Jasmine Myra returns with Where Light Settles, her third album for Gondwana Records, and easily her most expansive and emotionally assured work to date. Building on the foundations of Horizons and Rising, the Leeds born composer and saxophonist deepens her cinematic blend of jazz, contemporary folk and ambient orchestration into something both intimate and widescreen.
Recorded live over five days at The Nave Studios in Leeds with a 15 piece ensemble, the album centres around themes of duality, beauty and hardship, fragility and resilience, light and shadow. Myra describes the music as an attempt to make sense of life’s bittersweet transitions: “Pain is unavoidable… but you don’t grow or learn about yourself or the world around you without it.”
That emotional clarity runs through the record’s nine compositions. Strings, harp, flute, vibraphone and layered percussion move with a quiet precision around Myra’s restrained alto saxophone, creating music that feels deeply textural and cinematic without ever becoming overstated. There are echoes of soundtrack composers such as Dustin O’Halloran and Hans Zimmer, alongside the spiritual warmth associated with the wider Gondwana orbit.
Nature also plays a central role in shaping the album’s atmosphere. Inspired by landscapes across North Wales, the Lake District and the South Downs, Where Light Settles carries an unmistakably autumnal feel, windswept, reflective and full of movement. Tracks like “Some Rain Must Fall” and “Likeness and Shadow” capture that balance between delicacy and intensity, while “In An Instant”, featuring tenor saxophonist Matt Carmichael, adds another luminous dimension to the record’s palette.
The album also marks Myra’s first self produced release, with Matthew Halsall contributing as producer. The result is a body of work that feels remarkably cohesive, understated in places, but emotionally vast.
For listeners already drawn to Jasmine Myra’s immersive sound world, Where Light Settles feels like a defining statement. For everyone else, it’s the perfect place to begin.
Jasmine Myra sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:
1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?
I think my love for music began as a child. I was often encouraged by my parents to explore music through both listening and learning to play instruments. Music has always been important to me because of that, but it was when I started learning saxophone (at the age of 14) that I realised that I wanted a career in music.
2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?
I love Fabiano do Nascimento’s music. It would be a dream to collaborate with him in the future and I think our music would blend well. I am also influenced by Felbm and Floating Points and would love to collaborate with them one day.
3.What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?
Currently I am working towards the release of ‘Where Light Settles’ and touring later in the year. I have some ideas in mind for when I start writing again and working towards the next project, but for now my upcoming album is my main focus.
4. How would you describe your sound?
I would describe my sound as contemporary Jazz, with elements of Spiritual Jazz and Folk.
5. What’s your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?
It’s difficult to give just one answer for this. The first thing that springs to mind is my show at London Jazz Festival back in November. I am super proud of this one for a number of reasons; first of all it was our first performance of tunes from Where Light Settles live with the full band, which included a string quartet. It was so wonderful to perform that music for the first time and see the audiences reaction, and I felt so proud of all the hard work I had put in leading up to that moment.