JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Oscar Peterson’s 100th birthday.
Tag: instrumental
Live Concert Photography: Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage at Rumsey Playfield 8/2/25: Summer Dayes 2025 feat. Yussef Dayes Experience with FKJ, Venna and Salin
Live concert photography of Summer Dayes at SummerStage.
Throwback: Happy 80th Birthday, David Sanborn!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 80th anniversary of David Sanborn’s birth.
New Audio: rhythmspitter Shares Hypnotic “Yilan”
Things look a bit different around here. There’s a reason for that: Regular freelance work dried up for me last July. Not much has gone on with full-time work, or anything else. So,. whatever meagre earnings i had have pretty much evaporated. And now, when it came to certain subscriptions — i.e. WordPress — I can’t afford it at all. Admittedly, things are extremely frustrating and discouraging. But I’m trying to keep the show running as best as I can until things get better. Hopefully. But in this environment, who the fuck really knows?
Michael Mosley is a San Francisco-based musician, composer, producer, who may be best known for playing bass in Red Thread Theory. Mosley is also the creative mastermind behind the JOVM mainstay act rhythmspltter. And with rhythmspitter, Mosley explores instrumental indie rock and lo-fi beat-driven material that’s influenced from an eclectic array of sources, including Bill Laswell’s Material and Jah Wobble‘s Invaders of the Heart.
Each rhythmspitter composition sees Mosley weaving together a rich tapestry of instruments and rhythms from across the world. Each composition is meticulously crafted to resonate with listeners while providing a chill and captivating vibe that’s entrancing. With rhythmspitter, Mosley seeks to break down barriers and introduce audiences to a world of sonic exploration that they may not have encountered before — but he also hopes to open minds to the beauty of different styles and instruments.
Mosely’s latest rhythmspitter EP, The Antique Land is inspired by Alexander the Great and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias.” The EP’s latest single “Yilan,” continues a run of percussive and hypnotic material with shimmering Middle Eastern-styled instrumentation and eerily atmospheric vocal samples ethereally floating through the mix. And much like the previously released material, “Yilan” channels the hypnotic and dreamy beauty of gnawa but with a swaggering and slick, modern production.
New Audio: Cochemea Shares Soulful and Meditative “Ancestros Futuros”
Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer Cochemea Gastelum comes from a long line on musicians on both sides of his lineage. Over the past 25 years, Gasteum has built a distinct and accomplished career as a soloist and arranger/composer, collaborating with an eclectic array of artists across a wide range of genres — from his lengthy stint with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings to the likes of Kevin Morby, Run The Jewels, Jon Batiste, Amy Winehouse, The Roots, Archie Shepp, Mark Ronson, the legendary Quincy Jones and a lengthy list of others.
His previously released material has received praised from both critics and DJs. 2019’s All My Relations, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer’s critically applauded Daptone Records debut was a family reunion of sorts, uniting spirits, musicians and melodies across space and time. Leading a nonet, Gastelum and company employed drums, winds and vocals to create a deeply personal meditation on the interconnectedness of all things. Vol. 2: Baca Sewa expanded this exploration into the archives of family history, mythology and the cultural imagination.
Slated for a September 26, 2025 release through Daptone Records, Gastelum’s forthcoming effort, Vol. 3: Ancestros Futuros completes a triology while anchored in the cultural fabric that has nurtured him from the beginning. A Californian of Yaqui ancestry, Gastelum describes a central part of his work as “accessing ancestral memory that comes in different forms — sometimes when you visit a place, sometimes in dreams . . . it’s in our DNA.”
“For me it’s about seeking wholeness in these zones of fracture.” In fact, dreams play a vital role in his creative process., “A lot of melodies come to me through dreams,” he says. “I’ve kept a dream record for years, shaping the language into what I call dream scores.” One of these scores appears on the back over of Ancestros Futuros, reflecting the intuitive and layered nature of his work. This dream-guided approach carries into the album’s opening track, “Transmisíon del Soñar,” which serves as a “portal” between dimensions, echoing his connection with both the dream realm and the dynamic interplay of time and space.
His musical and spiritual synthesis is made possible through his deep reverence for the horn, and the music and traditions that precede him. Inspired by Eddie Harris, Yusef Lateef, Jim Pepper and Gary Bartz, Gastelum attempts to bride ancestral rhythmic traditions with forward-looking vision, to create a signature sound that’s both deeply rooted and expansive. With the new album, Gastelum continues to expand upon his work, effortlessly blending past, present and future into a ritual offering, in which memory, survival and imagination converge. The album’s material is also shaped by stories of survival and resistance.
The acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer gathered a core group of longtime collaborators, an octet featuring some of New York’s best percussionists and members of Daptone’s world famous rhythm section. Additionally, the album sees Gastelum collaborating with Daptone Records founder Gabriel Roth, a.k.a. Bosco Mann returning as producer and mixing engineer, recording the band live to 8-track analog tape.
Ancestros Futuros‘ first single, album title track “Ancestros Futuros” is a composition that sounds and feels simultaneously ancient and remarkably modern, meditative yet defiant. The acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer says “I was thinking about survival as a continuum connecting past and future connections,” which is a theme that echoes throughout his work. The song also draws from the story of a Yaqui midwife, who would bury the navels of newborns in the ground, so that future generations would rise and reclaim the land.
Throwback: Happy 83rd Birthday, Dr. Lonnie Smith!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 83rd anniversary of the birth of Dr. Lonnie Smith.
New Audio: rhythmspitter Shares Dreamily Hypnotic “Eastern Advance”
Arguably better known for playing bass in Red Thread Theory, Michael Mosley is a San Francisco-based musician, composer, producer and creative mastermind behind rhythmspltter. With rhythmspitter, Mosley explores instrumental indie rock and lo-fi beat-driven material that’s influenced from an eclectic array of sources, including Bill Laswell’s Material and Jah Wobble‘s Invaders of the Heart.
Each rhythmspitter composition sees Mosley weaving together a rich tapestry of instruments and rhythms from across the world. Each composition is meticulously crafted to resonate with listeners while providing a chill and captivating vibe that’s entrancing. With rhythmspitter, Mosley seeks to break down barriers and introduce audiences to a world of sonic exploration that they may not have encountered before — but he also hopes to open minds to the beauty of different styles and instruments.
Mosely’s latest rhythmspitter EP, The Antique Land is inspired by Alexander the Great and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias.” “Eastern Advance,” the EP’s third and latest single is a percussive and hypnotic track featuring shimmering Middle Eastern-styled instrumentation and a hauntingly eerie vocal sample. The result is a composition that recalls the hypnotic and dreamy beauty of gnawa — but while possessing a modern, almost hip-hop like swagger.
Throwback: Happy 99th Birthday, Miles Davis!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 99th anniversary of the birth of Miles Davis.
New Audio: Stockholm’s Yesterday’s Princess Shares Soulful and Swaggering “Not Today (Maybe Tomorrow)”
Stockholm-based instrumental soul duo Yesterday’s Princess — Fredrick Bergsten and Marcus Larsson — can trace their origins back to 2010: Bergsten and Larsson met and struck up a friendship on making music and crate digging for records to sample for hip-hop beats. Idolizing Pete Rock, J Dilla, Madlib and Da Beatminerz the pair invested in the gear their heroes used with SP1200’s and MPC’s becoming a foundation of their early creative endeavors.
As their tastes grew, the limits of sample-based music became increasingly evident, so they began incorporating organic instrumentation into their work. But they eventually ditched sampling altogether.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair decided to officially collaborate together as a project, rather than just making music side-by-side, which led to the formation of Yesterday’s Princess. For the Swedish-based duo, Yesterday’s Princess is a vehicle for them to explore their desire to create an all-encompassing atmosphere, led by tone, production and well-trained ears for the perfect loop.
“Growing up as hip-hop producers and both being schooled audio engineers, we value sound almost as greatly as the music itself,” the duo explain. “Tone is very important yet often forgotten – music is what you hear and tone is a huge part of that. Chops have no value if it touches no-one, and what touches you might be the tone of the instrument, rather than the note it played.”
Although most contemporary groups in instrumental soul tend to adopt a throwback approach to the production and mixing process, Bergsten and Larsson have deliberately eschewed it; instead, they opted for a cleaner sound that takes adventure of digital production techniques. “We wanted to make the mix big and full with a modern soundscape,” the duo says.
The project’s original demos were created around drum sample packs from A.J. Hall, which were also sampled by The Alchemist, Nas and Ari Lennox. Hall was then brought in to rework the breaks into full parts. “After that we re-recorded all instruments to fit the swing of the new drums and hired a bassist to replay some of our basslines [sic],” the Stockholm-based describes their creative process.
Slated for a July 25, 2025 release through Root Records, the Swedish duo’s forthcoming, four-track, debut EP, Not Today (Maybe Tomorrow) reportedly sees the pair drawing from the groundbreaking library music style pioneered by the KPM and Music de Wolfe music libraries, as well as psychedelia, modal jazz, and Swedish folk and prog music. And because of their foundations in hip-hop, the material sees the duo crafting hooky melodies and riffs to anchor the overall spaciness of their arrangements.
The EP’s second and latest single, EP title track “Not Today (Maybe Tomorrow)” is a hooky bit of modal-tinged, neo-soul jazz, featuring twinkling Rhodes, a supple and strutting bass line and jazzy boom bap drumming. The track recalls the likes of Surprise Chef, Weather Channel-styled jazz, but with a cool, sophisticated swagger.
Throwback: Happy 88th Birthday, Ron Carter!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Ron Carter’s 88th birthday.
New Audio: Glasgow’s Akkiles82 Shares Cinematic “Streets of Neo-Yokohama”
Nick Thomson is a Glasgow-based electronic music producer and the creative mastermind of the solo recording project Akkiles82. Akkiles82 sees Thompson creating a sound that draws from cyberpunk, retrowave, and his history both playing bands and as an electronic music/dance music producer.
The Scottish-based producer’s Akkiles82 full-length debut, CybernNation will be released in two parts over the course of the next year. The album reportedly will tell a story of desperate survival, after an unknown cataclysm causes destruction in a futuristic cyberpunk-like city. The album’s track range from classic synthwave and EDM through breakbeat — with health doses of 80s cartoon and TV themes influences.
CyberNation‘s second and latest single “Streets of Neo-Yokohama,” is a slickly produced cinematic track that recalls a synthesis of Fragile-era Nine Inch Nails, John Carpenter soundtracks and 80s TV themes, anchored around dense layers of glistening, arpeggiated synths and tweeter and woofer rattling thump. A new Knight Rider, Transformers or Voltron theme perhaps?
“This track was inspired by the towering skyscrapers and street racing scenes of Tokyo and Yokohama, painting a picture of neon and rain soaked streets,” Thompson says.
New Video: L’Eclair return with Trippy House Banger “VERTIGO”
With recorded output that includes 2018’s full-length debut, Polymood, 2019’s Sauropoda, 2020’s Noshtta EP and 2021’s Confusions, the acclaimed Swiss-based group L’Eclair, founded and led by Bulgarian-born siblings Stef and Yavov Lilov established a sound centered around mind-bending, cosmic grooves.
Along with two live sessions for KEXP, which amassed over 900,000 views combined, the Swiss-based group have built up an international following, while landing on the playlists of adventurous listeners and DJs seeking deep grooves.
L’Eclair’s fourth album Cloud Drifter is slated for a June 20, 2025 release through Innovative Leisure. Meticulously crafted over the last four years, Cloud Drifter is a decided departure from the group’s signature instrumental music, with the album’s material featuring vocal contributions from a wide array of frequent collaborators they’ve worked with over the past few years, including Pink Slifu, Girl Named GOLDEN, Gelli Haha, A Ghost Column, and more.
Having toured with The Cinematic Orchestra and W.I.T.C.H. — including writing and recording W.I.T.C.H.’s 2023 effort Zango and The Cinematic Orchestra’s forthcoming album this year, as well as production work with Varnish La Piscine and Maston, the Lilov brothers have assembled a vast network of likeminded musicians. And across the entire album, they keenly curate a cohesive vision incorporating many disparate contributions.
Earlier this month, I wrote about Cloud Drifter‘s first single “ODESSOS,” which featured Phoebe Coco‘s and A Ghost Column’s ethereal vocals paired with twinkling and oscillating synths and a dub-inspired motorik groove. While being one of the most club friendly songs the acclaimed Swiss outfit has ever released, “ODESSOS” is a bold, sonic left turn that retains the group’s long-held penchant for crafting mind-bending, expansive grooves. And perhaps more than ever, the track manages to convey the freewheeling, improvisation-driven and infectious energy of their live shows.
“VERTIGO,” Cloud Drifter‘s second and latest single is synth-driven, deep house instrumental that sounds like a synthesis of the material off 2021’s Confusions, Larry Levan-era house and krautrock, anchored around the Swiss unerring knack for hooks and mind-bending groove.
Edited by VVIDEO, the accompanying video for “VERTIGO” is a mix of kaleidoscopic and fittingly hallucinogenic imagery and footage of the band performing the song lie — sometimes simultaneously.
Throwback: Happy 103rd Birthday, Charles Mingus!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 103rd anniversary of the birth of Charles Mingus.
Live Footage: The Offline Performs “Cap Camarat”
Felix Müller is a Hamburg-born and-based photographer, composer and creative mastermind behind the cinematic soul project The Offline. Müller can trace the origins of The Offline to his travels along the the Atlantic coastline of southern France with an analog camera, capturing beach life. Upon his return to Hamburg, he started writing compositions as the sonic counterpart to his visuals.
The German-born artist’s full-length debut, 2023’s Timor Litzenberg co-produced La couleur de la mer was inspired by the work of Francois de Roubaix — and saw him creating a soundtrack to an imaginary film. The album’s material evoked images of manorial, fog-swept villas at the ocean’s edge, silhouetted sailing boats and cigar-chomping villains attempting to thwart the mission of the imaginary film’s hero. The album also saw the German artist experimenting with themes and atypical song structures, moving from dramatic cues to fragile romanticism while incorporating psychedelia, retro soul and hip-hop, inspired by and informed by his extensive record collection.
Last year’s Les Cigales EP built upon the head-nodding blend of hip-hop and 70s soul jazz the German-born artist developed on La couleur de la mer. Sonically, the EP’s material took sonic cues from the structure of film and TV music from the 1960s and 1960s, channelled long-time influences of film composers like Francois de Rouabix and David Axelrod while also seemingly sitting between the chilled out, summery grooves of Surprise Chef and Robohands. As the EP unwinds, its narrative reflects a love story full of longing, melancholy and drama, connecting with the story of Cyptis and Protis — the founding myth of Marseilles — whose love broke convention and welcomed the arrival of foreigners on French soil.
2025 has seen Müller release live renditions of two previously released songs — “Théme de la couleur de la mer and his latest single “Cap Camarat,” which will appear on the live EP, The Offline In Session slated for a May 27, 2025 release through DeepMatter Records. Both of these singles originally appear on Müller’s 2023 full-length debut, and fittingly, the live rendition will remind listeners of the German-based artist’s uncanny knack for sleek craftsmanship paired with his long-held penchant for funky yet cinematic-inspired compositions.
