Purple Spirits is a collection of tributes to artists Ancient Future has historical connections with. "Punjabi Jhinzaki" is a tribute to tabla master Ustad Zakir Hussain, who was very instrumental in the development of Ancient Future and appears on Ancient Future's World Without Walls release. "Spirit of Nirvana" acknowledges the surprising history between Ancient Future and the band Nirvana. "East of the Sun (Studio Version)" features wind virtuoso Paul McCandless of Oregon. Sadly, this is the last oboe recording featuring him to be released, as in 2017 he was diagnosed with a health condition that led him to retire from playing oboe, although he kept a busy performance schedule on his other wind instruments until 2025. "Tres Tarantas Tres" is a tribute to David Easley, Matthew Montfort's high school guitar student who became a master flamenco player. "Purple Nam and Purple Haze (Vietnamese Đàn Bầu Style)" is a tribute to Jimi Hendrix that incorporates Indian raga and Vietnamese music.

Finnish global folk pioneers Piirpauke released their iconic debut album in 1975 and are now celebrating their 50th anniversary with founder, Sakari Kukko, leading a hot new quartet through jazz-inflected arrangements of folk-rooted classical music.

Nearly ninety years after its opening in Paris at Opera Garnier, Transylvanian expat pianist Lucian Ban and American violist Mat Maneri present a radical re-imagination of George Enescu’s famous Oedipe opera. For decades, the opera was seen as too difficult to perform, the score and four long acts demanded much from the musicians, but Enescu’s Oedipe has finally begun to receive the attention that it rightly deserves and to be recognized as one of the greatest works in the operatic repertoire.

Henriette Eilertsen's solo debut from 2021, "Poems for flute", is regarded by many as one of the classics in the Motvind Records catalogue. Since then, many concertgoers have also been thrilled by the flautists fresh trio, with Joel Ring (cello & electronics) and Øystein Aarnes Vik (drums). Finally, we are all approaching the opportunity to dive deep into this warm, mysterious and alluring sonic bath.

The Danish ensemble Flamenco Passion meets three soloists, guitarist Mikkel Nordsø, violinist Bjarke Falgren and harmonica player Mathias Heise on the new album A Tribute to Paco de Lucia. The group Flamenco Passion are among the very best flamenco fusion groups in Scandinavia, led by guitarist Poul Jacek Knudsen alongside bassist Nicolai Land and percussionist Anders Pedersen. The album is a tribute to the late flamenco guitar icon Paco de Lucia, who has inspired countless flamenco artists and great jazz musicians such as Chick Corea and George Benson. The repertoire presented is original Flamenco Passion themes, one composition by Paco de Lucia plus two tracks composed by Mikkel Nordsø.

Wellington-based saxophonist and composer Jake Baxendale brings together a remarkable collective of Aotearoa’s leading jazz and contemporary musicians for Waypeople, a luminous new album inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s English-language version of the Tao Te Ching. Drawing from jazz, Chinese classical music and improvisation, the project fuses lyrical storytelling with meditative textures and powerful ensemble interplay.

Mosaïc is an ensemble made up of six musicians from Bulgaria, France, Portugal and Tunisia. Their compositions are above all else a space for musical encounters at the crossroads of jazz and Mediterranean music. Their musical language is varied, combining Balkan ornamentation with the colours of Western European chamber music and the rhythmic essence of North African music. The ensemble explores imaginative worlds and interweaves traditions like a mosaic, passing from energetic grooves to the breath of the Bulgarian kaval and the woody sonority of stringed instruments. Now that its creations have been welcomed throughout the Mediterranean, Mosaïc presents a debut album inspired by the different places it has visited and the people it has met.

On his new album, the Ivorian balafon virtuoso Aly Keïta explores new horizons for his instrument in improvised music. Together with his Berlin-based trio, he conquers the peaks of balafon possibilities one by one, wandering between groovy African rhythms, spectacular polyphony and elements of jazz, and combining them into a fusion that is both futuristic and deeply in roots. In Balafon Evolution, Keïta establishes a new level of balafon artistry, creating universal, contemporary soundscapes that transcend cultural boundaries.

Experience the global rhythms of jazz with Putumayo's Jazz World, a rich tapestry of rhythms and melodies. The album features international artists who blend Brazilian bossa nova, Portuguese fado, French chanson and other regional styles into a captivating musical journey.

Wewantsounds is delighted to continue its Algerian music reissue program with the release of Freh Khodja’s sought-after 1975 LP, Ken Andi Habib. Recorded in Paris with Les Flammes, a group of immigrant musicians, the album is now reissued for the first time. Selected by Paris-based DJ Cheb Gero, who recently compiled the Sweet Rebels Rai set and curated the Abranis LP release for Wewantsounds, Ken Andi Habib is a masterful blend of Arabic music, jazz, Carribean/Latin influences, Cape Verde grooves and funk. Featuring original artwork and audio remastered by Colorsound Studio.

When most of us go on holiday to Greece, we hang out by the pool, go to the beach and maybe bring home a souvenir or two. Last year Greg went on holiday to Greece and made an album. Synthesizer, Grand Piano and traditional Folk Instruments are blended with Field recordings to create an intriguing album of Authentic Greek Modal Folk-Jazz and soundscapes.

Seven years ago, Murat Aydemir and Christos Barbas recorded their first album The Mountain and the Tree in Istanbul, containing original compositions for Tanbur & Ney. Since then, they have played concerts in Greece, Spain, Japan & Cyprus, further developing the interaction and relationship between them. In their newest album Book of Birds, recorded in Brussels for the Seyir Muzik label in October 2024, they present a collection of contemporary compositions inspired by and based on the modal traditions of the wider Middle Eastern and Mediterranean worlds. Their unique mastery of their instruments serves as a prism, a meeting point for different pieces from different composers to take shape.

Sometimes dissimilar features and distinctive stylings might complement each other. On occasions they can combine in a fascinating and satisfying manner.

Jaggat is a band that builds virtuosic sound bridges between chamber jazz and musical traditions from around the globe. Spanish, Indian, Arabic, African, and Latin American influences merge into a powerful and cohesive sonic tapestry, transcending cultural boundaries.

Luurankolauluja, the second album by Uusi Aika, opens with Luurankouni, a shakuhachi kata rooted in ancient tradition and named after a poem by the 15th-century Japanese Zen poet Ikkyū. This meditative prelude sets the listener adrift, unprepared for the unfolding journey that follows.