The MaDam Electroacoustic Improvisation Collective based in Spain performs the first in Pisaro's 34 piece Harmony Series, which attempts to create the conditions for a harmonic situation without giving any actual notes, just numbers, durations of tones, and pauses; this work is based on "swell piece (for alison knowles)" (1967) by James Tenney.

Antoine Beuger performs composer Maria De Alvear's 1995 contemplative work "Besando El Tiempo" (Kissing The Time) written using an automatic script and originally composed for the flautist Caren Levine; after hearing Beuger's interpretation she requested that he record it, the result this rendition that takes the composition in an introspective journey.

Composer Burkhard Schlothauer, co-founder of Editions Wandelweiser and a member of Zeitkratzer and the Wandwelweiser Composers Ensemble, in a five part work conceived as a single part, combining previous works into various possible versions as "events", working with spatial distribution, slow beats, noise, and pulse, superimposed from their origins.

Ist gefallen in den Schnee: A piece by Swedish composer-pianist Magnus Granberg, performed with Angharad Davies, Anna Lindal, Leo Svensson Sander, John Eriksson, Erik Carlsson, Henrik Olsson, Petter Wastberg and Toshimaru Nakamura; Despairs: A beautiful extended composition exquisitely played by an ensemble of fine musicians.

A diverse set of artist interpret a random page from Cornelius Cardew's "Treatise", using the score alone with each artist unable to hear what the other participants were playing, which Spool label-leader Daniel Kernohan assembled into these 10 incredible audio tracks, each roughly 4:35 long, in a great interpretation of Cardew's (in)famous work.

Three works, two for large ensembles of performers on sax, guitar, clarinet, voice, percussion, horn, flute, vibes, and objects that belie the size of the group in its fragile presences, with a shorter trio of Frey, Greg Stuart and Erik Carlson transitioning the large pieces; compositions conceived as both short presences within abundant orchestration.

The duo of Beat Keller and Philipp Bowee on electric guitars perform 6 subtle compositions from Turkish-born sound artists and composer Cem Guney's, including 'a bas relief of a talisman' dedicated to Charles Ives and 'soft kill incubator' dedicated to Sylvia Alexandra Schimag.

American organist and composer Carson Cooman performs three sontatinas, each in three movements, and the 2014 work "drones", by German contemporary composer Eva Maria Houben, a member of the Wandelweiser group, all slowly evolving works of tone and subtle harmonics.

Toronto-based composer Nick Storring presents two highly textural, side-long pieces; "Field Lines" originally composed for Yvonne NG Peck Wan's dance piece, "Magnetic Fields", presenting a series of a brief, dreamlike clearings through clusters of tonal instruments; and "Yield Criteria" a work of drifting drones that ebb and flow in rich harmonies.

Montreal composer Chris Strickland used strategies of "deliberate uncertainty" to direct these 3 pieces of minimized technique, narrative, and emotion, performed by Montreal musicians Guido del Fabbro on violin and Solomiya Moroz on flute, with field recordings creating a hazy ambiance over the slowly evolving works.

A dramatic work for solo piano, exploring sound phenomena in fast repetitions that generate whirlpools of overtones, "Blood Stretched Out" is the primary track on composer & pianist Anthony Pateras' first solo album in 10 years, paired with "Chronochromatics", recorded live at The Loft in Cologne as part of the Plush Music Festival in 2013.

Anthony Pateras was commissioned to compose this work by Synergy Percussion for their 40th birthday in 2014, performed with a six piece ensemble including electronic artist Jerome Noetinger, using the same instrumentation as Xenakis' "Pleiades" of more than 100 orchestral percussion instruments, including Xenakis' 17-pitch microtonal metallophones.

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.

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.

A live performance at Judson Church in Manhattan as part of the 20th Vision Festival from the NY/France free improvising trio of Joelle Leandre on double bass, Mat Maneri on viola, and Gerald Cleaver on drums and percussion, two tracks of steadily building, incredibly compatible dialog.

A masterful fountain of melodic ideas, intriguing rhythms, and exceptional technical skill from the duo of Hamid Drake on drums and frame drum, and Sylvain Kassap on clarinets and chalumeau, recording live at the France Musique at Studio Theatre dÕAlfortville and in the studio.

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.

The fifth CD in the Canadian Composers Series is also the debut appearance on Another Timbre by the Jack Quartet, performing works by composer Marc Sabat--two string quartets and a violin/cello duo--all combining an exploration of the soundworld of Just Intonation with a strong underlying lyricism.

Spring 2016 issue of Canada's premier music magazine, including a 10-track CD of musicians featured in this issue's magazine. Contents include: articles on Craig Aalders' el8dEra 3m; , Eighty-five scores celebrate Pauline Oliveros; Toronto label All-Set! Editions; Thin Edge New Music Collective; electronic composer John Mills-Cockell; and much more!

Montreal-based Composer-percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli, well known through his Ambiances Magnetiques releases, in 7 compositions, a mix of timbrally-based music in which he himself performs, and through-composed pieces that focus on harmonic progressions, performed as string duos, trios, and quartets.

Ten pieces dating from 1995 to 2015 from Canadian composer Linda Catlin Smith, performed by Quatuor Bozzini and Apartment House, the first in Another Timbre's Canadian Composer series, a 2-CD release focusing on Smith's "equal and simultaneous drive toward abstraction and lyricism" in slowly developing, lush and sophisticated compositions.

Three works from Canadian composer Chiyoko Szlavnics, two electroacoustic compositions incorporating sinewaves, one with a saxophone quartet and the other with two accordions, two flutes and two percussionists; and a string trio of long sustained tones and slow glissandi.

Canadian composer Martin Arnold is based in Toronto, writing melodic works that contain a meandering, psychedelic quality, as heard in these three compositions performed by Philip Thomas on piano and Mira Benjamin on violin, the first two pieces solos from each respectively, and the last a duo with both musicians.

These recordings of pieces by John Cage were made at a performance called Silence & Transmission led by Peter Upreth conducting an ensemble of four performers using radios and voice, held at An Lanntair Arts Centre, Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides on 20th September 2012, as part of the celebrations for Cage's centenary.

Collecting John Zorn's recent compositions from 2013-2016, with the stellar assistance of performers that include Peter Evans (trumpet), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), Christian McBride (bass), presenting 9 works connected by a twisted and complex story of a magical descent into madness.

Two major works from electroacoustic composer Luc Ferrari: "Heterozygote" written in 1964, where Ferrari attempts to engineer a language located both on the musical and on the dramatic plane; and "Petite symphonie intuitive pour un paysage de printemps" from 1947, part of a series of imaginary soundscapes based on recollections of a mountain landscape.

A musique concrete compositions written in 1967 by Luc Ferrari used for a television program by C. Caspari, using recordings Ferrari made in 1966 at an exhibition of Jean Tinguely's frantically moving sculptures; plus a 1964 soundtrack to a 33 minute black-and-white film by Jean Barral.

Two long-form compositions combining acoustic and electronic orchestration by Antoine Chessex, convoluted works that take unusual twists and turns from spirited interaction to beautiful sonic passages, performed at London's Cafe Oto by an ensemble including Dominic Lash, Andrew Sparling, Jerome Noetinger, &c.

The 20th anniversary of director Reinhold Friedl's Zeitkratzer ensemble, who have reinterpreted in surprising ways the music of a far-ranging and eclectic set of composers and performers, as they take on the innovative electronic rock band Kraftwerk in six interpretations from their first two albums.

The 20th anniversary of director Reinhold Friedl's Zeitkratzer ensemble, who have reinterpreted in surprising ways the music of a far-ranging and eclectic set of composers and performers, as they take on the innovative electronic rock band Kraftwerk in six interpretations from their first two albums.

Silom is a Slovenian creative music trio using a variety of string, percussive, and melodic percussive instruments, focused on the acoustic aspects of complex evolving works that combine composed and improvised aspects to create rich music with ancient ethnic overtones.

A 2003 recording from The Ensemble Daswirdas performing John Cage's 1960 composition "Cartridge Music", described as: "For amplified small sounds; also amplified piano or cymbal; any number of players and loudspeakers; parts to be prepared from score by performers."

Two works from two distinctive composers from different periods--Jurg Frey and Luigi Nono--both for two violins, Frey using the two violins in parallel to emphasize their distinction; Nono using powerful gestures of divergence and contrast in a dream-like duo.

Luke Martin began this work with a field recording at Mentryville Park in Southern California, which was transcribed by himself and Amy Golden, Ben Levinson, Davy Sumner, and Ryan Gaston using Martin's system of notating silence, then combined into the final score for this recording.

NYC vocalist, composer and keyboardist Judith Berkson in the debut album for her one-woman band Liederkreis (translating to "song-cycle", a reference to Schumann), taking a sharp turn from previous work through experimental synth, voice and effects in unique and often aberrant ways.

Raymond Boni performs on guitar and harmonica, using a fascinating set of approaches, for poems from Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, chosen from Lorca's "Romancero Gitano" (Gypsy Ballads), and read with substantial depth by actress Violeta Ferrer.

Pianist Roger Admiral performs Canadian composer Mark Hannesson's "The Angel's Game", and "Memory Sustained", both minimal works for solo piano, the second using a set of instructions giving the performer advice and discretion over pacing and approach.

Developed from the 13th & 14th century concept of a "book of hours", a prayer book for laymen, and particularly the book of the Duke of Berry (1340-1416) which describes relationships between people; performed by Andreas Feilen, Eva-Maria Houben, and Erik Carlson.

Christoph Schiller performs on the spinet, often improvising with electronics and objects; here he uses the spinet alone in patiently developing compositions that emphasize the individual tones and harmonics of the instrument played on the keys and inside the instrument.

Two rich sound works: "Grounded Cloud" which gathers fragments of noise and tone into a continuous fabric; and "Hearing Metal (4)", an investigation into metallic resonance, performed by Pisaro with Dedalus members Stephane Garin (percussion) and Didier Aschour (guitar).

Two conceptual compositions from Christoph Korn: the first, "Ich Spreche Diesen" (I appeal to this) where spoken word is placed in a loop and then slowly erased by custom software using aleatory procedures; then "Stille" (Silent), a Cage inspired work.

During 2012 Patrick Farmer walked half of the Welsh Coast, writing a series of observations, which on this release are read in environmental settings by Antoine Beuger, Jeph Jerman, Bruno Guastalla, Sally Ann McIntyre, Holly Pester, Daniela Cascella, & Michael Pisaro.

Composed between 1926 and 1939, "Mikrokosmos" was Bela Bartok's attempt to solve certain technical problems in the art of piano playing, here adapted by the 5-piece Quartetski into a fascinating series of progressive exercises and etudes, oddly enough presented without a piano.

Montreal's Quatuor Bozzini string quartet worked with composer Christopher Butterfield, who wrote two of these pieces ("Trip" and "Fall") specifically for QB, alongside three other works from 20 years of composing that use unusual instructions and scores for the performers.

Bridging contemporary and improvised music, Montreal double bassist Nicolas Caloia wrote these pieces for textured and impossible rhythms; blending pieces by Nancarrow and Grand Master Flash; and manipulating poems by Genevieve Letarte; with supporting improv from Jean Derome & Lori Freedman.

Emilie Girard-Charest is a Montreal cellist, composer and improviser, here presenting 5 works, one of her own and 4 from Fredrik Gran, Sergio Castrillon, Maxime Corbeil-Perron and Joane Hetu, using extreme techniques and electroacoustic accompaniment in both joyful and terrifying ways.

Joker brings together 12 vocalists, many core members of the Ambiances Magnetiques/Musique Actuelle collective including Joane Hetu, Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Michel F Cote, Lori Freedman, &c, performing unusual works of voice and narration composed by Joane Hetu.

Juxtavoices is an anti-choir of 30 voices whose repertoire includes original compositions and arrangements of classic modernist poems and found texts, here in a CD/DVD release with a reinterpretation of early an Cabaret Voltaire recordings and a terrifying ascent into hell.

Ensemble InterContemporain is viola player Garth Knox's string and percussion performance group, here called upon by John Zorn to present new interpretations of his "Book of Angels" Masada compositions, in nine magnificent recordings of great depth and intimacy.

Swedish composer and pianist Johan Lindvall in a series of 27 works performed solo or in an ensemble with Vilde Sandve Alnaes (violin), Kristine Tjogersen(clarinet), Jan Martin Gismervik(percussion), Henrik Munkeby Norstebo(trombone), Ina Sagstuen(voice), & Fredrik Rasten(guitar).

Fascinating sound and drone music from this interesting German ensemble led by Reinhold Friedl, "ikebana" takes its name from the tradition of Japanese flower arranging which dates back to the 7th century, with 8 tracks named as such: Shoka, Rikka, Nigeria and Morimono.

Acoustic instruments and feedback devices in old stone spaces, rich multi-layered music recorded during a residency in the Czech Republic by the trio of George Cremaschi (double bass and electronics), Irene Kepl (violin and electronics) and Petr Vrba (trumpet, clarinet and electronics).

A composition for solo 'modified guitar' from Swiss composer d'incise peformed by guitarist Cristian Alvear, music "at the confluence of sound, melody and rhythm. Something quiet but somehow driven by a pulse, existing somewhere between the electroacoustic and the tonal conceptions of music."

Six chamber works by the Paris-based Italian composer Giuliano d Angiolini, following his Edition Rz release by presenting more examples of Giuliano's careful and particular use of indeterminate elements in a series of compositions that are musically exquisite.

Three beautifully delicate works for Jurg Frey's clarinet, composed by the Amsterdam-based Wandelweiser composer/pianist Dante Boon, who has collaborated with Frey for several years and who accompanies Jurg on two of the pieces.

Viennese Actionism founding artist Hermann Nitsch, an Austrian painter, performance-artist, and composer, in an audio recording of a work of sound and drone premiered in NYC in 1968, and recreated in a performance at gallery Pakesch, Vienna in 1982.

Composer Jean-Luc Guionnet wrote "Distances ouies Dites" ("Distances: Hearsay") for the 7-piece Dedalus Ensemble, who are positioned in separate rooms at Le Consortium, each having to use the features of the room and distance from each other to confer liked musical ideas.

A beguiling and atmospheric work of overtones, harmonics, tonal and microtonal progressions from a trio of clarinetists (Hans Koch, Michael Thieke, and Paed Conca) with Japanese vocalist Maki Hachiya, an immaculately paced and exotic work of sound.

Morton Feldman was a friend, flatmate and student of John Cage's innovative approaches to composition; he wrote this 3 part work for violin and piano in 1982 as a 70th birthday present for Cage, here performed by violinist Josje Fosie Ter Haar and pianist John Snijders.

Feldman's idiosyncratic large composition is also one of his more active, influenced by John Cage, and using a score that defines organizational procedures in chordal and chromatic patterns, as realized in this '93 recording by Rohan de Saram (cello) and Marianne Schroeder (piano).