The Illusions and Realities of Daylight Robbery's Third Island Suite with Robert Waite and Nick Marks | The Sharp Notes Interview

The Sharp Notes with Evan Toth

Some of our most profound conversations often happen without words, music becomes the ultimate language — capable of revealing and transforming our perceptions, maybe even challenging them. Today, we're diving into just such a conversation with two artists whose latest musical collaboration speaks volumes: British jazz producer Robert Waite (known professionally as Daylight Robbery) and New York-based pianist Nick Marks. Their new project, Third Island Suite bridges the luminous traditions of Spiritual Jazz, the electric momentum of Fusion, and the lyrical pulse of Hip-Hop, forming a rich and unpredictable dialogue between sound and spirit.

Following the success of Daylight Robbery’s 2022 debut Moons of Jupiter (which I spoke to Robert about that year), which garnered over five million streams, this new album pushes Waite even further into uncharted territory. Drawing inspiration from John Fowles' metafictional classic The Magus, Third Island Suite offers more than just a musical experience — it loosely soundtracks a psychological odyssey through illusion, self-discovery, and the playful misdirections of a master trickster. Framed by the striking artwork of Cologne’s Jens Roth, the album finds its home on Melting Pot Music, released both digitally and on vinyl.

Today, we have the real joy of speaking with Nick and Rob about how they built this intricate sonic world together — how pianos, beats, imagination, and basslines became tools for storytelling that translate into a complex inner musical journey between two creatives. We'll explore how collaboration became their shared vocabulary and how, through music, they found new ways to communicate truths that words alone could never fully capture.