Orbits – The Circling Sun

Even the most distant celestial bodies find ways to connect. From Auckland, New Zealand, The Circling Sun brings that idea to Orbits, their second album, where the traditions of 1970s spiritual jazz meet Brazilian rhythms, synthesizers, and voices that seem to emerge from somewhere between Earth and space. Following Spirits (2023), the collective expands its musical language without losing sight of what brings its members together: the joy of creating something collectively.

On “Constellation,” Finn Scholes’ vibraphone opens a landscape that gradually unfolds through Julien Dyne’s drums, Joe Kaptein’s piano, and Jong-Yun Lee’s saxophones. The music takes different paths on “Mizu” and “Flying,” where the flutes of Cameron Allen and Lee converse with synthesizers played by Cory Champion and Brandon Haru, while Ben Turua’s double bass holds the shifting rhythms together.

The voices of The Love Affinity Choir, directed by Kenny Sterling, bring a human dimension to this exploration. On “Teeth,” their questions about urban life gain urgency through a persistent rhythmic pulse; on “Amina,” Daniel Ryland’s guitar and the choir’s harmonies create room for contemplation. Echoes of Pharoah Sanders, Azymuth, and Afro-Cuban jazz run through the music, yet the collective retains a character entirely its own.

Orbits invites us to remain within that movement, to hear how each instrument finds its place and how individual voices transform collective energy into a shared experience. Perhaps that is where its greatest beauty lies: in reminding us that even within the vastness of the universe, nothing exists entirely on its own.