Italian duo Varv teases sophomore album with single ‘Wormhole’
“Wormhole” is the new single from Italian experimental jazz duo Varv, a crossover project featuring Andrea Cappi on keys and Francesco Mascolo on drums. The track is a sneak peak into the duo’s upcoming sophomore album Transit, set for release in April 2026 on Belgian label Off Records.
Formed around a shared interest in improvisation, sound design, and hybrid musical languages, Varv emerged in 2024 with their debut album Lowlands, which introduced listeners to the group’s distinctive blend of jazz sensibility, electronic textures, and progressive structures. Built around the stripped-down format of keyboards and drums, the duo developed a sound that moves fluidly between composition and spontaneous interaction, drawing from both the tradition of live instrumental performance and contemporary electronic production and sound design.
With “Wormhole”, Varv continue to expand this sonic identity. The track explores the expressive potential of the keyboards-and-drums configuration through a layered interplay of synthesizer sequences, rhythmic cycles, and evolving textures. Structured passages gradually dissolve into improvisational sections, where acoustic drumming interacts with processed sounds and synthesizer patterns, creating a dynamic space where rhythm and timbre continuously reshape each other. The result is a piece that blurs the boundary between performance and sound manipulation, emphasizing the duo’s approach to music as an unfolding process rather than a fixed structure.
The title “Wormhole” evokes a state of sudden disorientation — a moment in which perception seems to collapse and familiar reference points disappear. Inspired by this sensation, the track constructs a sonic environment that feels unstable and immersive, as if the listener were being pulled through an unpredictable passage. Pulsating synth lines and shifting rhythmic layers contribute to building a dense, swirling atmosphere that surrounds and envelops the listener, alternating between tension and release.
“Wormhole” out digitally on March 13th 2026 via Off Records
