Download/Vinyl/Stream: https://kryptox.lnk.to/IntoTheAbyss

Berlin is becoming the hot spot of Europe's new contemporary jazz scene.
Joel Holmes, key protagonist of the city's new melting pot, drops single ‘Hot Sauce’ on Toy Tonics sister label Kryptox. The gifted keyboard player who has made his name over in the US as part of Carl Craig’s synthesiser ensemble and Grammy-nominated band Roy Hargrove, is due to release his album ‘Into The Abyss’ in April!

Album release: 05.05.23

Joel Holmes - Hot Sauce (feat. Roberto Manzin)

Download/Vinyl/Stream: https://kryptox.lnk.to/IntoTheAbyss

Once known as a techno city, Berlin has quietly become the capital for jazz bands in recent years. While the queues in front of the techno clubs become shorter and shorter, the city is slowly converting into a melting pot for all sorts of musicians and artists with amazing instrumentalists, producers and bands from all over the world moving to the German capital to create a new scene. As a result, Berlin has come out with some of the craziest, non-conformist types of music. Toy Tonics sister label Kryptox has started to establish itself as a key platform for this new scene.

One of the protagonists of this scene is Joel Holmes, the former band leader of Carl Craig's synthesizer ensemble and keyboarder of (Grammy-nominated) cult band Roy Hargrove. Joel Holmes’ new album ‘Into The Abyss’ is a perfect capturing of the current moment in Berlin. The album features other main players of its new scene such as Ziggy Zeitgeist from Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange, as well as tapping into international talent such as acclaimed flutist Tenderlonious from London.

Few people bridge the gap between jazz and electronic music as successfully as Holmes. Over the past years, he’s been working with some of jazz’s most relevant artists, incl. Roy Hargrove, Curtis Fuller, Javon Jackson, Nnenna Freelon, Curtis Lundy and Jimmy Cobb. Once tapped into electronic music too, he made records with legends such as Carl Craig. Working with techno artists made him curious about the new dance scene, resulting in his moved to Berlin, where he quickly started making music with the likes of Cody Currie and Kapote.

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 2 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."

Album released: 05.05.23

Joel Holmes - We Got The Power (Emma - Jean Thackray Remix)

Joel Holmes - Into The Abyss

Joel Holmes - The Question (Interlude)

Joel Holmes - Little David (feat. Eldar Tsalikov & Tenderlonious)

Joel Holmes - Troublesome (feat. Tenderlonious & Vernon D. Hill)

Joel Holmes - We Got The Power (feat. Desney Bailey)

Download/Vinyl/Stream: https://kryptox.lnk.to/JoelHolmesRmx

Joel Holmes’ incomparable feel and creativity have always made the keys player a musician’s favourite. Joel has been part of Carl Craig’s synthesiser ensemble and Grammy-nominated cult band Roy Hargrove. Few people hit the sweet spot between jazz and electronic as effortlessly as Holmes does, as his three EPs on Toy Tonics beautifully showcase. In 2023 Joel has released his first album ‘Into The Abyss’ for Toy Tonics sister label Kryptox which captures the current cultural moment in Berlin like no other.

Three big players from the overlapping scenes of jazz and electronic now come together to rework Joel’s music - Emma-Jean Thackray, Tenderlonious and Potatohead People. Emma-Jean Thackray has turned heads like few others lately with her debut album ‘Yellow’ hitting #1 in the UK jazz album charts. 22a head honcho Tenderlonious is an absolute staple of London’s ever-evolving jazz scene and Bastard Jazz affiliates Potatohead People bring their jazz-infused hip hop sensibilities from across the pond.

Released: 22.05.23

Joel Holmes - Hot Sauce (Tenderlonious Remix)

Download/Vinyl/Stream: https://kryptox.lnk.to/JoelHolmesRmx

Joel Holmes’ incomparable feel and creativity have always made the keys player a musician’s favourite. Joel has been part of Carl Craig’s synthesiser ensemble and Grammy-nominated cult band Roy Hargrove. Few people hit the sweet spot between jazz and electronic as effortlessly as Holmes does, as his three EPs on Toy Tonics beautifully showcase. In 2023 Joel has released his first album ‘Into The Abyss’ for Toy Tonics sister label Kryptox which captures the current cultural moment in Berlin like no other.

Three big players from the overlapping scenes of jazz and electronic now come together to rework Joel’s music - Emma-Jean Thackray, Tenderlonious and Potatohead People. Emma-Jean Thackray has turned heads like few others lately with her debut album ‘Yellow’ hitting #1 in the UK jazz album charts. 22a head honcho Tenderlonious is an absolute staple of London’s ever-evolving jazz scene and Bastard Jazz affiliates Potatohead People bring their jazz-infused hip hop sensibilities from across the pond.

Released: 09.06.23

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