One and a half years after his successful debut EP ‘You Like Jazz?’ on Salin Records, Michael Diamond comes back with another fresh and powerful release. Possessing a strong jazz feel albeit cloaked in the veil of a more modern electronic sound, the concept EP ‘Silk Road’ marks the next level for the 22-year-old as he dissolves any boundaries between genres, creating a symbiosis of sounds and textures to take you to places only he knows. We still enjoy remembering how we celebrated the release of his ‘You Like Jazz EP’ back in January 2020, in Oxford, where Michael Diamond and Christophe Salin DJed back-to-back alongside live improvisation from saxophonist Alex Wilson. It was at that special weekend that Michael played some of his latest ideas to us over a coffee in his student room. They were the first versions of ‘Through Ivory Gate’ and ‘Adrift Penitent Moors (feat. Alex Wilson)’. Michael later wrote ‘Adrift Corrosive Waters (feat. Alex Wilson)’, ‘Glistening Currents’ and ‘Lullaby of Birdland’, especially for this EP and Salin Records. He decided to team up with his friend Alex Wilson again to provide some serenading sax lines to bring the whole story to life. ‘Through Ivory Gate’ pays homage to Michael’s Indian heritage. Inspired by the theme of Asian culture and the rest of the EP, Michael’s close friend Áine Kim Kennedy crafted an abstract poem to be read alongside listening to the music. It is a beautifully enigmatic verbalisation of the journey the EP intends to take you on. Finally, Daria Salin embodied the music and poem through her painting. The final result is a marriage of art forms; Music, Poetry and Art, all to be absorbed together as a holistic experience. We hope you enjoy your journey through the Silk Road!