Switched On – Moby: Future Quiet (BMG)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Quiet is the new loud for Moby, who revisits his ambient roots for album no.23. The springboard for this appears to have been the appearance of When It’s Cold I’d Like To Die, the closing track from the 1994 album Everything Is Wrong, in prominent parts of the Stranger Things series.

That song opens Future Quiet, sung by Gabriels singer Jacob Lusk, while Moby works in a sequence of vocal and instrumental tracks that are mostly on the slow and ambient side.

What’s the music like?

There is little doubt that this is the style Moby does best, his slightly mournful take on electronic ambient music working a treat here.

The vocal guests acquit themselves extremely well, none more so than serpentwithfeet on the understated On Air, India Carney on Precious Mind, and Moby himself on the plaintive This Was Never Meant For Us.

Yet less is more in this area of music, and if anything Moby’s instrumental music speaks with greater clarity. Ruhe and Great Absence are intimate piano pieces that could easily be played in the same house as the listener, while Mott Street 1992 circles back to its main piano motif. Subtle, floated vocals from Elise Serenelle boost Estrella Del Mar, while Tallinn has a lovely solo violin.

Does it all work?

Pretty much. On rare occasions the music threatens to be over-produced, but in general the room Moby affords his music adds to its emotional reach and ambience.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically. Moby’s response to a frantic, fraught world is to seek solace in ambient music, and that we can easily join him that says much for the content of Future Quiet. It speaks very subtly but leaves a calming imprint that lasts long after you stop listening.

Listen / Buy

You can explore purchase options for physical formats of Future Quiet at the Norman Records website

Published post no.2,822 – Saturday 7 March 2026

New Music – Shabaka: Of The Earth (Shabaka Records)

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by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release

Shabaka has today released his new solo album Of The Earth, available today worldwide via his newly formed label Shabaka Records.

Written, performed, produced and mixed entirely by Shabaka, Of The Earth marks a defining moment in the British musician’s ongoing artistic evolution. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in contemporary British music, Shabaka has spent the past decade reshaping global perceptions of UK jazz through projects including Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming and Shabaka and the Ancestors. With Of The Earth, he steps forward not only as a bandleader and instrumentalist, but as a producer crafting his sound from the ground up.

The album follows 2024’s internationally acclaimed Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, which introduced a new phase of Shabaka’s practice centred on flute, breath and meditative sonic space. Of The Earth extends that transformation while reconnecting with the rhythmic propulsion that has long defined his work. Built from beats, loops and layered instrumentation recorded across multiple locations, the album synthesises the diasporic rhythms of Caribbean and African traditions with electronic production and improvisation.

Much of Of The Earth was created while travelling, with Shabaka working from portable instruments and digital production tools. Electronic rhythms and looping structures form the album’s foundation, while choral melodies unfold across alto flute, saxophone and clarinet. The music reflects a sense of movement – tracing diasporic pathways through sound while remaining grounded in rhythm and breath.

For the first time on record, Shabaka also raps. Inspired in part by André 3000, the decision emerged naturally from his deep relationship with hip hop. Having grown up practicing instruments over rap beats, he approached his voice as another instrument within the album’s sonic ecosystem, exploring cadence, phrasing and breath alongside flute and saxophone.

The album also marks a renewed relationship with the saxophone. After publicly stepping away from the instrument in recent years, Shabaka returned to it during the memorial concert for South African jazz legend Louis Moholo-Moholo in 2025. On Of The Earth, the saxophone reappears not as the dominant voice of earlier projects but as one element within a broader instrumental palette shaped by years of studying global flute traditions.

Shabaka will celebrate the album’s release with a special live launch performance at Village Underground, London on April 7th 2026, where he will present the music in an evolving hybrid format blending live instrumentation, improvisation and manipulated stems from the album recordings. With Of The Earth, Shabaka reveals a new dimension of his artistry, one that unites instrumental virtuosity, beatmaking and experimentation into a singular creative vision.

Published post no.2,821 – Friday 5 March 2026

New Music – Tycho: Forge (Ninja Tune / Mom + Pop)

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by Ben Hogwood, with text lifted from the press release

Tycho has announced and released Forge, the follow-up to (and early incarnation of)  Boundary Rider, his recent collaboration with Paul Banks of Interpol.

Speaking about the track, Tycho (aka Scott Hansen) says: “Boundary Rider started life as a demo called Forge, a driving open-ended extension of the Epoch-era sound. I originally sent a pretty stripped back version to Paul Banks to see if he was interested in contributing vocals, which later informed the direction of that arrangement. After completing that version, I revisited the original to see if I could draw a compelling instrumental out of it. This is sometimes difficult with a song written with vocals in mind — it’s hard to find the elements to tie it all together once the vocals are gone. But with this one it ended up feeling nicely balanced just by pushing Zac’s guitars to the front a bit, retaining the isolated sound of the vocal version while opening up more space for the instrumentation to breathe.”

As you will hear while listening to the track below, Hansen’s point is proved with music of warmth and poise, yet also positive energy – such as that felt with the onset of Spring-like weather here in Britain!

Published post no.2,820 – Thursday 5 March 2026

Switched On – kwes.: Kinds (Warp Records)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Kinds is the first solo album in eight years from London-based kwes.. It was inspired by an incident with his daughter, who knocked a glass of drink over the drawing she was doing – and in the moment, kwes. – real name Kwes Sey – resolved to “‘release’ life-experience: good, bad and everything in between – to ‘commit it to tape’ as succinctly as possible, without too much deliberation.”

The music is named after colours, following a theme of synaesthesia, and was made with the producer’s children in mind. Given the inspiration behind the project, it seemed only right for them to contribute to the cover art.

What’s the music like?

Immensely restful – and, of course, colourful. Each of the portraits is about three minutes long, and kwes. links them harmonically to their neighbours, creating a cycle that moves gradually but with a sure sense of direction.

There are no beats, and very little in the way of rhythm, so the music hangs suspended like a thick cloud. This provides a great deal of ambience, especially when listening on headphones, as the head lives inside the big canvas that kwes. has created.

The titles are a strong indication for the musical contents; Blue Violet being rich in depth and deeper in register, while the timbre on Brown Green Yellow is a bit scratchy and dry initially, but settles down.

Interestingly Black (Grey) has a glossy tone initially, before quietening, while Yellow Green gives the impression of scorched fields. One of the deepest combinations is Green White, with wide open textures, before the incredibly soothing Orange Blue closes the album, its colours initially rich but dying out as the candle burns low.

Does it all work?

Yes. Synaesthesia is of course wholly dependent on the mind’s eye of the person perceiving it, so not all the colours and music will match for every listener, but the spell of deep meditation remains cast.

Is it recommended?

Yes. With timely precision, kwes. has provided a wholly effective companion for the stressful world we currently live in!

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,819 – Wednesday 4 March 2026

Switched On – Nathan Fake: Evaporator (InFiné)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Nathan Fake’s electronica has found a new home, with Evaporator his first album released on the InFiné label.

It is an instinctive work, written during the summer of 2024 and wrapped up in just six weeks. He describes it as “airy daytime music,” which is “not overtly confrontational electronic club music, it’s more accessible.” Continuing the instinctive approach, Evaporator was mostly recorded in single takes on a Cubase set up, with Fake employing synths and even a toy Casio keyboard on Yucon, which has become one of his most treasured compositions.

What’s the music like?

Evaporator engages both the mind and the feet in an easy and frequently appealing way. On many occasions it promises the joy of dancing, but there are moments where Fake’s music is aimed straight at the mind, specifically in removing tension and providing musical company.

Both elements combine in the loping beats and lush textures of You’ll Find A Way, while Fake’s clever trick of employing two paces at once works on the implied Euro riffing of Hypercube, where a distinctive five-note rhythm is punched out, and Aiwa, with its slow beats but busy percussion. Yucon has real presence, as well as the childlike simplicity from the toy keyboard, while Bialystok is really strong, led by a powerful and almost primeval kick drum.

Later on in the album, two collaborations make their mark. The weather-beaten Baltasound, with Dextro, appears to be a portrait of a Shetland settlement. On it, the pair create a massive pillow of sound out of which emerges a beat of reassuring depth. Orbiting Meadows features another good friend, Clark, and hints at music heard further afield, with mysterious bells above a broad canvas. Saving one of the very best tracks for last, Slow Yamaha is a beauty, a loping disco number with a rolling beat that works for all of its nine minutes.

Does it all work?

It does. Nathan Fake’s freedom of expression is key here, and the combination of intimacy and wide-open, elemental sound pictures are managed in a really satisfying way.

Is it recommended?

It is. This is another very strong addition to the Nathan Fake canon, another winner from Norfolk. The instinctive approach suits him well!

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,818 – Tuesday 3 March 2026