The boundaries between jazz, world music and improvisation continue to blur on Elysian Drift, the forthcoming third album from the Nicolas Meier World Group. Set for release on August 28, 2026, the album finds guitarist and composer Nicolas Meier drawing on years of international touring, collaboration and musical exploration to create a collection of 13 new compositions filled with vibrant grooves, evocative melodies and the kind of fearless guitar solos that have become his signature.
Following the success of the group’s acclaimed albums Peaceful and Magnificent, Elysian Drift represents the next chapter in Nicolas Meier’s continuing musical journey. Once again, the music is inspired by the sounds, cultures and experiences encountered through years of travelling the world, bringing together influences from Spanish, Turkish, Balkan, Middle Eastern, North African and South American traditions within an improvisational jazz framework.
At the heart of the album is Meier’s remarkable palette of guitars. His use of fretted and fretless nylon-string guitars, steel-string and 12-string guitars, alongside the distinctive glissentar, gives the music an extraordinary range of colours and textures. The sound is further enriched by the interplay between Meier’s guitars and Richard Jones’ violin, while Demi Garcia Sabat’s percussion and Tom Mason’s acoustic bass provide a powerful rhythmic foundation.
The album also features pianist Alex Hutton and vocalist Randolph Matthews, with flamenco guitarist Jose Almarcha appearing as a special guest on nine tracks. Together, the musicians create a sound that feels simultaneously rooted in tradition and completely open to the possibilities of improvisation.
Meier’s musical path to Elysian Drift has been shaped by an unusually diverse range of experiences. He has toured the world with guitar legend Jeff Beck and collaborated extensively with jazz guitarist Pete Oxley, recording five albums together. He has also recorded and toured with Indonesian guitarist and composer Dewa Budjana in a project featuring bassist Jimmy Haslip, while producing work with singer Gabrielle Ducomble and exploring instrumental metal through his project My Dark Side.
His album Infinity brought together an equally formidable lineup, with Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and Jimmy Haslip on bass. Released internationally through Favored Nations, the label founded by Steve Vai, the album led to extensive touring across Europe and the United States, including a European tour supporting Steve Vai in 2022.
Those experiences have clearly fed into the evolution of the Nicolas Meier World Group. The previous album Peaceful inspired a 55-date tour, while Magnificent was followed by more than 100 concerts, establishing the group as a compelling live act as well as a recording project.
With Elysian Drift, Meier takes that accumulated experience and turns it into a new musical landscape. The album’s title is fitting: the music seems to drift freely between cultures, genres and moods, while the musicians remain tightly connected through rhythm, melody and improvisation.
Rather than simply reproducing traditional musical forms, Meier takes inspiration from them and reshapes their colours, rhythms and melodic ideas into something distinctly his own. The result is music that can move from intricate and atmospheric passages into driving grooves, expressive violin lines and explosive guitar improvisations.
The album will receive its official launch at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London on September 1, 2026, before the group heads into a programme of festivals and clubs. With the album arriving just days earlier, the London performance will offer audiences the first opportunity to experience Elysian Drift live in the setting for which the Nicolas Meier World Group’s music is arguably best suited.
Nicolas Meier World Group’s Elysian Drift is released August 28, 2026. The lineup features Nicolas Meier on fretted and fretless nylon-string, steel-string and 12-string guitars and glissentar; Alex Hutton on piano; Richard Jones on violin; Tom Mason on acoustic bass; Randolph Matthews on vocals; and Demi Garcia Sabat on percussion, with special guest Jose Almarcha on flamenco guitar.
After years of travelling, collaborating and exploring musical territories across the globe, Nicolas Meier appears ready to take listeners on another journey — one where world music, jazz, improvisation, powerful grooves and fearless guitar playing meet in a truly international sound.
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