Cassie Kinoshi announces sophomore seed. album

gratitude arrives through International Anthem and Kinoshi’s Beatprint Records in March.

Berlin and London-based composer, arranger, bandleader and alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi has announced the release of a sophomore album from her critically acclaimed ten-piece ensemble seed.

Formerly known as SEED Ensemble, Kinoshi first introduced her returning project to the public in the late 2010s, releasing their debut album Driftglass to widespread praise and a Mercury Prize nomination in 2019 whilst maintaining integral roles in the similarly decorated London jazz outfits KOKOROKO and Nérija. The ensemble’s forthcoming sophomore album, entitled gratitude, was recorded live in concert at the historic Southbank Centre in March 2023 featuring contributions from UK turntablist NikNak and members of the London Contemporary Orchestra.

Kinoshi states of her approaching album

“gratitude was written as a means of guiding my own healing. My mother told me that she keeps a gratitude book where she writes one thing, no matter how big or small, every day that helps to re-focus her mind on practicing gratitude. The examples that she gave were seeing the flowers that she’d recently planted in her garden bloom and a kaleidoscope of butterflies that she saw flitting about a tree in her garden. I find this way of looking for the small moments of beauty in everyday life a beautiful way of reframing one’s experience of life and making sure to celebrate the communities, people, natural world and experiences that bring me joy. At this point in my artistic career, highlighting the often overlooked subject of mental health and what it means to move towards creating healthy, positive and introspective practices in regards to both understanding and regulating one’s own mental health is of the utmost importance to me.”

Preceding the album’s release, hear ‘i’ and ‘ii’ in advance and view the track list for gratitude below.

gratitude

1 ‘i’
2 ‘ii’
3 ‘interlude i’
4 ‘iii sun through my window’
5 ‘interlude ii’
6 ‘iv’
7 ‘Smoke in the Sun’

gratitude releases on March 22nd via International Anthem and Beatprint Records. Pre-order the album on vinyl here.

Words by Sam Wilkinson.

Like this article? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more.