Fra Det Onde : Smilet Er En Flyktig Tilstand

The Norwegian musical ensemble Fra Det Onde(translation…”From Evil”) live in their very own musical universe. Their sound is anything but ordinary, yet they lock into the freedom of free jazz, psych rock, and progressive as if it comes second nature. The band -which consists of jazz drummer Olaf Olsen(Needlepoint, Motorpsycho, Bigbang and others), bassist Rune […]

SML : Spontaneous Music Live

The L.A. musical quintet known as SML have had a couple incredibly productive years. The band -which includes Josh Johnson(sax), Anna Butterss(bass), Jeremiah Chiu(electronics), Booker Stardrum(drums), and Gregory Uhlmann(guitar)- have given new spark and excitement to the world of improvisational music. Their 2024 debut, Small Medium Large, was built with these jumpy, kinetic tracks that […]

Gregory Uhlmann : Extra Stars

Composer, guitarist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Gregory Uhlmann is not quite a household name, unless you have someone with their ears to the ground in terms of forward-thinking, progressive music living under the roof. Uhlmann has guested on many records over the last several years(including Perfume Genius, Tasha, and Hand Habits), but has also released albums […]

Joachim Nordwall + Aaron Turner : Malign Seeds

I had no idea what to expect when I blindly ordered the album Malign Seeds by Joachim Nordwall and Aaron Turner. I’m a fan of SFI Recordings who had released a beautiful vinyl pressing of the record, and since I dig most of the artists they work with I figured it was a no-brainer. Am […]

Complex Distractions Presesnts : Favorite Albums Of 2025 – Jazz/Ambient/Experimental

I’m kind of at a loss for words regarding the fact we’re about 2 weeks away from the beginning of 2026. It feels like we’ve traveled through an entire year; ups, downs, outs, ins, and everything in-between leaving plenty of emotional, mental, and even physical scars along the way. But to actually say “2026” out […]

SML : How You Been

SML is a supergroup of sorts. A supergroup for those in-the-know. Comprised of Anna Buttress(bass), Josh Johnson(saxophone), Jeremiah Chiu(synths, electronics), Gregory Uhlmann(guitar, sampler, electronics) and Booker Stardrum(drums), all of these amazing musicians orbit the worlds of modern jazz, experimental, electronic, and underground music. And all have recorded with each other in different projects associated with […]

Burial Grid : NORD Compendium

Adam Michael Kozak, aka Burial Grid, has always had a fascination with the dark corners of life. His modular/analog electronic music has always been more of the glitchy and nervous variety, as if manifesting darkness, anxiety, and fear through square waves and circuital curiosity. And while a lot of artists make dark and foreboding electronic […]

Tom Skinner : Kaleidoscopic Visions

Drummer/percussionist Tom Skinner started playing drums at 9. He came up in the 90s grunge era, but then quickly moved to and found inspiration from experimental jazz artists like John Zorn and Ornette Coleman. He came out of the London jazz scene and then formed experimental jazz band Sons of Kemet. From 2013 to 2022 […]

Angela Winter : Forbidden Questions In Space

There’s something both beautiful and foreboding listening to the new long player by ambient/electronic artist Angela Winter. There’s a persistent hum that emanates throughout her Past Inside The Present debut titled Forbidden Questions In Space that affects you on a visceral level. As if some universal hum is reaching out from a vast and ancient […]

Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer : Different Rooms

There’s something sort of magical about the new album Different Rooms by Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer. Both have established themselves as progressive, forward-thinking musicians and composers within the growing world of experimental and electronic music. Either working together on their International Anthem Records debut Recordings from the Åland Islands(2022), or last year’s The […]