Berlin-based keyboardist Joel Holmes fuses cosmic jazz and electronic music together on ‘Into The Abyss’

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Berlin-based keyboardist Joel Holmes fuses cosmic jazz and electronic music together on ‘Into The Abyss’

Over the past decade, Berlin, which for years was known as a breeding ground for innovative techno and electronic music, has quietly become a creative melting pot for musicians and artists from all over the world. This has led to some of the most innovative genre-defying recordings. One of the artists at the forefront of this evolving scene is composer, producer and keyboard Joel Holmes. He has just released a superb and highly collaborative new album, titled Into The Abyss on Toy Tonics sister label Kryptox.

As a longtime collaborator with both jazz heavy-weights like Roy Hargrove, Curtis Fuller, Javon Jackson, Nnenna Freelon, Curtis Lundy, Jimmy Cobb and techno legend Carl Craig, this remarkable 10-track recording brilliantly fuses together cosmic jazz grooves, electronic beats, and spacey hypnotic tones. The record also features some great contributions from a number of today’s most forward thinking artists, including Tenderlonious on flute, a remix from Emma-Jean Thackray, and producer DNA, as well as saxophonist Roberto Manzin, vocalist Desney Bailey, trumpeter Theljon Allen, keyboardist Vernon D. Hill, and reeds player Eldar Tsalikov.

Joel describes the album in his own words as follows: “The next album Into the Abyss, is the first time I recorded music through the lens of different landscapes and on two different continents reflecting the times of today’s music that is mirroring what is happening in our communities and worlds today. From dark colors to light, music is so diverse and I tried to reflect this in my album. This is also the first time I have had this many special guests on an album. So I‘m excited about this.“

Solid from start to finish, Holmes has put together an impressive album that uniquely blurs the lines between jazz and electronic music. Highly recommended!