We first became aware of this great Australian-born rover when he had finished recording his 2018 progressive folk masterpiece, Old Chestnut (FTR362 ). Ned followed this up with 2019’s surprising, fantastic instrumental trio LP, Afternoon-Dusk (FTR468). Then in 2022 we vinylized his great solo debut, Jokes & Trials (FTR630) and did a lathe of his excellent appearance on our covid-era Quarantunes series (FTR657). 2024 saw the release of Our Other History which was a lovely assemblage of material recorded in a variety of formats.

Now it’s 2026 and we have a new slab on Ned called Mixed Light. And it’s a beaut.

Like Our Other History, this new one is more of a blended sonic journey than any kind of monolith. Recorded over time in a variety of locations, the sound is certainly congruent throughout, but its detailing varies quite a bit from track to track.

The opener, “Evening,” for instance, is a solo piano track, sounding something like early ’60s Erroll Garner lazily riffing on a theme from Monk’s “Ruby My Dear.”

This dissolves into the acoustic strum of “Curious Thing,” featuring Joe Talia’s fantastic drumming, Ben Bourke’s gently melodic bass and Leah Senior’s background vocals. All of which revolve around a great block sequence of descending piano chords, a soft splash of Al Kooper-esque organ and Ned’s dark-edged voice.

The next track, “Paper Night” involved a full-on jazz quintet, featuring Chris Abrahams’s gorgeous piano tones, with an overall vibe reminiscent of what the legendary Mike Cooper was doing with his Machine Gun Company band, or even what Robert Wyatt did with the Brotherhood of Breath dudes. It’s a true jazz/folk fusion with a bit of a prog rock overlay. Which might make it seem pretty complicated, but mostly it’s just lovely.

In a general way, these three tracks serve as the main templates for the sounds explored on Mixed Light, with the exception of “In the Kitchen,” which is a stripped down folk/blues duet with Bonnie Prince Billy.

The album is full of great tunes, that flow with casual elegance of Ned’s best work. And everything manages to fit together seamlessly, despite being recorded in patches. Here’s hoping there will be some American shows on the horizon soon. Ned’s songs always manage to burn with extra flame in a live context.

-Byron Coley, 2026