The Vampires’ Skydancer: An Expansion of Their Signature Sound
Out 19 June on Earshift Music
(EAR114) www.earshift.com
Proper Music Group UK, Bertus Europe and MGM worldwide including US
Available on CD, LP and digital
https://thevampiresmusic.bandcamp.com/album/skydancer
Single 1: Desperations 2nd April
https://mgmreleases.com/desperations
Single 2: Asiago 8th May
https://mgmreleases.com/asiago
Album out 19 June
https://mgmreleases.com/skydancer
The Vampires celebrate 20 years together as one of Australia’s most distinctive and acclaimed ensembles with the release of their eighth studio album, Skydancer. Building on the ARIA Award-winning Nightjar (2023, with The Necks’ Chris Abrahams), Skydancer sees the quartet reimagining their fundamentals - expanding their sound while remaining grounded in their signature of hypnotic grooves, intertwining horn lines, and melodic invention. Recorded simply as a quartet, the album features extensive overdubbing, synthesizers, and explorations that stretch the boundaries of their acoustic base.
Across eleven tracks, Skydancer explores The Vampires’ fascination with time, melody, and texture. It’s a record that consolidates the group’s evolution: a sound that feels both familiar and freshly redefined. The music unfolds organically, weaving rhythmic intricacy with atmospheric production and a deep sense of place. Whether through the reflective pulse of Asiago, the ambient shimmer of South Coast Noir, or the cinematic sway of Spirit, The Vampires draw listeners into a world that is immersive, rhythmic, and emotionally resonant.
Recorded over several sessions in Sydney’s Golden Retriever studios, Skydancer captures the quartet’s creative interplay at its most distilled. For the band, the process was about expanding their vocabulary while remaining true to their shared language. “We wanted to take what we learned from Nightjar - that sense of spaciousness and texture - and apply it to our core quartet sound,” says saxophonist and composer Jeremy Rose. “Each of us recorded additional parts, layering horns, synths, and percussion, but always with restraint. The challenge was to create new worlds without losing the immediacy that defines the band.” The result is an album that feels both intimate and panoramic, guided by the group’s collective intuition.
Drummer Alex Masso sees Skydancer as part of a longer arc of experimentation within the band’s quartet recordings. “Over the years we’ve explored new ideas through different collaborations, but when we come back to the quartet records that’s where we really push things,” he says. “Mandala was when we first experimented with overdubs, and Pacifica was when we started introducing pianos, drum machines and more layered textures.”
On Skydancer, the band expanded these ideas further, incorporating their own synthesizers and more extensive overdubbing while still maintaining the core quartet sound. “Our quartet albums are where we go a little deeper into things,” Masso explains. “This time we pushed the layers further, with everyone adding sounds and textures — and Noel in particular bringing a lot of sonic detail through bass and additional parts.” Masso also notes a subtle rhythmic shift within the band’s evolving sound. “There’s a bit more backbeat on this album,” he says. “That really started with ‘West Mass’ on Pacifica - it was a turning point for us. Tracks like that, and the sonic experimentation we began on ‘Tiro’, planted the seeds for what eventually became the sound world of Skydancer.”
Reuniting with Rose’s school friend, Mia Taninaka, for a special commission, the album art reflects the music in a number of ways. Taninaka writes,
Inspired by Egyptian mythology, the work draws on the symbolic language of gods like Thoth and Ra - archetypes of wisdom, order, and the movement between realms. The pyramid acts as a meeting point between earth and sky. Within it, the winged figures hold a quiet balance, bridging the celestial and the human, the seen and the unseen.
The world gathers in layers - movement, memory, fragments of life folding into one.
Now two decades into their journey, The Vampires continue to occupy a singular space in contemporary jazz. Their music remains deeply rooted in the Australian landscape yet reaches far beyond its borders. Their acclaimed collaborations with Chris Abrahams, Lionel Loueke, Shannon Barnett have only deepened their sonic range. Critics have described their sound as “phenomenal” (Downbeat), “a masterpiece” (The Australian), and “seductive” (the Guardian), while live audiences across Europe and Australia have embraced their adventurous spirit. As Skydancer demonstrates, The Vampires remain driven by curiosity, community, and the joy of transformation.
Formed in Sydney in 2005, The Vampires - Jeremy Rose (saxophones), Nick Garbett (trumpet), Alex Masso (drums), and Noel Mason (bass) - have built a reputation as one of Australia’s most creative and internationally recognised jazz groups. With appearances at festivals including A Love Supreme (UK), Enjoy Jazz (Germany), and every major Australian jazz festival, the band’s influence continues to expand globally. Through two decades of shared growth, their chemistry has only deepened - a testament to their commitment to evolving their sound while maintaining the groove and warmth that define The Vampires’ enduring legacy.
Asiago — 5:29 (Nick Garbett)
Unfinished Dream — 3:01 (Jeremy Rose)
Desperations — 4:51 (Jeremy Rose)
Mr Gadabout — 2:06 (Jeremy Rose)
South Coast Noir — 3:47 (Jeremy Rose)
Lofi Life — 6:45 (Jeremy Rose)
Skydancer — 5:09 (Nick Garbett)
Stillness in Motion — 3:20 (Jeremy Rose)
Pitah — 5:44 (Nick Garbett)
Spirit — 7:08 (Noel Mason)
Whisper Gently Stay Strong — 3:32 (Jeremy Rose)\
Asiago
Nick Garbett wrote Asiago while living in the small town of the same name in north-east Italy, where he spent eight months during the COVID lockdowns. The piece reflects the quiet atmosphere of that period - a sense of stillness, reflection and distance - shaped by the landscape and solitude of that time.
Unfinished Dream
Unfinished Dream is inspired by the strange moment of being woken in the middle of a deep dream - that hazy state where reality and imagination blur together. The music follows this narrative, beginning in one place and gradually transforming into something entirely different, like a dream shifting shape before it dissolves.
Mr Gadabout
Mr Gadabout is a portrait of friends who love the nightlife and never quite know when to call it a night. It captures those evenings that go much longer than planned and its adventure to get everyone home in one piece.
South Coast Noir
South Coast Noir evokes the rugged beauty and quiet mystery of Australia’s south-east coastline - places where the band have spent countless hours touring, surfing and reconnecting with nature. Subtle field recordings are woven into the track, helping conjure the atmosphere of those landscapes.
Lofi Life
Lofi Life reflects a growing desire to unplug from our hyper-connected digital world and return to something simpler - slower rhythms, fewer distractions, and a life lived a little closer to the analogue.
Skydancer
The title track Skydancer takes its name from a painting Nick has hanging at home (not the artwork used on the album cover). The music mirrors the painting’s sense of movement and openness - something suspended, floating and expansive.
Stillness in Motion
Stillness in Motion explores the paradox suggested by its title: the idea that movement and stillness can exist at the same time. The music unfolds slowly, allowing space and subtle shifts to create a sense of quiet motion.
Pitah
Pitah unfolds around a simple idea that gradually develops, with shifting textures creating a sense of quiet momentum.
Spirit
Spirit was written by Noel Mason and developed through workshops with the band following an intense period of touring - around thirty shows across Europe and Australia. In contrast to earlier recordings, the sessions felt relaxed and direct, capturing the group’s live chemistry. Noel initially wrote a number of pieces that proved too harmonically dense for the band, prompting a shift in approach. The calm, lyrical melody of Spirit reflects his pursuit of simplicity.
Whisper Gently, Stay Strong
Whisper Gently, Stay Strong unfolds like a quiet invocation. Slow, interwoven horn lines emerge one by one, each voice listening before joining the collective sound. Like a meditation, the piece invites surrender rather than control - a reminder that strength can arise from gentleness, patience, breath and shared intention.
Jeremy Rose tenor sax, bass clarinet, synthesizers
Nick Garbett trumpet
Noel Mason bass
Alex Masso drums
artwork: Mia Taninaka
layout: Pat Harris
Recorded 6-8 August 2025 at Golden Retriever Studios by Simon Berckleman
Mixed at Free Energy Device by Richard Belkner. Mastered by Michael Lynch