Yellow Fleet - Immersed (2026)

With their second album, "Immersed" (Hideout Records), the Tyrolean band Yellow Fleet presents a piece of music that consciously transcends clear genre boundaries, understanding jazz less as a style and more as a starting point for a multifaceted and diverse musical journey. Christoph Kuntner (guitar), Benjamin Lampert (double bass), and Max Schrott (drums), the band's three members, pursue an approach characterized by curiosity, a joy of playing, and a keen sense for atmospheric development. Instead of adhering to traditional forms, the music unfolds as a dynamic process, constantly exploring new directions.

What particularly distinguishes "Immersed" is the diverse mix of styles that Yellow Fleet executes with remarkable ease. Starting from a modern jazz idiom, the pieces open up into a wide range of musical realms. Post-rock soundscapes meet surf-rock-like passages, prog-rock structures alternate with reggae and dub elements, while elsewhere bluesy serenity is broken up by energetic, almost punkish outbursts.

A key element of this band's music is the intricate sound design, particularly on the guitar. Kuntner moves seamlessly between clean lines, expansive delays, and powerful distortions, constantly creating new sonic landscapes. Lampert and Schrott provide a versatile foundation, shifting between groove-oriented catchiness, repetitive patterns, and open, free-flowing forms. Familiar harmonic moments stand alongside extended improvisations that build tension and ultimately resolve into melodic, almost ethereal passages.

Raphael Huber's occasional flute contributions further expand the sonic palette and add additional color nuances. Indeed, each track on "Immersed" tells its own story—with a distinct mood, energy, and sonic focus. Yellow Fleet succeeds not only in creating atmosphere but also in continuously developing it.

"Immersed" is an album that embraces jazz as an open experiment, and it is precisely from this that its tension is derived. Yellow Fleet present themselves as a band that consciously leaves conventions behind and develops a unique, vibrant musical language that both entertains and invites deeper exploration.~ Michael Ternai