The US quintet SML will be presenting their experimental jazz fusion at Gretchen in Berlin on 18 November 2026. The five musicians from the Los Angeles jazz scene rely less on virtuoso solos than on spontaneous impulses: repetition, rhythmic grooves and improvisation are at the heart of their music, which defies categorisation. The sounds of the instruments are broken down, looped and reassembled in real time until a captivating, sweeping momentum is created. Their influences range from Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, through German avant-garde rock, to elements of cosmic music and proto-techno.
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Deconstruct, loop, reassemble
Their 2024 debut Small Medium Large is based on early live recordings that were subsequently edited. On How You Been (2025), SML take this approach further, combining trance-like, rhythmic improvisations with the possibilities of post-production. Listeners can therefore expect expansive, hypnotic soundscapes that offer plenty of scope for spontaneous twists and turns.
