A spectral and real projection of an identity that intuitively brings us images and sounds of Bristol, this trio formed by Jasmine Butt, Amos Childs and Alex Rendall with associations to the dormant/extinct Young Echo crew, has traced a dreamy psycho-geography of the city that collects the already inseparable lineages of the music that is twinned there, from post-punk, to sound system culture, to trip hop and electronic echoes transposed from all of them to a cartography of hazy songs. In a link that never seems to have been properly established, it unites the dubby urban somnambulism of what has come to be called trip-hop – despite its central figures’ justified rejection of the term = closer to Tricky’s “Nearly God” than Mo Wax’s musty downtempo – with the dream pop escapism of A.R. Kane or Cocteau Twins, and which has had plenty of room to manoeuvre with ideas and personality in names like Hyperdawn, YL Hooi or HTRK.

Based on a spaced-out instrumentation of electric guitars, reworked beats, reverberating basses, synthesiser mirages, gliding voices and echoes, Jabu arrive at their third album – A Soft and Gatherable Star – with a sound already fully laminated after 2017‘s “Sleep Heavy” and 2020’s ‘Sweet Company’. Adding to this instrumental core discreet but full-of-valence guest appearances from the likes of Birthmark, Rakhi Singh or Will Yates tcp memotone on synthesisers, strings and clarinet, ‘A Soft and Gatherable Star’ escapes the oppressive confines of concrete landscapes and that aura of an apathetic homecoming after a meaningless party to arrive at a certain romanticised idea of smoke-infused suburbia. With the lights and sleepless lives echoing in the near distance, flashes of memory and lives in the future in ten songs that never suffocate, never resolve. They dwell in their own gravitational centre, suggesting emotions that escape cliché through subtle arrangements, elusive words and simple hypnotic guitar and synth melodies. We’ve all experienced this, in one way or another. In this city or another. BS

Gibrana Cervantes is a pioneering Mexican musician renowned for her unique contributions to the experimental music landscape as a violinist, composer, and improviser. Her artistry stands out for its innovative fusion of classical, metal, post-rock, noise, improv, and avant-garde influences, resulting in a distinct style that balances melody, mood, and cacophony with deep emotional resonance.

Her violin playing defies easy categorization. At times melodic, at times fierce and heavy, and at times chaotic, Cervantes’s musical vocabulary encompasses a huge variety of sounds. Her instrument sometimes takes lead within her band’s Vyctoria atmospheric and doomy sound, it’s sometimes found weaving ambient soundscapes as part of her work with Amor Muere, or takes multiple styles on her own solo composition. In this respect, Gibrana’s violin knows no boundaries. Her classical background and willingness to explore beyond her strict training makes her one of the most original experimentalists within the Latin American sphere.
Her performances have received critical acclaim, with standout shows at CTM Festival and Radical Sounds of Latin America 2023 in Berlin, The Royal Albert Hall with Mabe Fratti, Café Oto, Iklektic, and The Old Church in London.

Cervantes is also a key member of the experimental ensemble Amor Muere, where she collaborates with Mabe Fratti, Concepción Huerta, and Camille Mandoki. Their debut album, A time to love, a time to die, pushes the boundaries of sonic exploration. Outlets such as Pitchfork, The Quietus, Sound Of Life, Brooklyn Vegan, Filter México, and Música Experimental Latinoamericana have covered Amor Muere include, and BBC6 Music invited Amor Muere to curate a radio programme with their favorite music. In 2024, they played at Rewire Festival in the Hague, Netherlands.

In addition to her solo and collaborative work, Gibrana has composed original musical scores, including Presencias released by VIX in collaboration with Camille Mandoki. She also contributed her violin skills to the score of HBO’s series The Baby, composed by Lucrecia Dalt, extending their collaboration into instrumental contributions to the latter’s critically-acclaimed 2022 album, ¡Ay!. Additionally, Cervantes is the co-founder and curator of 316centro in Mexico City, a vital space dedicated to promoting emerging forms of sound art across Latin America.

Now based in London, Cervantes released her solo album ¿Cómo pasamos la eternidad? in August 2023 with the label Mexican Rarities, followed by Vortex Submarino with Aurora Records in 2024. She is currently working on a new album and continuing her collaboration with acclaimed choreographer Florentina Holzinger Florentina Holzinger, composing and performing in the SANCTA Opera, which has dates scheduled until 2026. Gibrana also remains a longstanding member of the Mexican experimental band Vyctoria, contributing to their albums V, Ahora veo más claro, and VAV.

Matt Evans is a Brooklyn based drummer and producer creating electro-acoustic music that considers interconnectedness, embodiment, and landscape. His compositions draw inspiration from millennial esoterica, natural phenomena, and science fiction, resulting in hypnotic soundscapes and surreal sonic worlds. Combining a meticulous drum-driven approach with imaginatively processed keyboards and samples, Matt crafts a rhythmic, post-ambient music that’s been described as “hyperreal and phantasmal” (Wire Magazine), and “a form of chill complexity” (New York Times). Matt has presented solo projects at the Guggenheim, The Kitchen, Roulette, and 2220 Art+Archives and has released records with Moon Glyph, Whatever’s Clever, Dinzu Artefacts, NNA Tapes, Deathbomb Arc, New Amsterdam, Cantaloupe, Perfect Wave, and Thrill Jockey.