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Le Vice Anglais (Pires / Parrinha):
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Eventless Plot | Haarvol:
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Eternities:
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Elka Bong (Margolis / Wright / Bouchard):
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Integrating live coding, field recordings, IFM synthesis, and an array of electroacoustic instrumentation, the trio of Al Margolis, Walter Wright, and Sara Bouchard craft an unbounded and exploratory work that embraces technological transformation and sensory disruption, channeling Marshall McLuhan's insights into a richly layered and prophetic sonic landscape. ... Click to View


Karl Evangelista Quintet feat. Bobby Bradford and William Roper:
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Sleep Of Reason Produces Monsters, The (Rasmussen / Mitelli / Rezaei / Koenig):
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An electrifying session of genre-defying free improvisation from the international quartet of Gabriele Mitelli (trumpet & electronics), Mette Rasmussen (sax), Mariam Rezaei (turntables), and Lukas Koenig (drums & bass synth), delivering an explosive, high-energy album that blurs the lines between noise, jazz, and avant-electronic intensity with visceral spontaneity and tightly channeled chaos. ... Click to View


Akmee:
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Recorded in Oslo's Toyen Kirke, this spiritually resonant second album from the Norwegian quartet Akmee explores acoustic possibilities with lyrical counterpoint, trance-like repetition, and intuitive improvisation, as trumpeter Erik Kimestad Pedersen, pianist Kjetil Jerve, bassist Erlend Olderskog Albertsen, and drummer Andreas Wildhagen stretch melody and rhythm into expressive, otherworldly forms. ... Click to View


Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues / Maximilian Glass:
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An intimate, texturally rich trio session recorded in Berlin between Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Maximilian Glass on percussion, navigating misty lowercase atmospheres, glitch-box coloration, and finely balanced interactions that unveil subtle surprise and collective improvisation within a tight, exploratory sound world. ... Click to View


Sveio:
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A fascinating exploration of human-machine collaboration from UK trio Sveio — James Mainwaring on saxophone, Federico Reuben on laptop improvisation and live coding, and Emil Karlsen on drums — using AI in real-time to generate uncanny textures and forms, resulting in a spontaneously composed and constantly evolving electroacoustic sound world. ... Click to View


Kommun:
Kalpa (thanatosis produktion)

Expanding to a sextet, Swedish guitarist Finn Loxbo's Kommun deepens its exploration of cyclical time and collective improvisation, weaving acoustic steel-string guitar, piano, strings, and percussion into evolving, harmonically rich phrases that merge individual lines into fluid, slow-burning forms — meditative, intricate, and poised between structure and dissolution. ... Click to View


Various Artists:
Archipelago (Bathysphere Records)

A benefit compilation in support of marine restoration through ORAI, this diverse collection features 13 experimental and ambient works — including evocative soundscapes by Scott Solter, Cristina Cano, and others — each track a donation from artists celebrating the sea’s mystery, fragility, and power through deeply personal sonic reflections. ... Click to View


Mat Watson:
Reflective Hits (Eternal Music Projects)

Extracted from archival sessions at Imaginary Sound Fields in Melbourne, Australian synthesist Mat Watson assembles a limited-edition set of vivid modular compositions — ranging from library-inspired cues to exploratory electronic abstractions — capturing the tactile nuance of a Eurorack modular as he sculpts asymmetrical, colorful soundscapes that blur nostalgia, experimentation, and inner space. ... Click to View


Unredeemable (Tracy Lisk / Andrea Pensado):
Preverbal (Love Earth Music)

A dynamic, spontaneous duo collaboration by percussionist Tracy-Lisk and multi-disciplinary performer Andrea-Pensado, this LEM-347 release unfolds through drumming, cymbal washes, voice and live electronics into a fluid, improvisatory dialogue that balances rhythmic sensitivity and textural exploration within an intimate, acutely reactive sound world. ... Click to View


+DOG+:
Our Beloved..... (Love Earth Music)

A fierce and immersive set of three extended noise pieces from the six-member experimental collective of Steve Davis, Bobby Almon, Chuck Foster, Edward Giles, LOB, and Mackenzie Kourie, recorded in multiple locations, blending dense textures, static-laced improvisation, and electroacoustic intensity into a raw and unapologetically visceral listening experience. ... Click to View



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  Mark Wastell 
  Cello-Intern Solos
  (Confront) 


  
   review by Brian Olewnick
  2023-03-27
Mark Wastell: Cello-Intern Solos (Confront)

Mark Wastell has been recording since the mid-90s, initially in large part as a cellist, eventually moving on to percussion (especially the tam-tam) and electronics. The range of music he engages in is quite wide, from the reductionist aesthetic of +Minus (with Bernhard Günter and Graham Halliwell) or The Sealed Knot (with Burkhard Beins and Rhodri Davies) to the more drone-oriented approach of Oceans of Silver and Blood (with Joachim Nordwall).

Recently, after a chance encounter with some of Scelsi's string quartet music, Wastell felt a desire to re-listen to the contemporary string music which had been a major part of his earlier years and, in turn, to re-engage with aspects of his cello. This eventually took the form of an event situated about midway between a practice session and a concert — he would play, alone, in the public space at London's Hundred Years Gallery, open to anyone who ventured in, but would face a corner of the room and investigate aspects of the cello he'd neglected for quite a long time. As he put it in an email to this writer, "No reductionist stuff, no white noise, no pizzicato, no drones, no percussive effects." The disc at hand is the first recorded artifact of this process though, as of this writing, it continues to be an ongoing project.

For these sessions, recorded between February and May of 2022, Wastell limits his approach to arco, operates within a densely occupied space at a relatively high dynamic level and offers nothing very close to what might be considered as traditional melodic content. Given that there are seventeen shortish tracks, ranging between about a minute and half and seven minutes, this can result in a fairly intense, possibly claustrophobic experience for the listener. But one really must engage with this recording in a different manner than most, perhaps simply dealing with it for what it is, at least partly: a kind of practice session, one that you happened to walk into. Listened to carefully, you realize that Wastell is varying his attack greatly, albeit within a fairly delineated area and, more, that he's discovering all sorts of creative and eerily beautiful soundscapes. You hear a serious investigation of one of those niches that might appear narrow at first glance but, in the hands of an able guide, reveals many fascinating aspects. Wastell does vary his approach, allowing the sounds to dissipate here, well up there, but the overall sensation is one of dense, purposeful and often strident activity. No individual track really stands out. Rather, one is presented with a set, more accurately a subset of possible ways to deal with certain issues. If the listener can come to Cello-Intern bearing this in mind, they will be rewarded with a glimpse at the inner workings of one extremely serious and creative musician.



Mark Wastell: Cello-Intern Solos
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Recent Selections @ Squidco:


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