Rebecca Vasmant - Who We Are, Becoming (2025)

The new label partnership between New Soil alongside Women in Jazz was announced late last year with the further revelation that Glaswegian producer, curator and broadcaster Rebecca Vasmant held the distinction of being the first artist signed to wave their collaborative flag.

The news proved exciting for all parties – a definitive step forward for the Women in Jazz community who can lay claim to strong ties with a variety of leading jazz talent, including drummer Jas Kayser and trumpeter Yazz Ahmed, so to be able to help facilitate a platform for emerging UK talent provides an additional string to their expansive bow. And what better label home than the phenomenal confines of New Soil Records. A label that grows in strength as the years pass by, the London-based hub can currently boast the inclusion of Liam Shortall’s corto.alto project, Maisha founder Jake Long and guitarist and vocalist Oscar Jerome.

And now proudly sitting along the New Soil’s top tier of releases is that of Rebecca Vasmant’s ‘Who We Are, Becoming’. An evocative title that perhaps in part pays homage to the Women in Jazz ethos that compels them to raise the profile for female talent within the jazz community that continues to find new names breaking new ground each year.

When not waving the flag for burgeoning Glaswegian and Scottish talent via her own Rebecca’s Records label, the furthering of female talent in jazz has also long proved a mission statement for Vasmant as well. Vasmant’s versatile musical talents have found her helming her own full-length projects including ‘With Love, from Glasgow’ (2021) and the ‘Dance Yourself Free EP’ (2022), and helm remixing duties for contemporary luminaries including Allysha Joy, Amanda Whiting, Scrimshire and TC & The Groove Family.

Consistently an advocate for innovative and contemporary jazz that finds its happy place as a part of club culture with a strong dance floor-friendly aesthetic, Vasmant also gravitates towards expansive sweeping soundscapes that typically showcase incredible vocals and musical performances… all aspects of which are beautifully on display for ‘Who We Are, Becoming’.

Boasting another stellar selection of guests that date back to Vasmant’s aforementioned debut outing in 2021 with featured vocalists including Emilie Boyd, Nadya Albertsson and Paix who each do an excellent job in bringing life to the lush compositions on offer. Many of the tracks straddle a compelling ethereal-meets-noir-jazz quality that generates some fascinating results, as with ‘Rooted’ and ‘Blessed’, while other tracks like ‘Sun Song’ presents a joyous ode that would’ve made Roy Ayers proud.

Alongside this and Vasmant’s previous two-track EP, ‘Better Than Before’ & ’Come Together’, there have been further releases by Rosa Brunello and PLUMM as part of this New Soil & Women in Jazz collaboration that hopefully will continue to deliver new releases to the incredibly high standards that have already been set.

TRACKLIST

1. Rebecca Vasmant - Becoming
2. Rebecca Vasmant - Rooted
3. Rebecca Vasmant - Blessed
4. Rebecca Vasmant - Divine
5. Rebecca Vasmant - Sun Song
6. Rebecca Vasmant - Goodness Does Shine Through
7. Rebecca Vasmant - Dont Hold back
8. Rebecca Vasmant - Mother Earth
9. Rebecca Vasmant - Sisterhood (Skit)
10. Rebecca Vasmant - Free At Last
11. Rebecca Vasmant - Poem For My Grandparents