Different Noises

In this edition we have a selection of recent jazz and improvised music releases. The playlist moves through chamber‑oriented writing, rhythm‑centred ensemble pieces, contemporary treatments of standards, guitar‑driven abstraction, brass‑focused small‑group work, groove‑based compositions, textural duos, high‑energy electric material, bass‑led writing, reflective ballad forms and early‑1970s reiss...

These shows are put together around 2 to 3 weeks before they get released. So at the time of writing it’s that time of year when not a lot of new music comes in - a festive fortnight of reflection and review on what went before and anticipating what is to come. So we have a selection of current favourites, a few new things, and some memorable music extracted from the archive. PLAYLIST Wench! X Jod...

Tradition meets experimentation in this fascinating collection of new releases. Beginning with the eclectic endeavours of Brandon Seabrook, via a mix of latin jazz, European exploration , free improvisation from the UK, a musical statement about the climate crisis, and closing with Thelonious Monk in concert in 1965. PLAYLIST Brandon Seabrook “Name Dropping is the Lowest Form of Conversation (Walt...

The first show of a New Year of Different Noises is packed with exciting new releases as well as the featured albums from 2025 which I am still working my way through. Very excited to be able to feature an excerpt from the always wonderful Fucked Up who are back after a lengthy hiatus.   PLAYLIST Fucked Up - Long Ago Gardens (Excerpt)  Bleak Squad - Black & White  Larynx and Claw - Flies  Join...

This playlist of new music moves through a wide spectrum of contemporary and classic jazz, blending live recordings, ensemble explorations, and intimate duologues. It opens with blues-inflected improvisation and shifts into modern compositions marked by rhythmic drive and layered textures. Chamber-like interplay and orchestral arrangements sit alongside fiery solos and inventive group dialogues, w...

I thought about a year end retrospective but there has been so much new stuff that it would have been about six hours long. Instead more new things plus more selections from the recent albums that have risen to the top of the best of list….kicking things off with an exciting new single from TAB-D featuring the ever excellent Boz Hayward and the return of the wonderful Bikini Test Failure. Enjoy an...

This playlist delves deep into the vibrant landscape of contemporary independent jazz and improvised music, showcasing an eclectic mix of sounds that defy easy categorization. From the rhythmic sophistication of Latin fusion and the intricate melodies of modern piano trios to boundary-pushing avant-garde improvisations, the selections deliberately cross genre lines. The journey takes listeners thr...

For Christmas Eve an eclectic mix delivering the best in new Australian Music, tidbits from recent releases on Half Edge Records, tracks from some of the best releases of 2025 and a dip in the archive for some magic from The Cramps. We kick off with a new tune from the excellent Melbourne band The Silversound. PLAYLIST The Silversound - Rose City  The Cramps - Call of the Wighat  Adventures of Sal...

A raft of new releases is dominated by female pianists offering cutting edge music. In between two new discoveries of Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing live plus other exciting ground-breaking albums and to close something to reflect the season. PLAYLIST Yelena Eckemoff  “Strandvägen Pier” from Rosendals Garden (L&H Production) 00:00 Juan Bayon “Anti-Monitor” from Como Enfrentar al Mundo Entero (ear...

Starting and finishing in the Greater Manchester region this playlist provides and aural journey around the more obscure nooks and crannies of the world of music. Some familiar names are mixed in with new artists providing for a rich palate of unique offerings, some of them quite sonically unsettling. PLAYLIST Inca Babies - Buster’s On Fire Mellowdeath - 1772  Nuclear Dudes - The Octopus The Resid...

This set moves through solo sketches, trio interplay, and full ensemble fire, tracing acoustic and electric textures across studio, live, and archival formats. It opens with flowing piano, moves into exploratory trio improvisation, and shifts between guitar meditations, reworked soul and rock standards, and tightly arranged ensemble writing. Abstract textures and ambient passages emerge mid-set, f...

What is cool? What is trendy? Who decides these things? In the context of this show what constitutes “Different”? In simplistic terms people send me things, or I buy them, based on past listening experience. I listen to them, if they sound sufficiently interesting, or they tug at some emotional string somewhere in the brain or heart, then they get on the show. This music sounds good to me, not stu...

Another eclectic mix of Jazz from around the world includes a good portion of self-released material. Traditional jazz forms mingle with ambient, rock and fusion to create a fascinating playlist. The show concludes with two recent live albums from the formative years of British jazz. PLAYLIST ung Stratmann Quartet “Tree Huggers” from Confluence (Self Released) 00:00 Sam Pilnick’s Nonet Project “So...

An eclectic mix of mostly new material with more than average Antipodean content, lots of Mancunian elements, and a blend of styles and movements that on first examination might appear contradictory but when listened to in sequence there is an organic flow. PLAYLIST Bugg Music - Bugg Season Inca Babies - Two Rails To Nowhere Occult Character - Her Guts, My Graveyard Jodie Langford - Bowling (Off W...

On this edition a set of twelve pieces tracing rhythmic invention, ensemble interplay, and tonal contrast across multiple continents and decades. The selections move from suite-based composition and archival live recordings to contemporary quartet work, solo piano abstraction, and layered studio arrangements. Formats include trio, orchestra, and collaborative studio ensemble, with instrumentation...

Anticipating forthcoming concerts celebrating The Dream Syndicates Medicine Show album I begin a journey through a recently released massive collection of music from that part of the bands history. There’s also the current crop of featured albums plus some challenging new sounds that have recently arrived in my in-box. To close some Norwegian experimentation and jazz guitar mastery from John Aberc...

This episode includes recent studio releases, live recordings, and archival material spanning solo, trio, and large ensemble formats. The programme features work from Canada, the UK, the US, the Netherlands, and Israel, with contributions structured around ballad forms, extended improvisation, rhythmic studies, and ensemble arrangements. Albums range from self-released projects to material issued...

This weeks selection includes, amongst many other things, the return of Dusty and Stacey, a memorable new album from Mark Snarski, an anniversary release from The Dream Syndicate, and a look back at the work of Fini Tribe. PLAYLIST West Coast Sick Line - The House Of Paul Jessie Kilguss - St Teresa In Ecstasy Lucky And Love - Secret Is Out Mark Snarski - Friday’s Big Black Car Tombstones In Their...

Three double albums start a musical journey which includes, amongst other things, experimentation, a celebration of the legacy of Herb Robertson, a statement on the environment, previously unreleased material from a jazz legend, and a dip into the archives of British Jazz. PLAYLIST Charles Lloyd “The Ghost of Lady Day” from Figure In Blue (Blue Note) 00:00 Phil Haynes & Free Country “Simple Gi...

We lean towards the melodic to kick things off before taking a left turn into more esoteric material before recent favourites are featured and then there’s a closer from Sonic Youth which just happens to be the last track on the last studio album they released. PLAYLIST Slyboots - Silent Storm The Junta - San Antonio Octavian Winters - Saints of Absolution  Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter -...

A rich selection of brand new releases from across the wide World of Jazz includes two new ECM Records albums, debut releases from break-through artists, and rare broadcasting recordings from a UK jazz icon. We close with two duo recordings from masters of their craft. PLAYLIST Frank Swart Funkwrench Blues “Reflections From The Future” from Mischief In The Musitorium (Need To Know Music) 00:00 Noa...

“Pop Music” need not be obvious, safe, boring or trite. It should be unexpected, challenging, dangerous, and original. It should challenge your perceptions. This weeks selection does the latter - indeed if we are dealing in antonyms perhaps we should describe it as unpopular music - but that perhaps has all the wrong connotations. This music is from the edges, the nether regions of the music world...

This episode features music from Latin America, North America, Europe, and the Mediterranean region. It begins with rhythmically driven Latin jazz and piano-led ensemble work, followed by experimental compositions using layered electronics, extended techniques, and non-standard forms. Midway, the programme includes modal structures, bowed string textures, and vibraphone-led chamber jazz. The final...

A mix old, new, strange, obscure and challenging. Rock meets contemporary classical, electronica meets outsider, jazz meets rituals, blended into a mix of infinite complexity coupled with punk basics. PLAYLIST Undead Guitars - Jake Angel Good Technology Cowboy Mix Mac Gollehan & The Hispanic Mechanics - Pistoleros Precogs - Tech Nation The Prize - Silver Bullet Sanam - Hamam Kety Fusco - Noctu...

This week's show takes a musical journey that begins with experimental and improvisatory sounds, moves through a selection of fascinating re-releases of archival material, gathers a fresh crop of guitar-focused releases, detours into two contrasting approaches to Big Band music, and wraps up with a dose of cool West Coast jazz. PLAYLIST Francesca Remigi “Longhaven” from Witchess (Hora Records) 00:...