The Squid's Ear Magazine

Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere

Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere

Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere: Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere (Discus)

The debut release of the UK improvising rock group Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere, co-led by Martin Archer & Chris Bywater, in a double CD blending kosmische musik, space rock, and contemporary classical, an improbable meeting between Ligeti, Klaus Schulze, & Quarkspace, supplemented at times by a string quartet, a sax quintet, and a 25-piece mixed choir.
 

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Personnel:



Martin Archer-organ, electric piano, laptop, saxophones, bass clarinet

Chris Bywater-organ, synthesizers, laptop, acoustic and electronic percussion, electric violin

Steve Dinsdale-drums, percussion, synthesizer

Walt Shaw-percussion, electronics

Terry Todd-bass guitar

Paul Schatzberger-violin

Yvonna Magda-violin

Barbara Chisholm-viola

Angela Rosenfeld-cello

Sarah Henderson-violin

Mike Ward-saxophone

Mick Beck-saxophone

Geoff Bright-saxophone

Herve Perez-saxophone

Juxtavoices-vocal group

Martin Archer-vocals

Julie Archer-vocals

Jon Ashe-vocals

Ian Baxter-vocals

Mick Beck-vocals

Geoff Bright-vocals

Chris Bywater-vocals

Julie Cole-vocals

Emma Cooper-vocals

Edward Eggleston-vocals

Alan Halsey-vocals

Lyn Hodnett-vocals

Richard Kedward-vocals

Christine Kennedy-vocals

BoMeson-vocals

Geraldine Monk-vocals

Mike Reid-vocals

Marion Rout-vocals

Walt Shaw-vocals

frostlake (Jan Todd)-vocals

Jane Tormey-vocals

Caroline Veal-vocals

Peter Veal-vocals

Linda Lee Welch-vocals

Gillian Whiteley


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5051078927527

Label: Discus
Catalog ID: 40CD
Squidco Product Code: 24204

Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2012
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"A double CD (over 150 minutes of music), the debut release by this orchestra co-led by Martin Archer and Chris Bywater - who used to form a duo called Transient v Resident. Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere is impressive squared - nay, cubed - a blend of kosmische musik, space rock, and contemporary classical, an improbable meeting between Ligeti, Klaus Schulze, Quarkspace, and "Atom Heart Mother"-era Pink Floyd. The core of the ensemble.....is supplemented here and there by a string quartet, a sax quintet, and a 25-piece mixed choir. That will give your band some torque. Some tracks run for too long, but there are also grandiose moments where voices and instruments are brilliantly directed to colour the music's fantastic flights. It's bewitching. Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first contender for 2013's year-end list"Francois Couture, Monsieur Delire


Artist Biographies

"Martin Archer was born in Sheffield, England, in 1957. He started playing saxophone at age 15 and first got active on the Sheffield improvisational scene in 1973. In the early '80s, he recorded an LP with Bass Tone Trap, his first group. In 1983 he formed the saxophone quartet Hornweb, which, in ten years of existence, released three albums. It is during that time that Archer released his first solo album, Wild Pathway Favourites (1988) and founded the Discus label on which he since releases all his music.

In 1993, he disbanded Hornweb and turned to synthesizers and sequencers while shifting his activities from stage to studio. He developed a compositional approach in which he records improvisers soloing, then manipulates this raw material, combining it with electronics and structuring it into a whole new piece. This technique is illustrated on Wild Pathway Favourites, Ghost Lily Cascade (1996), and Pure Water Construction (with bassist Simon H. Fell, released in 1999). Later works such as Winter Pilgrim Arriving (2000) moved toward more constructed and less abstract pieces, even making room for melodies and rhythm tracks at times.

Apart from his solo work, Archer is also involved in Ask, a duo with guitarist John Jasnoch, and Transient v Resident, an ambient electronics project with Chris Bywater."-All Music, François Couture



"Martin Archer is a composer / improviser who is equally at home on stage or in the studio. His own distinctive saxophone playing is rooted in AACM jazz. Through his use of keyboards and electronics, and as a studio producer, he extends this interest into extended song form and leftfield rock music. He is also co-director of the uncategorisably avant choir Juxtavoices.

His principle music work is the Discus Music label, the imprint for his various releases, notably by the groups described below.

His current jazz based projects include Engine Room Favourites (current a 4 drummer, 14 piece big band), Story Tellers (6 piece group including shaman instruments alongside the conventional instruments), plus various ad hoc smaller groups. All of these are strongly aligned with AACM tradition and teaching.

Archer has a long running duo with veteran vocalist Julie Tippetts. Each of their highly acclaimed CD releases deliberately explores song from a different perspective - the duo aims to be truly progressive, and takes in elements from jazz, rock, soul and pure abstraction.

Archer's main live performance vehicle is the trio Inclusion Principle with Herve Perez and Peter Fairclough. The group operates in a space between electronics, nu-jazz, contemporary electroacoustic music and free improvisation. In performance you will hear pure jazz skill, electronic beats and areas of texture and abstraction all seamlessly woven into a fascinating and constantly shifting tapestry of sound.

The sprawling Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere was formed by Archer as an improvising rock group with shades of Terry Riley, Magma, Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra, very much in the progressive / krautrock tradition, and noted for its large scale string, horn and vocal arrangements.

Also in rock music, Archer is a member of the USA based heavier than plutonium prog / sludge / zeuhl group Combat Astronomy under the direction of Jamie Huggett.

Surprising, delighting and occasionally alarming audiences for a number of years now, Juxtavoices is a 30 piece choir for mainly untrained voices co directed by Archer with Alan Halsey which has racked up dozens of performances and issued three CDs.

This eclectic combination of sources and highly individual applications makes Archer a unique inhabitant of the school of English maverick composer / improvisers. "-Discus

-All Music, Discus Records (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/martin-archer-mn0000146946)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Steve Dinsdale plays keyboards and drums in the leading British electronic trio Radio Massacre International, who have released a plethora of albums over the last 20 years and played concerts in both Europe and America. He is also a member of Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere and Engine Room Favourites, and has several solo albums to his name."

-Bishop's House (http://www.bishopshouse.org.uk/index.php/events/315-das-rad-robinson-archer-dinsdale)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Walt Shaw is a freelance musician and artist from near Derby in the Midlands. He has been involved in a host of arts projects for the last 28 years. Prior to becoming a freelance musician and artist he was, for 14 years, Head of Biology in a large Comprehensive near Burton-on-Trent. This was after teaching in Lincoln and northern Nigeria (VSO). His projects have ranged from exhibitions of paintings and sculpture, both solo and group, to installations, to cross-disciplinary collaborations with dancers and physical performers. In these latter projects his experimental percussion and low-tech electronics have always played a significant role.

In 1989, Walt, along with the artist Kevin Burnley, co-founded the artist group BET4. They exhibited widely in the Midlands and in Germany and Paris. By 1993, the group widened in scope, becoming increasingly involved with not just exhibitions but installations, live art and cross-disciplinary projects. These usually integrated elements of contemporary dance, live sound and physical performance along with a strong visual aesthetic. This gave Walt opportunities for experimenting with percussion in unusual contexts as well as the creativity of that visual aesthetic. Performances took place throughout England as well as Scotland, Paris and Germany. The work of BET4 had a profound influence on all the subsequent solo and collaborative projects Walt has been involved with.

Walt has enjoyed 3 major Arts Council England awards for projects. These were for 'Polarities', 'Timepoints' and 'Entropic'. Along with the artist Simon Piasecki he also carried out the A.C.E. project 'Mendel's Garden'. He has been a collaborative artist in many other A.C.E. projects. Details of all these can be seen in the 'Live Art / Cross-disciplinary' section.

Education has played a significant part in Walt's work, even after 1989.

He has carried out many workshops in both art and percussion in Primary, Secondary, F.E. and H.E. in the Midlands and the North. He has been an artist-in- residence at Melton Brooksby College in 2005 and Abbot Beyne School, Burton-on-Trent in 2009. Walt ran Creative Percussion Discussion in Derby from 2004 through to 2005, working with youngsters under the auspices of Derby Jazz. In 2006, Walt was a tutor in a Clore Duffield Foundation project working with teenagers in Belper, using an old car as a source for art, percussion and performance. 2006 saw a project alongside the inspiring musician Orphy Robinson, working in schools to make instruments from scrap objects and improvise with them. This was a Creative Partnerships project.

Walt has played with many leading improvising musicians from the U.K. and abroad and is presently playing in several bands (see 'Music') whilst still producing visual art ( see 'Visual Art'). It is fair to say he has an unease about specialism and arbitrary categorizations. His creative development over the years has always been very difficult to pigeonhole. His creative process is the same whatever the medium though, involving searching, experimentation, expression, pushing the boundaries and refining."

-Walt Shaw Website (http://www.waltshaw.co.uk/about.php)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Terry Todd is an English bassist, known for the groups Jass, Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere, Soup, The Bone Orchestra, The Box, The Comsat Angels, and Workforce.

-Discogs (https://www.discogs.com/artist/610716-Terry-Todd)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Paul Schatzberger was born Manchester 1950, self-taught photography, qualified medicine London 1973, general practitioner 1978, moved to Sheffield 1983, photographs published since 1984 and exhibited since 1993, left NHS to focus on making art 2007. He also plays violin and accordion in a variety of settings.

-Paul Schatzberger Website (http://www.paulschatzberger.com/?Biography)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Yvonna Magda is a violinist, improviser, composer and performer based in Bristol and Leeds. She plays violin in several ensembles including Halftone Quartet, 7 Hertz trio, Madame Laycock and Her Dabeno Pleasures, the Bennett/Cole Orchestra and is a member of Strati Project, a creative collaboration between dance artists and musicians. She also performs solo using a mixture of acoustic violin, electronics, loops and effects to create changing layers of sound, texture and harmony.Yvonna Magda

She has toured and performed at venues and festivals across the U.K. and Europe and her compositions have been featured on Radio 3 and Channel 4. Working in various contexts, she has improvised to live visuals, composed for film, theatre and animation and accompanied spoken word, dance and puppetry. She has studied music with, among others, Mark Dresser and Mark Feldman. In 2008 she composed and played in Rachel Dean's dance piece based on 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Love In Idleness', and went on to perform and compose for choreographer Kathinka Walter's mixed media installation piece 'Before I Decide' in 2008 and again in 2011. More recently, she has worked as a multi-instrumentalist, touring with Theatre Alibi and Dragon Breath Theatre, and as Musical Director for The Independent Scrutineers.

Yvonna teaches violin, improvisation and composition and has a particular interest in writing and performing music which is part written; part improvised.

Inspired by a range of styles including contemporary jazz, contemporary classical and folk, her music explores the spaces between harmony and discord; structure and spontaneous expression."

-Yvonna Magda Website (https://yvonnamagda.wordpress.com/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Cellist Angela Rosenfeld is a member of Ask, and has performed with Julie Tippetts & Martin Archer (Tales Of Finin) and is a member of Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere.

-Squidco 3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"On the free scene since 1980, as an improvising big band leader to solo performer, Mick is known for his energy and originality: his playing covers the full emotional gamut from heartbreaking to mischievous, and from abstracts to compelling swing.

His improvising big band Feet Packets was unique in the UK and influential in the late 1980s. In the 1990s he led many small groups including the powerful free jazz trio Something Else with Paul Hession and Simon Fell, which released two acclaimed CDs. Since the millennium, Beck's ground-breaking work with the mysterious and humorous bassoon, supplemented by his use of other wind instruments add many new sounds and moods. In 2005, Beck formed another big band, Gated Community, a 15-piece group, which revisited the boundaries between total musical freedom and novel compositions. Some videos remain of the band's performances, which included two engagements with Damo Suzuki as guest artist.

Beck's technical innovations and musical ideas are often a source of inspiration to his collaborators on stage, and hehe works with many of free music's best-known exponents covering a wide age range. He is based in Sheffield , plays regularly in London and elsewhere in the UK and from time to time in Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Canada and Australia .

He has worked with many great musicians such ass saxists J.D. Parran to Alan Wilkinson, guitarists Derek Bailey to Hugh Metcalfe, percussionists Tony Buck to Steve Noble and Paul Hession, bassists Marcio Mattos to Simon Fell, pianists Chris Burn to Stephen Grew and Pat Thomas.

In the 1990s through to 2004, he was one of the lead organisers of Sheffield 's Other Music, a bastion of the UK 's free music scene for 22 years from 1982 to 2004.

He has worked with many great musicians such ass saxists J.D. Parran to Alan Wilkinson, guitarists Derek Bailey to Hugh Metcalfe, percussionists Tony Buck to Steve Noble and Paul Hession, bassists Marcio Mattos to Simon Fell, pianists Chris Burn to Stephen Grew and Pat Thomas.

In the 1990s through to 2004, he was one of the lead organisers of Sheffield 's Other Music, a bastion of the UK 's free music scenefor 22 years."

-Mick Beck Website (http://mickbeck.com/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Hervé Perez: Improviser, sound and visual artist, hervé performs spontaneous compositions with saxophones and laptop, using processed field recordings. His work is influenced by practices such as jazz, electro-acoustic, contemporary music, experimental electronics, free improvisation, immersive sound art and techniques of sound therapy.

His research approaches sound as vibration, the relation between sound and objects or spaces, architecture and the body.

Hervé works in sound design, sound recording and editing, post-production, mastering and composition, sound art and installation as well as performance which remains his main focus.

He has developed a very personal way to process and sculpt location recordings to reveal their musical features and maximise resonance with the listener and their experience of sound.

Hervé's use of field recordings is concerned with frequencies and harmonic relationships found in nature. How they relate to the real, physical world, and how the sounds of natural elements connect to our experience.

Playing the saxophone, hervé focuses on extended techniques and abstract peripheral sounds structural to the instrument as a physical resonant object - although he has been known to play melodies at times...

'sounding out', one of his current projects, is an exploration of architecture, outdoor acoustics and sacred sites. These recordings are documents of in situ improvisations, inspired by the spirit and the special characteristics of a location.

Further work in sound design, music for film/video:

Rain (dir. Carla mackinnon), cellotape (dir. Aitor gutierrez), henri & may (dir. Sally pierce)

sound art and video installation:

The pursuit of happiness (arsenal gallery, poznan), catalyst (bank street arts, sheffield), one square foot (mile end art pavilion, london).

Photography and graphic design.

Greatly interested in collaboration, hervé has performed with musicians and dancers whose practice is immersed in free improvisation,closely working with mick beck (sax, bassoon), martin archer (winds, electronics), peter fairclough (drums), philip thomas (piano), jez riley-french (el.), shaun blezzard (electronics), ian simpson (electronics, guitar), charlie collins (vibraphone, drums and percussions), constantin popp (live processing, diffusion), adam woolf (piano), aysegul balkose (dance, paint) etc. In the ukand also michel doneda (sop sax), jonas kocher (accordion), simon berz (dr, electro), christian muller (electro), rodolphe loubatiere (dr), d'incise (electro, objects), cyril bondi (dr), heddy boubaker (alto and bass sax), sebastien cirotteau (trumpet, electronics), andré darius (ebass), cia barbet (dance), anastasia hvan (dance), joe formanek (dr, el), roger mills (trumpet, el), henri herteman (p, trombone), guy bayssac (dr), marin beranger (p), mark alban lotz (fl) in europe."

-Herbe Perez Website (https://sndsukinspook.wordpress.com/about/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Martin Archer was born in Sheffield, England, in 1957. He started playing saxophone at age 15 and first got active on the Sheffield improvisational scene in 1973. In the early '80s, he recorded an LP with Bass Tone Trap, his first group. In 1983 he formed the saxophone quartet Hornweb, which, in ten years of existence, released three albums. It is during that time that Archer released his first solo album, Wild Pathway Favourites (1988) and founded the Discus label on which he since releases all his music.

In 1993, he disbanded Hornweb and turned to synthesizers and sequencers while shifting his activities from stage to studio. He developed a compositional approach in which he records improvisers soloing, then manipulates this raw material, combining it with electronics and structuring it into a whole new piece. This technique is illustrated on Wild Pathway Favourites, Ghost Lily Cascade (1996), and Pure Water Construction (with bassist Simon H. Fell, released in 1999). Later works such as Winter Pilgrim Arriving (2000) moved toward more constructed and less abstract pieces, even making room for melodies and rhythm tracks at times.

Apart from his solo work, Archer is also involved in Ask, a duo with guitarist John Jasnoch, and Transient v Resident, an ambient electronics project with Chris Bywater."-All Music, François Couture



"Martin Archer is a composer / improviser who is equally at home on stage or in the studio. His own distinctive saxophone playing is rooted in AACM jazz. Through his use of keyboards and electronics, and as a studio producer, he extends this interest into extended song form and leftfield rock music. He is also co-director of the uncategorisably avant choir Juxtavoices.

His principle music work is the Discus Music label, the imprint for his various releases, notably by the groups described below.

His current jazz based projects include Engine Room Favourites (current a 4 drummer, 14 piece big band), Story Tellers (6 piece group including shaman instruments alongside the conventional instruments), plus various ad hoc smaller groups. All of these are strongly aligned with AACM tradition and teaching.

Archer has a long running duo with veteran vocalist Julie Tippetts. Each of their highly acclaimed CD releases deliberately explores song from a different perspective - the duo aims to be truly progressive, and takes in elements from jazz, rock, soul and pure abstraction.

Archer's main live performance vehicle is the trio Inclusion Principle with Herve Perez and Peter Fairclough. The group operates in a space between electronics, nu-jazz, contemporary electroacoustic music and free improvisation. In performance you will hear pure jazz skill, electronic beats and areas of texture and abstraction all seamlessly woven into a fascinating and constantly shifting tapestry of sound.

The sprawling Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere was formed by Archer as an improvising rock group with shades of Terry Riley, Magma, Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra, very much in the progressive / krautrock tradition, and noted for its large scale string, horn and vocal arrangements.

Also in rock music, Archer is a member of the USA based heavier than plutonium prog / sludge / zeuhl group Combat Astronomy under the direction of Jamie Huggett.

Surprising, delighting and occasionally alarming audiences for a number of years now, Juxtavoices is a 30 piece choir for mainly untrained voices co directed by Archer with Alan Halsey which has racked up dozens of performances and issued three CDs.

This eclectic combination of sources and highly individual applications makes Archer a unique inhabitant of the school of English maverick composer / improvisers. "-Discus

-All Music, Discus Records (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/martin-archer-mn0000146946)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"On the free scene since 1980, as an improvising big band leader to solo performer, Mick is known for his energy and originality: his playing covers the full emotional gamut from heartbreaking to mischievous, and from abstracts to compelling swing.

His improvising big band Feet Packets was unique in the UK and influential in the late 1980s. In the 1990s he led many small groups including the powerful free jazz trio Something Else with Paul Hession and Simon Fell, which released two acclaimed CDs. Since the millennium, Beck's ground-breaking work with the mysterious and humorous bassoon, supplemented by his use of other wind instruments add many new sounds and moods. In 2005, Beck formed another big band, Gated Community, a 15-piece group, which revisited the boundaries between total musical freedom and novel compositions. Some videos remain of the band's performances, which included two engagements with Damo Suzuki as guest artist.

Beck's technical innovations and musical ideas are often a source of inspiration to his collaborators on stage, and hehe works with many of free music's best-known exponents covering a wide age range. He is based in Sheffield , plays regularly in London and elsewhere in the UK and from time to time in Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Canada and Australia .

He has worked with many great musicians such ass saxists J.D. Parran to Alan Wilkinson, guitarists Derek Bailey to Hugh Metcalfe, percussionists Tony Buck to Steve Noble and Paul Hession, bassists Marcio Mattos to Simon Fell, pianists Chris Burn to Stephen Grew and Pat Thomas.

In the 1990s through to 2004, he was one of the lead organisers of Sheffield 's Other Music, a bastion of the UK 's free music scene for 22 years from 1982 to 2004.

He has worked with many great musicians such ass saxists J.D. Parran to Alan Wilkinson, guitarists Derek Bailey to Hugh Metcalfe, percussionists Tony Buck to Steve Noble and Paul Hession, bassists Marcio Mattos to Simon Fell, pianists Chris Burn to Stephen Grew and Pat Thomas.

In the 1990s through to 2004, he was one of the lead organisers of Sheffield 's Other Music, a bastion of the UK 's free music scenefor 22 years."

-Mick Beck Website (http://mickbeck.com/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Walt Shaw is a freelance musician and artist from near Derby in the Midlands. He has been involved in a host of arts projects for the last 28 years. Prior to becoming a freelance musician and artist he was, for 14 years, Head of Biology in a large Comprehensive near Burton-on-Trent. This was after teaching in Lincoln and northern Nigeria (VSO). His projects have ranged from exhibitions of paintings and sculpture, both solo and group, to installations, to cross-disciplinary collaborations with dancers and physical performers. In these latter projects his experimental percussion and low-tech electronics have always played a significant role.

In 1989, Walt, along with the artist Kevin Burnley, co-founded the artist group BET4. They exhibited widely in the Midlands and in Germany and Paris. By 1993, the group widened in scope, becoming increasingly involved with not just exhibitions but installations, live art and cross-disciplinary projects. These usually integrated elements of contemporary dance, live sound and physical performance along with a strong visual aesthetic. This gave Walt opportunities for experimenting with percussion in unusual contexts as well as the creativity of that visual aesthetic. Performances took place throughout England as well as Scotland, Paris and Germany. The work of BET4 had a profound influence on all the subsequent solo and collaborative projects Walt has been involved with.

Walt has enjoyed 3 major Arts Council England awards for projects. These were for 'Polarities', 'Timepoints' and 'Entropic'. Along with the artist Simon Piasecki he also carried out the A.C.E. project 'Mendel's Garden'. He has been a collaborative artist in many other A.C.E. projects. Details of all these can be seen in the 'Live Art / Cross-disciplinary' section.

Education has played a significant part in Walt's work, even after 1989.

He has carried out many workshops in both art and percussion in Primary, Secondary, F.E. and H.E. in the Midlands and the North. He has been an artist-in- residence at Melton Brooksby College in 2005 and Abbot Beyne School, Burton-on-Trent in 2009. Walt ran Creative Percussion Discussion in Derby from 2004 through to 2005, working with youngsters under the auspices of Derby Jazz. In 2006, Walt was a tutor in a Clore Duffield Foundation project working with teenagers in Belper, using an old car as a source for art, percussion and performance. 2006 saw a project alongside the inspiring musician Orphy Robinson, working in schools to make instruments from scrap objects and improvise with them. This was a Creative Partnerships project.

Walt has played with many leading improvising musicians from the U.K. and abroad and is presently playing in several bands (see 'Music') whilst still producing visual art ( see 'Visual Art'). It is fair to say he has an unease about specialism and arbitrary categorizations. His creative development over the years has always been very difficult to pigeonhole. His creative process is the same whatever the medium though, involving searching, experimentation, expression, pushing the boundaries and refining."

-Walt Shaw Website (http://www.waltshaw.co.uk/about.php)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"frostlake is a solo songstress/ instrumentalist performer with songs featuring Terry Todd-bass (The Box, Comsat Angels) Andy Peake-piano (Comsat Angels) Steve Dinsdale-drums (R.M.I., Earth's Tilted Axis) Nigel Manning-flute (sax player ex Hornweb) Charlie Collins- percussionist extraordinaire and Mick Somerset Ward- bass recorder, bass flute, bass clarinet."

-Reverb Nation (https://www.reverbnation.com/frostlake)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



CD1



1. Seen From Above Part 1 5:11

2. Seen From Above Part 2 15:33

3. The Opposition Effect 10:30

4. When Thin Clouds Scud Across A Bright Moon 5:54

5. Anti-Crepuscular Rays 14:08

6. Duty Music 5:11

7. Star Procession 10:50

8. Coherent Backscattering 10:09

CD2



1. An Open Vista Is Revealed 4:29

2. He Died Before I Could Get My Revenge 12:50

3. Almost Unrecognisable But For Its Surface Markings 9:28

4. The Umbral Length Of Shadows 9:38

5. Rainforest Tension 9:51

6. Nimbus 19:56

7. Their Dark PresenceStretches Through The Void 10:23

Related Categories of Interest:


Rock and Related
Progressive Rock
Improvised Rock
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Large Ensembles
New in Rock Forms

Search for other titles on the label:
Discus.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Caines, Ron / Martin Archer Axis
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The fourth collaboration between composer & saxophonist Ron Caines and arranger & saxophonist Martin Archer, recorded in Brighton between 2022 & 2023 with a cast of UK luminary improvisers--Charlotte Keefe, Chris Sharkey, Graham Clark, Gus Garside and Johnny Hunter--chosen for their applicability to each piece, in configurations from solo to full octet ensemble.
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Recording at London's Cafe OTO, and at the 2022 Newcastle Festival Of Jazz And Improvised Music, saxophonist and composer Martin Archer's exceptional 8-piece line up of his exuberant avant-electric jazz band blurring lines between 70's Miles and AACM abstractions, is heard across three CDs of fiery soloing, contemplative transitions, and spectacular group interplay.
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Led by Univers Zero bassist and composer Guy Seger, the third album from Eclectic Maybe Band combines elements of rock, jazz, electronic and abstract landscapes, performed by an ensemble of chamber rock players including Discus label leader Martin Archer, varying groupings within the band focusing on each section in a mix of composed and improvised approaches.
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The third album from the Sheffield-based trio Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars, keys & electronics, Martin Archer on woodwinds, keys & electronics, Steve Dinsdale on drums & keyboards, influenced by progressive rock, kosmiche, and fusion forms, here evolving and refining their melodic approach to genre-crossing styles merging composition and improvisation.
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Inspired by the 70's Leo Smith Trio and the AACM tradition, during pandemic lockdowns UK multi-reedist & wind player Martin Archer, Charlotte Keeffe on trumpet & electronics and Martin Pyne on drums, percussion, vibraphone & toy piano, developed these 12 pieces where each member recorded four ideas independently, the other two arranging and recording their own parts in response.
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Composer Dominic Lash's Consort ensemble explores the possibilities of combining sustained-tone music, guided & free improvisation, and the relationship between acoustic and amplified sound, heard in this evolving, extended concert at Café Oto on Lash's 40th birthday, in a unique mix of acoustic & electronic instruments that even includes an amplified kitchen sink!
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Adios Al Futuro
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The 2nd release from the UK instrumental rock band Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars, keyboards & electronics, Martin Archer on woodwind, keyboards, synth bass & electronics, and Steve Dinsdale on drums, keyboards & electronics, expand their sound and referenes as they tug on the heartstrings of prog, krautrock and other advanced rock forms with modern and mellotron-fueled orchestration.
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The "AXIS" of UK saxophonist Ron Caines and multi-reedist Martin Archer, also on organ and electronics, in a subtle septet with outstanding players including Laura Cole on piano and Johnny Hunter on drums, in a set of dream-like and lyrically beautiful improvisations, merging electronics and horns over a powerfully solid rhythm section that create warm textural cycles.
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The Sincerity Of Light
(Discus)
The quartet of Canadian electronics composer Chris Meloche and label leader Martin Archer on woodwinds and electronics orchestrated these pieces, performed with improvsations from Gino Robair on percussion and electronics and Lyn Hodnett on voice, for a 3 part work of rich interactive loops, drones and soundscape, ranging from spine-chilling to lush and lovely environments.
Deep Tide Quartet (Archer / Macari / Cole / Shaw)
See One, Do One, Teach One
(Discus)
Originally a studio project, The UK Deep Tide Trio of Martin Archer on sax, Kim Macari on trumpet, Laura Cole on piano and Walt Shaw on percussion & live electronics evolved into a performing organization based on the strength of their open-ended approach to free jazz and improvisation, heard here balancing melody and structure in well-paced and thoughtful improv.
Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere
02
(Discus)
An absolutely impressive album blending advanced/progressive rock forms with improvisation, starting from collective improvisation and layering in the studio to create a sophisticated psychedelic music, the second album from this ensemble that is headed by Martin Archer (reeds & keys), Chris Bywater (keys & synth), and Steve Dinsdale (drums & percussion).
Archer, Martin
Story Tellers
(Discus)
Martin Archer introduces a new sextet based on Chicago's AACM approach to free improvisation, in a 2-CD set of 6 large works divided into 5 or 6 chapters each, presenting character themes, rhythm ideas, composed duets, and improvised instructions; superb!
Other Recommended Releases:
Eclectic Maybe Band
Bars Without Measures
(Discus)
Creating structured works from real time improvisations, Guy Seger's (Univers Zero) large ensemble of absolutely impressive players breaks down to smaller grouping to record the layers of each piece, which Seger then uses as raw material for each finished piece, as elements of rock, jazz, composed, and experimental forms merge into accomplished and engaging compositions.
Das Rad
Veer
(Discus)
Adding bassist Jon Short to their lineup, the 4th album from Das Rad continues the band's genre-merging approach of rock & improv forms rooted in prog, kosmiche, and jazz rock, this post-pandemic album bringing the band back together for live interaction, their enthusiasm evident in their energetic intercourse, particularly in the extended suite "Expergefactor".
Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere
Theta Six
(Discus)
Referencing the "laminal" style of AMM improvisations, the 6th album from the UK-based Orchesta of the Upper Atmosphere ensemble, led by multi-instrumentalist and woodwind player Martin Archer and Jan Todd, evolved from studio sessions of bass rhythms, free improvisation over those foundations, and then horn & voice arrangements shaped around the results, creating a superb hybrid of jazz rock, textural and free improv.
Tippetts, Julie / Martin Archer
Illusion [2 CDs]
(Discus)
Their first album after a 6-year break, the collaboration of vocalist Julie Tippetts and multi-reedist & electronic artist Martin Archer is heard in two distinct presentations: a large and stunningly complex suite with an ensemble of acoustic and electronic artists; and a sequence of 13 separate and contrasting songs, performed by various small groups drawn from the JTMA Ensemble.
Garside, Gus / Herve Perez
The Unexpected Visitor
(Orbit577)
Saxophonist Herve Perez and double bassist Gus Garside spent much of the pandemic lockdown recording these intimate duos, interpretations of a 13th Century Poem, "The Guest House" by Rumi, recording in their respective homes using software designed for real-time audio collaboration, as they developed this introspective set of dialogs with strong lyrical affinity between the two.
Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere
Theta Five
(Discus)
The 5th album from the UK collective improvising progressive rock band of reedist Martin Archer, drummer Steve Dinsdale, bassists Lorin Halsall & Terry Todd, percussionist Walt Shaw, keyboardist Andy Peake, violinist Yvonna Magda and string player & vocalist Jad Todd, merging acoustic and electronic instruments in rich and often dreamlike forms that flow with spirited refinement.
Jafrate, Keith / Herve Perez
Tete-a-Tete
(Noumenon)
Recorded live in the studio in Sheffield in a single take, this first time meeting of the UK alto saxophone duo of Keith Jafrate and Herve Perez improvise freely, distinguishable by the stereo channel they reside in, as they display great technical skill and a unique sense of humor on tracks titled like "Something Funky in the Sauce" or "And a Hair in the Pudding".
Archer, Martin
Anthropology Band [2 CDs]
(Discus)
Inspired by the music of 70's Miles Davis electric work, composer and saxophonist Martin Archer presents 15 compositions performed in two parallel sessions over two CDs, the first in a septet that includes Corey Mwamba, Pat Thomas and Dave Sturt, and the second an extended ensemble with brass and wind sections, each bringing distinctive life to these inspired compositions.
Frostlake
Ice & Bone
(Discus)
The second album from multi-instrumentalist Frostlake (Jan Todd, also of Orchestra of The Upper Atmosphere), hallucinatory songs of layered vocals accompanied by the creative bass of Terry Todd, for rich atmospheres with warm instrumentation augmented by field recordings; absorbing music that draws its listeners into their beautiful, psychedelic dream states.
Eclectic Maybe Band
Reflections In A Moebius Ring Mirror
(Discus)
The second album of this Guy Segers (Univers Zero) project in an eclectic ensemble of improvisers, rock musicians and experimenters, a genre-defying project of primarily instrumental work with interventions of song, merging acoustic & electric instruments with electronics, live improvisation with studio manipulation, to find new forms of mesmerizing music.
Axioms
Manifestations
(Evil Clown)
Boston's Evil Clown collective led by reedist/multi-instrumentalist David Peck introduces a new ensemble, Axioms, a quartet with Peck, Jane, Alby onBass, and Joel Simches, in a mammoth work of mysterious intent and rich sonorities, orchestrated with reeds, brass, daxophones, percussion, bells and chimes, electric bass, keys, spoken word, and real-time signal processing.
Das Rad (Archer / Robinson / Dinsdale)
Das Rad
(Discus)
Influenced by progressive rock, kosmiche, and fusion forms, the UK trio Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars & electronics, Martin Archer on sax, reeds, winds, keys and electronics, Steve Dinsdale on drums and percussion, and Julie Archer on voice, bringing 70s sounds to modern sensibilities and superb creative playing, a great achievement.
Caines, Ron / Martin Archer Axis
Les Oiseaux de Matisse
(Discus)
Saxophonist Ron Caines, who led the innovative band East of Eden in the late 60s, joins a septet including Martin Archer on reeds & electronics, Laura Cole on keys, Gus Garside on bass, Johnny Hunter on drums, Graham Clark on violin & guitar, and Herve Perez on live sound processing & shakuhachi as they merge improv with real time processing and studio collage.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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