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Composer and vocalists Juliet Palmer leads an ensemble of vocalists through works that use layering of voices using lyrics from Emily Dickinson, Nicholas Power, Julie Salverson, Anna Cahtterton, and Christine Duncan, a fascinating mixture of haunting acappella interaction, solo voice, and one work with electronic backing and one over an ultrasound.

A unique ensemble performing a long-form composition by French saxophonist Christophe Monniot with the 12-piece Grand Orchestre du Tricot, 12 movements that are punctuated by layered spoken words, a subtle and sophisticated work realized with performers including Roberto Negro, Florian Satche, Quentin Biardeau, Jean-Baptiste Lacou, &c.

Fitting squarely in the Rock In Opposition mold, Stop Motion Orchestra is an Austin, Texas-based instrumental chamber rock band orchestrated with sax, violin, guitar, synth-bass, drums, here in their second album bringing a bright and melodic force that reminds of Hamster Theatre, Debile Menthol or L'Ensemble Raye; sophisticated, charming and knowledgeable music.

Four fragile and mostly minimal works by Victoria-based composer Alex Jang, performed by the Apartment House ensemble, with solo pieces by Heather Roche on clarinet + field recordings, one with Cristian Alvear on guitar, an acoustic quintet, and "any three players" designed for any mix of instrumentation, here on melodica, vibraphone & cello.

Four fascinating and detailed compositions from Canadian composer and painter Lance Austin Olsen, each work giving the performers space to collaborate on the results, using graphic scores and Cage-like elements from recordings; performers include Terje Paulsen, Gil Sanson, Ryoko Akama, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Katelyn Clark, Patrick Farmer and Apartment House.

Eight sophisticated chamber pieces composed by Linda Catlin Smith and realized by the Canadian Apartment House ensemble, including a solo piano performed by Philip Thomas, a piano duo with Thomas and Mark Knoop, and works for percussion & cello, 2 quintet pieces for strings, percussion and winds, and two 7-piece conducted works with two percussionists, strings and brass.

The Baltimore area quartet of Dave Ballou on trumpet, Anthony Pirog on guitar, Adam Hopkins on double bass, and Mike Kuhl on drums, met in 2011 at Baltimore's Windup Space where Adam Hopkins organized weekly concerts through the Out Of Your Head Collective; finding common ground they took the name BeepHonk, this being their first album, appropriately recorded live.

For their 7th album after 20 years of collaboration, double bassist Carlos Bica's trio Azul with Frank Mobus on guitar and Jim Black on drums presents this exemplary live album recorded at the 2015 Ljubljana Jazz Festival in Lsovenia, clearly illustrating their characteristic clean and lyrically melodic sound through beautiful textural and energetic playing.

For their first album together the trio of Bryan Qu on alto saxophone & objects, Quincy Mayes on piano & objects, and Mark Ballyk on percussion, voice & objects, resolved to live together for three months, achieving through intense effort the synthesis of different approaches to improvisation to create this large and encompassing "imaginary film".

Drummer, composers and electronic artist Mario Costa in his first solo album as a leader, presenting 9 original compositions performed at the 26th Festival de Jazz na Praca da Erva in a trio with French improvisers Benoit Delbecq on piano, prepared piano and synth, and Marc Ducret on guitar, a great album and an absolutely stunning concert by three masterful players.

The Norwegian experimental collective improvising group of Henrik Munkeby Norstebo on trombone, Kjetil Jerve on piano, and Andreas Wildhagen on drums & percussion are the core trio here, presenting their third release by adding free improvising vocalist Sofia Jernberg, bringing a sense of unpredictability to a finely controlled chaos of technical mastery.

Dynamic and compelling improvisations from the Oslo-based international guitar trio of Brinicle, an improvising trio comprised of Norwegian Hakon Norby Bjorgo on upright bass, Canadian Mike McCormick on electric guitar and Michaela Antalova on drum kit, who met in 2015 to join their interestes in the intersection of avant improvisation and post-rock.

Nine numbered improvisations for viola, cello and analog synth from the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues and Richard Scott, recorded live at Audience, in Berlin, Scott's synth layers adding subtle nuance including vocal sampling and static and strange noise as a counterpoint to the Rodrigues' subdued but detailed techniques, textures and intense concentration.

The Spanish free improvising quartet Colectivo maDam of Ruben Gutierrez on electronics, objects, Tomas Gris on acoustic guitar, Guillermo Torres on fluguelhorn, and David Area on electronics are joined by Lisbon improvisers Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Miguel Mira on cello for this 3-part work, the first recorded live at Espacio B, Madrid, the 2nd & 3rd recorded in the studio.

Electric guitarist Olaf Rupp joins the father son/duo of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme cello, in studio recordings from Berlin in 2017, as three disparate strings intertwine in acoustics and electronics for an intensely evolving two part work, a textured tapestry of slow bowing, sustaining tones, unusual progressions, and odd percussive invention.

Trumpeter Sei Miguel joins the Portuguese Lisbon String Trio, his second collaboration with the free improvising core group of Miguel Mira on cello, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, and Alvaro Rosso on double bass, adding a distinctive voice to their subtle interplay as they present this three part work based on the legendary German character who traded his soul to the devil.

A live recording from the acoustic septet Free Music 7tet of Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Luiz Rocha (clarinets), Guilherme Rodrigues (cello), Eduardo Chagas (trombone), and (piano), Hernani Faustino (double bass) and Paulo Ferreira Lopes (drums), performing at O'Culto da Ajuda, for five improvisations from active free improv to lowercase exploration.

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Japanese steelpan player Yoshio Machida leads this pan-national pop band in their second album, blending electronics and popular forms of music referencing and using electronic and acoustic rock, funk, synthpop, and spoken word, with the majority of the band Serbian artists, and guest musicians including Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (Jim O'Rourke), Paranel, and Misha.

Four fascinating compositions by Pascale Criton exploring microtonalities on instruments tuned in 1/16th tone (violin, viola, guitar) based on gestural processes developed in close collaboration with the musicians: one duo with Silvia Tarozzi and Deborah Walker, one solo piece with Deborah Walker, and two pieces performed by Dedalus Ensemble.

An hour-long interview in the French language between French improvisers, bassist and vocalist Joelle Leandre and guiatist Noel Akchote, originally released in 2000, Leandre very engaged and at times quite animated and in good spirits, the CD partitioned into six equal sections for easy indexing.

With a discography of both contemporary and improvised music, Beligan pianist residing in Norway Jonas Cambien (Platform, Karokh) joins forces with Norwegian double bassist Adrian Myhr (Delius, Dorner, Buck) for an album that balances concentrative and muscular interplay, influenced by Cambien's piano preparations and Myhr's sophisticated techniques.

An absorbing album of solo drum work from French drummer/percussionist Antonin Gerbal, recording in the studio and demonstrating his profound sonic and technical approaches to the drums, isolated from projects like Peeping Tom, Bertrand Denzler/ONCEIM or Zoor.

The second album from this Norwegian electric improvising power trio, using dark rhythmic grooves over which guitar, electric piano, amplified objects, no-input mixing board, and pianet emerge, creating hypnotic states that lead to exultant moments through sinuous melody, building and releasing intensity while maintaining a consistent gauzy undertone.

Goh Lee Kwang performing on no-input mixer meets Julien Ottavi on TamTam, bass drum and a computer running Puredata and Apodio 10 for an album of electronic improvisation recorded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Nantes, France, balancing aggressive and meditative sound.

LA flutist Leah Paul began these works as through-composed chamber pieces, with lyrical content evolving as each song took shape, performed in a hybrid band of improvisers and chamber players with Afton Hefley singing about meditation of dreams and childhood memories.

The Italian improvising music unit Jealousy Party, known for their spontaneous use of self-recycling through playback devices, is joined by Berlin-based artist and composer Nicolas Wiese in this studio recording.

Dutch improviser van Heumen (N Collective, OfficeR, &c.) in a dynamic and shifting solo work of laptop electronics, noise textures, and text.

Beautiful, mysterious improvised compositions with spoken interludes, recorded live in March 2003 at the first Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques (MNM) festival.

A unique approach to solo reeds and winds from French multi-reedist Matthieu Prual, also on flute and ORLA Keyboard, maintaining lyrical and comprehensible approaches with strong technical skills in captivating and succinct statements, truly excellent work.

WPG is John Ferguson and Robert van Heumen, blending a fractured pulse with dynamic texture into an immersive and disorientating music, from subtle to invasive sound.

Electronic improvisations from Formian reed & electronics artist Fega, a member of Taxonomy with Elio Martusciello, as well as IATO and IXEM, Pangolino Orchestra, &c.

An organized sound work paying homage to German cartographer Karl Ortmann; and a piece built around the video installation "MSTM Wall" by British media artist Ian W. Coel.

A quartet of finesse and great communication led by pianist Copland, with saxophonist Greg Osby, bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Victor Lewis, performing original compositions and two well-placed standards.

Wakool is an interrogation into an expanded range of techniques and gestures from David Brown playing banjo, electroacoustic guitar, bandura, and eukolin.

Putting together two releases from Montreal guitarist and composer Tim Brady's "24 Frames" project: "Trance" (CD + DVD) and "Scatter" (2 CDs), performed solo and with his Bradyworks ensemble.

"Oprachina" is made up of the words opra (opera) & china (bowed), meaning alienating, back-breaking work, coined in the early 20th century to represent an equilibrium between written passages and free improvisation.

Bassist Eric Normand's compositions showcase the incredibly talented quintet of James Darling (cello), Antoine Letourneau-Berger (vibes), Michel F. Cote (drums/feedback) and Jean Derome (flute, sax, birdcall).

Classical saxophonist Neil McGovern joins improvising legend Paul Dunmall to perform music based on Dunmall's book "60 Studies for Saxophone", with Matt London lending a 3rd voice for one track.

A feast for fans of the soprano saxophone as Udo Schindler and Frank Paul Schubert improvise live at the 51th SALON fur Klang + Kunst in Krailing/Munich, Germany in 2015, blending and contrasting two approaches to the instrument in fascinating ways.

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.

The Swedish duo of percussionist Andreas Pollak and prepared pianist Johan Graden (Adam & Alma) in an album of references and innuendo, clandestine and furtive sounds that evoke great mystery and drama in beautifully shaped sound; evocative music that deceives to emerge from the electronic realm while in actuality coming from all acoustic sources.

A co-production between BeCoq Records and Creative Sources, the quartet of saxophonist Mathhiew Lebrun with 3 guitarists--Leo Rathier, Paul Menard, and Thomas Coquelet--use preparations, feedbacks, glass, cymbals, microswitches, and unusual sax techniques to create unusual sonic environments that ebb and flow in introspective and disquieting ways.

Live recordings at LOFT in Cologne, Germany from the trio of George Wissel on prepared saxophone, Achim Tang on doublebass, and Simon Camatta on drums & percussion, performing seven "Movements" that use prodigious technique with reserve and direction, revealing the structure of their work as the pieces build and recede in fascinating ways.

The second volume of the project heard in the previous Creative Sources album, "Suspensao", here in a 9-piece electroacoust ensemble with viola, cello, doublebass, alto sax, trombone, piano, electric guitar, computer and percussion, suspenseful lowercase music that unfolds in mysterious, beautiful and rewarding ways.

Grooves with Energy, or Sandunga Jazz Fusion as guitarist and leader Allen Weber describes his mix of jazz rock fusion infused with Latin, Carribeo, Funk, Blues, R & B and Rock.

Deconstructed sounds from Ralf Wehowsky (RLW) on electronics & Johannes Frisch on double bass, citing Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz" album as an (abstract?) influence, using noise, glitch, acoustics and jump-cut compositional styles that surprise but won't make you want to dance.

Sporadic sonic exchanges exploring guidelines, graphic scores, or completely improvised, with an expansive instrumentorium from the sextet of Magali Babin, Andrea-Jane Cornell, Martine H Crispo, Anne-Francoise Jacques, Emilie Mouchous, and Erin Sexton.

A surreal and sophisticated work with a 9 piece electroacoustic ensemble composed by sampling and computer artist Roberto Fega, with audio interludes and vocal aberrations, plus text by Jennifer Scappettone.

Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in excellent condition.

"The album is a studio version of a chamber opera prepared by Joanna Halszka Sokolowska at Opera// REMIX at Komuna// Warszawa. The...

Solo bass from acoustic and electroacoustic artist JC Jones, a distillation of his language in free improvised music incorporating electronic sound and noise.

Bassist J.C. Jones brings together science & music, enabling an evocative window into the illness MS by making the vibrations of myelin protein audible, over which Jones, Yoni Silver, Harold Rubin, Airel Shibolet, &c. improvise.

Live recordings of JC Jones in duo settings, 14 different collaborations including Ned Rothenberg, Victoria Hanna, Harold Rubin, Josef Sprinzak, Nori Jacoby, &c.

Tektite is European improvising bassist Inegbrigt Haker Flaten's new label to release solo and ensemble work; "Birds" presents 5 solo recordings from Grand Sport Studio in Oslo and one live from The Hideout in Chicago.

"The discography of Carolyn Hume and Paul May on Leo Records continues to grow. On their fourth CD for Leo Records they continue to explore their haunting, atmospheric pieces occasionally augmented by the voice of Sonja Galsworthy, guit...

"It is probably not easy to be the son of Pino Minafra and try to find your musical identity. But there are advantages too: from early childhood Livio was hanging out with great musicians such as Sergey Kuryokhin, the whole of Italian I...

"Thierry Maucci has a fat, rich sound on tenor and baritone sax, with a tone a bit more piercing and urgent on the alto. The listener gets a chance to study all of his tricks on this 50-minute solo album. Liaison Acoustique was recorded...

"The Invisible Story" was produced over a four year period, and completed just last ear: This work deals with the ideas of Bela Hamvas (1897-1968), a Hungarian literary figure whose fate was literally sealed by his country's history. In...

"Fredrik Soegaard successfully applies modern technology to sound to create new methods of interactive composing. He calls his trio the Soegaard Ensemble, an apt description as it bears Soegaard's stamp throughout and also gives the imp...

"You better strap in for this one: it's a relentlessly post-modern excursion into the possibilities of noise, of static, of crossed expectations. Tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler is on hand, and he is a fine musician with a raw intens...

Composer, pianist and multi-instrumentals Joana Sa gives voice to texts by Goncalo M. Tavares as read by Rosinda Costa, where the text organizes the thoughts that filter the multiple, disorderly, eccentric, voluble mind described in Tavares' work.

Silber Records label owner Brian John Mitchell's Remora persona, assisted by Brian Lee McKenzie (Electric Bird Noise) in post-apocalyptic folk songs, drones, and electronic music.

"Novo Navigatio (New Journey) is the Abstractions' third and final release of innovative and cutting sonic landscapes. This is "Vision music" that consists of a colorful orchestration of vocals, saxophones, guitars, percussion, strings,...

"Heading north to Liverpool, we find the duo of Graculus making some very gracious and enjoyable improvised music. The group is Richard Harding on classical guitar and Phil Hargreaves on flute and soprano sax, and their approach is as s...