LOS ANGELES, CA — March 23, 2026 — Acclaimed world music duo Joss Jaffe & Jim “Kimo” West announce today’s release of “Thermocline,” the latest single from their immersive, ocean-inspired album Delphinus, arriving March 30 on Artizen Records. Building on their recent singles “Party Wave” and “Wake Riding,” the track drops on all major streaming platforms, inviting listeners into a meditative yet emotional underwater soundscape.
“Thermocline” showcases a rich palette of global acoustic instruments, including Ngoni African harp, Indian tabla drums, ‘Ili‘ili Hawaiian river stones, and West’s signature Hawaiian slack-key guitar. The piece opens with a flowing 12/8 arpeggio that gradually builds into powerful crescendos as the instruments trade motifs, at times echoing jazz-like interplay between guitar, Ngoni, tabla, and a shimmering tapestry of sound. The result is both elated and wistful, evoking layered emotional currents that mirror the ocean’s thermocline, where warm surface waters give way to deeper, cooler depths.
Drawn from the dolphin constellation that inspired Delphinus, “Thermocline” continues the album’s narrative journey that includes tracks like singles “Party Wave,” “Wake Riding,” plus “Echolocation,” and “Underwater Sunrise,” each mapping a different facet of life beneath the waves. Lifelong surfers, swimmers, and ocean-lovers, Jaffe and West channel decades in and around the sea into a work that feels equally at home on spa, yoga, meditation, and relaxation playlists.
“On ‘Thermocline’ we wanted to capture that feeling of moving through different emotional layers in the water—joy on the surface, mystery and longing as you go deeper,” says Joss Jaffe. “The global instruments converse with each other like currents shifting around you.”
“This track dives further into our oceanic universe,” adds Jim ‘Kimo’ West. “The 12/8 pulse, the slack-key textures, and the subtle jazz inflections are all about creating a space where listeners can drift, reflect, and feel uplifted at the same time.”
A Grammy-winning Hawaiian slack-key guitarist and 40+ year lead guitarist for “Weird Al” Yankovic, Jim “Kimo” West brings deep Hawaiian roots, lyrical phrasing, and a meditative sensibility to the project. Joss Jaffe, a Billboard Top-10 New Age artist, is known for his work as a vocalist, tabla player, producer, and multi-instrumentalist at leading yoga and wellness festivals around the world. Together, their previous collaborations Aum Akua (2022) and Santhi (2024) have earned hundreds of thousands of streams and strong support across yoga, wellness, and ambient communities, setting the stage for Delphinus, their most focused underwater odyssey yet, mastered by JJ Golden of Golden Mastering.
Call to Action
“Thermocline” is available on all major streaming platforms starting today, with the full Delphinus album arriving March 30 on Artizen Records. For interview requests with Joss Jaffe and Jim “Kimo” West, or details on upcoming live events—including the March 28 Los Angeles release show at Zula Den—please see the media contact below.
About Joss Jaffe & Jim “Kimo” West
Joss Jaffe is a Los Angeles-based vocalist, tabla player, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose albums, including Meditation Music and Dub Mantra, blend ambient, world, and contemporary influences and have reached the Billboard Top-10 New Age chart. Jim “Kimo” West is a Grammy-winning ki ho‘alu (Hawaiian slack-key) guitarist, multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award nominee, and the longtime lead guitarist for “Weird Al” Yankovic, with tens of millions of streams across his catalog. Together, they create immersive soundscapes that bridge global acoustic instruments, sound-healing sensibilities, and modern production for yoga, wellness, and world music audiences.