Amsterdam-based duo Makèz have released their second full-length album, Arriving Home Elsewhere, out now via ANOTR’s No Art. The 14-track project expands their blend of house, soul, and jazz into new territory, pairing live instrumentation with club-focused precision. Featuring collaborations with Ben Westbeech, Life on Planets, AVA LAVÁ, dreamcastmoe, 30/70, Cor.Ece, Goya Gumbani, and more, the album captures the duo’s vision of music as a meeting point between reflection and release.
The album balances two energies: the intimacy of a headphone listen and the electricity of a dancefloor. Tracks like REARRANGE YOURSELF, BE REAL, and LOOKS LIKE IT (SPACE TALK) sit firmly within the duo’s house roots, driven by tight grooves and clean percussion. Others, such as Dreams featuring Liv East and Without The Sun with Oliver Night, lean toward organic textures and open arrangements, creating moments that feel as exploratory as they are emotive.
Building A World Without Boundaries
“Arriving Home Elsewhere moves between the energy of house and the freedom of jazz,” the duo explain. “Sometimes this blends seamlessly, while sometimes this stands boldly apart. We asked ourselves, ‘Could these worlds live together on one record?’ We chose to trust our instinct and work without compromise.”
That instinct results in a body of work that pushes the boundaries of contemporary dance music. The inclusion of live players and vocalists transforms the album into a hybrid space where different genres coexist without hierarchy. Each collaborator adds a unique thread: Ben Westbeech and SANITY contribute their signature soul-driven warmth, while 30/70 and dreamcastmoe connect Amsterdam to scenes in Melbourne and Washington, D.C. Life on Planets appears across several tracks, including BE REAL and ILLUSIONS, strengthening the creative partnership that began on Downstream in 2023.
This emphasis on collaboration creates an album that feels more like a collective conversation than a singular statement. Every track introduces new voices while maintaining a consistent tone and purpose, building toward a cohesive whole that captures both the duo’s individuality and their openness to others’ perspectives.
A Story of Identity and Evolution
The sequencing of Arriving Home Elsewhere reveals careful storytelling. It opens with a dreamlike introduction featuring Liv East before climbing toward euphoric highs like High with Cor.Ece and circling back to introspection on Without The Sun. Downstream, their breakout single with Life on Planets, bridges the pair’s earlier work with this more expansive phase, while closing track Bells leaves a lasting sense of movement and contemplation.
At its core, the album explores belonging. The title, Arriving Home Elsewhere, reflects the feeling of existing across musical and cultural worlds without being confined to one. For Makèz, jazz, house, and soul are not distinct influences but overlapping languages. By merging them, the duo capture the fluidity of identity that defines modern electronic music.
The result is a project that feels grounded in community yet forward-facing in its design. It honors the roots of house and jazz while presenting a vision of where these sounds can go when treated as living forms rather than static genres. With Arriving Home Elsewhere, Makèz continue to expand their reach—artistically and emotionally—while staying connected to the authenticity that first defined them.
Makèz – Arriving Home Elsewhere is out now via No Art.
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