WAAN – We Want WAAN

WAAN release bold new album We Want WAAN

After the breakout success of their debut Echo Echo, Dutch future-jazz duo WAAN return with their highly anticipated second album We Want WAAN, out today via Sonar Kollektiv.

WAAN — the creative partnership between saxophonist Bart Wirtz and keyboard wizard Emiel van Rijthoven — has always been about pushing boundaries. What began as a studio project between two tech-loving jazz musicians quickly grew into one of the most forward-thinking acts in Europe’s modern jazz scene. Their debut was met with international radio support, glowing press reviews, and two Edison Award nominations — the Dutch equivalent of the Grammys.

In search of new ground, Bart and Emiel retreated to the peaceful island of Texel in mid-2024, where they began laying down the foundations for their sophomore effort. What emerged is We Want WAAN — an album that’s bigger, bolder, rougher around the edges, and more emotionally charged than anything they’ve done before.

“It quickly became clear that the sound was evolving,” says Bart. “A bit rougher, sitting more on the edge of other musical influences.”

The album opens with its electrifying title track — a pulsating call to arms with soaring synths, live drums, and Bart’s unmistakable sax. From there, it flows into Talking Trees, a melancholic jazz ballad inspired by the underground communication of white pines, and Mirrors, a live energy-driven cut recorded with a real audience at Leiden’s legendary jazz café De Twee Spieghels.

WAAN continue to stretch their sonic palette on Why Don’t You Get Me, a fuzzed-out electro-rock hybrid featuring vocalists Marta Arpini and Mingue, while In Dirt offers a gritty, film-noir-style interlude that channels breakbeat funk and abstract hip-hop.

One of the album’s most powerful moments comes with Been Blue, a stirring collaboration with Philadelphia rapper and vocalist Ivy Sole, a prominent voice in the global non-binary music movement. Their verses explore grief, defiance, and identity over a bed of hypnotic synths, soulful horns, and WAAN’s trademark sonic layering.

Other highlights include Moto No Oto, a string-laden meditation featuring René van Munster and Beste Sevindik, and Lodge Texas, an unconventional 9/4 jazz-club banger built on layered flutes and polyrhythmic drive. The closing track Cecilyum rounds out the journey with off-kilter synths, ghostly sax, and a spiritual tug-of-war between acoustic and electronic worlds.

We Want WAAN was recorded at Eminent Studios in Leiden, with additional sessions at Longtrack Studio (Utrecht) and Kraak & Smaak Studios. The album was produced in close collaboration with Oscar de Jong (Kraak & Smaak), mixed by de Jong, and mastered by Max Gilkes.

This is WAAN at full tilt — improvisational yet controlled, intimate yet explosive, deeply rooted in jazz yet completely unafraid to wander. A record that doesn’t just reflect where Bart and Emiel are now — it reflects what’s possible when you let go of genre and simply follow the sound.

We Want WAAN – out now: https://sonarkollektiv.lnk.to/WeWantWAAN