NewAm Highlights of 2025
Let's catch up. We missed you too.
Believe it or not, we’re not even halfway into 2025—and it already feels like a year. We know it’s been a while since we’ve engaged with you on Substack, and there’s a lot to catch up on. But first, a sincere thank you to those of you who have been part of our journey in music so far.
Whether you follow us on social media, subscribe to our Bandcamp, listen to the Reverberations podcast, stream our artists' work, attend our concerts and events, participate in the Composer’s Lab, or support our fundraising efforts—thank you. Your engagement makes everything we do possible. And if you haven’t joined us yet, consider this your invitation to be part of what’s next. Here's what your support has helped bring to life:
New Amsterdam Records’ Partnership with Transgressive and Nonesuch Records for the Release of Song of the Earth, by David Longstreth, Dirty Projectors, and s t a r g a z e
On January 7th, trees started burning in California and David Longstreth’s album announcement for Song of the Earth was a few hours away. The first single of the 24-piece song cycle for orchestra and voices, called “Uninhabitable Earth: Paragraph One,” serves as a word-for-word rendition of how the “epoch-defining book” (The Guardian)The Uninhabitable Earth, by Wallace-Wells, begins: describing the stark reality of what climate change and our inuring for political and civil injustices is causing worldwide. The opening line sets the tone for what this record’s message is, as chilling as it is unsettling: “It is worse, much worse than you think.”
Commissioned by the s t a r g a z e ensemble during the 2020 pandemic and performed alongside Dirty Projectors, Song of the Earth premiered at Disney Hall, featuring the LA Philharmonic, in March 2024. The performance served as a prophetic reminder of the urgent need for change, while also musically documenting our uncertainty about the future of humanity.
“David Longstreth has been a long-time friend of NewAm, someone with whom we shared a deep musical kinship…,” says Judd Greenstein, NewAm’s Executive Director. “He and I had a talk about [SOTE] back in 2022, and from those conversations came the idea of making an album in partnership, first with Nonesuch — our longtime and regular release partner since 2019 — and then Transgressive, the label that s t a r g a z e (David’s “orchestra”) releases on. For a project like SOTE, which has so many different “ways in” to the story it is telling, having a broader community of labels to help spread the word made a lot of sense. So when you combine forces, you can help bring this amazing musical story to more ears, and at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing we can do.”
SOTE is a letter to our human conscience, warning us of the imminent destruction we face if we’re not careful, while also offering a glimpse of hope in unexpected places. During Episode 12 of our Reverberations podcast, Majel asked David about the penultimate track, called “Blue of Dreaming,” which he dedicates to his daughter. He shared the following: “[Given] the legitimate despair that...the record conjures, to summon the opposite, to summon hope, didn’t feel easy. It did feel insane. It’s an insane way to end the record.” While that may be the case, it is also exactly what hope sounds like sometimes. Get your copy today.
New Amsterdam Presents: Reverberations with Majel Connery - Season 2
Our Reverberations podcast, hosted by musicologist Majel Connery, has been heard in 49 countries and territories, including Germany, Australia, and Hong Kong, over its first year. Season 1 highlighted the following New Amsterdam Records’ releases:
Claire Dickson’s The Beholder
Alex Sopp’s The Hem and The Haw
Mazz Swift’s The 10000 Things: Praise Songs for the iRiligious
Wild Up’s Julius Eastman Vol. 4: The Holy Presence
Darian Donovan Thomas’ A Room With Many Doors
Ellen Reid’s Big Majestic
Charlotte Jacobs’ a t l a s
Adam Tendler’s Inheritances
William Brittelle’s Alive in the Electric Snow Dream
Season 2 of the podcast premiered on March 28th, and the first three episodes are available now. ”As a radio person, Reverberations helps me get music I care about in front of the national audience it deserves,” shares Majel. “I’m not just a fan of New Amsterdam Records and its artists: this is my community.”
Find us on Apple Podcasts, or click here to find Reverberations with Majel Connery on your favorite streaming platform.
Spring Album Releases
TODAY: Alex Paxton makes his US Label debut with the release of Delicious
Alex Paxton, the British award-winning composer and jazz trombonist, celebrated as “a magician of sound… hyperkinetic, rainbow-hued… joy and freedom” by the Financial Times, and recognized as “extremely modern and future-oriented” (Paul Hindemith Prize 2023), has released Delicious today, marking his first U.S. label debut with New Amsterdam Records.
Delicious is a 21st century sensual maximalist behemoth drawing from Paxton’s “highly innovative...exceptional creative imagination” (BBC Music Magazine) and his virtuosic craft of orchestral fireworks. This music brings life to any space it reaches, not just through sound but also through stunning collages. Created by Ben Giles, the visuals that accompany the record, including the album’s artwork, showcase the complexity and beauty of a vibrant, colorful, and queer perspective, making the experience as enticing as the title of each track.
If you’re reading this from Europe, you’re in luck. Find upcoming performances featuring works from Delicious below:
June 12, 2025 — Spit Crystal Yeast Rack dripping (a l’orange)
Spółdzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble
Krakow, Poland [show info]
June 28, 2025 — Shrimp BIT Baby Face
Riot Ensemble
Manchester classical UK [show info]
June 29, 2025 — Justgum Friends
Plus Minus Ensemble
Cafe Oto London [show info]
June 30, 2025 — Justgum Friends
Plus Minus Ensemble
Reid Concert Hall
Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh [show info]
Ayane Kozasa, Gabriel Cabezas, Alexi Kenney, and Paul Wianko release Rare Birds, their first recording as Owls
Yes, you read the title right. Four world-renowned musicians in their own right decided to join forces and reinvent what a string quartet sounds like. The result? An “inverted quartet,” featuring two cellos instead of two violins, named Owls with a “classical” NYT recognized album, titled Rare Birds. Released on March 14th, 2025, this record proves that creativity has no limits, and that some of the best art comes when you find the right collaborators.
The album was produced by Grammy™-winner William Brittelle, who shared the following about his experience working with the ensemble:
“The first things that struck me while working with Owls were simply their unparalleled level of musicianship - and their joy at playing together. Their tracking session was essentially absent of tension and rich with enthusiasm, kindness, and dedication to craft. I came to the project through Paul Wiancko, who I've worked with on a number of projects…his writing for strings is, unsurprisingly, incredibly idiomatic - but he also has such a keen ear for melody and such an interesting approach to form and texture.”
The six pieces on Rare Birds feature music by an eclectic range of composers, traditions, and eras including: Owls’s own Paul Wiancko; Dan Trueman and Monica Mugan folk duo Trollstilt, Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, 18th Century composer François Couperin; and progenitor of American minimalism Terry Riley. With a selection of works by artists who explore a wide spectrum of sounds, and coming together with two towering compositions reimagined explicitly for the group by Wiancko, Rare Birds is a heartfelt celebration of discovery, collaboration, and joy. Listen to Rare Birds today.
There’s much more to come, and with your support, the possibilities are endless. Make sure to subscribe below and leave what you’d like to read about next in the comments.
This article was written by Kárenly Nieves-Fred, Digital Marketing Director for New Amsterdam Records, with the support of Jan Esbra, Communications and PR Coordinator.