A weekly crate of new prog, fusion and the fringes, dug out of the week’s music writing.
The living line: Tel Aviv to Beirut to Addis
Sixth edition: fresh harvest from Prog Rock Journal, The Progressive Subway, Arctic Drones, A Closer Listen, EARMILK, Jazzwise, All About Jazz and more, spotlighting the living Israeli/Middle-East prog-jazz axis. The 2026-09-16 Latin America draft was discarded after a Week-4 overlap contamination; this edition is a clean rebuild. — ed.
Middle East
What the Israeli/Middle-East axis is pressing now: modal jazz, quarter-tone trumpet, spiritual roots — plus this week's core prog, jazz-fusion and fringe harvest.
Who is making this now
This is not a survey of 'Middle Eastern music'. It is a snapshot of a living network: Israeli and diaspora players, plus the Lebanese, Palestinian-diaspora and Ethiopian voices their scene keeps in conversation, all pressing records right now.
The edition opens on a 2023 root — Uriel Herman's 'Fantasy' — then steps entirely into the present. Sefi Zisling's horn fuzz returns remixed; Rejoicer floats keyboards over Raw Tapes; Or Kantor writes cinematic, questing small-group music; Itamar Borochov turns Hasidic nigunim into spiritual-jazz brass; Omri Mor brings Andalusian-Moroccan color to the piano; Eli Levin's 'Hayom' is weeks old.
The line runs outward too. Yazz Ahmed's psychedelic Arabic jazz and Ibrahim Maalouf's quarter-tone trumpet carry the modal vocabulary into London and Paris, while Mulatu's 'Tezeta' stays in the archive lane as the root everyone in this network still cites. Around the scene block, this week's core-prog, jazz-fusion and fringe harvest keeps the shelves honest.
BANDS IN THIS EDITION
- Uriel Herman Quartet
- Sefi Zisling
- Rejoicer
- Or Kantor
- Itamar Borochov
- Omri Mor
- Eli Levin
- Yazz Ahmed
- Ibrahim Maalouf
- Mulatu Astatke
LABELS / COLLECTIVES
- Raw Tapes (Tel Aviv)
- Zone D Echoes (Paris)
- Whirlwind Recordings (London)
- Salaam Tapes
CITIES / PLACES
- Tel Aviv
- Jerusalem
- London
- Paris
- Addis Ababa
Sixth edition. The 2026-09-16 Latin America draft was discarded after a Week-4 overlap contamination; this edition is the verified clean rebuild.
PICK
PICK
Uriel HermanFantasy
Scene root: Herman's 'Fantasy' (Different Eyes, 2023) — the Israeli pianist whose Jazzwise 'Video of the Day' moment anchored this edition's living scene.
Sefi ZislingBrothers - Beno Remix
Zisling's 'Brothers' remixed by Beno — Tel Aviv's psych-jazz trumpeter still pressing forward in 2026.
RejoicerA Traveling Light
'A Traveling Light' from California Space Craft (2026) — the Raw Tapes don's floating keyboard jazz.
Or KantorEscape from Snake Island
Kantor's 'Escape from Snake Island' (Snake Island, 2025) — cinematic, questing modern Israeli jazz.
Crystal ThroneElectrical Savior
Crystal Throne — Electrical Savior, harvested from ProgRockJournal (prog-metal, core-prog lane).
End Of AbyssSound of Soul - Single Edit
End Of Abyss — Sound of Soul - Single Edit, harvested from ProgRockJournal (prog-metal, core-prog lane).
TO DIE ON ICEBACCANALE
TO DIE ON ICE — BACCANALE, harvested from ArcticDrones (avant-prog, jazz-fusion lane).
Temple FangHarvest Angel
Temple Fang — Harvest Angel, harvested from Progspace (stoner-rock, core-prog lane).
Moon MotherWorld in a Glass Jar
Moon Mother — World in a Glass Jar, harvested from ArcticDrones (post-rock, fringe lane).
MarbinIsraeli Jazz
Marbin — Israeli Jazz, harvested from TheProgReport (prog-jazz, wildcard lane).
Itamar BorochovNigun
'Nigun' (2026) — Brooklyn-based Israeli trumpeter turning Hasidic melody into spiritual jazz.
Luiz ToffoliShadows of a Man
Luiz Toffoli — Shadows of a Man, harvested from ProgRockJournal (horror-prog, wildcard lane).
SeedDeluded
Seed — Deluded, harvested from ProgRockJournal (classic-prog, core-prog lane).
Team DokusOn the Way Down - Alt.
Team Dokus — On the Way Down - Alt., harvested from ProgRockJournal (archival-prog, archive lane).
DunesVelvet
Dunes — Velvet, harvested from ProgRockJournal (stoner-prog, core-prog lane).
Ibrahim MaaloufZajal
'Zajal' (2024) — quarter-tone trumpet bridging Beirut and Paris.
Yazz AhmedForest Bathing 森林浴
'Forest Bathing' from Shinrin Yoku (2026) — the 'high priestess of psychedelic Arabic jazz'.
ShaloshOnce Upon a Melody
Shalosh — Once Upon a Melody, harvested from AllAboutJazz (piano-trio, jazz-fusion lane).
Sasi ShalomIdob
Sasi Shalom — Idob, harvested from AllAboutJazz (modern-jazz, jazz-fusion lane).
Omri MorMovement Twelve - Lament
'Movement Twelve — Lament' from Melodies of Light — Andalusian-Moroccan color through an Israeli pianist's hands.
Dan Pugach NonetSleigh Ride
Dan Pugach Nonet — Sleigh Ride, harvested from AllAboutJazz (large-ensemble, jazz-fusion lane).
Assif TsaharOne Cymbole
Assif Tsahar — One Cymbole, harvested from AllAboutJazz (israeli-freejazz, archive lane).
GROS COEUREuphorie
GROS COEUR — Euphorie, harvested from Progspace (post-punk, fringe lane).
OruãMaldição - 2016-2026
Oruã — Maldição - 2016-2026, harvested from EARMILK (kraut-psych, fringe lane).
Macro/microDe-empty
Macro/micro — De-empty, harvested from ArcticDrones (idm-postrock, fringe lane).
Eli LevinHayom
'Hayom' (Aug 2026) — fresh from the Jerusalem jazz ecosystem.
Ben AylonSama Dom
Ben Aylon — Sama Dom, harvested from Bandcamp (world-fusion, fringe lane).
Asaf SirkisDream
Asaf Sirkis — Dream, harvested from Jazzwise (jazz-drums, jazz-fusion lane).
Gerardo NuñezEstela
Gerardo Nuñez — Estela, harvested from Jazzwise (flamenco-fusion, jazz-fusion lane).
Signal MeridianThe Last Resort
Signal Meridian — The Last Resort, harvested from ProgRockJournal (classic-prog, core-prog lane).
SpacetactularLumae
Spacetactular — Lumae, harvested from Bandcamp (electronic, fringe lane).
SOFT VEINLiving in Liminal Spaces
SOFT VEIN — Living in Liminal Spaces, harvested from EARMILK (shoegaze, fringe lane).
Buddha Boy aka BodhiYour Majesty
Buddha Boy aka Bodhi — Your Majesty, harvested from EARMILK (ambient-pop, fringe lane).
Jason DunganRoutine I
Blue Lake — Routine I, harvested from postrock (modern-composition, fringe lane).