Olaf Rupp - Berlin Eiskeller (scatterArchive, 2026)
German guitarist Olaf Rupp released his debut album *Berlin Eiskeller*, a 72‑minute exploration of isolation through experimental guitar textures. The record eschews conventional rock, jazz, or new‑classical forms, instead layering saturation‑driven octaves, ring‑modulator effects, and atonal runs reminiscent of Cecil Taylor and Jimi Hendrix. Rupp’s seven track titles concatenate into a sentence from Proust’s *In Search of Lost Time*, reinforcing the theme of walls separating rooms and worlds. The album is available for download on scatterArchive’s Bandcamp page.
The Suggestive Sounds of Paula and Pablo
Argentinian pianist Paula Shocron released *Tarot Sonoro* (2025), a self‑issued album of 22 short piano pieces each mapped to a Major Arcana tarot card, accompanied by original artwork from Sandra Ureta Marín. The music is minimalist, blending quiet piano, subtle percussive accents,...
Tashi Dorji - Low Clouds Hang, This Land Is on Fire (Drag City, 2026)
Tashi Dorji’s third Drag City album, Low Clouds Hang, This Land Is on Fire, drops in 2026 as a quietly intense work that fuses ambient guitar textures with bursts of anarchist‑fueled aggression. The record opens with delicate, reverb‑laden soundscapes before...
Marilyn Crispell/Anders Jormin–Memento (ECM, 2026)
ECM Records released "Memento" in 2026, a duo album featuring avant‑garde pianist Marilyn Crispell and Swedish bassist Anders Jormin. The review praises the subtle interplay on tracks like "For the Children" and "Beach at Newquay," noting the album’s cinematic mood...
Sun Ra/Walt Dickerson - Visions (SteepleChase, 2025/1978)
The 2025 SteepleChase reissue of Sun Ra and bassist Walt Dickerson’s 1979 album Visions restores the original LP layout, offering a rare piano‑vibraphone duo without a rhythm section. The CD version released in 1988 had added 25 minutes of extra session...
Ivo Perelman with Marc Ribot, Elliot Sharp and Joe Morris - Trifecta (Mahakala, 2026)
Ivo Perelman’s new triple‑disc set *Trifecta* pairs his tenor sax with three leading avant‑jazz guitarists—Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp and Joe Morris—each occupying a dedicated disc. The project highlights the guitar’s perceived limitations for personal voice, a point Perelman underscores from...
Beatrice Arrigoni, Maddalena Ghezzi, Francesca Naibo - Monologo Addosso (Habitable Records, 2026)
Italian vocal trio Beatrice Arrigoni, Maddalena Ghezzi and Francesca Naibo release *Monologo Addosso* on Habitable Records in 2026. The nine‑track album reinterprets Elena Cornaggia’s poetry through layered vocals, guitar, and avant‑garde electronics, creating what the reviewer calls “sound paintings.” Produced...
Two by The Outskirts–Sort Of: Orbital,The Outskirts and Marta Warelis (1/2)
Dave Rempis and his former Outskirts trio finally released their long‑shelved recordings as the album *Orbital* on Aerophonic Records. The music, rescued from a hard‑drive crash that erased the original multitrack files, uses a rough stereo mix to present reworked...
LDL (Urs Leimgruber / Jacques Demierre / Thomas Lehn) - the Eerie Glow of Jellyfish (Relative Pitch, 2026)
Swiss‑German trio LDL released the live album *the eerie glow of jellyfish*, recorded at Austria’s Kaleidophon Festival in April 2024. The five‑movement suite features soprano sax, an amplified spinet and Thomas Lehn’s vintage EMS analogue synth, all processed in real...
Nomad War Machine / Susan Alcorn - Contra Madre (VG+, 2026)
Susan Alcorn, the pioneering pedal‑steel free‑jazz artist, died unexpectedly in 2025, leaving behind a planned collaboration with Philadelphia improvisational metal duo Nomad War Machine. The resulting album, Contra Madre, released by VG+ Records in early 2026, fuses Alcorn’s western swing...
Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere = Theta Seven (Discus, 2026) *****
Martin Archer’s ensemble Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere releases its final album, Theta Seven, on Discus Music. The double‑CD set blends avant‑jazz, prog, krautrock, and electronic collage, featuring a roster of multi‑instrumentalists and exotic instruments. Recorded over two intensive days...
Street Fight - Stoic Hardcore (Profound Whatever, 2026)
Street Fight’s debut album "Stoic Hardcore" drops on Portuguese label Profound Whatever, showcasing the trio’s blend of noise‑rock, funk, and metal. The record’s centerpiece is a five‑part suite, "The Storm," which shifts from percussion drones to intense guitar climaxes. Reviewers...
Anne Efternøler, Maria Laurette Friis, Johanna Borchert - We Are. Profoundly. Predisposed. To Drowning (Relative Pitch, 2026)
Anne Efternøler, Maria Laurette Friis and Johanna Borchert release the 2026 album We Are. Profoundly. Predisposed. To Drowning on the Relative Pitch label. The trio employs only voices, a prepared piano, trumpet, flute and small objects to craft collective improvisations...
@Xcrswx – MOODBOARD (Feedback Moves, 2026)
The experimental duo @xcrswx released their 12‑inch album MOODBOARD on the Feedback Moves label, blending live sax‑drum improvisation with both analog and digital processing. Drawing from a 2023 residency in Brussels, the record pushes the boundaries of avant‑jazz by making...
Paula Sanchez - Pressure Sensitive (Relative Pitch, 2025)
Cellist Paula Sanchez has unveiled “Pressure Sensitive,” a six‑part improvised suite released on Relative Pitch Records in 2025. The album blends traditional cello timbres with electronics and a cellophane‑wrapped bow, creating textures that oscillate between sculptural stillness and kinetic fluidity....