician has had a busy year so far, with two previously released singles “Long John Silver” and the Steve Stout co-produced “Down the West Coast.” Building on the growing buzz surrounding him and his Moon Construction Kit, Cormu’s latest single “Right Across the USA” was written to feel a bit like a companion piece to “Down the West Coast” but while leaning more into punchier power pop. Seemingly nodding at The Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star,” the song is superficially a breezy and downright summery road trip track unpinned by a bittersweet, nostalgic longing for a world that seemed simpler and less outwardly confrontational.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Kiefer Shares Dreamlike “Memory Bomb” feat. Walter Smith III, Flanafi, and Shibo

Los Angeles-based acclaimed pianist and producer Kiefer Shackelford, a.k.a. Kiefer was raised in San Diego by parents, who were both aerospace engineers and keen pianists, who both influenced him in their own way: His mother taught him at a very young age how to read music and play piano, starting with simple Bach minuets. His father was a huge jazz head, and a fan big fan of Blue Note Records in particular. who released albums by Sonny Clark and Gene Harris.

Shacklelord would endlessly listen to Kind of Blue and after reading Miles Davis‘ biography when he was 13, he knew that he wanted to become a jazz musician. During high school, he studied jazz piano with a local teacher and went to attend UCLA, where Blue Note recording artist and legendary guitarist Kenny Burrell, who was head of the school’s jazz program, became one of his tutors throughout his studies.

After completing his studies, Shackelford signed to Stones Throw Records, where he quickly established his musical identity and gained attention with a series of releases including 2018’s Happysad, 2021’s Between Days and 2023’s It’s Okay B U. Adding to a growing profile, he has collaborated with Dr. Dre, De La Soul, Pete Rock, Anderson .Paak, Terrace Martin and a growing list of others. He’s also a member of the collective FATHERS with Ben “CARRTOONS” Carr, Nate Smith and producer Kenneth Blume, who released their self-titled debut on Blue Note earlier this year.

2026 will continue to be a busy year for the acclaimed pianist: His fourth album, and Blue Note Records debut, the Kiefer, Shibo, and CARRTOONS co-produced Memory Bomb is slated for a September 25, 2026 release. The album will feature guest spots from Tony Stone, Erick The Architect, CARRTOONS, Nate Smith, Walter Smith III, Cisco Swank, Relyae, Rae Khalil, Moonchild‘s Amber Navarn, Planet Giza, and more.

Long considered one of Los Angeles’ best kept musical secrets, Kiefer has been described as a musician, who doesn’t just play keys with his fingers, but his soul. He’s a truly gifted artist, who has actively redefined that sweet spot between jazz improvisation and hip-hop beat making through a distinctive musical style, which he calls “Over The Breaks,” which reaches new heights of creativity on Memory Bomb.

The acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist is a believer in embracing new inferences and new styles through collaboration with others — and that’s where the journey to his first Blue Note bandleader album began. His first priority was to get his two best friends — CARRTOONS and Shibo — to co-produce the album with him, as they completely understood his sound, his harmonic sensibility and both are extremely adept at drum programming. The innovation through collaboration mindset extended to the inclusion of a talented cast of vocalist, rappers and musicians in interesting combinations, The result was something new and exciting while still sounding like a Kiefer-led project.

The album’s title, Memory Bomb is a poetic and metaphoric way of saying a dream. For Keifer, there are three types of dreams/memory bombs, the sort you experience when you sleep, the wishful longing type and the ambitious type — and those themes populate the direction of many of the album’s songs. Throughout the album’s runtime, there is a lyrical feel with the album’s material telling a story. It’s wistful, poetic and groove-driven, centered around the sensation of being in a dreamscape. And because of the material’s improvisational moments, the story changes every time the listener listens to it.

The album will include the previously released “NewLevels NewDevils” feat. Tony Stony, Erick The Architect and CARRTOONS, and the album’s second single, album title track “Memory Bomb” feat. Walter Smith III, Flanafi, and Shibo. “Memory Bomb” is a meditative, almost wistful blend of bop-era jazz, jazz fusion and beatmaking that’s dreamlike and effortlessly soulful.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Erica Tucceri Shares Breezy, Dance Floor Friendly “Grazie Ragazzi”

Erica Tucceri (pronounced like “two cherry”) is a Melbourne/Naarm-born, London-based producer, composer and flautist, who first cut her teeth as a prolific collaborator, working with Surprise Chef, ZEFX, Don Glori, Alexander Flood and a list of others from the local jazz scene while amassing a cult following for her signature tonal control and explosive solos.

Tucceri stepped out into the spotlight as a band leader and composer at 2024’s Melbourne International Jazz Festival, where her anticipated “Take Note” composition for 10 piece ensemble with strings was a triumphant sold-out headline debut that also showcased her continuing evolution as an artist.

Since relocating to London, the Aussie-born producer, composer and flautist signed to DeepMatter Records, who will be releasing her highly-anticipated full-length debut. Route 96. The album, which is slated for a November 27, 2026 release is part-diary, part-love letter to Melbourne/Naarm that was conceived during an unlikely stint moonlighting as a tram during during COVID-19 lockdowns. The rhythms and every day patter of the city and city life are translated into a blend of percussive, flute-driven cosmic jazz, informed by psychedelia and the dance floor. “This album is what happens when you leave a moonlighting musician alone in the drivers cabin of a Melbourne tram for a few years,” Tucceri says. “The compositions took shape while I drove. Influenced by the city around me, I’d sing ideas into my phone at the end of my shift, tying the fabric of the music to the sights, sounds and memories of the city. My only rule: if it was catchy enough to have remembered throughout the shift, it was worth capturing.”

Sitting on a growing stockpile of ideas, it wasn’t until the return of longterm friends Lewis Moody (keys, production) and Ziggy Zeitgeist (drums) to Melbourne/Naarm in late 2022 that she realized she actually had an album’s worth of material. Her backing band is rounded out by Matthew Hayes (bass) and Ray Pereira and Javier Fredes, two cross-generational masters of percussion and scene stalwarts, who contribute Cuban and West African-inspired percussion reuniting for their first collaboration together in twenty years.

The album follows upon the critical success of previously released single “Hey Bear” and “Flute Trip,” which received airplay across Australian community radio stations, including PBS FM and Triple R, and broke through onto UK national radio with airplay from Gilles Peterson, Jamz Supernova and BBC 6 Music’s New Music Fix Daily, as well as Jazz FM, Rinse FM and more. And adding to a growing profile, she has toured the world with various projects and has showcased her own music at EFG London Jazz Festival and at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.

Route 96‘s first single “Grazie Ragazzi” is a breezy and strutting bit of disco-tinged jazz funk, anchored around African-inspired percussion, a deep dance floor friendly groove, an incredibly catchy melody and some fiery and passionately improvised solos. Sonically resembling a mix of 70s jazz fusion and contemporaries like Surprise Chef, Mildlife and L’Eclair, the track captures — and evokes — the lingering buzz of joy of freedom, of seeing sweaty bodies moving and grooving and the appreciation of collective experience after a show at Section 8.

“I will never forget the way the energy of the whole room turned. It was heaving,” Tucceri recalls. “Everyone in the space turned to face the stage, the band were on fire and the dance floor went completely nuts, almost as one. I’ve spent many a night at Section 8, but I’ve never seen that again.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy’s Summery Remix of Joshua Idehen’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

After nearly two decades in London‘s poetry scene, Joshua Idehen found widespread recognition with the viral success of “Mum Does The Washing,” a poignant, witty pice set to music by his creative partner Ludvig Parment, a.k.a. Saturday, Monday. The success of “Mum Does The Washing” led to sold-out shows, major festival appearances — including Glastonbury — and a new chapter in Idehen’s artistic life. 

Initially drawn to film, Idehen’s poetic journey began after being captivated by Dizzee Rascal‘s Vexed on Channel U. Inspired by Scroobius Pip, he began doing poetry with music, collaborating with the likes of LV, Benin City and Sons of Kemet. His career as a singer/songwriter/performer coincided alongside a series of personal challenges, including a divorce and mental health struggles. Relocating to Stockholm during the COVID-19 pandemic gave him space to reflect and begin anew. 

That period of rebirth led to Idehen’s highly-anticiapted debut album, I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try, which was released earlier this year through Heavenly Recordings. Made with his longtime collaborator Parment, the album is a sonic embrace for the weary, mixing house-tinged beats, choral flourishes and lyrical meditations on hope, self-worth and collective resilience.

The album includes the previously released “It Always Was,” “Don’t Let It Get You Down,” and “This Is The Place.” Idehen and Heavenly Recordings shared Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy’s Cosmodelica remix of I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone is Hurting. Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try track “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” The album version features Idehen’s vocal over an atmospheric, gently throbbing production to create a song that simultaneously sounds like a house music-inspired take on The Streets and a paranoid, sleepless walk with the narrator’s rapid-fire thoughts during the uneasy isolation of COVID restrictions and lockdowns. The summery Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy’s Cosmodelica remix pairs Idehen’s vocal with a buoyant house music production featuring a bouncing and strutting bass line, a playful percussive rhythm and glistening synths. The remix opens the curtains and parts the clouds to reveal bit of sunshine in the gloom, giving the song a deeper sense of resilience through the think of it, even if you have to fake it.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jonas Davies Shares Shimmering and Earnest “My Dear”

Oregon-based singer/songwriter and musician Jonas Davies can trace the origins of his music career to a childhood love with music. With the release of his debut single, last year’s “Porchlight” and his full-length debut, Off Days, which was released earlier this year, Davies has quickly established a sound that blends hazy guitars with subtle and dreamy R&B-like textures. The result is material that exists in the uneasy space between warmth and tension.

His latest single “My Dear” is the first bit of new material since Off Days, and the single is a shimmering and introspective tune that’s one-part shoegaze, one-part indie pop while showcasing an artist, with an uncanny knack for a pairing a catchy hook with earnest, lived-in songwriting.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dolours Shares Sneering and Aggressive “I Am the Dog”

Dolours (pronounced like colours — but with a d) is a mysterious and emerging UK-based duo, who blend post-punk urgency with noise rock intensity rooted in a defiant DIY approach. The duo have quickly established an atmospheric sound that features driving bass lines, abrasive guitars that thematically explores frustration, disillusionment and emotional unrest.

The duo’s latest single “I Am the Dog” is a pulsing and hook driven banger that blends elements of New Wave, goth, industrial and noise, seemingly channeling Fat Dog, FAT CONCUBINE and others — but with a sneering aggression.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Halfway Up a Jagged Hill Share Sludgy and Expansive “Silver Sword”

Brooklyn-based indie duo Halfway Up a Jagged Hill (HUAJH) — longtime friends Devin Gilbert and Jeb Holstein — were walking in the woods one January night, looking for owls, when they can came across what could only […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Womack Sisters Share Soulful and Heartbroken “Monster”

Rising Los Angeles-based sibling soul trio The Womack Sisters — Kucha, Zeimani and BG — can trace the origins of their careers to their childhood: The trio were singing before they could even walk. They grew up on stages and in studios across the globe, singing behind their parents, as well as their legendary uncle, Bobby Womack. And adding to The Womack Sisters’ remarkable pedigree, their grandfather was the iconic Sam Cooke. 

No matter where they called home at the time — London, Thailand, Amsterdam, Kenya, West Virginia, The Bahamas — music and family were always a constant at the center of their lives. Of course, as the sisters grew up, each with their own respective journeys, experiences and heartaches, they managed to find their own voices and their own path.

Each member of the trio has their own individual vocal styling and timbre, but they playfully trade leads and effortlessly blend their harmonies perfectly in a way that only siblings can do.

Back in 2016, a mutual friend introduced The Womack Sisters to Daptone Records co-owner and producer Gabriel Roth, a.k.a. Bosco Mann, who heard them sing and fell quickly and deeply in love with their voices. Shortly after, they met, they went to Daptone’s Riverside, CA-based Penrose Studios to record their label debut, “If You Want Me“/”I Just Don’t Want You (To Say Goodbye).”

The rising Los Angeles trio’s long-awaited self-titled, full-length debut is slated for a Friday, August 14, 2026 through Daptone Records. The album will feature the previously released “Chauffeur” and the album’s latest single “Monster.” “Monster” is a slow-burning and heart-wrenching ballad rooted in a cinematic and old school-inspired arrangement and production. The song is about coming to terms with the devastating, emotional void left by unrequited love that features the siblings’ vocals expressing heartache, confusion, yearning and stubborn, determined pride within a turn of a phrase.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Return with Muscular and Menacing “Kill For The Steel”

Wildly prolific Melbourne-based JOVM mainstays King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — Stu Mackenzie (vocals, guitar), Ambrose Kenny-Smith (harmonica, vocals, keys), Cook Craig (guitar, vocals), Joey Walker (guitar, vocals), Lucas Harwood (bass) and Michael Cavanaugh […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Edinburgh’s Auld Reekie Nocturne Shares Broodingly Cinematic and Club Friendly “Vault of the Damned”

Edinburgh-based electronic music producer, DJ and self-proclaimed intergalactic vampire Natasha Kitty Katt, who channels her lifelong love of sci-fi, horror and electronic music into a bold, unmissable creative identity. Her work, which has seen her play at clubs like Hi Ibiza, Printworks London, Ministry of Sound, House of Yes, Gabriela NYC and others across the world, blends Italo, synth-driven music and cosmic disco with a cinematic flair. She also holds residencies at Glitterbox, Suncebeat, Soul Heaven and Southport Weekender.

Adding to a growing profile, her work has been released on a growing number of powerhouse electronic music labels including Nervous Records, Glitterbox, Paper Recordings, Whiskey Disco, F*CLR and her own Ghetto Disco Records and Shadowrunner Recordings. And the iconic Louie Vega has remixed two of her tracks.

Last year’s Synaptic Juice is a concept album that was a genre-bending experience that blurred the lines between soundtrack, storytelling and hedonistic, dance floor escapism that also showcased her ability to transform her passions for horror, fantasy and futuristic sounds into a fully realized sonic universe.

The Edinburgh-based producer and DJ is also the creative mastermind behind the darkwave recording project Auld Reekie Nocturne. Auld Reekie Nocturne is a Natasha Kitty Kat’s dark electronic project inspired by her lifelong fascination with Edinburgh’s dark, shadowy past. Rooted in a love of horror, gothic storytelling and the macabre, the project brings some of the city’s most haunting and disturbing real stories to life through music, immersive storytelling and visuals. Every release is shaped by extensive historical research, with a strong focus on authenticity and respect for the real stories behind the music.

Natasha Kitty Kat’s latest Auld Reekie Nocturne single “Vault of the Damned” sonically is one part John Carpenter soundtrack, one-part LutchamaK-like deep house banger with a relentless motorik groove that showcases the Scottish producer’s unerring knack for broodingly cinematic yet club friendly tunes.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Shabazz Palaces Share Woozy “Ahh World (I Won The Alpha Bet)”

Seattle-born and-based emcee, musician, producer and JOVM mainstay Ishmael Butler has spent the better part of the last three-plus decades, exploring the outer edges of music: In the early late 80s, he co-founded the pioneering, Grammy Award-winning hip-hop trio Digable Planets, who released two landmark albums, 1993’s Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) and 1994’s Blowout Comb, toured with Sade — and are still touring today. Butler is also the founder and creative mastermind of the JOVM mainstay act Shabazz Palaces, which released experimental and highly influential debut, 2011’s Black Up. And with Shabazz Palaces, the Seattle-based artist has continued to push sonic and stylistic boundaries over the course of seven albums, including 2014’s Lese Majesty.

Butler’s exemplary tastes, verve and unique talents have led to collaborators with Flying Lotus, Thundercat, George Clinton, Clipping., Battles, Onoehtirx Point Never, Animal Collective and his own son, Lil Tracy. He has also collaborated with filmmakers Khalil Joseph and Hiro Murai, and design work with Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist and fellow Black Constellation member Nep Sidhu. And with Shabazz Palaces, Butler has toured with Radiohead, TV On The Radio, and Ms. Lauryn Hill.

The Seattle-based artist’s eighth Shabazz Palaces album, the Butler and Erik Blood co-produced, 10-song It’s a Style Sport is slated for an October 23, 2026 release globally through Sub Pop. The album, which marks the first batch of new material from the JOVM mainstay since the release of sibling mini-albums, 2023’s Robed in Rareness and 2024’s Exotic Birds Of Prey is reportedly a bold, forthright and heavy-hitting album. Throughout the album’s runtime, the Shabazz Palaces creative mastermind compiles what he’s learned from his storied and dense career into a playful, shimmering portal, yet again proving himself an artist of chameleonic ambition, fueled by curiosity, courage and a boundless imagination.

Recorded at Brooklyn’s Circular Ruin Studios, Lake View Studios and Seattle’s Hall of Justice Studios, the album will feature guest appearances from Marquette Miller, Thaddeus “Thadillac” Turner, Evan Flory-Barnes, Gerald “Tugboat” Turner, Kassa Overall and Carlos Overall. The album was mastered by Warren Defever at Detroit’s Third Man Mastering.

It’s a Style Sport’s first single, album opening track “Ahh World (I Won The Alpha Bet)” is woozy and meditative track featuring woozy synth and skittering and thumping beats paired with Butler’s imitable, laid back swaggering delivery. Sonically, the new single strikes me as a being a mischievous yet seamless synthesis of the sounds of Black Up and Lese Majesty, while reminding listeners that Butler is a criminally under-appreciated, wildly witty emcee with bars upon bars upon bars.

Throughout the song’s run, Butler takes on the role of an omnipresent and omnipotent narrator, telling his own life story from a fantasy-driven third person perspective, ending with a list of directives and advice for a successful life. Although the song is a lucid fever dream. it’s grounded in what truly matters in life — one’s own honor.

The single is accompanied by a visualizer from Jacob Kaser and edited by Leigh Riibe  that’s set in a futuristic, comic book-styled Seattle.

It’s a Style Sport is now available to preorder on CD/LP and digital from Sub Pop. LP preorders are available at  megamart.subpop.com in North America, Mega Mart Europe in the UK and EU, and your local record store will receive the limited Loser edition on Metallic Silver (North America) and Sparkle Starlight (EU/UK) vinyl (while supplies last).

 
On Thursday, August 13, 2026, Shabazz Palaces backed by a live band will join labelmates Clipping. at their Splendor & Misery Festival at Knockdown Center. Friday, August 14, 2024 Shabazz Palaces will host Baz Off Broadway, a DJ set at Brooklyn’s The Lot Radio from 2-3pm Eastern Time. On Saturday, September 12th, 2026 Shabazz Palaces will perform at The Genius Awards event hosted by local arts and culture magazine The Stranger in Seattle at The Moore Theatre.