The Squid's Ear Magazine
Squidco Cost Sale — 150+ albums on sale at OUR COST! Sep 12-14


Brighton, Ian

Marsh Gas [REISSUE]

Brighton, Ian: Marsh Gas [REISSUE] (FMR)

Reissuing the 1977 album from UK guitarist Ian Brighton, written as an instrumental story for children, apparently very sophisticated children, in a mix of composed and freely improvised passages, using non-idiomatic approaches with unusual and extended techniques, open atmospheric passages and strange transitions, a peculiar and wonderful album of imaginative playing.
 

Price: $15.95


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:



Jim Livesey-alto saxophone

Marcio Mattos-bass

Ian Brighton-guitar

Roger Smith-guitar

Sound In Brass-handbell

Radu Malfatti-trombone

Philipp Wachsmann-violin


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




UPC: 748079797048

Label: FMR
Catalog ID: 521-1018
Squidco Product Code: 26893

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2018
Country: UK
Packaging: Digipack
Tracks 1, 6 and 7 recorded at The Cathedral, in Chelmsford, Essex, England UK, by Simon Clifford-Smith.

Tracks 2, 3, 4 and 5 recorded at West Square electronic music studio, by Dave Rhodes and John Dodd. Originally released on vinyl LP in 1997 on the Bead Records label as Bead 3.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The background to Marsh Gas originated from when I took part in a concert at Battersea Town Hall back in the spring of 1975. The music, specifically written for children was part composed and part freely improvised. Entitled The Sun Tamer: a Polynesian folk tale, the children participated by playing blown and percussive instruments, all under the guidance of a narrator. As the story unfolded such was their involvement and enjoyment they appeared oblivious of the music being played.

I decided to try something similar and wrote a short story about a gnome like creature called the Plickie and his friends (and enclosure with the original album). They were Zoltaire, quiet and considerate and De-Boop, noisy and bespectacled who played a long horn that wrapped around him. Accompanied by the blind Wizard of a Thousand Eyes who steered them through the dark forest, passing the Old King and his followers, until they reached the Silver River. They separated when the Big apple appeared: the last place of happy jazz. Alone, Plickie journeyed deeper toward the chapel of Splintered Glass. Here he met the Flashing Wizard who consoled him to ignore others and find his own song. Engulfed in total darkness he sang until he found it, where-upon blidning light streamed in. As his eyes cleared he discovered himself back home inside the marshes.

"Wherever you go you cannot escape whoever you are, so just be yourself," the tracked recorded in Chelmsford Cathedral are of special significance my grandfather, a leading campanologist on the late 19th century, had rung there 70 years beforehand. One of the hand bell ringers playing with me that day had also rung with my grandfather when he was just a young seaman, home on leave during the 1940's; there I was, following in his gootsteps.

My love of playing in these atmospheres, albeit simulated, can be heard on Imaginings, also on FMR, and on a duet album with Henry Kaiser entitled Together Apart.

The independent collective label Bead Records kindly released Marsh Gas as Bead 3 in 1977, with financial assistance provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain. Although, as an LP, it sold out many years ago, Bead Records is still an active concern and contactable via its website - beadrecordssp.com.

With recent interest in my music and the non-availability of the original album I have decided to re-issue it as a compact disc. for that many thanks go to: Kevin Smith of foundry Studios Portsmouth for media transfer and mastering, Hugh Cutmore for his drawings and Trevor Taylor for layout and production. Marsh Gas lives on..."-Ian Brighton, October, 2018

See all Imaginings.

Artist Biographies

Jim Livesey is a British saxophonist and improviser known for his work with guitarist Ian Brighton and Mick Stevens.

-Discogs (https://www.discogs.com/artist/1421500-Jim-Livesey)
9/10/2025

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

"Marcio Mattos was born Rio de Janeiro, 20th March 1946; double bass, 'cello.

Studied acoustic guitar in early teens, switching to double bass and cello, mainly self-taught, after becoming interested in Jazz. Later entered the Villa-Lobos institute where he became involved in improvisation and electronic music. Since coming to Europe in 1970 has performed, recorded and broadcast both in Britain and abroad in groups including John Surman, Evan Parker, John Stevens, Keith Tippett, Derek Bailey's Company, Dewey Redman and Marylin Crispell amongst others. Has also worked with dance companies such as Ballet Rambert and The Extemporary Dance Theatre Company, and in electro-acoustic music groups such as the West Square Electronic Music Ensemble.

A long- standing member of the Eddie Prevost Quartet and various Elton Dean groups. Other current British projects include the "Bardo State Orchestra", Chris Burn's Ensemble, "Wooden Taps" with Maggie Nicols, "Embers" with John Butcher and others, "Lines" with Phil Wachsmann/Jim Denley and others, and "Full Monte" with Chris Biscoe, Brian Godding and Tony Marsh . International projects working in Europe have included Georg Graewe's Grubenklang Orchestra, Stefano Maltese's "Open Music Ensemble", Tony Oxley's Celebration Orchestra, "AXON"- trio with Phil Minton and Martin Blume , bass/cello and shakuhachi duo with Shiku Yano, and in Japan various groupings with Sabu Toyozumi and Keiko Midorikawa.

Also trained as a Ceramic artist at Goldsmiths college and continues to make and exhibit work in clay."

-EFI (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/mmattos.html)
9/10/2025

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

Ian Brighton is a free improvising guitarist, known for the bands Balance, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, and Spontaneous Music Orchestra.

-Squidco 9/10/2025

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

Roger Smith is a British guitarist known for his work with London Musicians' Collective, his duo with Neil Metcalfe, plus duos with Adam Bohman, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Pascal Marzan, etc.

-Squidco 9/10/2025

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

"Radu Malfatti is an Austrian trombone player and composer. He was born in Innsbruck, in the province of Tyrol, on December 16, 1943. He has been described as "among the leaders in redefining the avant-garde as truly on-the-edge art." His work "since the early nineties... has been investigating the edges of ultraminimalism in both his composed and improvised work." He also operates B-Boim, a CD-R only record label focusing on improvised and composed music, much of it his own."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radu_Malfatti)
9/10/2025

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

"Philipp Wachsmann. Born Uganda, 1944; violin, viola and electronics.

In the CD booklet to Gushwachs, John Corbett notes that Phillip Wachsmann came to free improvisation from a predominantly classical background, particularly via the contemporary experiments of "indeterminacy, graphic and prose-based scores, conceptualism and electroacoustics, listening to Webern, Partch, Ives, Berio and Varèse, reading 'Die Reihe' and interrogating the rhythmic, harmonic and melodic preoccupations of Western art music. Starting in 1969, Wachsmann was a member of Yggdrasil, an ensemble performing works by Cage, Cardew, Feldman, Ashley and others and in this group he used contact mikes on the violin and made his own electronic instruments, ring modulators and routing devices. Ironically, his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1969-1970) pushed him hard in the direction of free music. He recalls: 'Despite her neoclassical orientation, her insistence that composition is about the imagination of performance and its realisation, the live moment, and her stunning ability to make this happen was a powerful influence on me, steering towards 'performance' and therefore 'improvisation'.'"

Wachsmann moved from Yggdrasil to Chamberpot - recorded on Bead 2 - and shortly thereafter appeared on Tony Oxley's influential February papers, forward looking in the virtual 'industrial' orientation of some of the tracks, years before this became an accepted genre; the two musicians have continued to work together, in various groupings but notably in the percussionist's Celebration Orchestra. Philipp Wachsmann has also performed and/or recorded with: Derek Bailey's Company, e.g. on the recording Epiphanies; Georg Graewe; Barry Guy; Iskra 1903; King Übü Orchestrü; London Jazz Composers' Orchestra; Evan Parker, particularly as part of the Evan Parker Electronic Project; Quintet Moderne; Fred Van Hove's ML DD 4; Rüdiger Carl's COWWS (now CPWWS) Quintet; and Lines, with Martin Blume, Jim Denley, Axel Dörner and Marcio Mattos. He also plays as a solo musician.

Phillip Wachsmann also administers Bead Records."

-EFI: European Free Improv (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/mwachs.html)
9/10/2025

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


Track Listing:



1. Pilkies Dilema 1:50

2. Bulrushing 9:18

3. Brotherhood 7:42

4. The Wizard's Dream 3:40

5. Silver River Shuffle 10:08

6. The Chapel Of Splintered Glass (With Love Alf) 7:45

7. Marsh Gas 7:20

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Sextet Recordings
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Jazz Reissues
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Top Sellers for 2019 by Customer Sales

Search for other titles on the label:
FMR.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Ironing & Juice Machine
S/T
(Hymns)
The Ironing project of Gainesville, Florida turntable and electronic artist joins with the Oregon-based Juice Machine duo of Roger Smith and late experimental musician Heather Chessman, both on electronics, tapes & sampler, for six unusual constructions of strange grooves over which concrete and obscure sounds swim about with a sense of wonder and humor.
Chefkirk
Giant Size
(Love Earth Music)
Eight distinctive works for electronics and sound from the alter ego of Roger H. Smith, using noise, percussive elements and unusual synthetics, layered around static and arpeggiated rhythms and punctuated with strange asides, the works run from 3:14 to 18:37 and were developed over a year and half; an excellent introduction to the sonic diversity Chefkirk revels in.
Sjostrom, Harri / Erhard Hirt / Philipp Wachsman / Paul Lytton
Especially For You
(Bead)
A concert recording on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Einstein Kultur in Munich from the quartet of Erhard Hirt on guitar & computer and Paul Lytton on drums, percussion & objects (half of the Quartet XPACT) plus Harri Sjostrom on soprano & sopranino saxophones and Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, presenting a remarkable set of collective ea-improvisations.
Yarde / Wright / Wilkinson / Smith / Lynch / Chat
A Company of Others
(Matchless)
To celebrate drummer/percussionist Eddie Prévost's 80th birthday, Café Oto hosted four concerts once a week in June, 2022, each a differing configuration from Prévost's history; this first concert brings together Prévost with four horn players, NO Moore on guitar and Marcio Matttons on double bass, for varying duos, trios and full ensemble performances.
Wachsmann, Philipp / Trevor Taylor
Two
(FMR)
Eight studio compositions recorded in Kingston, London in 2022 between FMR label-leader Trevor Taylor on percussion and electronics, and violinist Philipp Wachsmann, also processing his sound through electronics, the two finding common ground and great compatibility in reserved pacing that seemingly allows each note and gesture to express itself fully.
Oxley, Tony
February Papers
(Discus)
Reissuing percussionist and electronic innovator Tony Oxley's 1977 Incus album, collecting works from Oxley's evolving approaches, including a quartet with bassist Barry Guy and violinists David Bourne & Philipp Wachsmann; a trio with Barry Guy and Ian Brighton on electric guitar; and solo pieces including a piece for Evan Parker emulating his sound through electronics.
Gouvea / Northover / Mattos
Cajula
(FMR)
Representing some of the London scene's most innovative and creative improvisers, with years of work together as a trio and as M.A.M.--saxophonist Andrian Northover (Remote Viewers), cellist Marcio Mattos (Stellari String Quartet, Tony Oxley's Celebration Orchestra) and vocalist Marilza Gouvea--are heard here in 2 studio recordings and 3 live recordings at Iklectic.
Circuit (Seagroat / Chatzigiannis / Taylor / Hutchinson / Medley / Wachsmann)
Cell
(FMR)
UK percussionist and electronic artist Trevor Taylor's Circuit project in an extended electroacoustic version with Jon Seagroat on reeds & electronics, Tim Chatzigiannis on computer & electronics, Mathew Hutchinson on piano, Paul Medley on reeds, and Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, in carefully controlled and sublimely detailed improvisation.
Lloyd, Jon
Four & Five
(Hatology)
Composer and saxophonist Jon Lloyd comes together for the first time as a quartet with Stan Adler (cello), Marcio Mattos (bass), and Paul Clarvis (percussion) in a series of loosely composed works with a lot of room for improvisation.
McPhee, Joe
The Loneliest Woman [CD EP]
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
A rich and unusual interpretation of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" recorded in Boswil, Switzerland in 1981 with McPhee, Pierre Favre, Irene Schweizer, Radu Malfatti, Daniel Bourquin, &c., in its first-ever release.
Josephson / Wachsmann / Lindsay / Smith / Blume
Zero Plus
(Balance Point Acoustics)
The Triple D Trio of Aurora Josephson (voice), Jacob Lindsay (clarinet) & Damon Smith (bass) met with visiting European improvisers Philipp Wachsmann (violin) and Martin Blume (drums) to record these live concerts in Oakland and SF.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Dunmall, Paul / Phillip Gibbs / Andrew Ball / Neil Metcalfe / Hilary Jeffery
Newsagents
(FMR)
Reissuing the limited 2003 release on saxophonist Paul Dunmall's DUNS label, this wonderfully sophisticated concert at Victoria Rooms in Bristols featured collaborators and jazz luminaries Philip Gibbs on guitar, Neil Metcalfe on flute, Andrew Ball on piano & celesta and Hilary Jeffrey on trombone, a quintet of tempered intensity and incredibly expressive power.
Taylor, Cecil (w/ Lyons / Dixon / Grimes / Silva / Cyrille)
With (Exit) To Student Studies, Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Changing approaches to his music with new quartet of Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, Alan Silva on double bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums, pianist Cecil Taylor's incredible 1966 concert in Paris presented four extended compositions, here remastered and reissued with a track from a compilation LP--"With (Exit)"--extending his quartet with Bill Dixon on trumpet and Henry Grimes on double bass.
Dunmall, Paul / James Owson / Taymotusz Joziwiak
This Time In Beautiful Space
(FMR)
Performing on tenor, alto and C-melody saxophones plus alto flute, Paul Dunmall's trio brings together drummer Taymotusz Joziwiak (heard on One Became Many, Unmasked and Awoto) and younger generation bassist James Owswon, for an album of expressive and lyrical free jazz, a well-paced example of tempered collective interplay highlighting all three musicians.
NU Band, The (Whitecage / Heberer / Fonda / Grassi)
In Memory of Mark Whitecage (Live at the BopShop)
(Not Two)
A tribute to NY reedist & wind player Mark Whitecage, who passed away in March 2021, in a concert at Rochester's BopShop in 2018 by the band he is probably best known for: Nu Band, with trumpeter Thomas Heberer taking Roy Campbell's original seat, plus Lou Grassi on drums and Joe Fonda on bass, a great concert blending modern creative jazz with passionate playing and a bit of hard bop.
Prehn, Tom Quartet
Centrifuga & Solhverv
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Two early free jazz masterpieces from 1964 never released in their day, from Danish pianist Tom Prehn and his Kvartet with Poul Ehlers on bass, Fritz Krogh on tenor saxophone and featuring drummer Finn Slumstrup, the close mic recording bring their swinging and enthusiastic music to the foreground in an adventurous album that absolutely demands to be heard!
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.
Koch, Hans / Paul Lovens
Nephlokokkygia 1992
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
1992 live performances demonstrating masterful freedom in improvisation, recorded while on their first tour as a duo after working together in larger ensembles, from Hans Koch on clarinet, bass clarinet and tenor & soprano saxophones, and Paul Lovens on drums, cymbals, gongs & musical saw, in four live improvisations from Bulgaria presented in the order recorded.
Tiger Trio (Leandre / Melford / Mitchel)
Map of Liberation
(RogueArt)
Born from the duo of Chicago flutist Nicole Mitchell and French bassist Joelle Leandre ("Sisters Where") and brought together by Myra Melford, this is the 2nd album from their Tiger Trio formation, joining profound skill, unusual creative intent, ferociously authoritative conversation, shrewd wit, and an innate sense of balance to 11 succinct collective improvisations.
Frith, Fred
Woodwork / Live At Ateliers Claus
(Klanggalerie )
Fred Frith's solo performances are amongst some of his most fascinating, and this live album at Ateliers Claus in Brussels, 2018 does not disappoint, Frith using every inch of his guitar and an arsenal of objects, in tandem with his masterful creative intent, to present an extended and fascinating journey in sound, remarkable in its breadth and bold inventive power.
Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra (feat. Marilyn Crispell / Evan Parker)
Parallel Moments Unbroken [2CDS]
(FMR)
Scottland's large improvising ensemble of around 20 musicians, merging backgrounds in free improvisation, jazz, classical, folk, pop, experimental musics and performance art, in a 2-CD release of a piece commissioned by the BBC and featuring pianist Marilyn Crispell and saxophist Evan Parker, written using graphic scores, through composition, photographs and artwork.
Valid Tractor (Pat Thomas / Dominic Lash / Lawrence Casserley)
On The Validity Of Tractors
(FMR)
Each track on this album is named for a tractor brand (Eicher, Kubota, &c.) and the liner notes are directions regarding a tractor's maintenance, as the ea-trio of UK improvisers Pat Thomas on piano & electronics, Dominic Lash on double bass, and Lawrence Casserley on a signal processing instrument provide 10 inventive improvisations that validate a sound working condition.
Dunmall / Siegel / Pursglove / Sanders
As One Does
(FMR)
Two saxophones take the front line in Paul Dunmall's 2018 studio album, the leader on tenor saxophone with fellow tenor player Julian Siegel, also on bass clarinet, while Mark Sanders drums and Percy Pursglove handles bass and also trumpet, as the band falls into a hard bop mode, weaving lines together over wonderfully turbulent and soulful grooves; outstanding.
Chrysakis, Thanos / Sue Lynch / James O'Sullivan / Joe Wright
Iridescent Strand
(Aural Terrains)
Very much in an AMM mold of electroacoustic improvisation, this album of intense cooperation and sonic depth presents five sections numbered by Roman numerals, performed in the studio by the adept and investigative quintet of Thanos Chrysakis on computer & synthesizers, Sue Lynch on reeds, James O'Sullivan on guitar, and Joe Wright on sax & dynamic feedback system.
Butcher, John / Philippe Lauzier / Eric Normand
How Does This Happen?
(Ambiances Magnetiques)
The Montreal free improvising, experimenting duo "Not The Music" of bassist Eric Norman & bass clarinetist Philippe Lauzier invited UK saxophonist John Butcher for concerts in Ottawa and Montreal, recording the two impressive 5-part series heard on this album--"en consequence" (consequently) and "par irruption" (by bursting), of masterful and profoundly pensive prowess.
Fujii, Satoko Orchestra Tokyo
Kikoeru, Tribute to Masaya Kimura
(Libra)
Completing a year of monthly albums for pianist Satoko Fujii's "kanreki", or 60th birthday, is this impressive and cathartic album written for Fujii's Orchestra Tokyo as a tribute to late tenor saxophonist and 10 year orchestra member Masaya Kimura, with four compositions from Fujii and two from trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, in an album of both profound testimonly and celebratory release.




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC