Atlas Maior’s Bold Journey Captured On New Album ‘Palindromlar’

 Austin experimental jazz quartet, Atlas Maior, is proud to announce their newest album, Palindromlar. Palindromlar continues Atlas Maior’s dialogue between jazz and global traditions; weaving Middle Eastern, Latin American and American standards into a fluid, exploratory sound. Palindromlar is set to be released on October 10th, on Dead Red Queen Records, and will be available exclusively on Bandcamp as a digital download, stream, and vinyl purchase.

The new album follows the milestone of the inaugural vinyl release of their recent album Hadal Deluxe Edition. A highly collaborative project that featured original and cross-cultural collaborative compositions. It was heralded by the Austin Chronicle who commented, “Based on American jazz harmonies and the Middle Eastern modal system maqam, Atlas Maior songs sound like nothing else, adding free-range improvisation to melodies derived from the region.” With the new album, the band leans into its signature live improvisational approach. 

Serving as the creative continuation of their third album, Palindrome, Palindromlar is informed by their live performances and the band’s continual developing process of composition and improvisation. It is a selection of free improvisations, all influenced by their Spring 2024 Morocco tour. Atlas Maior, comprised of Joshua Thomson (alto saxophone, flutes), Josh Peters (oud, lutar), Josh Flowers (upright bass), and Gray Parsons (drums), toured Morocco and shared the experiences of performing in Casablanca, Fes, Ojuda, Tangier, Marrakech, and a 3-night residency in Essaouira. 

Highlights included performances with Gnawa musicians Maalem Abdelmalek Kadir and his band at the Dar Souiri Cultural Center (Association Essaouira Mogador). They also spent time learning and performing with renowned Gnawa Maalem Azouz Soudani during a 3-night residency at La Mama music club. 

While on tour, social unrest erupted back in their hometown of Austin, TX. Atlas Maior was scheduled to perform at the Ambassador’s residence in Rabat, Morocco, when a peaceful student led Pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas was attacked by police, which ended in students’ forceful and violent arrests. Thomson reflects, “At that moment, it felt wrong to play in this patriotic setting given the fact that our community’s civil liberties were actively being quelled. However, we had an obligation to represent the people and communities we belong to who could not represent themselves. As cultural ambassadors to the City of Austin, ultimately, the band played the performance.”

Leveraging their platform, Atlas Maior connected the audience with the cause through music. During the group’s soundcheck, they performed Marcel Khalife’s composition Ya ba7riye /shiddo el-himmi, which Peters and Thomson had previously performed with the pro-Palestinian cultural resistance group Viva Palestina Orchestra. Later, as a tribute to the Palestinian struggle, they also performed Khalife’s Achikain, also in protest of the actions of the Austin Police Department.

For more than 12 years, Atlas Maior has been bridging cultures through music, yet the band continues to surprise itself. They were deeply moved by their experiences in the Maghreb region and found fresh inspiration, which they captured beautifully on the new album. 

Palindromlar came together as the band composed different arrangements and structured frameworks, as well as randomized drawing of cards to facilitate various improvised approaches. The result is a collection of 10 improvised songs, sponsored by the City of Austin’s Live Music Fund and captured at the 3rd 2024 recording session at Planet Pleasant Studio in Austin, Texas.  They recorded with their longtime studio engineer Gary Calhoun James, who had worked on previous Atlas Maior albums Palindrome, Keyif, Riptide, Hadal Deluxe Edition; produced by Joshua Thomson and Josh Peters; and mastered by Dustin Alexander.

Palindromlar is set to be released on October 10th, on Dead Red Queen Records and will be available only on Bandcamp as digital download, streaming and vinyl. In support of the new album, the band is scheduled to embark on a U.S. Tour. Tour dates are listed below as well as updated dates are here.