Formats
LTR061 - LP
4066004773094
Details
Following the international acclaim and German Jazz Award-nominated success of their 2025 debut album, MYT, Berlin-based group Moses Yoofee Trio now return with their new EP, CHASING LIGHT. Across six tracks, the group distils the live energy of hours spent in their Neukölln rehearsal room, delivering their most instinctive and infectiously unrestrained record to date. Produced by the band and mixed by their long-time collaborator oh.no.ty, CHASING LIGHT will be available on vinyl and via all digital platforms from May 29, 2026. “We wanted to be in our own space to create a special atmosphere that would be relaxed and leave us free to explore,” pianist Moses Yoofee says. “We played for a week straight, borrowing mics and pressing record at certain points or just jamming ideas. It was super DIY and the playfulness of it meant we could push ourselves out of our comfort zones to play in a way we’re not used to.” Coming off a jam-packed tour through Asia, the US and Europe across 2025, their self-recording week of musical exploration resulted in CHASING LIGHT, which builds on the trio’s jazz and hip-hop influenced improvisations to create a lively and expansive new sound. From the frenetic breakbeats and siren-like synth lines of ‘NOTHING TO LOSE’ to the strings-laden harmonic lusciousness of the title track, the afrobeat syncopations of ‘INNER CIRCLES’ and the hip-hop swagger of ‘HONEST’, CHASING LIGHT invites listeners into the tight-knit trio’s world of intuitive self-expression and artful post-production embellishment, creating an EP that sits between the explosiveness of the present moment and the careful layering of arrangements. “We kept all our options open and it created a vibe where anything was possible,” bassist Roman Klobe says. “We didn’t leave until we had something special.” Founded in 2020 after Moses met Roman at Berlin’s Jazz Institute, the project emerged when Roman essentially forced Moses into jamming with drummer Noah Fürbringer. The trio clicked immediately, turning into an equal partnership inspired by jazz greats like Herbie Hancock as much as by contemporary talents such as Robert Glasper, Braxton Cook and Kaidi Tatham. After Noah began posting clips of their jams together online, the group soon amassed a viral following that saw their breakthrough 2023 debut mini-album Ocean released on LEITER. Conceptualised largely through improvisations in the studio, Ocean showcased the trio’s innate aptitude for fiendishly complex rhythm, floating melody and rooted groove. Earning the group a 2024 German Jazz Prize for Live Act of the Year, the following year saw the release of their debut album proper, MYT, which expanded on their improvisatory concept by incorporating further arrangements to enhance their studio sound. Landing on multiple Best Of lists in 2025 and delivering the group a nomination for the German Jazz Award for Debut Album of the Year in 2026, the intricate hook-laden melodies and free-spirited energy of the record launched Moses Yoofee Trio into a year-long global tour that saw them hone an unrivalled live show and grow an increasingly committed fanbase. On a week-long break from tour towards the end of 2025, the group decided to get back into the studio and riff on the adrenalised energy of the road to create new music for future shows. Inspired by a more homegrown recording process, the trio decided to replace a windowless studio with the place they felt most at home: their rehearsal room. “We realised you could start this process from your bedroom or anywhere you’re comfortable,” Moses says. “We had already spent so much time while we were travelling on the road talking about the vibe and energy of the tracks we wanted to create, so by the time we started recording we had so much to go on.” Drawing on those brainstorming sessions, the group came up with tracks like ‘INNER CIRCLES’ thanks to Moses’ idea to anchor a composition in an afrobeat groove, which Roman and Noah immediately brought to life. The title track stemmed from a demo Roman brought in, driven by his desire to incorporate an “emo-core“ guitar pattern. Meanwhile, ‘HONEST’ and ‘KRAUT’ emerged from pure, in the moment jams. Taking this recorded material away, the group then spent weeks editing and crafting finished tracks, as well as calling in features from German talents Mulay and Ahmad Mateen. “We invented whole new songs in the production process by taking drums and mixing it with samples or filling ideas with more elements that connected parts better,” Roman explains. “Mulay is my neighbour and very good friend and her feature came about on ‘NOTHING TO LOSE’ because we had already recorded a demo that fit perfectly with the drums that Noah played in a session. Ahmad Mateen is also an upcoming singer we are a big fan of and we went to Hamburg to record him as we knew he’d be perfect over that strange, wonky groove on ‘HONEST’. It was all organic and made with the same energy as those sessions where we put down the music.” Ultimately, the creative openness of CHASING LIGHT is testament to Moses Yoofee Trio’s growth as a group over the past six years. “We’ve all grown more together and we’re more honest with each other now,” Moses says. “We’ve always been doing exactly whatever we wanted but now we’re even more comfortable with our weirdness and only making or playing what feels true to us.” Harnessing that ethos of authenticity, Moses Yoofee Trio will be hitting the road to perform CHASING LIGHT throughout Europe and across festival season this summer, while they also have plans to record another EP later in the year and keep developing new techniques to hone their irrepressible sound. “We feel super inspired,” Roman says. “Our experimenting is only going to continue.”
Tracks
1. ZERO 2. NOTHING TO LOSE 3. CHASING LIGHT 4. INNER CIRCLES 5. KRAUT 6. HONEST