JANEL LEPPIN'S ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH - PLUTO IN AQUARIUS

• Janel Leppin’s Ensemble Volcanic Ash: Pluto In Aquarius
      (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp / cuneiform)
      (2026, cd, USA, cuneiform)

The Cuneiform record label recently released "Pluto In Aquarius", a new album by Janel Leppin's Ensemble Volcanic Ash quintet.

With Janel Leppin's cello at the central stage, the ensemble performs impressive, cinematic compositions.

Throughout "Pluto in Aquarius", the group’s language and interplay might seem leaner, meaner and grittier to veteran Ensemble Volcanic Ash fans. Leppin found a new pared-back feel for the ensemble — often less like a midsize chamber ensemble and more like a scrappy combo. “It’s a really raw sound and I love that,” Leppin says. “We had played some shows in this format and it was like, ‘Wow, this is a whole other thing now.’”

The five-piece group melds an illustrious array of D.C. talent into a glimmering expressive organism that surges, expands, ebbs and dances in multiple directions at once.

Quite different from "Slowly Melting", Janel's other recent release, but equally exiting.
Out on Bandcamp, and on CD.

-- info: Danny Mathys