We Speak Music
‘Sky Fish Fly’ by kazaizen: Where Soul Meets Psychedelia
kazaizen’s Sky Fish Fly feels less like a traditional album and more like a living organism—constantly mutating, shifting shape, and inviting listeners deeper into its curious, kaleidoscopic world. Jonny Kasai’s genre-defying project has always thrived on exploration, but here, that instinct is sharpened into something remarkably cohesive despite its eclectic sprawl.
Clocking in at a concise 35 minutes, the album wastes no time in establishing its sonic language. Tracks like “Nanoo Nanoo” and “Make It Love” revel in groove-driven psychedelia, their rhythms looping hypnotically while layers of instrumentation ebb and flow around them. There’s a looseness to the compositions, but never at the expense of intention.
A sense of temporal dislocation runs throughout. “What Is” plays like a memory half-remembered, its 70s soul influences filtered through tape-warp textures and collage-like production. Meanwhile, “What’s the Meaning – Self” channels city-pop shimmer, but destabilises it with unexpected shifts and playful melodic detours.
The record’s second half leans into more expansive, exploratory terrain. “State of Mind” edges into shoegaze, constructing dense sonic walls from unconventional sources, while “Beyond the Stars” and “Somewhere Somethings Waiting” stretch into cosmic soul and progressive synth-jazz respectively. Each track feels like a new corridor branching off an already labyrinthine structure.
What makes Sky Fish Fly resonate is its ethos. Kasai’s process—starting from fragments and allowing songs to evolve organically—results in music that feels alive, searching. It’s an album about perspective shifts, about embracing the unknown. In that sense, its genre ambiguity isn’t just aesthetic—it’s philosophical.
“With Sky Fish Fly, kazaizen invites listeners on a journey through sound that’s playful, introspective, and utterly fearless,” says music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR. “Jonny Kasai blends psychedelic soul, shoegaze, jazz, and city pop into a universe where every track feels alive, like flipping through a cosmic radio dial at midnight. It’s music that’s lo-fi, immersive, and impossible to categorise, but impossible to forget.”
We Speak Music
Christian Balvig releases gorgeous new album ‘Find And You Will Seek’ in collaboration with Ensemble Hermes.
Acclaimed composer and arranger Christian Balvig is known for his work with an array of artists and bands like Jade, Efterklang, Lowly, When Saints Go Machine and Mew, as well as his work with some of the most acclaimed orchestras like Royal Northern Sinfonia (BBC Proms), The Royal Danish Orchestra, Copenhagen Phil, London Contemporary Orchestra, The Danish Radio Broadcast Orchestra and The Norwegian Wind Ensemble.
The cinematic sound on his new album might echo Balvig’s work in the world of film and TV music. Scoring the 2025 Oscar shortlisted short movie ‘Eternal Father’ and the Danish hit series ‘Cry Wolf’ (Ulven Kommer), which has been shown on television in more than 30 countries around the globe, including Channel 4 in the UK. He was also nominated for a Harpa award for ‘Best score’ last year at the Berlinale for ‘The Son and the Moon (Min Arv Bor I Dig)’.
Balvig’s new album, ‘Find And You Will Seek’, backed by Danish string group Ensemble Hermes, grew organically out of this background of experiences and is music that appeals to listeners seeking original, immersive music with space for reflection and contemplation.
‘Find And You Will Seek’ is a collection of chamber works that explore the combination of piano and strings in new ways. Recent single ‘The BirdSuite II – Praesentia’ is part of a 3-part Suite running throughout the record, written and performed on a custom made “Keybird” piano, which is an una-corda (one string pr note) piano that gives a more subtle and intimate sound. On top of it is a lush and emotional string ensemble arrangement with Ensemble Hermes in multiple layers fluctuating in and out of the keybird piano.
Balvig’s second single from the record is ‘What Happened To The World’, an ultra transparent neo-classical inspired piece, with slow melodic structures, a simple chord progression and emotional performance starting with a floating viola solo. It is written from the feeling that the world sometimes goes backwards, and you feel left on the platform wanting to take the train in a different direction.
From film music inspired pieces to experimental chamber music over piano concerto inspired movements, to more neo-classical productions with almost orchestral sounding dubs of strings, ‘Find And You Will Seek’ flows with emotions and lush sound worlds, always with a tangible organic texture.
Find Christian Balvig and Ensemble Hermes on tour in Denmark:
27.5 Ansgars Kirke (Odense)
28.5 Folkegaarden Festival (Aalborg)
29.5 Gnisten (Ry)
30.5 Musikhuset (Aarhus)
1.6 Basement (Copenhagen)
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