March 1, 2024:
A relatively brief entry this week as staff vacation time for the start of spring pushed us slightly back in schedule. That didn't stop us from getting the mailing list out, and filling our Just In Stock Section section with 24 new albums that we'll be working on in the coming week, from labels including Mahakala, Ambiances Magnetiques, Edition Wandelweiser, Amalgam, Trost, Cold Spring Records, Important Records, KARLRECORDS, and Balance Point Acoustics. All of the aforementioned are in stock and ready to ship now.
The rest of this entry is a bit of self-promotion for my own new album: CHANGES TO blind: Volume Eight: Before Birth to Expiration (Squidco Records), of interest to listeners of experimental sound.
Where to Find a Squid Off Hours:
When I'm not running our record store and distribution service you can often find me in my music studio working on sound art under my project name CHANGES TO blind. I started composing music in the early 1980's, inspired by the DIY tape and 'zine culture. The "group" name is a give-away for the era, when abstract band names were more of the norm than taking one's own name. In fact, my "band" was a fictional trio, somewhat inspired by the then-opaque configuration of The Residents. My group was described as Mortimer DeSquid (keyboards), Heraldo DeSquid (percussion) and Phil Zampino (voice, treatments, &c). At the time I was writing and singing electronic songs, which included plundered elements from records and field recordings.
By the 90s the songs stopped, Mortimer and Heraldo "quit" the band, and the experimentation and composition using the studio took over. After moving myself and Squidco to Wilmington, NC I fell in with other adventurous experimenters and began performing live regularly, developing systems to create layers of sound from unusual electronic sources, and drawing on a collection of thousands of samples that I had modified and mutilated in the studio.
Squidco takes up most of my time, but this month I finally completed the production on my 8th volume, collecting what I hope are the most interesting of my work over the last eight years. Many of the pieces started as live improvisations recorded to multi-track and then augmented and manipulated in the studio. Others, like the title track "Before Birth to Expiration" are studio compositions from the start, larger works that were developed over months.
I list three albums below, the latest; the 7th volume which summarizes a number of years of work; and a very early project with Chester Hawkins when he was still known as Blue Sausage Infant (another very 80's project name). For those who prefer their music in bits, the new and 7th album can also be purchased on Bandcamp.
CHANGES TO blind: Volume Eight: Before Birth to Expiration (Squidco Records)
The eighth album from the long-running CHANGES TO blind project of Phil Zampino, eight works drawing on compositions & improvisations, acoustic & synthetic instruments, field recordings & samples, with guests Levi Erik providing field recordings & voice and Wilmington, NC's 910 Noise Members of Carl Kruger, subterrene, John Bishop, Authorless and Ryan Lewis.
CHANGES TO blind: evolvensume (Squidco Records)
Collecting works from 2010-2017, Squidco's own Phil Zampino presents 10 tracks of electroacoustic composition sourced from studio work, live improvisation, field recordings, plunderphonics, and other indescribable approaches, a diverse set of recordings sharing a similar foreboding aesthetic and curious sonic desire.
CHANGES TO blind + Blue Sausage Infant: (Intangible Arts)
Blue Sausage Infant and CHANGES TO blind met in 1992 for these improvised studio recordings, and to perform CTb's sonic tour of a house live at Troy, NY's Last Exit.
Squidco Publishing Roundup:
As is typical, I end with updates to Squidco and The Squid's Ear over the last week. You can see our latest fully cataloged albums in our Recently Section.
You can see new albums as they enter our Just In Stock Section, meaning that we physically have an album and are able to ship it with an order, but that we're not satisfied that we've added all the information we can about that release.
You can also see recent restocks of previously listed items at our Recently Restocked page.
You can ask us to inform you via email of any upcoming release that you're interested in, with no obligation.
March 14, 2024: New @ Squidco:
Charles Mingus -Presents Charles Mingus To Pre Bird, Revisited [CD] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Franz Koglmann -Near Blue - A Taste of Melancholy [CD] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Nikolaus Gerszewski -3 Works For Strings, Giusto Chamber Orchestra [CD] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Void Patrol (Sharp/Stetson/Martin/MacDonald) -Live @ Victo [CD] (Victo)
Federico Ughi (w/Leo Genovese/Brandon Lopez) -Infinite Cosmos Calling You You You, Vol. 1 [CDR] (577 Records)
Federico Ughi (w/Leo Genovese/Brandon Lopez) -Infinite Cosmos Calling You You You, Vol. 1 [VINYL] (577 Records)
Sven-Ake Johansson/Alexander Von Schlippenbach -uber Ursache und Wirkung der Meinungsverschiedenheiten beim Turmbau zu Babel [VINYL 2 LPs & PAL DVD] (Trost Records)
Musicworks -#147 Winter 2024 [MAGAZINE + CD] (Musicworks)
Witches & Devils (Williams/Vandermark/Lonberg-Holm) -At the Empty Bottle [CD] (Knitting Factory Works)
Simulacrum -Mechatronics [CDR] (Evil Clown)
March 13, 2024:
New Review @ The Squid's Ear: Steve Swell - For Rhina P. Espaillat (Relative Pitch) by Massimo Ricci.
March 12, 2024: New @ Squidco:
Peter Brotzmann / Paal Nilssen-Love -Chicken Shit Bingo [CD] (Trost Records)
Peter Brotzmann / Paal Nilssen-Love -Chicken Shit Bingo [VINYL] (Trost Records)
Jean Derome -La Chaleur De La Pensee [CD] (Ambiances Magnetiques)
Giuseppe Doronzo / Andy Moor / Frank Rosaly -Futuro Ancestrale [CD] (Clean Feed)
Norbert Pfammatter / Florestan Berset / Francesco Losavio -A Vol D'Oiseau [CD] (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
CHANGES TO blind -Volume Eight: Before Birth to Expiration [CD] (Squidco Records)
Marc Baron / Mark Vernon -post-chance [CD] (erstwhile)
Elliot Sharp -Arbor [CD] (zOaR Records)
Hall Russell / Mars Wiliams -EFTSOONS [VINYL] (NESSA)
Leap of Faith -Quest for Uncertainty [CDR] (Evil Clown)
March 12, 2024: New Review @ The Squid's Ear: Germaine Sijstermans / Koen Nutters / Reinier van Houdt - Circles, Reeds, and Memories (Elsewhere) by Jeph Jerman.
March 11, 2024: New Review @ The Squid's Ear: Francois Carrier Ensemble - Openness (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!)) by John Eyles.
March 1, 2024:
We're finishing up a rather packed week here, as new releases came in the door and we started the fulfillment process for Anthony Braxton's latest box set, 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (more below). We also placed orders for the latest erstwhile release; a uniquely developed duo between Marc Baron & Mark Vernon, a duo between Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love on CD & LP; a great set of albums on Chicago's Amalgam label; the latest Balance Point Acoustic; and the excellent live performance at the Victo Festival and released on the Victo label from Void Patrol (Elliott Sharp / Colin Stetson / Billy Martin & Payton MacDonald). The lastest Edition Wandelweisers are also on their way to us, as are the three latest ezz-thetics by Hat Hut, Ltd — Charles Mingus Revisited; Nikolaus Gerszewski; and Franz Koglmann. Many of these will appear on our site next week, along with some other releases unmentioned, and some vital restocks. Heading into the spring we're looking at some great new music to accompany some brighter, warmer weather!
Anthony Braxton's 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 Box:
Anthony Braxton's latest box set is now shipping, and the only source for this album is the Tri-Centric Foundation's Fund Raising Campaign, "Tri-Centric Archive: Celebrating 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022".
The Tri-Centric Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which supports the work and legacy of American composer and musician Anthony Braxton. Squidco provides the fulfillment service for the perks of their fundraisers, with options for the box set itself, a tote bag, and an autographed score bundle. While we can't sell any of these to you ourselves, you will receive our attention, professional shipping and sincere care if you donate to this campaign.
For those curious, the Lorraine box contains live trio recordings with Anthony Braxton, saxophones, Adam Matlock, accordion and voice, and Susana Santos Silva, trumpet; and a studio quartet with Braxton and James Fei on saxophones, and Zach Rowden and Carl Testa on bass. Here's the description from the fundraiser site:
"This year, we are releasing Braxton's 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 Limited Edition Box Set! This marks the first major box set release of Anthony Braxton's Lorraine Music system. The box set includes a significant collection of one of Braxton's recent live trios and a special studio quartet with two basses and two saxophones. For these performances, Braxton works with the ensembles to produce a sequence of activities from the primary composition and including tertiary compositions. The Lorraine Music system incorporates graphic notation, traditional notation, and Braxton's interactive Diamond Curtain Wall Music system. With design by Yeşim Tosuner and distinctive liner notes by Anthony Braxton himself, this box set continues in the aesthetic tradition that New Braxton House has developed over the last 7 years."
Joana Sá Body of Work
I continue to be impressed with the work from Lisbon pianist, composer and experimental artist Joana Sá. Her work bridges many disciplines, keeping an ear to making interesting hybrids of captivating sound. This week I found myself returning to her new Clean Feed release, A Body As Listening. The work in three parts merges her virtuosic piano playing with resonance, preparations, electronics, and fragments of previous recordings. Turned into a virtual ensemble, Sa's work takes listeners on a unique journey into acoustic piano and experimental elements. Further, there's a narrative website — a body as listening — RESONANT CARTOGRAPHY OF MUSIC (IM)MATERIALITIES), starting with an inspired tongue-in-cheek take on cookie policies that leads to a "Resonant Navigation System", an interactive sound system.
Sa is involved with a number of interesting projects, which I list below. As her work matures so does the sophistication of her concepts, and this latest album is a great example of her broad vision of sound.
Sa, Joana: A Body as Listening (Clean Feed)
The concluding opus of a trilogy that began with "Through This Looking Glass" and followed with "In Praise Of Disorder", Portuguese pianist Joana Sa merges acoustic piano with well-balanced electronics and resonance, using preparations and fragments of previous recordings to create a uniquely expressive solo performance: forceful, fragile, and captivatingly fascinating.
Sa, Joana: Elogio Da Desordem (In Praise of Disorder) (Shhpuma)
Composer, pianist and multi-instrumentals Joana Sa gives voice to texts by Goncalo M. Tavares as read by Rosinda Costa, where the text organizes the thoughts that filter the multiple, disorderly, eccentric, voluble mind described in Tavares' work.
Power Trio (Raon / Sa / Martins): Di Lontan (Clean Feed)
Guitarist Luis Jose Martins and pianist Joana Sa, known from their Shhpuma release "Almost a Song" and a release on Creative Sources, join again with harpist Eduardo Raon, with two Shhpuma releases, for a delicately complex, effervescent, and sometimes turbulent release.
Yannatou, Savina / Joana Sa: Ways of Not Seeing (Clean Feed)
A gorgeous and sinuous album of piano and voice from Portuguese pianist Joana Sá, using preparations and props to accompany the incredibly illustrative voice of Greek vocalist Savina Yannatou, whose profound skills create a sense of mystery and narrative that surpasses language and intent, creating something uniquely fragile yet fiercely alluring.
Turbamulta (Raon / Sa / Ferreira / Martins / Aroso): Turbamulta (Clean Feed)
With orchestration of harp, daxophone, idiophones, piano, cello, guitar, percussion, sampling & electronics, the Portuguese quintet Turbamulta (roughly translates to "rowdy mob", though clearly a very sophisticated mob) was born from the band Powertrio of Eduardo Raon, Joana Sa and Luis Martins, expanded to blend compositional, EA and improv approaches into something unique and beautiful.
Rodrigues, Ernesto / Joana Sa / Luisa Goncalves / Carlos Santos: Melt (Creative Sources)
Bringing together Lisbon artists active in contemporary classical, electroacoustic soundscape and improvisation, the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Joana Sa on soprano saxophone, Luisa Goncalves on piano and Carlos Santos on electronics delicately "Melt" or merge these elements in a subtle and absorbing concert captured live at Lisboa Incomun.
Suspensao: Spur (Creative Sources)
The seventh album from Creative Sources' detailed electroacoustic improvising group Suspensăo led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, recording at SMUP in Parede, Portugal in 2022 with Joana Sa on soprano sax, Nuno Torres on alto sax, Luisa Goncalves on piano, Joao Madeira on double bass, Carlos Santos on synthesizer and Jose Oliveira on percussion.
IKB: Titanus Giganteus (Creative Sources)
Post-pandemic, the electroacoustic IKB ensemble returned to the stage in 2021 at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon with some of Portugal's finest improvisers performing under the direction of violist Ernetso Rodrigues, to express in sound the large rainforest beetle Titanus Giganteus, represented in an extended collective improvisation of restraint fueled by masterful and creative skill.
IKB: Hippocampus Guttulatus (Creative Sources)
The large IKB electroacoustic ensemble of diverse orchestration led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, where each release is characterized by an animal, here with the long-snouted seahorse in an extended improvisation recorded at CreativeFest XIII at O'Culto da Ajuda, Lisbon, 2019, building to undulating cycles of intense interaction of absolutely precise control.
Squidco Publishing Roundup:
As is typical, I end with updates to Squidco and The Squid's Ear over the last week. You can see our latest fully cataloged albums in our Recently Section.
You can see new albums as they enter our Just In Stock Section, meaning that we physically have an album and are able to ship it with an order, but that we're not satisfied that we've added all the information we can about that release.
You can also see recent restocks of previously listed items at our Recently Restocked page.
You can ask us to inform you via email of any upcoming release that you're interested in, with no obligation.
March 7, 2024: New @ Squidco:
Ivo Perelman/Mark Helias/Tom Rainey -Truth Seeker [CD] (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Scheen Jazzorkester & Cortex -Frameworks - Music by Thomas Johansson [CD] (Clean Feed)
Joana Sa -A Body as Listening [CD] (Clean Feed)
Scratching Fork (Malinowski/Rychlicki/Zadruzynski) -Scratching Fork II [CD] (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Zakrocki/Garbowski/Gradziuk -Ballads And Blues [2 CDs] (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Elliott Sharp -The Collapsed Wave [CD] (zOaR Records)
Tragic Assembly + Tatsuya Nakatani -Live at the Artscenter [CD] (Soul City Sounds)
Miharu Ogura -Ogura Plays Ogura [CD] (thanatosis produktion)
Henrik Olsson/Aviva Endean -Split Series Vol. 2 [CD] (FRIM Records)
March 7, 2024: New Review @ The Squid's Ear: Jurg Frey (Reinier Van Houdt) - Lieues D'Ombres (Elsewhere) by Massimo Ricci.
March 5, 2024: New @ Squidco:
Wadada Smith Leo/Joe Morris -Earth's Frequencies [CD] (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Paul Dunmall/Paul Rogers/Marc Sanders -Wildlife [CD] (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Ensemble SuperMusique -Le fil d'Ariane [CD] (Ambiances Magnetiques)
Susanna Hood Trio -unPacked [CD] (Ambiances Magnetiques)
Quatuor Bozzini -Jurg Frey: String Quartet No. 4 [CD] (Collection QB)
Jim Baker/Steve Hunt/Jakob Heinemann -Horizon Scanners [CD] (Clean Feed)
Jonas Cambien -Maca Conu [CD] (Clean Feed)
Rebeka Zajc Rusjan -Prelude [CD] (Clean Feed)
Rodrigues/Parrinha/Madeira -Into the Wood [CD] (Creative Sources)
Bozek/Takahashi -SADOIL [CD] (Creative Sources)
continued...