Cover pic by Alexandre Soeiro
OCD054-OUI070 : João Lobo / Nahang
'Nahang' means whale and is both a simple reference to a sound that keeps coming back in the record and the deeper meaning that this animal has in our planet. The group is based on the trio from Lobo's previous album, "Simorgh", with Norberto Lobo and Soet Kempeneer, adding the voice of Lynn Cassiers. This group explores an electric sound, with low volume but high intensity through original compositions. The music searches the balance between movement and staticity with long repetitive grooves and soundscapes that serve as canvases for other interventions (words, melodies, improvisations). The lyrics are inspired particularly by bel hooks' "all about love" as well as real events that show the collective inability of human beings to love (themselves, other humans and other living beings).
João Lobo: drums, keyboards, voice
Lynn Cassiers: voice, electronics
Norberto Lobo: electric guitar
Soet Kempeneer: electric bass, double bass, keyboards
Nooshin Khatami: spoken word samples on tracks 2 and 3
All music and lyrics written by João Lobo except for excerpts of translated poems by Rumi spoken on tracks 2 and 3.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Chistophe Albertijn.
Cover photo by Alexandre Soeiro
Thank you Nooshin, Lynn, Nor, Soet, Christophe, Werkplaats Walter, Alex, James and Alain.
João Lobo:
From jazz to gnawa music, electro-acoustic trance to total improvisation, in solo or in a big band, collaborating on dance and theatre productions and making soundtracks for movies, João Lobo maintains a versatile career as a musician mainly playing the drums. He has released two records under his name: “Nowruz” in 2017 and “Simorgh” in 2020.He is the co-founder of Oba Loba, Going, Tetterapadequ, Norman, Mulabanda, and a proud member of Giovanni Guidi Trio, Manuel Hermia Trio, Punk Kong, An Pierlè&La Lumière, Daniel Stokart Quartet
He has recorded more than 60 albums, some self-produced and others for labels such as ECM, Clean Feed, CamJazz, De Werf, El Negocito, three:four records, Challenge, NEOS.
He has performed and/or recorded in many countries around the world with many musicians including Enrico Rava, Marshall Allen, Roswell Rudd, Carlos Bica, Nate Wooley, Maalem Hassan Zogari, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Thomas Morgan, Chris Corsano, and collaborates intensely with Norberto Lobo, Giovanni Di Domenico, Lynn Cassiers, Manolo Cabras and Giovanni Guidi.
Norberto Lobo:
Norberto Lobo is a Lisbon-based guitarist who has had a long solo career with seven critically acclaimed records in his name: “Mudar de Bina” (2007), “Pata Lenta” (2009), “Fala Mansa” (2011), “Mel Azul” (2012), “Fornalha” (2014), “Muxama” (2016) and “Estrela” (2018) as well as performances around the world. He has worked with Ben Chasny, Naná Vasconcelos, Joshua Abrams and regularly collaborates with Yaw Tembe, Eric Chenaux, Marco Franco, João Lobo, a.o. Jack Rose and Ben Chasny have said that he has one of the best left-hands around - for a right-hand guitar player. His fans include Gary Lucas and the late Llasa de Sela.
Lynn Cassiers:
Lynn Cassiers is a Brussels-based singer and soundscaper in the new jazz and improv scene. She has worked with leading contemporary jazz ensembles such as Octurn, Lidlboj, The Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Mäâk, and Naga, among others. She is also part of bands like Lilly Joel/Lilly Joel Plays The Organ (Jozef Dumoulin), Holsen & Cassiers (Hilde Holsen), Tape Cuts Tape (Rudy Trouvé, Eric Thielemans), Flying Nimbus (Manolo Cabras), Sylvaine Hélary’s ‘L’Orchestre Incandescent,’ Airelle Besson Quartet, Oba Loba, Alexandra Grimal’s Naga & La Vapeur au-dessus du Riz, and Oriol Roca Trio featuring Lynn Cassiers.
In addition to performing solo and as a sideman, Lynn leads her own projects: ‘Imaginary Band’ (Clean Feed, 2018) and ‘YUN’ (Clean Feed, 2020). These are two mid-sized electro-acoustic ensembles that, despite a partially overlapping lineup, each have their own distinct sound and repertoire (featuring Erik Vermeulen, Marek Patrman, Manolo Cabras, Bo Van Der Werf, Jozef Dumoulin, Sylvain Debaisieux, Ananta Roosens, and Niels Van Heertum).
Lynn’s work incorporates a wide variety of styles, including free jazz, pop, rock, noise, film music, folk, and ambient. Over the years, she has developed a unique style, using electronics to manipulate her voice and create abstract sound textures in various musical contexts. Her work has been reviewed by the international press.
Soet Kempeneer:
Soet Kempeneer is a Belgian bassist, double bass and synthesizer player working across jazz, electronic and experimental music. He is active in projects including SLAGADER, Jokke, Innocnt and Woolvs Large Ensemble, moving between electric bass, double bass and synthesizers. His musical world draws from jazz, pop, improvised music, electronic textures and experimental pop.
Digital and physical release on the 3rd of April 2026.
Track listing:
1: Freya
2: Meet The Dawn
3: Almohadilla
4: Zan Zen Zing
5: The Work
6: Foo Ping
Itunes, Apple Music, Deezer, etc.:
And on Bandcamp:
