Browsing Tag

Alternative Jazz

Psychedelic panache and polyphonic play ignite the surrealism of Esteban Seunarine’s ‘ECHO-OLOGY’

Esteban Seunarine pulled off something wildly transportive with ECHO-OLOGY featuring Ben Kensok, the kind of single that would still swallow you whole even if you played it in mono through the cheapest plastic speaker you could dig out of a drawer. The way the composition from his FREQUENCIES FOR GHOSTS LP sprawls out with swanky, mind-bending colour and the perfect dose of psychedelic panache feels engineered to lift you into another dimension. The playful polyphonic keys flicker through the mix, while the crashing syncopated percussion gives the whole piece an art rock meets trip-hop texture with bags of off-kilter charm.

Just as the atmosphere starts to warp into alt electronica territory, the blasts of sax tear through the haze and pull the spotlight back to where Seunarine’s instincts shine brightest. It is improvised jazz that knows exactly when to lean into surrealism and when to tighten its grip, leaving you feeling like you have been dragged through a vivid synaptic collage.

As a Winnipeg-based drummer, composer, producer and educator, Seunarine has shaped his musical identity through years of weaving rhythmic traditions from across the world into something unmistakably his. After training in Jazz Performance at Brandon University and learning under mentors who pushed his imagination further, he grew into an artist guided by restlessness rather than rigidity. His long list of collaborations with Grammy and Juno-winning musicians sharpened his desire to chase rhythms that surprise and improvisations that tell stories without pandering to academic purists. In Winnipeg’s tight-knit scene, he continues to build projects that stretch the edges of improvised music, reminding anyone paying attention that complexity does not need to shut a listener out. ECHO-OLOGY is proof of his belief that adventurous sound can still feel accessible, as long as the intention behind it comes from somewhere instinctive and alive.

ECHO OLOGY is now available on all major streaming platforms via this link. 
Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ikechi Onyenaka taught his sax the language of human emotion for his latest alt-jazz blues single, On My Own

With his latest release, Ikechi Onyenaka set fire to solitude and gave it rhythm in On My Own, a sax-driven exploration of self-sufficiency that drifts between melancholy and defiance. From the opening bars, the keys and synths pulse with funk, opening out into spacey textures that feel like the soundscape of isolation itself. Over that polished, strident, yet euphonically smooth backdrop, Onyenaka lets his sax glide and cry as though it has absorbed the entire spectrum of human emotion. Each phrase arrives as a proclamation, a reminder that resilience can still be coaxed from desolate silence.

After making history in Philadelphia and even catching a shoutout from Will Smith, the American jazz saxophonist, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist is cementing his place among the modern greats. With influences ranging from Kenny Garrett to Robert Glasper, his work has already earned praise from icons across genres. On My Own deepens his reputation, showing what happens when classical jazz lineage collides with neo-trap inflections and atmospheric production. It is a piece of music that invites listeners to linger in its tension, and in that tension, discover liberation.

On My Own is now available on all major streaming platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Velvet Lune spares us of our ‘Gloom’ in their riotously explosive alt jazz infusion

Southern California’s most explosive jazz fusion outfit, Velvet Lune, has released their sultriest Avant-Garde single to date with Gloom. With jazz-punk sax riffs that would give Pete Wareham (Nadine Shah, Acoustic Ladyland, Melt Yourself Down) a run for his money and the cinematically debonair crooned vocal lines wrestling for dominance in the jazz fusion track that is just as volatile as anything off Glenn Branca’s the Ascension, Gloom is anything but what it says on the tin. Any fans of Mr Bungle will undoubtedly want to pay attention.

The official music video, which premiered on February 14th, has already racked up over 28k streams. You can check out the video for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Meet the Tom Waits of this Generation in Vince Chinaski’s Debut Album, Never Painted Black.

Vince Chinaski

Copenhagen’s most prodigal up and coming singer-songwriter, Vince Chinaski, has released his debut album, Never Painted Black, which opens on the title single and instantly arrests you in the Avant-Garde neo-classically inclined feat of psych, jazz and folk.

Without any hint of hyperbole, Vince Chinaski deserves to be just as revered as Tom Waits for the way he pulls new sonic intrigue from a timeless sound. With Louis Armstrong reminiscences in the cinematic jazzy score that flows at a teasingly mellow pace that leaves you desperately eager for the next note, Never Painted Black is beyond absorbing.

Its mind-meltingly artful gravitas becomes even more visceral towards the outro as the Chinaski’s crooning timbre starts turning dark and scuzzy vintage rock guitars feed kaleidoscopic discord into the release.

Chinaski’s debut album will be available to stream on all major platforms from November 26th, 2021.

Check out Vince Chinaski on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Soundcloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Katy JØ sings sweet smoke signals on jazz-tingled debut ”Spark The J”

Katy JØ is a young indie jazz artist born and raised in Houston, Texas. Her first bluesy-jazzed single “Spark the J” has just been released and this is a perfect wind-down track at the end of the night.

Her goal is to keep Jazz and Funk alive in her generation and Katy JØ is certainly on her way to doing this. With a laid-back style and plenty of soul, Katy let’s her voice do the talking and her mellow style resonates through the speakers. Everything is natural and the vibe keeps your head bouncing.

She is continuously working on growing her craft, and will be releasing an album towards the end of 2020. This young artist is only just dipping her feet in the game and this is an excellent start.

Spark the J” has an irie reggae-jazz style that fuses with some lofi-hip beats with extra treats for our ears.

Jazz it up in your life here via Soundcloud.

Stream this new track via Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Celestial Navigation – Broken Design: Cosmic Violins? I’m In

Cosmic Journey by Celestial Navigation

I have a pretty curious taste when it comes to music, always trying to taste new, inventive styles, sadly, most soundscapes have already been trampled on before. However, I can say with confidence that Celestial Navigation’s sound is completely organic.

The Alternative Seattle trio create blissfully avant-garde music that could be described as Folkish due to the prominence of the violin, but with the added Jazz influence Celestial Navigation are completely in a league of their own. The slightly polyphonic cacophonies have Neo-Classical undertone through the pensive keying, the violin cuts straights through the piano bringing Celestial Navigations sound to an even higher plateau than most artists could ever dream of reaching.

If you’re a fan of Amanda Palmer, Emilie Autumn, Tori Amos, Bjork or Evelyn Evelyn you’ll love Celestial Navigations, infectiously enthralling sound.

You can stream and download Celestial Navigation’s latest single from their album ‘Cosmic Journey’ via BandCamp. Find out more about the band by heading over to their official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast