Gogo Penguin + Daudi Matsiko

GoGo Penguin, the "power trio" from Manchester and its hybrid jazz, rooted in classical and electronic influences, will soon celebrate its 15th anniversary. Fifteen years of a path as unconventional as it is brilliant, which has made them one of the flagships of the current jazz revival. Their music, both immersive and energetic, rests on precise ensemble playing, somewhere between haunting piano melodies, unpredictable rhythms, powerful bass and punchy drums. With their latest album "Necessary Fictions" (Sony Music, 2025), Chris Illingworth (piano), Nick Blacka (bass) and Jon Scott (drums) push boldness and freedom even further, incorporating modular synthesisers, the Moog Grandmother and an electric bass into their instrumentarium while keeping their identity intact: haunting loops, mounting tension, tempo shifts and calmer moments of breath. An atmosphere that is ultimately very cinematic, which has also opened the doors of the seventh art to them, with the film scores of "Memento Mori" (Jean Heches, 2022) and the very recent "Juste une illusion" (Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, 2026). An essential group, then, that speaks to the body as much as to the mind!

The music of Daudi Matsiko, a British songwriter of Ugandan origin, is fragile, spiritual, disarming and strikingly honest. His debut album "The King Of Misery" (Really Good, 2024) is a poignant and luminous exploration of depression, bipolar disorder and the way hope can emerge from such experiences. His fragile yet inhabited voice, his profound lyrics and his contemporary folk melodies give his songs a rare intensity. Hushed, whispered, caressed songs... A singing like a confession, carried by the barely brushed strings of a guitar.