To those who have been paying attention to younger artists the last few years, Mike Casey should be a somewhat familiar name. Since beginning is career in 2017, the saxophonist’s online streams have passed the nine million mark. In part his popularity has come from his openness to other sounds. Although mostly considering himself a “jazz” artist, he seems to view it broadly and how it connects with other music, particularly “hip hop.” His debut studio album, Law of Attraction (self-release, 2020) found him putting Nat King Cole on an equal footing with Jay Z and Kanye West. Actually, his version of “No Church in the Wild” was selected by Spotify as one of the best jazz songs of 2020. More, he’s provided to the sampling process itself by providing the first ever sax sample pack for the leading company Splice.

But Casey’s interests are beyond just “hip hop” and more generally focused on removing genre lines. His master’s thesis focuses on the fusing of different musical ideas from around the globe. This concept has largely supported his efforts using Ableton to mix music from different cultures. One of these projects has found him exploring electronic music with Pablo Rizo Piera AKA Blori, a pianist & producer from Alicante, Spain. The end result of this collaboration is an expansive experiment that borrows from not just concepts familiar to jazz and electronica but also R&B. The diversity of influences make it perhaps the least overtly “jazz-like” of Casey’s recordings, but it paves a fascinating path forward. We are honored to premiere that track, “Breathe In.” today.

“Breathe In” is available on your favorite streaming platforms.

More information on Mike Casey can be found here.