Marielle V Jakobsons "The Patterns Lost to Air"
Marielle V Jakobsons has cultivated a signature voice molded by minimalist, ambient and spiritual traditions. Her recordings, from her early work with the Date Palms, to the ongoing work with Chuck Johnson in Saariselka, and most definitively with The Patterns Lost to Air, show Jakobsons to be an exceptionally skillful sound sculptor, a musician who knows the value of patience and control. An artist able to derive maximum impact from her chosen sound elements, the album’s layout is shaped by three primary voices of violin, Fender Rhodes, and Moog Matriarch and was recorded in 2024 in the studio Jakobsons built in Oakland, California, its huge windows overlooking a backyard with olive and palm trees, nesting towhees and hummingbirds.
The Patterns Lost to Air was also born of personal change for Jakobsons brought on by the health effects of Long Covid, as well as an intentional musical shift from drones to working with scores and written music as she leaned in on her classical training, and harmonic writing. It was more than an evolution, it was a need to redefine who and what she was, down to the molecular level, because she could no longer create music in the same way, which became a galvanizing motif for The Patterns Lost to Air. What happens when we release our grip on familiar patterns – in sound, in self, in memory – and allow them to transform in the air around us? How do we move through that to reinvent and renew?
Phew & Dannielle de Picciotto "Paper Masks"
A unique collaboration between two of the most inquisitive and important artists in modern avant-garde electronic music.
Paper Masks marks a striking new collaboration between visionary Mute labelmates Phew and Danielle de Picciotto. Developed quietly over nearly five years, what began as an experiment between friends gradually evolved into a fulllength album. Phew composed and arranged all the music, weaving in dePicciotto’s voice and freely reshaping it to create something entirely new. Performed in both German and English, the result is an exploratory work that balances electronic minimalism with emotional immediacy.
Described by Pitchfork as “a Japanese underground legend”, Phew – former member of Osaka punk pioneers Aunt Sally – has forged a remarkable solo career, collaborating with Ryuichi Sakamoto, members of Can, and many others. In parallel, Danielle de Picciotto, an American-born interdisciplinary artist based in Berlin, co-founded the Berlin Love Parade and has performed internationally, working with Crime & the City Solution, Gudrun Gut, Space Cowboys, and her partner Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten and frequent Phew collaborator) in hackedepicciotto.
Paper Masks stands as a mesmerizing exchange between two singular voices in experimental music – an intimate dialogue across distance, language, and sound, and a compelling addition to both artists’ evolving legacies.
Apparat "A Hum of Maybe"
Six years after his Grammy-nominated LP5, Sascha Ring – aka Apparat – takes a bold dive into the complexities of life with his sixth studio album.
A Hum Of Maybe is detailed, finely crafted, and wonderfully unpredictable. At its core, the record is about love – for himself, his wife, and his daughter – and holding onto it, protecting it, and constantly recalibrating as it is in a constant state of flux. As the title suggests, the songs explore being stuck in between: not a clear yes or no, but A Hum Of Maybe.
Ring elegantly combines the perspectives of an electronic producer and a classical composer, working closely with long-time collaborators Philipp Johann Thimm (cello, piano, guitar) – who also co-wrote and co-produced the record – Christoph “Mäckie” Hamann (violin, keyboard, bass), Jörg Wähner (drums), and Christian Kohlhaas (trombone). The album also features Armenian-American artist KÁRYYN – Apparat’s Mute labelmate – on ‘Tilth’, and Berlin-and Rome-based musician Jan- Philipp Lorenz (aka Bi Disc) on ‘Pieces, Falling’.
A Hum Of Maybe is complex, deeply personal, and embraces a state of limbo, marking an exciting new chapter for Apparat.
Sababa 5 "Ça Va Ça Va"
Sababa 5 return to their roots on Ça Va Ça Va – a melting pot of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean sounds, layered with psych-soaked guitars, cosmic synths and heavy, driving grooves. A pure dose of party energy and nostalgia from Batov Records’ finest.
With four albums already behind them, Sababa 5 have earned global support, from Songlines magazine and BBC Radio 6 Music tastemakers including Gilles Peterson, Jamz Supernova and Iggy Pop to France’s FIP Radio and Radio Nova, for their unique blend of traditional Middle Eastern celebration music with psychedelic grooves, funk, jazz, rock, and international vocal collaborations spanning Japan to India. The Paris-based group have taken this sound to stages across Europe, including Reeperbahn Festival and Dresden’s Super Fest.
Ça Va Ça Va is the band’s hafla album – a return to the wedding and event celebration music that first shaped Sababa 5. Recorded in Paris, it draws directly from the sounds of hafla – the joyful, communal music heard at Middle Eastern weddings, parties and festive gatherings – with a sprinkling of influences from the wider Mediterranean. The group utilise their classic combination of electric guitar, bass, drums, organ, and synths to transform these ideas into vibrant melodies, dance-ready rhythms, and a spirit of abundance and togetherness.
The album is almost entirely original material, with two key exceptions: “Ypárcho” (I Exist), a beautiful instrumental journey inspired by a classic Greek song traditionally performed by Stelios Kazantzidis, and “Asunsan”, an instrumental flip of the much-loved Sababa 5 collaboration “Nasnusa” with Yurika Hanashima.
Another impressive step in the Sababa 5 story, Ça Va Ça Va captures both joy and longing – the unmistakable warmth of Eastern Mediterranean celebration and the band’s surf-rock edge – sounding more confident, spirited and deeply rooted than ever.