Inspired by the glitch audio work of Korean-American improviser Bonnie Jones, Rutger Zydervelt (Machinefabriek) unscrews the base of pedal effects to circuit-bend and probe them for unexpected sounds, organized into this album of pure and deformed electronics.

A beautifully dramatic album from the trio of electronic artist Rutger Zydervelt (Machinefabriek), violinist Anne Bakker, and vocalist Edita Karkoschka, a sculpted work full of dramatic turns, immersive drones, glitchy electronics and intimate gestures.

An extended improvisation of muted sound from the long-running duo of Jeph Jerman and Tim Barnes, performing live at Non-Event in Boston, creating mysterious analog sounds and cycles of drones with underlaying metallic textures creating an environment of suspense.

Meaning "sound and smoke", the quartet of trumpeter Axel Dorner, pianist Tisha Mukarji, and reedist Johan Arrias & Kai Fagaschinski are caught live at Ausland in Berlin for a set of tonal improvisations based on compositions, creating outstanding textural environments.

British free improvising legend John Butcher met Scandinavian drummer Stale Liavik Solberg at Cafe Oto to record these intensely detailed yet sublimely reserved duos, three pieces segmenting the album title, an intimate and never extravagent dialog of great technical depth.

Approaching the free side of 60s postbop in the Ornette Coleman vein, the Cortex quartet of Thomas Johansson (trumpet), Kristoffer Alberts (sax), Ola Hoyer (double bass) and Gard Nilssen (drums) are captured for a dynamic and captivating set at IBeam in Brooklyn in 2015.

Norwegian drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen's octet with Kristoffer Alberts, Jorgen Mathisen and Andree Roligheten on reeds, and Hayden Powell and Kristoffer Kompen on brass, merging New Orleans and free jazz traditions in creative and lyrical jazz of embraceable compositions and exceptional soloing.

Texture heavy sonic free improvisation from the duo of Swedish free improviser Christian Munthe on acoustic guitar and Patrick Farmer on "acoustic turntable", each masking the sounds of their instruments in uncommon ways, pacing their interactions with subtlety and intention.

Blending jazz and rock forms with frenetic excitement and masterful control, multi-reedist Forebrace quartet with Roberto Sassi (electric guitar), Santiago Horro (electric bass) and Jem Doulton (drums) run the gamut on exultantly virtuosic improvisation, here recording live at Cafe Oto.

Following jazz traditions blending lyrical and free approaches with unexpected twists and turns from the Norwegian quintet of Andree Roligheten on sax, Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Oscar Gronberg on piano, Jon Rune Strom on double bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums.

First meeting of Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and New York bassist Joe Fonda, initiated at the suggestion of Fonda, recording in Portland, Maine at the Dimensions in Jazz Series, a beautifully recorded and intimate duo of superb dialog between two seasoned improvisers.

Bryn Harrison's highly acclaimed, labyrinthine composition for violin & piano from 2014, expertly realised by violinist Aisha Orazbayeva and pianist Mark Knoop, for whom this 5-part work of beautiful repetitions reflecting tapestries of sound was written.

Masterful NY double bassist in a trio with vibraphonist Kevin Norton and clarinetist Wendell Harrison, in an exquisite jazz album with what Linberg describes as a "post-industrial rust belt aesthetic", alongside a 3 part tribute to the late trumpeter Roy Campbell.

West Coast double bassist and composer John Lindberg's Raptor Trio with baritone saxophonist Pablo Calogero and drummer Joe LaBarbera presents music as a mystery to be left unsolved yet fully absorbed, as heard in this beguilingly lyrical and emotional album.

London master drummer Steve Noble (Rip Rig and Panic, Derek Bailey), a mainstay on the scene for decades, with Scandinavian free improvising saxophonist Kristoffer Berre Alberts (Cortex, Saka, Starlite Motel) for a live album of uproariously driven, skronky free jazz.

Recording on Calgary, CA guitarist Cody Oliver's old resonator guitar, this set of untitled solo recordings finds Oliver playing every inch of the guitar, using the body, pickups, strings and natural resonance as equal partners in exploring unusual territory.

Downtown New York multi-reedist mainstay Elliott Sharp in his third Aggregat release, in a quintet with Taylor Ho Bynum on trumpet, Barry Altschul on drums, Terry L. Greene II on trombone, and Brad Jones on bass, pushing elastic limits on the concepts of jazz and free improv.

Canadian composer Linda Catlin Smith's extended composition for violin and percussion in 15 parts, performed by percussionist Simon Limbrick and violinist Mira Benjamin, a unique orchestration that reveals a journey of steady pace, tension and beauty.

Co-founder of the Association of Improvising Musicians in Toronto (AIMToronto) and a member of The Rent, Scott Thomson presents a solo trombone release of explorative approaches to the instrument, masterful work from one of Canada's leading improvisers.

Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus named "Clinamen" the unpredictable (in time and space) swerve of atoms falling in the void, which aptly describes the unexpected directions taken in subtle free improvisation from this French trio, led by bassist Louis-Michel Marion, with Jacques Di Donato on clarinet, and Philippe Berger on viola.

A split 7" release between Cremaster (Alfredo Costa Monteiro (electronics) and Ferran Fages (feedback mixing board and electroacoustic devices); and the Komora A trio of Karol Koszniec (electronics), Dominik Kowalczyk (laptop) and Jakub Mikolajczyk (modular synth).

With a list of projects including Shagma, The Core, Zanussi 5 and Mopti, the trio of Jorgen Mathisen (sax), Christian Meaas Svendsen (bass) and Andreas Wildhagen (drums), "Momentum" is an apt name for their uniquely building, unpredictable and atypical improvisations.

Bridging improv and rock, this quintet including Luc Ex on guitar uses instrumental and vocal forms to draw on a wealth of styles with references to free improv, post-punk and RIO styles, beautifully pacing the album from energetic improv to slowly unfolding atmospheres.

Led by bassist Noah Punkt, this young Leipzig-Zurich improvising trio with drummer Ramon Oliveras and saxophonist Tobias Pfister blend an unusual sense of humor into serious free jazz, with strange asides or layers of sound punctuating superb and energetic playing.

An extremely unusual album of sonic interactions from the long-running peformance duo of Ali Robertson and Malcy Duff, aka Usurper, recorded during a residency in Helsinki in May 2010, an eccentric display of vocal and aberrant apparatus with a unique inner logic.