Today, Peter Manheim — the New York-based drummer, composer, producer, and member of the experimental collective Resavoir — shares “Karo” from Early Waves, his supple and cinematic debut full-length project out June 6. “Karo” is a soaring and soulful nod to the long-running and widely adored anime series One Piece. Listen to “Karo” here and preorder Early Waves here.

“The name Karo came from me conflating the names of two characters from the anime One Piece, which I was watching a lot during the time I composed the song,” Manheim elaborates. “One of the characters, Koza is a freedom fighter and the other, Karoo, is a huge pet duck. Though the inspiration may sound un-serious, the song was born out of strong emotions of perseverance, sadness, and triumph (with the freedom fighter in mind; not the oversized duck).”

Carrying an air akin to genre-defying experimental bands like Tortoise, Mwandishi, Gilfema, and the Chicago Underground Quartet, Early Waves intuitively blends and blurs the lines between modern jazz, ambient electronic, Chicago footwork, Brazilian afrobeat, and post-rock. It’s a generous and far-reaching showcase for Manheim’s expansive vision, one hinted at on 2023’s In Time EP but delivered with a sharpened sense of authority and ambition.

Hailing from Chicago, Manheim is a versatile and in-demand percussionist. While perhaps best known for his role in the beloved Resavoir, he’s collaborated both live and in the studio with the likes of Whitney, Eryn Allen Kane, Total Refreshment Center, Tony Glausi, Yallah Yallah, and Possibilities Trio. After studying music at Oberlin with greats like Billy Hart and Jamey Haddad, he studied and performed in Brazil, a period that proved integral as Manheim developed his unique and conversant drumming style.

However, of all of these esteemed mentors and collaborators, it’s the influence of the late Senegalese percussionist Modou “Mamadou” Sarr Mbengue that looms largest over Early Waves. Mamadou emboldened Manheim to embrace his varied musical fascinations — from African rhythms and Brazilian sambas to producers like DJ Rashad and RP Boo — and incorporate them into his own style without reservation. As Manheim shares:

“Him being a master Senegalese percussionist, and encouraging me to play the way I was playing and write the way I was writing, took the doubt away of whether I should shy away from writing in these styles. For better or for worse, I felt like I needed some kind of permission and I had gotten it. Since then I have more strongly resolved to unabashedly compose from my influences and what I love. When I find a rhythm or a type of music that truly speaks to me, I like to take inspiration from it and find my own way of playing it or composing around it.”

Mamadou, who unexpectedly passed away in 2023, not only guides the creative trajectory of Early Waves, but its personnel: the coalition of musicians that play throughout the album are the same group that Manheim had recruited for Mamadou’s new band. “This eight-piece ensemble has become my band. The spirit, energy, humor, and rhythms of Mamadou live on in my music and in the DNA of my band.”

To celebrate the release of Early Waves, Peter Manheim will be playing with the full band at The Sultan Room in NYC on June 1 — more info here and below.

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