UK artist and cultural figure Shabaka has announced a new solo album, Of the Earth, scheduled for release on March 6th, 2026, via new imprint Shabaka Records. 

Written, performed, produced, and mixed entirely by Shabaka, Of The Earth is a step forward for the British bandleader and multi-instrumentalist. Where previous album, Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace represented a “withdrawal from familiar forms and a turn toward flutes, stillness, and collective exploration,” Of The Earth is an album of “integration and embodiment.”

It shows the artist bringing together the dance-driven aspects of his groups Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming with the “breath-led language” of his solo work.  

Shabaka says of the initial inspiration for the album:

D’angelo’s Brown Sugar was the first CD I bought and it sparked a lasting curiosity about the emotional possibilities allowed by the self produced and performed album. This record is my celebration of freedom in creative self expression. Before the pandemic I could only play the clarinet and saxophone and knew nothing about music production (or how to play the flute), so this has been a journey of learning and a reflection on the music that’s been created as a result.

Following his return to the saxophone at Louis Moholo’s memorial concert in mid-2025, Of The Earth captures the sound of an artist coming back to his instrument with “renewed clarity”. Years of flute study, spanning traditions from Japan, the Americas, and beyond, reshaped Shabaka’s understanding of music and have affected his return to the saxophone.