Human

With RIVER, the band The Human Element, founded in 2016 and existing in this form as a working trio since 2020, releases a profound musical statement that authentically and passionately summarises the intensive joint work of recent years. The three virtuoso improvisers Gero Schipmann (baritone guitar), Johannes Ludwig (saxophone, FX) and Alex Parzhuber (drums) embark on an exciting search for the essence of their songs with blind understanding. An improvising post-rock band that is more oriented towards songwriters than the jazz idiom, they play their songs and pieces with the raw energy of a teenage garage rock band and the unconditional honesty of an aged country singer.

The explosive and uplifting new project from Paul Russell. Raised in an old mining village in the central belt of Scotland and now based in Glasgow, it features a number of handpicked musicians spread throughout the UK. A triumph of neo-classical arrangement, a world in which jubilant choir-led chamber music and post-punk meet head on to form a place where anything is possible. Its members are a who’s who of Scottish music, incorporating thrilling math-rockers Axes, personal favourites Admiral Fallow, dub group Suicide Bid, the Scottish Ballet and Falkirk-based Klezmer street band Puff Uproar. Power Pose is joyful, endearing and thrilling all at once - the sound of a warm fire on a cold Scottish night.

It’s been 43 years since the release of The Selecter’s seminal debut album Too Much Pressure and while it still inspires and resonates today, their new studio album Human Algebra keeps the fire burning with a stellar collection of hard-hitting tracks in the band’s own inimitable style. Human Algebra, released April 21st, is a word from the wise – from questioning ‘fake news’ (“Big Little Lies”), to pointing the finger at keyboard warriors (“Armchair Guevara”), and the scourge of knife crime (“Human Algebra”). Human relationships are also touched upon (“Boxing Clever”), along with a touching tribute to the late great Ranking Roger from The Beat (“Parade The Crown”).

In the tradition of Weather Report and the Joe Zawinul Syndicate, two powerhouse pan-global bands that have greatly influenced generations of musicians around the world, Human Element is staking out a new corner of the musical map on its self-titled debut. Comprised of keyboardist Scott Kinsey (Tribal Tech), electric bassist Matthew Garrison (Zawinul Syndicate, John McLaughlin's Heart of Things, Herbie Hancock), percussionist-vocalist Arto Tuncboyaciyan (Al Di Meola's World Sinfonia, Joe Zawinul, Marc Johnson's Right Brain Patrol) and drummer Gary Novak (Chick Corea's Elektric Band), Human Element incorporates elements of fusion, funk and Armenian folk tunes into a potent 21st century brew that defies easy categorization.

Imagine the cave where music was born. In the introduction to their 9th studio album "HUMAN. II: NATURE.", NIGHTWISH take us all the way back to this ancient place and time when bashing rocks became rhythm and voice turned into harmonies. In the course of the millennia, this amazing cultural achievement evolved via Bach and Beethoven into blues, rock and heavy metal – a mental journey that the Finns trace in their upcoming full-length’s first song, ‘Music’.

The most extreme thing about Deafheaven’s remarkable fourth album is how subdued it sounds. It suggests devastation without placing you at the center of it.