Snarky Puppy, Metropole Orchestra – Somni (2xLP)

Five-time Grammy winners Snarky Puppy are finally releasing their first new album in three years since the release of Empire Central.

The band has once again teamed up with Jules Buckley's Metropole Orkest in the Netherlands, with whom they previously collaborated on their major debut album (Impulse) in 2015. The Metropole Orkest is a first-class jazz orchestra that has worked with Elvis Costello, Vince Mendoza, Robert Glasper, Corey Wong, Ledisi and many other musicians of various genres and continues to explore the possibilities of the large ensemble format. In particular, it has earned a reputation as a virtuoso in the art of combining strings and rhythm.

Michael League, who composed all the music, came to Japan in November 2024 to compose this work alone, and stayed at a retreat house in Hijimachi, Oita Prefecture for two weeks from November 24, where he wrote songs and produced demos using only a MIDI controller/logic/guitar. He then finalized the details and recorded this album as a live studio performance from January 16-18, 2025 at "Cabourg a Gogo" in Utrecht. The title and concept of the album means "dream" in Catalan, and while "Sylva" was a cinematic "outward look" at nature, this time the sound is very imaginative and focuses on the inner world of dreams.

Snarky Puppy, five-time Grammy winners who visited Japan in March and May 2025, have finally released their first new album in three years since the release of Empire Central. The band has once again teamed up with Jules Buckley's Metropole Orkest in the Netherlands, with whom they previously collaborated on their major debut album (Impulse) in 2015. The Metropole Orkest is a first-class jazz orchestra that has worked with Elvis Costello, Vince Mendoza, Robert Glasper, Corey Wong, Ledisi and many other musicians of various genres and continues to explore the possibilities of the large ensemble format. In particular, it has earned a reputation as a virtuoso in the art of combining strings and rhythm. Michael League, who composed all the music, came to Japan in November 2024 to compose this work alone, and stayed at a retreat house in Hijimachi, Oita Prefecture for two weeks from November 24, where he wrote songs and produced demos using only a MIDI controller/logic/guitar. He then finalized the details and recorded this album as a live studio performance from January 16-18, 2025 at "Cabourg A Gogo" in Utrecht. The title and concept of the album means "dream" in Catalan, and while "Sylva" was a cinematic "outward look" at nature, this time the sound is very imaginative and focuses on the inner world of dreams.

The order of the tracks is almost chronological, with the songs musically translating and arranging the transition from wakefulness to sleep, the disappearance of the outside world when falling asleep, the confusion of waking up from a vivid dream and the afterimages of dreams, etc. The introspective compositions that each of these images evoke, and the exquisite way in which the themes change, make it understandable that an orchestra was essential to realize them sonically. This is an ambitious project by the 20-piece band Snarky Puppy, which now includes four drummers, including percussionist Nikki Glaspie, and more than 50 members of the Metropole Orchestra.