Deluxe CD, in reverse board sleeve, packed in a resealable protective bag. With her third album, composer and bandleader Jasmine Myra has stepped confidently into the next stage of her unique musical explorations. Where Light Settles is a cohesive artistic statement from a distinctive and confident voice in UK music, and a significant evolution from the critically acclaimed Horizons (2022) and Rising (2024). Nine beautiful and powerfully grounded compositions express an accumulation of the artist’s ruminations on life, growth, and progression, powered by her vision of duality. “It’s those bittersweet moments which are heart-breaking but so important. Looking forward and trying to make sense of life,” she says. “Pain is unavoidable, and you’ll have hardship no matter what, but you don’t grow or learn about yourself or the world around you without it. The duality is the growth and coming out the other side. I had the concept from the start.” Jasmine Myra’s verdant musical vision and talent for instrumental storytelling came to life over five days, with her long-standing ensemble gathering in one room at The Nave studios in Leeds. Myra had crossed paths with Ancient Infinity Orchestra bandleader Ozzy Moysey before she moved from Leeds to London, often attending and playing at the same jam sessions. This made him the perfect choice to conduct the 13-piece band, freeing her up to bring maximum tenderness and elegiac tones to the alto sax lines she’d written. Her own playing sits deliberately within each track, never flying above. Instead, it wraps gently around precision melodies she wrote for strings, piano, flute, guitar, vibraphone, and harp which themselves furl and unfurl gorgeously around tenor sax, double bass, drums, and percussion. It’s a huge undertaking, executed with resolute confidence, and melodies that sparkle like sunlight on water. As well as writing all the music, Where Light Settles is also her first self- produced record, with Gondwana label boss Matthew Halsall undertaking Contributing Producer duties. It’s a colourful sound world, shaped in both atmosphere and structure by Myra’s affinity with music for film. Behind the notes and staves there’s also Myra’s love of nature, specifically regular trips to North Wales, the Lake District, and the South Downs. “I just love those landscapes. It’s the duality: nature can be brutal but beautiful and I love that juxtaposition.” And of course, existing musical influences that range from Fabiano do Nascimento to Arooj Aftab and Alabaster Deplume. “Where Light Settles is a metaphor for hope, and for me, it’s the perfect title for this album, which we recorded together, in person. It communicates the energy and the meaning behind it – and it ties in with the theme of duality.” Last year brought success and promise, including an inspiring two-date trip to China. This summer and autumn, and the months that roll out in the distance, will be all about spreading the word. Those who know already love Jasmine Myra’s music. And soon, everyone else will too. Pressed on high quality black BioVinyl at Optimal in Germany for maximum sound quality.
