Hello folks!

Time for another MMM.

I’ve been a little quiet on the blog front of late due to some unplanned, life-related monkey business — but I’m very much hoping to get back into the swing of things again.

This month: a couple of excellent articles I’ve come across, followed by a long-overdue round-up of recent listening picks.

Enjoy.

Easter 2026 Half Term

An early reminder to say that the Studio will be closed for one week over Easter half term:

Monday 6 April to Sunday 12 April 2026

Lessons will resume as normal the following week.

Update: Lesson Notes

Apologies to those of you who didn’t receive lesson notes last week. A combination of minor illness and a few unexpected bits and pieces made it tricky to keep up with the usual admin flow.

All back to normal from this week onwards.

Article: The Sound of Absence

A thoughtful essay on the politics and perception of silence.

https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2026/02/the-symphony-of-silence-an-exploration-of-the-sound-of-absence.html

One of the central ideas is that silence isn’t simply the absence of sound. It’s something we actively construct in the brain. Even in quiet environments, our auditory system is alive with expectation, memory, and low-level noise. In other words, we don’t just hear sound, we hear its absence as well.

Really well argued, and well worth a read.

Article: Are Humans Born Musical?

Another really interesting piece here:

The central argument is a lovely one: music is not just a cultural extra, some decorative flourish humans happened to invent once food and shelter were sorted. It may well be much deeper than that — something biologically rooted in us from the very beginning. 

That feels about right.

The article draws on research that argues we should focus less on “music” as a cultural product and more on musicality, the underlying biological capacity that allows us to perceive, produce, and enjoy structured sound in the first place.

I suspect this rings true to most. Responsiveness to organised sound is not merely learned from culture after the fact, but is present astonishingly early. Anyone who has spent time with very young children, or watched a toddler respond to pulse, contour, repetition or timbre, has probably felt that there is something incredibly fundamental going on, something prior to analysis or convention.

Not: “Do I understand this?”

More: “My nervous system already knows what this is.”

Which might explain why music feels so fundamental.

The Run Off: Recent Rotations, Spring 2026

I used to do a little round up of my recent listening every now and then, and it’s high time I did another!

No grand theme, just some great tunes that have been on repeat over the past few months.

Most of these can be found on my Spotify playlist here, with many other albums: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5i8ilO9Kutd1iWLm5HMjAz?si=3f6f35dd53364037

Let’s get into it…

Foxwarren – Foxwarren 2

Probably the best new-to-me record I’ve come across so far this year. Warm, hazy, collage-like songwriting that feels perfectly attuned to the winter/spring threshold.

Bill Callahan – Dream River

Bill has a new record out, which is quite nice, but this might be his finest hour.

Anton Riecha – 36 Fugues

Reicha’s fugues are playful, eccentric, occasionally chaotic — pushing the form in ways that feel incredibly modern. Counterpoint with a borderline personality disorder.

Beautify Junkyards – Nova

Another great release from the inimitable Ghostbox Records. Dreamlike, gently psychedelic, and steeped in a kind of faded analogue glow.

Penguin Cafe – A Matter of Life…

Classic Penguin Cafe lineage: melodic, open-hearted, quietly optimistic. Always a pleasure.

The Felice Brothers – From Dreams To Dust

Loose, darkly hilarious folksy Americana with delightfully surrealist edge from one of my favourite songwriters.

Work Money Death – A Portal To Here

Top tier contemporary spiritual jazz with a long forms, rich textures, and a sense of collective playing that feels almost ritualistic.

Ichiko Adoba – Windswept Adan

One of those rare records that feels like a complete world. The arrangements are sparse but incredibly precise and detailed; every sound feels completely intentional. A wonder to behold.

Ahmed Jamal – Alhambra

Jamal is the epitome of master-of—his-craft. He knows more than any other jazz pianist exactly when not to play, which gives everything he does play far more weight.

Little Barrie & Malcom Catto – Electric War

Blisteringly tight, deeply satisfying grooves. A meeting point between psych, funk, and film music.

Broadcast – The Haha Sound

Warped pop that sounds like music from another planet, all these years later. Trish Keenan is much missed.

Daniel Villareal – Panama 77

Drawing on Latin jazz traditions but with a modern looseness. Generous, open, and very easy to get into.

That’s all for this month.

As ever: keep listening widely, practising patiently.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Will