Over the years, through Dirty Beaches, as well as other projects like Last Lizard, and Love Theme, the work of Alex Zhang Hungtai has traced a line between instinct and structure. Orion/Mother, arriving June 19th,2 2026 via American Dreams, feels like a continuation of his search, but with a deeper sense of acceptance about where it leads.
The two singles, Mother and Sidewinder, introduce the new material, and move through a shared interior spece shaped by memory, but not confined to it. Hungtai describes: "Both tracks share a common theme — an exploration of the primordial state within the unconscious that leads to a confrontation with what is unspoken and hidden. The symbolism is neither negative nor positive, but a guide that snakes its way across the psychogeographic terrain of the mind."
Since stepping away from Dirty Beaches, his attention has settled more fully into improvisation and free-form composition. Saxophone, trumpet, synthesizers, percussion, piano, each becomes part of a language that leans into ritual and liminality without overstating either.
Much of Orion/Mother draws from home recordings made with a close circle of New York improvisers, layered with spontaneous overdubs. The approach is intimate, almost conversational. These pieces carry the texture of their origins, converted into something cohesive but still alive.
ZR