Review: Rossano Snel - The Fire In The Forest (Strings and Hopes Berlin)

Too much World Cup?  Set yourself up with Rossano Snel and 'The Fire In The Forest' that'll definitely keep you warm this summer!

Regular readers will recall Rossano Snel (she of 'And I Miss You'/'Kena' - see review HERE and the album 'Sketches Of Tallinn') and you'll be excited by this forthcoming 'The Fire In The Forest' EP).

There might be only 2-tracks, 'Sunrise' and 'Try It With A Little Tenderness' (Ed. this one doesn't sound much like the one you know), after his appearance on Session Victim's 'The Disconnect' EP (see review HERE), us leftfield jazzdance types are warming even more to the Berlin-based Brazilian pianist Rossano Snel

After making her name in contemporary classical, ambient and experimental field (think The Wire magazine) she's now gone 'soul-jazz' influenced with this piano/Hammond organ/drums as it's sounds Shirley Scott meets The Bad Plus and Chris Dave; and who doesn't like the sounds of that!

After appearing on Black Loops' 'Always Moving' album last year (Freerange Records), releasing a piano version of Nirvana's 'Lithium' (see below) on his album 'Carbon' as well as having a release on renown classical label Deutsche Grammophon (the label that also brought you the Carl Craig / Moritz von Oswald 'ReComposed' project, 2009), Mr. Snel can turn his hand to any genre

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/rossanosnel/the-fire-in-the-forest

Artists: Rossano Snel 

Release: The Fire In The Forest

Release Date: 16th July, 2026

Label: Strings and Hopes Berlin

Cat. No. TBC

Format:  Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Session Victim - The Disconnect (Rhythm Section International)

Too much World Cup?  Don't be a Session Victim, get 'The Disconnect' to get connected! 

On the back of an epic 3-part triple release series 'Sidequests' (see review HERE & HERE), Session Victim keep the collaborators "in tow" with their new project, 'The Disconnect' EP, featuring the talents of Kenneth Scott, Rossano Snel and Quarion

You've got two with Mr. Scott, the openers 'Hey, Activate (Modern Mix)' and 'Dream Theory' and both have the under-lying funk groove with jazzy/reggae snippets in 'Hey, Activate' and racing dream keyboard twinkles and summer dubby sax on 'Dream Theory'.

On the B-side. it's a shame thier 'Loom' with Quarion dubby/jazz/beats on the stripped downtempo is a little short but the rest of the EP certainly makes up for that cos.... are you ready DJs Perry Louis, Colin Parnell, Paul Murphy?   "Indebted to old soul jams with bongos", 'Open Minds' with Rossano Snel (she of 'And I Miss You'/'Kena' - see review HERE and forthcoming 'The Fire In The Forest' EP) is for a upbeat jazzdance for a laid-back Balearic mind-set!  Parnell, definitely has an open jazz mind?

Even more beach vibes is the 'Flotsam' that comes surfin' in that's said to be a la Cassius and old Herbert.

Can you believe that this is Session Victims 40th EP?  Well, with the collaborations, Berlin-Hamburg duo Session Victim, Freer and Reiling prove once more their house music mastery and that RSI is a perfect for them; and if you're ever in Peckham, check out label boss Bradley Zero's Jumbi bar!

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: The Disconnect | Session Victim

Artists: Session Victim

Release: The Disconnect

Release Date: 3rd July, 2026

Label: Rhythm Section International

Cat. No. TBC

Format: Vinyl 12" / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Rossano Snel - And I Miss You / Kena (XJAZZ! Music)

Regular readers know were big fans of Tallinn's IDA radio station and here's something our mate Chris Long will be getting on his playlist!  

In Tallinn, trio Rossano Snel (piano), Marcelo Chacur Politano (tenor sax and overtone flute) and Francesco Russo (bassoon) have come together to reform Brazilian roots and jazz with Rossano’s compositions within an improvisational flow to produce something new and familiar at the same time.

The stately and deeply moving 'And I Miss You' and energetic overtone-flute-laden 'Kena' are two highlights from Rossano Snel’s forthcoming instrumental album 'Sketches of Tallinn', out April 24th on Berlin's XJAZZ label.

Born in Brazil and based in Berlin, Rossano is a self-taught pianist and composer working with lush harmonies, minimalism, Brazilian influences, and cinematic soundscapes. He plays piano and synths, and arranges music for ensembles creating orchestrations that balance chaos and clarity, structure and improvisation. He was a twin. Gemini. At three months pregnant, Rossano's mother had an accident. His sister didn’t survive, he did. That early fracture shaped everything. Since then, he lives as two in one. This imprint left him with a heightened sensitivity - a magnetic pull toward the subtle, the subjective, the hauntingly beautiful. His music often drifts along the blurred edges of melancholy and ecstasy, of dream and disquiet.

In 2023, he released CARBON - an EP shaped by the quiet terror of climate collapse. A piano version of Lithium (Nirvana) appears alongside original works like Force of Nature (you and me) and NOTHING WILL BE THE SAME. His piano piece Sunday 23 was released under the prestigious care of Deutsche Grammophon. He approaches music like someone remembering a wild dream - vividly and sometimes a little haunted.

Marcelo Politano is a Brazilian-Italian composer and multi- instrumentalist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in saxophone from the Campinas State University (Brazil), a master’s degree in classical composition from the Conservatory of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and a master’s degree in audiovisual composition at EAMT (Estonia). He is currently a doctoral candidate at EAMT and at DocMus of the Sibelius Academy in the field of Music Composition. Marcelo has strong ties and a comprehensive knowledge of traditional music in Brazil and Latin America in general. Apart from the saxophone and different types of guitars, he performs various traditional flutes from South America. He is currently a lecturer in traditional music at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre as well as a part-time teacher of ensemble and transcultural composition at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. He is specially interested in the enriching dialogue between musical traditions and artistic practices.

Francesco Pio Russo is an Italian bassoonist, saxophonist, and improviser currently pursuing a Doctorate in Artistic Research at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, where he explores the expansion of extended techniques on bassoon in contemporary and improvisational music, under the guidance of Professors Peeter Sarapuu and Theodore Parker. In addition to his classical training, he studied jazz saxophone with renowned artist Stefano Di Battista and remains active as a performer across genres. He has worked as principal bassoon in the Estonian National Opera and since 2023, he has been a member of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.

Album 'Sketches of Tallinn' will be out in April 2026.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: https://orcd.co/sketchesoftallinn

Artist: Rossano Snel 

Title:  And I Miss You / Kena 

Release date: 24th April, 2026

Label : XJAZZ! Music

Catalog Number : TBC

Format: 12" Vinyl  / Digital