★Kou Records
Pneuma
Double bassist and composer Henry Fraser announces the release of Pneuma, a new solo album out June 12 on Kou Records and recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Jóhann Jóhannsson) and Ben Greenberg (Uniform, Marc Ribot). Across eight concise movements, Fraser explores breath, resonance, and the evolving relationship between composition and improvisation, shaping an intimate sonic landscape in which the double bass seems to inhale, bloom into overtones, and dissolve back int…
Looks Far Woman
Cellist and composer Aliya Ultan announces Looks Far Woman, a new solo album out June 26 on Kou Records, recorded, mixed, and produced by Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Jóhann Jóhannsson). The album takes its name from a guiding figure in Aliya's personal mythology — a seer who moves between worlds carrying the medicine of patience, prophecy, and transmutation — drawn in part from Jamie Sams' The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers. Structured as a six-part song cycle — Wind Song, Road Song, Mountain Song,…
Shade Zero
Flutist and composer Taiga Ultan announces the release of Shade Zero, her debut full-length album out June 26 on Kou Records and recorded, mixed, and produced by Randall Dunn (Anna von Hausswolff, Annea Lockwood, Danny Elfman). Structured as a three-part work, the album traces a gradual transformation from virtuosic flute performance rooted in classical discipline to extended techniques, spoken language, and poetic reflection. At the center of Shade Zero is an investigation into the relationship…
Now I Imagine A Place Not The Same
Electric guitarist and composer David Torn announces "now i imagine a place not the same," an expansive new double LP out May 29 via Kou Records. Produced by Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Thurston Moore), the album revisits the raw electricity of Torn’s early processing language while carrying it forward with the perspective of decades of exploration. Visceral yet weightless, it deepens his long-standing dialogue between alternate tunings, looping systems, and touch-sensitive electronics. Melody, noi…
Manifestations In The Shadow Of An Uncertain Land
Manifestations in the Shadow of an Uncertain Land unfolds through aleatoric composition and intuitive process, shaped by deeply entangled political and aesthetic lineages. Rooted in lived experiences of bodies and minds navigating the localized and global weight of imperialism, the work also draws from the temporal logic of film and literature, where memory, dread, and anticipation coexist. Working with voice and modular electronics, Lowe treats sound as a sculptural and cinematic force, informe…
Uranian Void
On Uranian Void, Jessika Kenney turns her ear toward the resonances of her own subconscious. Blurring sine waves, hydrophone recordings, a ghazal of Hafez, solo instruments, original texts, and voice, the album is a meditation on sound, space, and the fragile edges of perception. Kenney’s voice weaves in and out of every space perceived. Evocations of memory coalesce into compositions inspired by years of inquiry into acoustic phenomena, where shimmer and shadow are equally alive. Produced and r…
Tulpa
Tulpa by Charmaine Lee transforms voice, electronics, and feedback into a vivid organism of noise, song, and silence. Produced by Randall Dunn and released on her label Kou Records, the album bends improvised vocal gestures into sculptural form—an intimate encounter between body and circuitry that questions where identity begins and resonance ends.
Riparian
Composer and violist Eyvind Kang announces the release of Riparian, his first album of solo viola d’amore performances via Kou Records. Kang is a long time collaborator of Jessika Kenney, Bill Frisell, Laurie Anderson, Bennie Maupin, Stuart Dempster and many other luminaries, as well as a substantial contributor to recordings by SUNN O))) (Monoliths and Dimensions) and Blonde Redhead (Misery is a Butterfly). He is a disciple of spiritual jazz violinist Michael White and a lifelong student of rag…
Ratsnake
Ratsnake by Chloe Kim is a daring solo percussion suite that channels years of improvisational research into a visceral, highly personal language. Produced by Randall Dunn after Kim’s formative New York sojourn, the album fuses jazz-rooted control with exploratory vulnerability, establishing Kim as a bold new voice in solo drumset music.
Elevator Music
Big tip! Laptop electronics pioneer Ikue Mori joins forces with vocalist Charmaine Lee for their highly anticipated debut release, Elevator Music, on Lee’s newly launched Kou Records. This 7” record marks the first official recording from the duo, whose collaboration began in 2019, and showcases their extraordinary blend of laptop electronics, modular synthesis, and the voice. Elevator Music captures the duo’s omnivorous imagination, merging Lee’s unique vocal techniques with Mori’s ever-evolvin…