posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release

Andy Bell (Ride / Oasis) and Essex-based harp and synth duo Masal have released their new album Common Primitives, on the Sonic Cathedral label.

It’s their second collaboration, following 2023’s Tidal Love Numbers, and it’s a stunning, meditative collection which veers from kosmische to astral jazz by way of Turkish folk tunes and all the way back again.

The trio launched the album earlier this week with two incredible, intimate live shows at SJQ in Dalston, which saw them incorporating a cover of Faust’s proto-shoegaze classic Jennifer into their set.

The unlikely trio of Andy, plus Masal’s Özlem Şimşek and Alastair Johnson, first came together when the duo supported Andy at a show in Chelmsford in early 2022. Their first album – 2023’s acclaimed Tidal Love Numbers – consisted of four lengthy, almost ambient tracks and is included here on vinyl for the first time as part of a two-record set. By contrast, the seven tracks that make up Common Primitives are almost concise, but also a lot more layered and complex.

“We tend to work from initial, free-jammed ideas, building form and arrangement from there,” explains Alastair of their working method. “This album became a more iterative process where we went back over the ideas – adding, editing and cutting the original material. This approach led to more fleshed-out finished pieces and contrasts with the first album which all came together relatively quickly. Above all, we believe you should go where the vibe takes you.”

Published post no.3,043 – Saturday 10 October 2026