Justin Walter

Ann Arbor, Michigan's Justin Walter records dreamy, evocative music for trumpet, electronics, and EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument), an obscure, difficult-to-master wind-controlled analog synthesizer often associated with fusion and new age music. Drifting somewhere around the intersections of jazz, ambient, and modern composition, his otherworldly music fluidly shifts between different tonal colors and moods. While generally warm, hazy, and shimmering, Walter's music occasionally reflects darker states of mind. His work has precedents in the Fourth World music of Jon Hassell, as well as other artists associated with ECM Records, but it's utterly unique, and its originality is refreshing. Following a handful of limited solo releases, the majestic, rhythmic Lullabies & Nightmares was issued by Kranky in 2013. The more stripped-down album Unseen Forces followed in 2017, and the nebulous Destroyer arrived in 2023.