The title of the band and the album says something about the world and the ongoing cultural and political history that we are a part of. When a musician, writer or any kind of artist offers something to the world, it has in it the potential for change, however small or big - others relate to it, elaborate and evolve it over time, in ways that are impossible to predict, in the same way this music is also in dialog with ideas from the past. An image of a spiral - something coming back to the same place in a circle, but in a different way and time, seen through a different lense.

Comparing to earlier days of our generation, there’s certainly more of a collective feeling of discomfort and chaos in the world right now. The horror and injustice that we are witnessing so massively right now. The class war led by corporations has been devastating for humanity, nature and the climate. Fascism is again on the rise, democracy is being wiped out a long with natural habitats. The world is spiraling out of control.

The title Sky Reflection in Blood and Oil captures a lot of the theme - the unnecessary despair. We live on a beautiful planet and the possibility for good and creative life is so close, yet it gets destroyed by negative forces within humanity - greed that fuels wars for the control of resources and profit for the few, while the many suffer. Hopefully more people will keep finding and engaging in powerful, beautiful and provoking cultural expressions that keeps pouring out of creative people all over, regardless of - and because of, all the murk. Music can be an instrument for changing thought patterns and revitalizing society, and coming back to a natural respect for life.  

Berlin-based duo TRAINING team up with bassist Ruth Goller for their new album ‘threads to knot’. Frenetic free-jazz is sitting next to post-rock riffs and looming microtonal atmospheres.

The record was written in a truly collaborative effort, adapting the concept of ‘cadavre exquis’, the popular drawing game: One person would start writing a few notes before passing it on to the next, revealing only the very last note, with which the composition continues.

TRAINING is comprised of drummer Max Andrzejewski and sax player Johannes Schleiermacher, whose last album ‘Three Seconds’ saw them collaborate with Deerhoof guitarist John Dieterich.

Ruth Goller, who has been hailed by the Guardian for her 'thunderous bass-guitar hooks' and has made waves this year with the release of her second album 'Skyllumina'. She’s also known as a live performer with Kit Downes, Alabaster de Plume, Melt Yourself Down among others.  

Described by the Wall Street Journal as “one of modern music’s most compelling vocalists,” New York-born and Tamil Nadu-raised singer and multi-instrumentalist ganavya shares an ambitious new album, "Daughter of a Temple", via LEITER. The album follows her performance at SAULT’s acclaimed live debut in London in 2023, where, according to The Guardian, her “voice had a delicate emotive heft that could turn stoics into sobbing wrecks.” Her first single for LEITER, "draw something beautiful," was released earlier this year in July.

For "Daughter of a Temple", ganavya invited over 30 artists from various disciplines to a ritual gathering in Houston. Consequently, the album features numerous contributors, including renowned musicians such as esperanza spalding, Vijay Iyer, Shabaka Hutchings, Immanuel Wilkins, and Peter Sellars. The results—an innovative and deeply moving blend of spiritual jazz and South Asian devotional music—were initially recorded by Ryan Renteria and then further edited and mixed by Nils Frahm at LEITER's studio in Berlin in 2024.  

Vocalist, ‘soundsmith’, ‘wordsmith’ and improvisor Ganavya takes us into her spritual realm of true Free Sounds, #vrijegeluiden. You’ll hear classical Indian gamakas, traditional jazz standards in a stunning nexus of melodic experiment. She has just released her new album ‘Daughter of a Temple’, featuring collaborations with Esperanza Spalding, Shabaka Hutchings, Vijay Iyer & Immanuel Wilkins.

Ganavya was born into a musical family in Tamil Nadu, India, and moved to the United States at a young age. She grew up immersed in traditional Indian classical music. Her interpretations often carry a Karnatic flavor, incorporating Indian rhythms, melodic patterns, and vocal techniques such as gamakas.

Her own debut album, Aikyam: Onnu, ("Harmony: One") features the incredible breadth of her character: it draws from an amalgam of ancient Indian spirituals she learnt during pilgrimages as a child, with an anchor in jazz standards that she has translated to Tamil from English, showcasing a linguistic command over her two mother-tongues. In addition to numerous collaborations with artists like Shabaka Hutchings, Wayne Shorter, and Quincy Jones, she also contributed to Esperanza Spalding's album Songwrights Apothecary Lab.