February 14, 2025:
The week began with a rush of activity from our Distribution Price Sale, one of the fastest-moving sales we've had in a while. Many thanks to those who helped us right-size our catalog while picking up great music at extraordinary prices! As anyone following the state of record stores in the modern age knows, maintaining tight inventory control is essential, and your purchases enable us to continue bringing in compelling new albums.
In that spirit, we've partnered with the Victo label to offer a 20% discount on their latest 21 albums in a sale running through the next week. Les Disques Victo, the recording arm of the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV), has documented some of the most fascinating live performances for nearly 40 years, beginning with a duo album from Anthony Braxton and Derek Bailey. That innovative collaboration set the foundation for a label that has embraced a wide range of styles, capturing some of the festival's most remarkable concerts over the decades.
We've enjoyed a strong relationship with the label throughout Squidco's own 21-year history, and my conversations with festival and label founder Michel Levasseur have always been insightful and engaging. In recent years, both the label and festival have faced significant challenges, and this sale helps support their continued efforts in presenting and releasing some of the most vital music in the creative and contemporary realms.
While I don't speak French, this documentary on Levasseur is a fitting tribute to his decades of work. Even if you don't understand the language, skimming through the video offers a great visual overview of his accomplishments. You can watch it at the link below:
https://video.telequebec.tv/details/53217
"A bold and determined visionary: that aptly describes Michel Levasseur, the man behind the Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV), which he co-founded and directed for 40 years.
It took audacity and vision to create in 1983 an "international festival of crazy music"-as Richard Desjardins once said-dedicated to "Martian music" (as music critic Alain Brunet once wrote). Beyond the joke, these expressions perfectly illustrate not only Michel Levasseur's desire to go toward the "never heard before" to introduce avant-garde music to the Quebec public, but also the talent it took to do so.
Another great merit of the event's general and artistic director was to last, despite the uncertainty of subsidies and political support, in a musical niche that was not very "mainstream", all in a city located far from major centers. Having left the direction of the festival in 2024, Michel has since received the Hommage du GalArt 2023 award (along with his partner, Joanne Vézina) as well as the Hommage award presented at the 28th Gala des Prix Opus of the Conseil québécois de la musique in 2025."-Tele-Quebec
This week also brought a great selection of new albums, including four Tzadik releases. The distributor for Tzadik experienced shipping issues with the two Bagatelles Volumes and the new Painkiller album, so we only received them yesterday-but they are now in stock and ready to ship. We did, however, receive the excellent collection of John Zorn's eight string quartets, as interpreted by JACK Quartet, in time for this week's mailing list.
Other exciting releases include a remarkable album from the late Dennis Palmer-half of Shaking Ray Levis-in an unusual and compelling work featuring luminaries Col. Bruce Hampton, Frank Pahl, and Jessica Lurie. From the UK Discus label, we have two outstanding albums: one from Guy Seger (Univers Zero) and his Eclectic Maybe Band, a genre-blurring exploration, and a uniquely orchestrated Paul Dunmall ensemble album.
Zorn, John / JACK Quartet: The Complete String Quartets [2 CDs] (Tzadik)
The JACK Quartet presents definitive interpretations of John Zorn's eight string quartets, composed between 1988-2017, in a two-disc album presenting Zorn's evolution through avant-garde techniques and deep musical traditions, with virtuosic performances of intricate works like "Cat O'Nine Tails", "Memento Mori", or "Necronomicon"; includes a 36-page booklet of notes, scores, and insights.
Palmer, Dennis (Palmer / Lurie / Pahl / Hampton / Stagner): White Wuff (Public Eyesore)
Uniting members of the Shaking Ray Levis with luminaries including Bob Stagner (Palmer's SRL cohort), Jessica Lurie, Frank Pahl, and Col. Bruce Hampton, this final album from Dennis Palmer captures his fearless spirit in an eclectic fusion of free improvisation, surreal storytelling, and genre-bending instrumentation, traversing rock, jazz, sound collage, and absurdist experimentation.
Eclectic Maybe Band: Cosmic Light Clusters (Discus)
Guy Segers (Univers Zero) in his 5th expansive EMBand project, assembling an ensemble of progressive and avant-garde musicians in ever-shifting configurations, for an album that evolves from introspective and textural atmospheres to dynamic and complex sonic landscapes, incorporating voices, poetry, and intricate instrumental interplay; a compelling example of Europe's progressive music scene.
Dunmall, Paul: Red Hot Ice (Discus)
A unique entry in Paul Dunmall's discography, this album presents a 9-piece Birmingham-based ensemble with dual keyboards and electronics, evoking Dunmall's compositions and orchestrations into vibrant, groove-driven improvisation that shifts between cinematic atmospheres, fiery free jazz, and unexpected nods to rock, balancing tightly composed sections with exhilarating exploration.
I'm writing this entry on Friday, February 14th, which is Valetine's Day. If you don't know it, all of you who are fans of Squidco are the heart of the amazing music that we're able to share with you...
YOU are our Valentine, and we love you!
Squidco Publishing Roundup:
These are the 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.
February 13, 2025: New @ Squidco:
John Zorn/JACK Quartet -The Complete String Quartets [2 CDs] (Tzadik)
Dennis Palmer (Palmer/Lurie/Pahl/Hampton/Stagner) -White Wuff [CD] (Public Eyesore)
Carlos Zingaro/Joao Madeira/Sofia Borges -Trizmaris [CD] (4DaRecord)
Joao Madeira/Margarida Mestre -Voz Debaixo [CD] (4DaRecord)
Halls of the Machine -Atmospheres For Lovers And Sleepers [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Copy This!)
Rutger Zuydervelt -Meander [CDR] (Machinefabriek)
Birge & Vitet -Carton [CD] (GRRR)
Perturbations -Equilibrium Disturbed [CDR] (Evil Clown)
Leap Of Faith -Lexical and Syntactic Ambiguities [CDR] (Evil Clown)
February 13, 2025: New Review @ The Squid's Ear: Leo Genovese - Forward (577 Records) by Andrey Henkin.
February 11, 2025: New @ Squidco:
Paul Dunmall -Red Hot Ice [CD] (Discus)
Eclectic Maybe Band -Cosmic Light Clusters [CD] (Discus)
Heikki Ruokangas -Live In New York [CD] (Right Brain Records)
Un Drame Musical Instantane -Kind Lieder [CD] (GRRR)
Jean-Jacques Birge -Centenaire De Jean-Jacques Birge - The 100th Anniversary (1952-2052) [CD] (GRRR)
Houser/Jacques/Montiel/Salinas/Weathers -Light Flies Out of Us [CD] (Editions Glomar)
Andrew Weathers -Two Recordings [CD] (Editions Glomar)
TOC/Paulina Owczarek -Psychedelic Jelly [VINYL] (Tour de Bras)
Kesherul Neg Pineg -The Book Of Pig [VINYL] (Tour de Bras)
February 11, 2025: New Review @ The Squid's Ear: Rhodri Davies / Pierre Gerard - la montagne change le paysage (Ftarri) by Brian Olewnick.
February 10, 2025: New Review @ The Squid's Ear: John Coltrane Quartet - Impressions From Graz 1962, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd) by John Eyles.
February 6, 2026: New @ Squidco:
Sophie Lussi/Sandra Weiss/Fridolin Blumer/Andreas Wettstein -Atlantic Puffin [CD] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Steve Lacy Three -Live Lugano 1984 - First Visit [CD + 2 POSTCARDS] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Paul Bley Trio -Floater & Syndrome - The Upright Piano Sessions, Revisited [CD] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Flying Luttenbachers, The -Losing the War Inside Our Heads [CD] (ugEXPLODE)
Flying Luttenbachers, The -Spectral Warrior Mythos 2 [CDR] (ugEXPLODE)
AHC (Alexander Cooper) -Lase [2 CDs] (Bu Lang Tribute Cake)
Ellen Christi (Christi/Buchanan/Ulrich/Parker/Brown) -Instant Reality [CD] (Network)
Ellen Christi/Claudio Lodati -Dreamers [CD] (Splasc(H) )
Turbulence -Wormholes [CDR] (Evil Clown)
February 6, 2025: New Review @ The Squid's Ear: Brad Barrett / Taylor Ho Bynum / Joe Morris - Geologic Time (Fundacja Sluchaj Records) by Paul Serralheiro.
February 5, 2025:
Since my last entry we watched the weather turn from freezing to temporate as we finished the orders from our Winter Sale. Thanks to our many customers for your enthusiastic response to the sale, we know that a lot of great music was spread around the globe for eager ears! It's been a brisk and busy start to the year proper, after the holidays, and we've been happily listening to and sending out some exceptional new releases.
Once the sale was done I did all the tasks I complete at the end of each month and quarter, sending our reports and payments for our consignment and fulfillment partners. I'm always happy about the great relationships we have with our partners, which reflects the commitment artists and labels have to the music they release.
At the end of last week we restarted our performance series here in Wilmington, focused on local experimental, electronic and improvising artists. With four performances and an audience interaction work loosely based on concepts borrowed from John Cage, the evening was a great success. I performed a live version of a piece you can hear on my Soundcloud Page, and our own Carl Kruger also performed. It's been two years since we last had a concert, having lost momentum during the lockdowns, so it felt good to perform.
The rest of the week was spent restocking from the sale and setting up some new albums that will arrive on our site in the next few weeks. A few have arrived already and in process - in particular, we have some new Flying Luttenbacher albums that will show up later this week, three new ezz-thetics by Hat Hut, Ltd. which are already available for order and will be included in this weekend's mailing list. Two Discus titles should arrive in the next week, a new Paul Dunmall album, and the lastest Eclectic Maybe Band release.
We also have a stack of new albums from vocalist Ellen Christi, and new albums on Andrew Weather's Glomar label; we will be adding a number of titles from the Full Spectrum label very soon as well. The John Zorn album with Jack Quartet on Tzadik is also coming our way, and on Mahakala the new Booker T & The Plasmic Bleeds. And certainly not least, Not Two has just released three new albums that are on their way to us: Tim Daisy & Ken Vandermark; Mars Williams & Vasco Trilla; and Natsuki Tamura, Satoko Fujii & Ramon Lopez.
As always, you can use our Upcoming Release page to ask us to email you when any of these are in stock and ready to ship.
As Libra and Magaibutsu Collide:
Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura, who run the Libra label, have been on a roll lately with new releases. The aforementioned Not Two album with Ramon Lopez will join three new release, each of a distinctive character.
First is trumpeter Natsuki Tamura's duo with Keiji Haino, a first meeting in a live concert. Both of these players have a long history, including some very unusual and exciting approaches to their instruments and to vocalization. This meeting was a wild affair that builds in passion and recedes in introspection, at times a burning fire of tightly controlled expression. At the end of the album I found myself at the end of an emotional journey with some of the strangest sign posts along the way!
Next is Satoko Fujii's GEN String Ensemble, her frist composition for strings. She wrote the suite for the musicians she was to perform with, inspired by the Nagano, Japan mountain views while on a trip with her family. Fujii explains that some of her interest in the compositions were drawn from the microtonal capabilities of string instruments, and the violin and viola work is wonderfully slippery and compelling. The suite embraces classic approaches to composition with an ear to the sonic environment the players evoke, punctuated by the deep percussion of Akira Horikashi, or accompanied by the rich electronics of experimental violinist Atsuko Hatano. Beautiful.
The third album comes from the increasingly frequent pairing of Magaibutsu leader, drummer Tatsuya Yoshida, in a trio with Libra leaders and husband & wife pair, pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura. The trio is named for a mischievous demon from Japanse folklore, Amanojaku. The name is fitting, as all three are adept at adding capricious moments to their playing.
Haino, Keiji / Natsuki Tamura: What Happened There? (Libra)
An electrifying 1st-time meeting between guitarist Keiji Haino and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, captured live at Tokyo's Shinjuku Pit Inn, where the duo shape an unpredictable set that veers from reflective stillness to wildly passionate outbursts, their extended techniques and visceral vocals — sometimes urgent, sometimes outrageous — fueling an exhilarating and uncompromising sonic adventure.
Fujii, Satoko GEN String Ensemble: Altitude 1100 Meters (Libra)
Celebrating her 65th birthday with her first compositions for strings, pianist-composer Satoko Fujii writes for the specific musicians of GEN, a sextet of violin, viola, bass, piano, electronics, and drums, in a suite inspired by Nagano's mountain views, leveraging microtonal string techniques for an expressive and texturally rich sonic landscape.
Amanojaku (Yoshida / Fujii / Tamura): Bishamonten (Magaibutsu)
Emerging from an improv session during the pandemic, Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), Satoko Fujii (piano), and Tatsuya Yoshida (drums) formed Amanojaku, named after the contrarian demon of Japanese folklore, embracing a balance of composition, improv and mischievous interplay with a uniquely Japanese sensibility through virtuosic spontaneity and irreverent humor, captured live at Koen-dori Classics.
In Defense of Physical Albums:
I've read several times a book by Michael Pollan titled In Defense of Food, which argues persuasively that we should eat "real" food, not heavily processed food. Lately, I've been thinking about physical media and the arguments "in defense of physical media."
Over the last couple of decades, pressing sizes for most physical albums have diminished to small numbers. The heyday of pressing hundreds of alternative jazz albums no longer makes sense, and the distribution channels, i.e., record stores, have diminished as well. People are fascinated with the digital realm, and music has followed through streaming and download services. Some of these streaming services have replaced radio, enabling companies to make money through a mix of advertising and subscription fees, while paying most artists very little for their contributions. I personally find that reprehensible, but it fits for those who prefer to have their listening decisions made for them with little effort.
Meanwhile, services like Bandcamp offer streaming, downloads, and a sales system for physical media. This is a happy medium, allowing more self-direction for people actively pursuing new music. And, of course, there are still physical record stores like ours that provide both information and an opportunity to hear samples from an album while appreciating the artwork. We also spend a great deal of time researching and providing biographies for the artists on each album, helping our customers connect and link to other albums featuring those same artists.
But what of physical media? In the digital age, is there a reason to collect physical releases instead of simply downloading them?
The parallel is, of course, physical traditional art — painting, sculpture, installation, etc. These are enduring examples of an artist's work, tangible items that represent their vision. While it's fine to look at a photo of a piece of artwork, there is no comparison to experiencing the physical, three-dimensional item in person. The same applies to albums. While digital files provide convenience, they cannot replicate the tactile and visual experience of holding an album in your hands, admiring its design, and feeling its weight as a physical object.
While some are willing to pay for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or crypto-art, serious collectors often view these as speculative assets with little intrinsic value. Physical media, on the other hand, offers a tangible manifestation of artistic effort — a true object of art that persists over time.
The result of digital deployment of albums is that each physically pressed album becomes more precious. It is a tangible result of the hard work and creative impulse of the artists involved. Each album you hold in your hand is a manifestation of this effort, with an impact on culture, and a physical appeal that remains as strong as ever. In fact, as pressing sizes shrink and physical releases become rarer, they are more valuable than ever as true objects of art!
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