Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith releases new instrumental album ‘Thoughts on the Future’ + Announces NYC / London shows!

Today, influential artist, producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith releases a new instrumental album, Thoughts on the Future, via Nettwerk. Across three distinct compositions, she explores grief, its impact on the mind and body, and the process of rebuilding. To bring her vision to life, Kaitlyn returned to her classical roots. Each melody was transcribed from imagination to paper as she notated scores for an ensemble of orchestral players. Blending woodwinds, strings, vibraphone, vocal layers, and synthesizer tones, she delivers one of the more hypnotic, pensive, and provocative releases of her storied musical career.

Kaitlyn explains in her own words:

“[Thoughts on the future album] is a contemplative body of work that examines what grief does to the body and the mind – the necessary disembodiment & cocooning — how it suspends us, how it empties us, and how it quietly begins to rebuild us in its own time.

Rooted in the artist’s classical foundation, the album blends minimalist piano, textural electronics, and chamber motifs.

It is a world that can feel both fragile and meticulously constructed, both holding destruction & construction.

This is not an album that tries to define grief.

It is a room where nothing has to be resolved.

Each interval is deliberate, carrying the weight of something unspoken

Nothing is hurried.

Just thoughts, deliberate thoughts on the future…

The idea of disembodiment: the way loss untethers us from our physical and emotional coordinates.

This music is meant to feel private.

A private world for you.

This is not an album about healing.
It is an album about truth — about the reconstruction that follows when life has been irrevocably altered.”

Kaitlyn’s new release closes out a prolific and monumental year for her that started with the rollout of her critically acclaimed album, GUSH, released in August. The album was praised by the likes of Pitchfork, Bandcamp Daily, NPR Music, The New York Times, The Quietus, and The Guardian, among others. She spent the year touring and performing alongside artists such as Glass Beams, RY X, and Hot Chip, while also appearing at festivals including Pitchfork Fest London, MIRA in Barcelona, Linecheck in Milan, and more. All this, while running her own label, touchtheplants, and hosting her bi-monthly NTS Radio show.

Kaitlyn is excited to announce new tour dates for 2026, starting with dates in Brooklyn at Elswhere and London at the Barbican Theatre. Check out the details below, and for more information, visit: https://kaitlynaureliasmith.com/

LISTEN & SHARE KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH – THOUGHTS ON THE FUTURE:
https://kaitlynaureliasmith.ffm.to/thoughtsonthefuture

ABOUT KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH:

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is a classically trained American composer, performer, and producer from the Pacific Northwest. Her music is a form of auditory interpretation powered by curiosity and her toolkit of modular, analog, and rare synthesizers (including her signature Buchla), orchestral textures, and voice. Since her first self-release in 2012, she has explored the endless possibilities of electronic instruments and the relationship between sound, shape, color, body movement, and expression.

Her new three-song album Thoughts on the Future is a powerful and contemplative examination of what grief does to the body and the mind. The nuance in each composition reflects the emotional complexity of grief and its aftermath. Smith drew on her classical background to craft a magnetic blend of orchestrations and electronic colors. The result is a gentle response to our innermost feelings around love and loss, without any passing judgment in the process.

This release follows GUSH, her critically acclaimed full-length album, released in August. Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has been celebrated for embracing her urges toward experimental production, Buchla synth mastery, commissioned classical compositions, and the ever-evolving intersection of sound, voice, body, and form. She’s performed alongside artists like Hot Chip, Glass Beams, RY X, Max Richter, Danny Elfman, and Four Tet, and composed original works for Apple, BBC Orchestra, Adult Swim, MoMA, Red Bull, and others. Her song “Stratus” also appeared in the 2023 Priscilla Motion Picture Soundtrack.

KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH 2026 TOUR DATES:
Apr 03 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
May 27 – London, UK @ The Barbican

MEDIA PRAISE FOR KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH:

“Is there anyone with a more distinctive sound palette in all of electronic music than Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith?”

– Bandcamp Daily

“…glistening arpeggios and heavenly vocals…”

– The Guardian

“…like an extraterrestrial transmission sent from the stars… earthen and astral bliss…”

– The New York Times

“…once you lock into the ebullient mood, its joy—her joy—is unmistakable and irresistible.”

– Pitchfork

“There is a real sense of magical realism, a sort of out-of-body experience — it’s not your typical romantic connection…”

– NPR Music

“…her artfully manipulated vocals explore themes of synesthesia and the interconnectedness of the world.”

– KEXP

“…essential and contemplative listening.”

– Vogue

Download Thoughts on the Future Album Artwork HERE

Track List:

1. I Miss the Way You Swim
2. Thoughts on the Future
3. Dying is a Normal Part of Life