A trio of viola, alto sax and trumpet recorded in Lisbon in 2008 using mostly "extended techniques", those "other sounds" that can be made by almost any instrument and that have become ubiquitous. We get lots of sonorous hissing, metallic belching and buzzing and squealing string scrape placed in thoughtful juxtapositions. Sounds are often grouped together in short segments and attention is rewarded with startling timbral attenuations. An occasional "normal" instrumental sound — a clear trumpet note or plucked string — pops up, and there are short bits that revert to the old British quick-quick style. It's sort of like witnessing a quick dissolve of the music, from older to newer forms, back and forth.

Along the way we also get electronic sounding storms and odd bits of humor, as when we hear a failing circuit sound paired with a comically nagging buzz. Or the moment during the opening ""oft" wherein an air-raid siren gets coupled with a vacuum cleaner. I'm not sure that these pieces of music develop as much as just continue on. One short episode of sonic layering following another, each ending abruptly and then taking a sharp turn, until around the mid-point of the second piece "of". Here the layering is extended so that sounds lie on top of, as well as dove-tail, each other, and at one point a near-ballad sound grouping arises, and I'm almost positive I can hear a little laugh in the background before the illusion gets smeared into more metallic hiss.

I recommend listening to this set on headphones to hear all the nuances. You can play "what's that sound?" or just listen to the shifting sonorities dance around each other. Either way it's a fun listen and an excellent example of contemporary improvisation.