April 3, 2026:
Here in the mid-South, everything is bursting with colour and finally warming up. After a long stretch of extended hours getting our new Squid Note label off the ground and adding some exceptional albums to the catalog, I took a week of half days to catch up on spring yard work. Busy mornings, yes — but just enough time to launch a store-wide Spring Sale to celebrate the season. The sale runs through the weekend, and many customers have already taken advantage of the discounts — hopefully that includes you, dear reader!
Speaking of Squid Note Records, you may have seen that our next digital release,
Ivo Perelman and Damon Smith — Core of Existence,
continues Perelman's remarkable Duologue series. The album is now available for pre-order ahead of its May 22, 2026 release, with an immediate download of the track "Four." As dedicated admirers of both Perelman and Smith, this release feels especially meaningful — an essential step forward for our fledgling label. Please consider pre-ordering and helping us continue to support and expand this vital music.
"Clara and I have played extensively over the past two years, performing in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Colorado. Bella's Ghost is our first studio album. While most of the tracks are improvs, we took advantage of the studio setting to extract and expand certain ideas, adding new dimensions to the music.
"A Glimpse of Bella's Ghost" originates from 'Bella,' the closing track. '64 46th Street' and 'Away' also emerged from the original improvisations. Aside from these three 'extractions,' there are no edits or overdubs. 'Visitor' and '64 46th St' also incorporate art scores painted by the late Ann Coman, which can be seen on the individual tracks." — Barry Chabala
While Squidco has long championed physical media — art objects that give music a sense of permanence — we recognise that an increasing number of releases now exist solely in the digital realm. Embracing that shift has not come easily; it challenges both our instincts and our collecting habits. But as the world grows more complex, and shipping more costly and cumbersome, it has become an essential part of Squidco's future. We hope you'll stay with us as we navigate this transition, and consider supporting these important and masterful releases.
The digital world aside, here are the physical albums I've been listening to most since my last entry. This first group includes recordings I found especially intriguing, even if they didn't make the official Squidco Picks — those, as always, speak for themselves.
 Merzbow / Gustafsson / Pandi: Cuts Cut (Les Disques Victo)
Documenting a ferocious live performance from the 2018 Victoriaville Festival with additional recordings from 2025, the trio of Merzbow (electronics), Mats Gustafsson (bass & baritone sax, electronics), and Balázs Pándi (drums) unleash a volatile collision of noise, free jazz intensity, and crushing rhythmic force of towering electronic textures, blistering sax blasts, and wildly inventive percussion.
 La Casa, Eric / Francisco Lopez: Collection Supranaturelle: Induction / Mutation [2 CDs] (Swarming)
Beginning with recordings of an electric induction cooktop made in his kitchen, French sound artist Éric La Casa constructs an electroacoustic work from improvisations and environmental sounds, which Spanish composer Francisco López then transforms into a dense studio mutation, the two discs tracing a dialogue of listening, transformation, and immersive sonic textures drawn from everyday objects and resonant spaces.
 Paul, Jordan Topiel / Bryan Eubanks: Pushovers (Sacred Realism)
Exploring the volatile meeting point of acoustic percussion and electronics, Jordan Topiel Paul uses amplified snare drum to generate rattling friction, taut rhythmic fragments, and metallic resonance while Bryan Eubanks' modular synthesis answers with unstable pulses and evolving textures, the duo constructing a tense and detailed electroacoustic dialog where rhythm, noise, and timbre continually blur and reform.
 Dinner Party, The / Ansuman Biswas: Broken Dream (FMR)
Expanding the improvising trio of Adrian Northover (alto sax), Pierpaolo Martino (double bass), and Vladimir Miller (piano), this session adds Ansuman Biswas on voice, sarod, and percussion for lyrical chamber-like interplay and attentive collective improvisation unfold through airy textures, resonant strings, vocal timbres, and exploratory dialog bridging European free improv with world traditions.
 Coates, Bruce / Paul Dunmall / John Edwards / Trevor Lines / Mark Sanders: Five On A Die (FMR)
Uniting saxophonists Bruce Coates and Paul Dunmall with bassist John Edwards, bassist Trevor Lines, and drummer Mark Sanders, this quintet session delivers an intense exploration of collective free improv, with intertwining reed lines rising over the dense resonance of dual basses and Sanders' fluid percussion, the ensemble shaping energetic and richly textured spontaneous interactions.
 Mezei, Szilard Octet: Only In Movies (FMR)
Hungarian violist Szilard Mezei leads an octet of longtime collaborators — flute, reeds, bassoon, vibraphone, piano, bass, and drums — through a set of original compositions balancing chamber-like lyricism, shifting collective improvisation, and subtle references to figures like Cecil Taylor and György Szabados, the ensemble's deep familiarity yielding richly textured interplay and fluid movement between structure and spontaneous expression.
 Davis / Ferrari / Mazza: Things Of This Nature (Mahakala Music)
The quartet Things Of This Nature — Caylie Davis (trumpet), Chris Ferrari (woodwinds), Shogo Yamagishi (bass), and JJ Mazza (drums) — brings together a young generation of New York improvisers whose tight ensemble interplay, bold free jazz sensibility, and energetic collective approach draw deeply from the tradition while pushing their music toward fresh and expressive terrain.
Squidco Publishing Roundup:
You can view our latest fully cataloged albums in the Recently Section.
You can also browse new titles as they enter our Just In Stock Section — meaning we physically have the album and can ship it, though we may still be updating additional information about the release.
To see restocks of previously listed titles, visit our Recently Restocked page.
And if you're interested in a future release, you can ask us to notify you by email via our Upcoming Releases page — no obligation necessary.
March 20, 2026:
Happy Spring to those in the upper hemisphere. And to those below, here's hoping your winter is less challenging than ours was!
This was a challenging week as we pushed to release our fourth digital album on Squid Note Records: Daniel Levin's At Dropa House, a solo concert that helped open the new location of Germany's Dropa House performance space. The concert is an exceptional example of Levin's solo work, incorporating his environment as he improvises using his powerful skills in both improvisation and chamber music, along with his witty use of paper, chair, and stage to augment his performance. With implicit lyricism and a sly sense of humor, Levin presents five numbered pieces of informed and fascinating expression.
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Blending classical cello lineage with fearless experimentalism, Daniel Levin presents a solo performance recorded at Dropa House in Antwerp, exploring the instrument's full expressive range through extended techniques, resonant bow work, and theatrical gestures using paper, chair, and stage, creating a fluid dialogue between structured tone, abstract texture, and the physical presence of sound.
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We're proud to present this album, and hope that you will help support both Levin and our fledgling label by purchasing a download of the album. You can do so at Squid Note's Bandcamp site, or through Squidco's website.
This week presented other challenges for me personally, as our order manager Carl was on a planned vacation, so I took over the order process for the week. If your invoice is signed "Thanks! phil" then you know I was a busy squid. In the midst of that and Squid Note, I also managed to complete cataloging on a number of great albums and generate our mailing list. You may notice a few changes to the mailing list this week, as I rewrote part of the structure to make the overall mailing less complicated and therefore smaller — it turns out that some of our mailings were being truncated by Gmail due to their length. (Please let me know if the mailing list looks strange to you at all!)
Regardless, here are my favorite releases from the week. I will point out that FMR is helping Frode Gjerstad, who is currently working through some health issues, by releasing a 39-CD box set of all releases Gjerstad issued through FMR. At less than $6 per CD, it's an amazing opportunity to experience the breadth of Gjerstad's work over the years.
 MacLean, Steve: Box Of Seven [7 CD BOX] (Recommended Records)
A 7-CD retrospective from guitarist and composer Steve MacLean collecting decades of inventive work, from chamber jazz-rock and electronics to playful sound experiments, including Frog, Bug, Guitar, Computer, the Steve MacLean Ensemble's GPS, the Chris Cutler-featured Year of the Dragon, the double-CD Bridges, Ordinary Objects and Other Distractions, and the long out-of-print Radial Circuit.
 Thunks, The (Harnik / Brandlmayr / Kern): Swarm Patterns (Trost Records)
The Austrian trio The Thunks — pianist Elisabeth Harnik with percussionists Martin Brandlmayr and Didi Kern — present a live set of playful and unpredictable free improvisation recorded at the 2024 Konfrontationen Festival, where prepared piano, inside-the-piano textures, and fragmented percussion interact in shifting, swarm-like patterns of spontaneous collective exploration.
 Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere: Theta Seven (Discus)
The seventh and final release from Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere blends krautrock pulse, psychedelia, textural improv, and free jazz into a vibrant studio construction, where Martin Archer and Jan Todd shape live ensemble recordings through collage, editing, and overdubs, guiding the music from luminous delicacy through darker passages before resolving in celebratory light.
 Levin, Daniel: At Dropa House (Squid Note Records)
Blending classical cello lineage with fearless experimentalism, Daniel Levin presents a solo performance recorded at Dropa House in Antwerp, exploring the instrument's full expressive range through extended techniques, resonant bow work, and theatrical gestures using paper, chair, and stage, creating a fluid dialogue between structured tone, abstract texture, and the physical presence of sound.
 Gjerstad, Frode: The Entire 39 CD Collection [39-CD BOX SET] (FMR)
Collecting every album Norwegian free jazz reedist Frode Gjerstad released on the UK's FMR Records, this monumental 39-CD limited box set documents decades of fiercely creative improvisation — ranging from intimate duos and trios to expansive ensemble sessions — capturing the Stavanger saxophonist's raw, high-energy style and deep engagement with the global free jazz and free improv community.
 Bucher / Tan / Countryman: Nothing In Between (FMR)
Recorded live at Tago in Quezon City, the trio of Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, Filipino bassist Simon Tan, and American expatriate alto saxophonist Rick Countryman deliver four extended collective improvisations, balancing Dolphy-inspired alto lines, resonant bass foundations, and fluid percussion in a dynamic set of spontaneous free jazz shaped through deep listening and long-standing musical rapport.
Squidco Publishing Roundup:
You can view our latest fully cataloged albums in the Recently Section.
You can also browse new titles as they enter our Just In Stock Section — meaning we physically have the album and can ship it, though we may still be updating additional information about the release.
To see restocks of previously listed titles, visit our Recently Restocked page.
And if you're interested in a future release, you can ask us to notify you by email via our Upcoming Releases page — no obligation necessary.
continued...
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John Edwards / Luis Vicente / Vasco Trilla:
Zeena Parkins / Cecilia Lopez:
Peter Evans / Mike Pride:
Daniel Levin:
Eric La Casa / Jerome Noetinger:
Eri Yamamoto / Matthew Shipp:
JEM3 (JT Lewis / Elliott Sharp / Marco Cappelli):
Oakland Reductionist Orchestra:
Jean-Luc Guionnet:
Laura Cetilia:
Amado's, Rodrigo The Bridge (Amado / Schlippenbach / Haker-Flaten / Hemingway): Further Beyond (Trost Records)
Stein, Jason / Marilyn Crispell / Damon Smith / Adam Shead: Live at the Hungry Brain [VINYL] (Trost Records)
These Things Happen (Jackson / Hoogland / Roebke / Avery): A Gentle Reminder [VINYL] (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
