Kuna Maze drops new solo material, the double single “Broken Light / Late Night Tales”, and teases an incoming long player.

This new release is straight off the back of a record with Lyon-based producer and long-time collaborator Nikitch. The duo released their sophomore album ‘Back & Forth’ via Tru Thoughts last year, featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter Joao Selva and with a remix from broken beat pioneer IG Culture. The LP was made Worldwide FM’s Test Press Club Record and gained acclaim from Jamz Supernova, Mary Anne Hobbs (BBC 6Music) and Okayplayer. The album was followed by a Europe-wide tour with standout shows at Dour Festival, Ronnie Scott’s (London) and Le Botanique (Brussels).

The focus track of the double single, “Broken Light” is cinematic, almost hauntogenic by nature – propelling the listener indefinitely forward through the creative use of tension builds/drops and rhythmically-driven inaudible vocals – only to be released by the introduction of a dub-laced voice in the bridge of the song. Inspired by broken beat, Jamaican dub and UKG, “Broken Light” emits a hypnotic impulse to run. Talking about the inspiration for the tune, Kuna Maze adds: “I was walking outside at night in Brussels, and there was this street light which was broken and blinking. It gave the empty street an eerie atmosphere which I strangely liked. I started imagining this setting as the start of a movie scene, and the song was born from there.”

While “Late Night Tales” follows where the “Broken Light” scene ends, evoking the auditory sensation of a bizarre and hazy car ride late at night through the city, observing all the surreal things happening around you as you cruise by. “Late Night Tales” meshes broken beat, slow house and jazz vibes to create a gonzo whirlwind characterised by synth stabs and 90s-styled sax, layered with FX, delay and reverb.

The session video for “Late Night Tales”, filmed at Studio Pyramid on the outskirts of Brussels, showcases Kuna Maze’s new live band. The lineup features an impressive array of musical talent from the likes of Victor Pascal (Drums), Jan Janzen (Keys) and Pierre Spararo (Saxophone) with Kuna Maze leading on bass and dub siren. The video perfectly demonstrates Kuna Maze’s ability to blend the worlds of a jazz club and the nightclub dancefloor into a movable and high-energy performance. Talking about the new live project, he says: “We adapt the tracks for live performances; we improvise and react to the crowd depending on the show, meaning each performance is unique.”