Ranked: Art Rock Releases Worth Your Week, Led by the Planet Coronet Single From Marlon Bianco
5 min read
Ranked: Art Rock Releases Worth Your Week, Led by the Planet Coronet Single From Marlon Bianco
A Multi-Instrumentalist’s Instrumental Space-Rock Piece About an Astronaut Near a Black Hole
Four reviews in two weeks greeted Planet Coronet, the instrumental single Marlon Bianco released on 17 March 2023. First, KIMU and Sistra covered it on release day. Then Mesmerized followed the next day, and TJPL News reviewed it on 1 April. Three years on, it leads this ranked guide to his art rock releases. The reasons also say a lot about who it is for.
Marlon Bianco’s single is in the playlist below, and every article on his music sits on his artist profile. Planet Coronet came to this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news desks. Listen to the single first, then read on for the ranked guide.
Who This Instrumental Is For, From Thelonious Monk Listeners to Fans of J Dilla and Film Jazz
Start with the idea. Marlon Bianco has described Planet Coronet as an instrumental space rock piece. Its subject is the last memories of an astronaut lost in space, as the ship approaches a black hole. The single runs four minutes and twenty-five seconds. It came out on Some Other Planet Records, a label name that suits the subject.
The sound is where the audience comes from. KIMU heard a textured riser and synth notes opening into a psychedelic, chillwave and jazz hybrid. Spoken-word ad libs drift in along the way, and KIMU also credited the saxophone part to Jonny Chung. TJPL News focused on the groove: drums with attitude, a bass line that stays with you, and brass on top. Meanwhile, Sistra called it acid jazz, built on a rock-solid rhythm section with a saxophone solo at its centre.
The Inspirations Behind the Planet Coronet Single, From Monk and Coltrane to Italian Film Jazz
The artist’s own list of inspirations, as reported by KIMU, explains the mix. It runs from Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane to J Dilla and Homeshake. The list also takes in the Italian film composers Piero Umiliani and Piero Piccioni. Monk is the jazz pianist whose angular tunes, such as ‘Round Midnight, became standards. J Dilla is the Detroit producer whose loose, off-grid drums shaped a generation of beat makers. His 2006 album Donuts, for example, shows it best. Umiliani wrote jazz-inflected film and library music in 1960s Italy, including the much-borrowed Mah Nà Mah Nà. Coltrane matters too, because a saxophone carries this piece. His 1965 album A Love Supreme tells a spiritual story almost entirely through the saxophone.
Put those names together and the listener comes into focus. Planet Coronet is for people who like instrumental music with a story behind it. Think of jazz listeners who enjoy a strong groove, and of beat heads who follow producers rather than singers. Fans of vintage soundtrack music belong here too. The track also suits anyone who builds late-night playlists. After all, an instrumental of this length can sit between vocal tracks without crowding them.
Four Reviews in Two Weeks and the Community That Has Followed Marlon Bianco Since 2023
The early response went beyond the four reviews. KIMU added the single to its New Music Spotlight playlist. Mesmerized introduced him as a solitary musical hero emerging from London, pursuing funk, jazz and electronica from a unique perspective. The magazine had already covered his previous single, We Once Knew, in 2022. As a result, Planet Coronet reached writers who were following his progress. Sistra, for its part, described a multi-instrumentalist and composer who moonlights as a melancholic cyberpunk. That fits the sci-fi thread in his catalogue.
The community has moved with him since. He was London-based when Planet Coronet came out. Today, his Instagram bio names Marlon Bianco and The Clones and describes a multi-instrumentalist based in Brighton. At the time of writing, the top cities on his Spotify artist page are Paris, London, Brighton, Athens and Lyon. In addition, Spotify’s Fans Also Like panel lists independent acts such as Hoazin, IKE and Cantrips. That places him in a circle of instrumental and left-field artists.
A Ranked Listening Order for the Planet Coronet Single and the Rest of the Catalogue
For new listeners, here is the ranked order we would suggest:
- Planet Coronet (2023), the instrumental entry point and the best showcase of the saxophone and groove.
- She Can’t Leave Me Here (2023), the October follow-up, which IGGY Magazine and Chune Desk also covered.
- Magnitude (2026), the ten-track album he released in July 2026.
- Life in Low-fi (2021), the debut album where the synth-based sound began.
From the BestMusic.News Curator Team: “Planet Coronet tops this list because the story and the groove arrive together. A lost astronaut is a big idea for a four-minute instrumental. The saxophone carries it without a single sung line.”
Stream Planet Coronet on Apple Music and SoundCloud. Follow Marlon Bianco across platforms: Spotify, Apple Music artist page, YouTube channel and Instagram.
About The Author
