Albumveröffentlichung: hilde - Timbre

On 8 May, Emily Wittbrodt will release her new album Timbre with the band Hilde

Emily Wittbrodt, NICA artist of the 2024 generation, has already steered her second year at NICA artist development in impressive directions: After releasing her first album under her own name (wearing words), she was nominated for the 2026 German Jazz Award in the “String Instruments” category. The cellist and composer, who originally studied classical music, discovered an equally deep appreciation for popular music and improvisation during her studies, which is increasingly evident in her current work and musical expression. Also with her band Hilde which was also nominated this year in the “Live Act of the Year” category, vocalist Marie Daniels, trombonist Maria Trautmann, violinist Julia Brüssel and Wittbrodt on cello combine seemingly incompatible worlds of sound. With Timbre (Boomslang Records), hilde are now releasing their second album after their debut Tide:

This music is neither jazz nor chamber music, neither ambient nor chanson and certainly not third stream of any kind. Welcome to the third album by Hilde, a band based in NRW and London. The band immediately succeeds in freeing itself from all categorical limitations. It is one hundred per cent Hilde and can only be delivered in this form by these four musicians. It needs no definitions, reference points or explanations, but spreads out in the coordinates of time and space with a naturalness and autonomy, as if it had always been there and was just waiting for the right personalities who would be able to do it justice with the appropriate aplomb and humility. Timbre is an album with character that reveals itself through its flexible simultaneity and wholeness. They give listeners the open-hearted gift of being able to expand freely in the sound space they have created and to indulge in their own images and associations.

The release concert for the album will take place on 8 May 2026 as part of the Boomslang Records Label Night at Stadtgarten Köln. Further information and tickets can be found here.

Timbre is available on Bandcamp. You can also find the release on all major streaming platforms. To support musicians and the music scene, who often work under precarious circumstances, we recommend buying the album directly from the artist (Bandcamp; next Bandcamp-Friday on 07 August 2026) or label and purchasing physical sound carriers and merchandise.

Released by Boomslang Records 8th May 2026

Album Credits:

All compositions and improvisations by Hilde
Recorded by Janne Gruhn at Studio Nord Bremen
Mix by Janne Gruhn
Master by Martin Ruch
Cover Design by Christian Hengst
Cover Photo by Niclas Weber

Supported by Initiative Musik

Musicians:

Julia Brüssel - Violin
Marie Daniels - Voice
Maria Trautmann - Trombone
Emily Wittbrodt - Cello