Taken from the forthcoming album – released on June 19, 2026 as Brownswood celebrates its 20th anniversary – “Ground Loop” follows lead single “Cauldron” and offers a further glimpse into the exploratory and free-flowing musical language behind the record.
The project brings Bartz together with a new generation of London musicians assembled by drummer and producer Jake Long, featuring Ali MacSween (piano, synthesizers and modular FX), Axel Kaner-Lidstrom (trumpet), Twm Dylan (double bass), Tim Doyle (percussion) and Chelsea Carmichael (tenor saxophone).
Built around a slow-burning modal groove, “Ground Loop” unfolds gradually from drifting synth textures and modular processing into a steady rhythmic pulse anchored by double bass and percussion. Led by the lyrical trumpet playing of Axel Kaner-Lidstrom, the track moves between layered electronics and spacious improvisation.
“Ground Loop is very special to us,” says Long. “It was one of the first tracks we worked on, and it really helped shape the sound of the record.”
At the centre of the Where Rivers Meet project is Gary Bartz, one of the defining voices in modern jazz. Across a career spanning more than five decades, Bartz has performed with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Max Roach and Art Blakey, while his celebrated NTU Troop recordings helped shape the sound of spiritual jazz in the 1970s.
The roots of the collaboration trace back to 2019, when broadcaster and Brownswood founder Gilles Peterson invited Long to bring his ensemble Maisha together with Bartz for performances at the inaugural We Out Here Festival and London’s Royal Festival Hall. A subsequent direct-to-disc session for Night Dreamer Records revealed an immediate musical chemistry between Bartz and the London musicians – a creative relationship that has continued to evolve into Where Rivers Meet.
Watch Ground Loop live from Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM show here.
Pre-order the vinyl here.
