Anna Webber's Nonet Takes On Late-Stage Capitalism on New Intakt Album

Saxophonist, flutist and composer Anna Webber has released it's easier to imagine the end of the world..., a new album for her nonet on the Swiss label Intakt Records. The record came out on Oct. 30, according to its Bandcamp page, as Intakt CD 459.

The album's six tracks are all long-form compositions, running from about 10 to 16 minutes each, for a total of roughly 78 minutes. Buyers also receive three bonus tracks that were released digitally ahead of the album between late September and late October: "Enoughness," "The Very Process of Acquiring Knowledge is Subordinated to the Future Capacity to Make Money" and "(Lewis Hyde)."

Webber leads the group on tenor and soprano saxophones and flute. The lineup includes Ryan Easter on trumpet, Yuma Uesaka on clarinet, contrabass clarinet and soprano saxophone, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor and soprano saxophones, DoYeon Kim on 25-string gayageum, Mary Halvorson on guitar, David Virelles on piano, Chris Tordini on bass and Ches Smith on drums and chimes.

According to Intakt, the music was inspired by "works by authors and thinkers who address late-stage capitalism and its effects," and that source material encourages Webber and the nonet "to value the collective over the individual," which the label says is reflected in her approach to bandleading. The title echoes the widely quoted line that it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism, and track titles include "Corporate Tax as a Percentage of Total Federal Revenue in the US, 1952, 1975, and 1998," "Agitation as the Goal" and "Reservoirs of Hope and Optimism."

"It's easy for me to get dark and stay dark right now – to imagine the worst possible ending to everything," Webber says in a statement on the label's page. "But in my reading, I found inspiration from people who helped me imagine a different kind of future, a future where we help each other out and ensure everyone's basic rights; one in which we take care of each other and the planet."

The label writes that Webber gives each band member "a tailor-made vessel" for their own voice while moving between composed and improvised material. It also notes that she was named Rising Star Composer in the 2026 DownBeat Critics Poll.

All compositions are by Webber, who also wrote the liner notes and edited the recording. The album was recorded on Jan. 25 and 26, 2026, at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn by Aaron Nevezie, mixed by Nathaniel Morgan and mastered by Dave Darlington, and was produced by Webber and Intakt. Cover art and design are by Fiona Ryan.

The album is available on CD and as a digital download from Intakt and Bandcamp.