astralblak is the Minneapolis group formerly known as ZULUZULUU. The collaboration between multi-instrumentalists/producers/vocalists Greg Grease, MMYYKK, elliott., and Just Nine has been going strong since their emergence in 2014. Now, two years after their last album, Seeds, they’ve come back with a new EP, Space & Time.

Since their inception, astralblak has been bending genres, bringing a mix of free jazz, soul, funk, and hip hop to the table in their own unique mix. You never know exactly what you’re going to get, but you can always rest assured that it will be interesting. On Space & Time, astralblak leans heavier on the funk, with some fat synth bass lines providing the foundation for the sound. However, this group isn’t content just to lay down some fun grooves and call it a day. No, they are taking that funk and injecting it with abstract philosophical poetry that seeks to speak to our ancestors and question where our future lies. It’s also an EP where these funky grooves don’t stay in the same place for too long. Instead, they are often starting points for songs that really develop and travel to unexpected places, which is where the free jazz side of their influences comes through. This is already incredibly interesting, but then we get an “X” factor in the form of trumpet player Omar Abdulkarim, who adds a brightness and melodic variation on two of the five tracks, mixing things up with just the right amount of spice to keep your ears interested.

You’re not going to hear many groups like astralblak or any other EPs that sound like Space & Time. Their foundation of funk would be most groups’ ceiling, but for astralblak, it’s their launching pad as they take you on a journey of unexpected musical stops.