Säm, Zebra Island and Surgent release new albums

The first new music Friday of November brings new albums from Säm, Zebra Island and Surgent, alongside singles spanning jazz, rap, metal and electronic music, ERR reports. The roundup also features some of the season’s first Christmas songs.

Raul Ojamaa and Duo Ruut’s “Ascent” is a single from Ojamaa’s debut album, “Again And Again And Again”, due out on November 20 through Berlin label Juna Poly. Ojamaa described it as the album’s most techno-influenced track, inspired by the musical illusion known as a Shepard tone, in which a sound seems to rise endlessly. He said he had explored a similar idea while practising tai chi, imagining a vector travelling from his feet through his spine and head and out into infinity.

Dream pop band Zebra Island has released its second album, “Club Ghost”, through the label Seksound. The group’s debut, “Saturnine”, came out in 2013, and the new album has been nearly a decade in the making. It blends dreamy pop and dance rhythms with melancholy. The band consists of Helina Rist, Rasmus Lill and Ivar Mägi. Lill, the group’s frontman and producer, said they had put their ghosts into the songs and brought them together in a disco to dance and say goodbye.

Post-punk band Pettunud Kodanik, formed in Tartu in 2019, has released the single “Kaamera” and a music video directed by Jakko Raik. Singer Franz Antson said the lyrics took shape early one morning while he rested outside Anne Sauna, a sauna. He said people can no longer go for a peaceful back scrub without leaving a record of it, but that surveillance has become so normalised that many people willingly let cameras dazzle them. The band also includes guitarist Kapa, bassist Reio Jõelo and drummer Kaidar Kalme.

Ballet dancer Triinu Upkin has released “(P)Aine”, continuing her theatrical, salon-style jazz-pop with a French touch. The song, along with three earlier tracks that Upkin calls “poses”, will appear on her album “Trinuversum. Poosid”. She describes it as an audiovisual concept album, with videos between the songs showing what happens in Trinuversum.

Guitarist and composer Robin Mäetalu has released his debut album, “Round One”, which draws on hip-hop, R&B, jazz, funk and neo-soul. Mäetalu said that after years of sharing stages with other artists, he wanted to create something of his own that would stay with him throughout his life.

Maakuu, Nearn0where and Atron! have released “Ainult pool”, the first single from Maakuu’s mixtape “Kummuli”. The track turns up the Drake-inspired sound for mellow, digital R&B in Estonian.

Estonian progressive death metal band Surgent released its second full-length album, “Sin Eater”, on Thursday. It is the band’s first album with singer Mathias-Erik Tempel and drummer Simo Atso. Surgent says the new record is more focused and cohesive than its predecessor, “Surgent”, which it calls the metal album of the year.

Rapper and singer Säm released his third full-length album, “Paar pilve taevas”, on Friday. The 15 tracks run for a total of 46 minutes and feature Alika, Karl Killing, Emily J, Liisi Koikson and Ramon. Säm and Karl Killing also appear together on the song “Pilvepiir”.

UK artist Gaika’s new album “Tyrian” includes the track “Queen of Swords”.