The Squid's Ear Magazine


CP Unit (Pitsiokos / Seabrook / Dahl / Walter): Before the Heat Death (Clean Feed)

Chris Pitsiokos' Unit with electric guitarist Brandon Seabrook, electric bassist Tim Dahl, and drummer Weasel Walter turn in a fiery and demanding album of compelling free jazz, using traditional jazz structures but turning them on their head in joyfully unconventional ways.
 

Price: $13.95


Quantity:

Out of Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Chris Pitsiokos-alto saxophone

Brandon Seabrook-electric guitar

Tim Dahl-electric bass

Weasel Walter-drums


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




UPC: 5609063004083

Label: Clean Feed
Catalog ID: CF408
Squidco Product Code: 23387

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2017
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded by Jason Lafarge at Seizures Palace January 20th, 2016. Mixed and mastered by Weasel Walter. Produced by Chris Pitsiokos.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"With only 26 years of age, alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos is the face of the new generation of musicians who are changing the New York scene. Wild, fierce and raw, his personal playing style is making waves all around, and it's not a real surprise to find in his Unit some of the most adventurous figures active in the frontier between jazz and rock, namely Brandon Seabrook (Peter Evans, Anthony Braxton, Seabrook Power Plant), Tim Dahl (Child Abuse, Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, Pulverize the Sound) and Weasel Walter (The Flying Luttenbachers, Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, Cellular Chaos).

On previous releases, which include musicians like Philip White, Ron Anderson and Kevin Shea, or as a soloist, he's been committed to the expansion of the possibilities of his instrument, pushing it beyond its limits under the influence of noise music and extreme contemporary composers like Iannis Xenakis and Helmut Lachenmann.

For this project he wants something else: to play jazz with all its formal aspects, using the melody-improvisation-melody traditional structure but stuffing it with his experimental aesthetical vision. "Before the Heat Death" is the consequence, equating what we usually recognize as jazz with bizarre and even unique materials. It's so exciting that you start jumping like crazy in your living room."-Clean Feed


Artist Biographies

"Chris Pitsiokos (b. 1990) is a saxophonist, composer, and improviser. His music combines the intensity and immediacy of extreme rock forms and noise with the lyricism and forward propulsion of jazz and the abstract detail of contemporary classical composers Iannis Xenakis and Helmut Lachenmann. Chris has had the opportunity to perform/collaborate with Lydia Lunch, Tyshawn Sorey, Peter Evans, Kevin Shea, Brian Chase, Henry Kaiser, Mick Barr, Marc Edwards, Brandon Seabrook, Paul Lytton, Tim Dahl, Philip White, Guerilla Toss, C. Spencer Yeh, Ikue Mori, Nate Wooley and Weasel Walter. Chris has performed throughout Europe, Japan, Australia, and the US. His records can be found on Clean Feed, New Atlantis, One Hand Records, Carrier Records, Ug Explode, and his own imprint, Eleatic Records. In addition to performing and composing music, Chris was a long time DJ at WKCR-FM and has been producing concerts in Brooklyn and Manhattan for four years."

-Chris Pitsiokos Website (http://www.chrispitsiokos.com/bio.html)
4/28/2025

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

"Described by Spin Magazine as "An apocalyptic, supersonic general of the banjo..." Brandon Seabrook has made a name for himself in the New York avant-garde music scene as an explosive guitar and banjo performer, relentlessly committed to immediacy and precision.

Seabrook honed his terror-inducing riffage skills at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He has since performed extensively in North and South America, Mexico and Europe, as a solo artist, bandleader and collaborator. He has been summoned by the likes of Anthony Braxton, Elliot Sharp and Joey Arias for his unpredictably spiked approach to improvisation and impeccable caterwauling. He has been profiled in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Magnet Magazine, Fretboard Journal, NPR and The Wire.

Seabrook Power Plant, the nuclear trio donned "a manic clusterfuck of merciless banjo torture" by the Village Voice, is Brandon's brainchild, blending the brutal energy of punk-rock with the intricate execution of through-composed avant jazz. The band has released two albums to much critical acclaim. Time Out New York praised the band's eponymous debut as "not only one of the most baffling experimental releases of the year... also one of the best."

Brandon is an accomplished solo artist, named Best Guitarist in New York City by the Village Voice 2012. In 2014, New Atlantis Records released his first solo album titled Sylphid Vitalizers. Noisey called the album a "dissonant guitar army...(with) mind-blowing prog-rock complexities - all at mind-numbing breakneck speed."

Brandon is currently working on two new albums with his noise-prog trio, Needle Driver and a new sextet featuring immoral, percussive compositions under the name Die Trommel Fatale. This recent work is a poly-rhythmic exploration of the dark side of the drum, layering cello, bass, electronics, voice and guitar against dichotomous drummers."

-Brandon Seabrook Website (http://www.brandonseabrook.com/bio/)
4/28/2025

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

"Tim Dahl is a professional electric and double bass player, vocalist, keyboardist and composer living in New York City. He is best known as the bass player of the noise-rock band Child Abuse and Lydia Lunch's Retrovirus. He also writes and performs for the jazz ensemble Pulverize The Sound.

Dahl has toured extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. He has performed with many notable musicians, composers and performers including Yusef Lateef, Archie Shepp, Eugene Chadbourne, Tatsuya Yoshida, Von Freeman, Stanley Jordan, Mary Halvorson, Malcolm Mooney, Marc Ribot, Brian Chase, Hamid Drake, Elliott Sharp, Weasel Walter, Marni Nixon, Peter Evans, Kevin Shea, Mick Barr, Lydia Lunch, Jan Terri, The Bureau of Atomic Tourism, Ava Mendoza etc.

As a bass player he is notable for unique style and technical savviness. Clifford Allen of Tiny Mixtapes' wrote "Tim Dahl [...] approaches his well-worn axe with a battery of pedals and loops, combining determinate speed with murkier sonics to create a landscape not unlike a harsh, speed-freak variant on Hugh Hopper."

Dahl currently lives in Brooklyn and is an active member in the music scene there."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Dahl)
4/28/2025

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

"Weasel Walter (real name Walter Wyzowski) is a composer and instrumentalist who founded the band The Flying Luttenbachers in Chicago in 1991 with a current member of Cellular Chaos and Behold...The Arctopus. Over the years, The Flying Luttenbachers included noted Dylan Posa, and Michael Colligan, while creating a body of music drawing equally from no wave, death metal, gamelan, noise music, hardcore punk and modern classical. Walter moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2003, where he formed the latest of many Luttenbachers lineups, remaining on percussion with the addition of bassist Mike Green (Burmese), and virtuoso guitarist Ed Rodriguez (ex-Colossamite, Gorge Trio). Singular guitar phenomenon Mick Barr (Krallice, Octis, Orthrelm) joined the group in 2005. The Flying Luttenbachers ceased to operate in late 2007. On November 25, 2009, Weasel Walter announced that he was moving to New York City to join the band Behold... The Arctopus on drums and will be writing "new, more extreme material from scratch." He also formed Cellular Chaos with Marc Edwards (drummer), Admiral Grey and Ceci Moss."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_Walter)
4/28/2025

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


Track Listing:



1. Fried 3:11

2. Quantized 4:28

3. Death In The Afternoon 5:43

4. Ballad 4:16

5. Guillotine 1:41

6. Supersax 3:23

7. Wet Brain 6:17

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Quartet Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Clean Feed
Squidco's Clean Feed 50% Sale

Search for other titles on the label:
Clean Feed.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Other Recommended Releases:
Flying Luttenbachers, The
Spectral Warrior Mythos 2
(ugEXPLODE)
Documenting The Flying Luttenbachers' transition from a New York-based lineup to a Chicago trio, this blistering live-in-the-studio session captures Weasel Walter (guitar), Luke Polipnick (bass), and Charlie Werber (drums) unleashing complex, high-energy compositions with no overdubs, solidifying their raw and relentless approach to genre-blurring improv, as the band continues its evolution.
Flying Luttenbachers, The
Losing the War Inside Our Heads
(ugEXPLODE)
Bridging past and future, this 17th album from The Flying Luttenbachers is a punishing collection of modernist brutality, largely developed by Weasel Walter alone, yet culminating in a ferocious trio performance with Luke Polipnick and Charlie Werber captured in Chicago and NY; dense with asymmetrical riffs, death metal complexity, and avant-garde adaptations; savage!
Seabrook, Brandon
Object of Unknown Function
(Pyroclastic Records)
A "solo" guitar album of unparalleled creativity and technical prowess, blending virtuosic banjo and guitar performances with inventive compositions and experimental use of effects and overdubs through multiple instruments and cassette additions, a genre-defying exploration of layered soundscapes, intricate fingerpicking, and bold sonic textures that is absolutely fascinating.
Seabrook, Brandon
brutalovechamp
(Pyroclastic Records)
Looking to create a sound realm that would reflect more life and less process, NY guitarist/banjo player Brandon Seabrook takes his 8-piece ensemble Epic Proportions on a truly epic journey through "lyrical melodies, dynamic improvisations and manic counterpoint", showing great evolution and development as a contemporary composer and player; "Brutal is beautiful".
Golia, Vinny / Max Johnson / Weasel Walter
No Refunds
(Unbroken Sounds)
Recording in Brooklyn's Seaside Lounge in 2014, these five previously unreleased collective improvisations bring together West Coast reedist Vinny Golia, performing on clarinet, saxello, sopranino, baritone saxophones with double bassist Max Johnson and drummer Weasel Walter, an absolutely impressive example of free playing intent and well-balanced conversation.
Pitsiokos, Chris
Art of the Alto
(Relative Pitch)
Each of the eight tracks on NY saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos' 2nd solo release for Relative Pitch is named for a type of stone--"Obsidian", "Feldspar", "Anthracite", &c.--each a unique take on its mineral counterpart through incredible technique and concentration, taking the alto saxophone into extreme or reflective territory complementing the nature of each element.
Bi Ba Doom (Pitsiokos / Stewart / Nazary)
Graceful Collision [VINYL w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Astral Spirits)
A New York trio of musical friends from Chris Pitsiokos on alto saxophone, Luke Stewart on electric & acoustic basses and Jason Nazary on drums, an elegantly impactful album of organic free jazz expanded through electronic textures from all three members as they enthusiastically explore new approaches to energetic, creative, contemporary improvisation; extraordinary!
Nevai, Nandor w/ Tim Dahl / Trevor Dunn
<< The Die Motherfucker >>
(Psykomanteum)
A dark trio of NYC heavyweights Tim Dahl and Trevor Dunn on bass and Nandor Nevai ( _ (Underscore)) on drums and conducting, in Nevai's fifth iteration of the _ ("UNDRSKOR") project, following a fusion of forms referred to as 'Neauxtheque' invoking "Danger Classical", the Martial Pop subgenre of Industrial and the virtuosic demands of Technical Death Metal.
Child of Illusion (Pitsiokos / Santos Silva / Zetterberg)
Khimaira
(Relative Pitch)
The 3-headed monster Khimaira--a lion head in front, a goat head at its back and a snake head at its tail--is rendered by the transatlantic trio of NY saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos, Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva and Swedish bassist Torbjourn Zetterberg, using profound technique, snarling interaction and contemplative patience to coax the beast in masterful interplay.
Fernandes, Mane
Enter The sQUIGG
(Clean Feed)
A unique album of oddly metered yet highly rhythmic jazz from guitarist and composer Mané Fernandes, a member of Pedro Alves Melo Omniae Large Ensemble, but more importantly, part of a scene he refers to as Post-Beat Aesthetics, merging electronic and synthetic elements into jazz form, a serious and diverting direction for creative improv and studio play.
Nevai, Nandor (w/ Peter Evans / Tim Dahl / Matt Nelson / Ron Stabinsky)
Classified Maths
(Psykomanteum)
An unusual quintet of prominent New York improvisers--Peter Evans on trumpet, Tim Dahl on bass violin, Matt Nelson on tenor saxophone, and Ron Stabinsky on bass--performing Nandor Nevai's compositions: two Quintets and the two part "Sap Gloves"--Nevai performing on tenor sax, voice and conducting, blurring modern improv, chamber jazz and bizarre spoken word moments; outstanding and unsettling.
Strictly Missionary (Pitsiokos / Eisenberg / Lenz / Murray / Neuburg)
Heisse Scheisse [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Astral Spirits)
Skronky multi-faceted NY Downtown-style improvisation with an electric edge from the quintet of Chris Pitsiokis on alto sax, winds, electronics & samples, Wendy Eisenberg on electric guitar, Richard Lenz on electric bass, Kevin Murray on acoustic & electronic drums and Nick Neuburg on percussion, rolling and rollicking through riffs and scrabbly exploration.
Strictly Missionary (Pitsiokos / Eisenberg / Lenz / Murray / Neuburg)
Heisse Scheisse [VINYL]
(Astral Spirits)
Skronky multi-faceted NY Downtown-style improvisation with an electric edge from the quintet of Chris Pitsiokis on alto sax, winds, electronics & samples, Wendy Eisenberg on electric guitar, Richard Lenz on electric bass, Kevin Murray on acoustic & electronic drums and Nick Neuburg on percussion, rolling and rollicking through riffs and scrabbly exploration.
Garcia, Violeta / Chris Pitsiokos
Uanmortaim
(Relative Pitch)
From fractured and fragmented to assertively raw improvisation in the unusual pairing of saxophone and cello from Chris Pitsiokos on alto and Argentinian cellist Violeta Garcia, using intense approaches to their instruments in a reactive set of 11 concise dialogs, a well-matched meeting of innovative improvisers uniquely responding to and clearly enjoying an eccentric conversation.
Pitsiokis, Chris Quartet ( w/ Smiley / Fraser / Nazary)
One Eye with a Microscope Attached
(Eleatic Records)
Taking an angular approach to modern jazz that reminds of Steve Coleman/Five Elements, New York alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos provides the compositions for the six improvisations on this live album recorded at Seizure's Palace, in Brooklyn in a quartet with Andrew Smiley on electric guitar, Henry Fraser on electric bass and Jason Nazary on drums.
Pitsiokos, Chris
Carny Cant [VINYL]
(Eleatic Records)
In the spirit of Downtown NY by merging forms of jazz, rock and experimental music, Chris Pitsiokos bookends his album with two solo pieces, joining forces with NY electric guitarist Rick Eye for 4 tracks and drummer Jason Nazary joining for 3 tracks, as Pitsiokis performs on alto & baritone sax, harmonica, electric bass, guitar & drums, electronic instruments & voice.
GPS Trio (Chris Pitsiokos / Luke Stewart / Devin Gray)
Blast Beat Blues
(Rataplan Records)
Hard-edged NYC free jazz in a limited EP CD release from the trio of alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos, bassist Luke Stewart and drummer & composer Devin Gray, who explains that the music reflects "the modern world we're all trying to live in, with that odd mix of the comfortable and uncomfortable", as heard in the edgy and dynamic power of his group.
Pitsiokos, Chris
Speak In Tongues And Hope For The Gift Of Interpretation
(Relative Pitch)
Dedicating his pieces to Charlie Parker, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and John Zorn, NY alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos is heard live at this solo concert in New Haven, CT in 2019, reflecting on the history of jazz through his intense playing style that deploys incredible technique balanced with abstraction and rapid lyricism.
Pitsiokos, Chris / Susana Santos Silva / Torbjorn Zetterberg
Child Of Illusion
(Clean Feed)
A profound sense of drama in free playing from the young collective trio of NY saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos with the establish partnership of Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva and Swedish bassist Torbjourn Zetterberg, in chamber-like jazz, informed by their musical background that spreads over a myriad of aesthetics, full of nuance and beautiful interplay.
Master Oogway
The Concert Koan [VINYL]
(Clean Feed)
Powerful electric jazz roots from the Norwegian quartet of Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll on saxophone, Havard Nordberg Funderud on guitar, Karl Erik E. Horndalsveen on double bass, and Martin Mellem on drums, shredding inspirations from 60s electric Miles and Ornette, with a rock influenced rhythm section and electric guitar work driving great soloing.
Evans, Peter / Tim Dahl / Mike Pride
Pulverize The Sound
(Relative Pitch)
The trio of trumpeter Peter Evans, electric bassist Tim Dahl, and drummer/percussionist Mike Pride have played together since 2010, crossing the boundaries of improvisation, composition and rock in dynamic genre-defying music intended to be played loud.
Various Artists
I Never Meta Guitar Three
(Clean Feed)
The 3rd issue from Elliott Sharp's compiled series of guitar work in the 21st century, demonstrating new sounds, processes, techniques, melodies, riffs and gestures from a who's-who of modern improvising guitarists, a must-have release for all guitar fans and players.
Fujiwara, Tomas Trio
Variable Bets
(Relative Pitch)
Merging different sub-genre of NYC's rich jazz and creative music scene, drummer Tomas Fujiwara's trio with Brandon Seabrook on guitar and Ralph Alessi on trumpet furtively builds into a free jazz album of contrasting dynamics and superb playing.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Zanussi, Per / Vestnorsk Jazzensemble
Li (and the infinite game)
(Clean Feed)
Powerful, modern jazz from a Norwegian ensemble of cross-genre improvisers, bringing an eclectic mix of jazz, electronic, African & orchestral expression into a series of works by double bassist Per Zanussi that explore the concept of "Li", a neo-Confucian term for fixed and dynamic patterns in nature, expressed through passionate ensemble work and exemplary soloing.
Gorilla Mask (Van Huffel / Fidezius / Fischerlehner)
Mind Raid
(Clean Feed)
Assertive, sometimes skronky, masterful playing from the Gorilla Mask trio of Peter Van Huffel on alto & baritone saxes, Roland Fidezius on electric bass and Rudi Fischerlehner on drums & percussion, in their 5th album in 13 years, nuancing their sound with electronics while adhering to power trio playing fed by new collaborative and conceptual approaches from all band members.
Ahanes (Kokkoli / Arapis / Aleklint / Zethson / Zetterberg / Agnas)
Petrichor
(Clean Feed)
Stockholm pianist Alexander Zethson invited Greek saxophonist Nicky Kokkoli and guitarist Giannis Arapis to take part in his 13-piece Thanatosis festival ensemble VÖ; they then asked drummer Nils Agnas, bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg and trombonist Mats Äleklint to join them for this sublimely flowing sextet studio session, which includes works by Mingus and Coltrane.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC