The Squid's Ear Magazine
The Squid's Ear Magazine


Casserley / Marzan / Van Schouwburg / Wachsmann: Being (Bead)

"Some performing groups seem to spring suddenly into life; from the beginning of their formation it is as if they had always been there. Other groups feel their way gradually into existence, and that history is part of the composite sou...
 

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Product Information:

Personnel:



Philipp Wachsmann-violin

Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg-voice

Pascal Marzan-ten string microtonal guitar in 36 EDO

Lawrence Casserley-signal processing instrument

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UPC: 5904224875947

Label: Bead
Catalog ID: Bead 55
Squidco Product Code: 38041

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2026
Country: UK
Packaging: Digipack
Track 1 recorded at The Vortex, in London, UK, on November 17th, 2024, by Pascal Marzan.

Tracks 2 and 3 recorded at St Alban�s Church Hall, in Oxford, UK, on June 3rd, 2025, by Matt Saunders.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

"Philipp Wachsmann. Born Uganda, 1944; violin, viola and electronics.

In the CD booklet to Gushwachs, John Corbett notes that Phillip Wachsmann came to free improvisation from a predominantly classical background, particularly via the contemporary experiments of "indeterminacy, graphic and prose-based scores, conceptualism and electroacoustics, listening to Webern, Partch, Ives, Berio and Varèse, reading 'Die Reihe' and interrogating the rhythmic, harmonic and melodic preoccupations of Western art music. Starting in 1969, Wachsmann was a member of Yggdrasil, an ensemble performing works by Cage, Cardew, Feldman, Ashley and others and in this group he used contact mikes on the violin and made his own electronic instruments, ring modulators and routing devices. Ironically, his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1969-1970) pushed him hard in the direction of free music. He recalls: 'Despite her neoclassical orientation, her insistence that composition is about the imagination of performance and its realisation, the live moment, and her stunning ability to make this happen was a powerful influence on me, steering towards 'performance' and therefore 'improvisation'.'"

Wachsmann moved from Yggdrasil to Chamberpot - recorded on Bead 2 - and shortly thereafter appeared on Tony Oxley's influential February papers, forward looking in the virtual 'industrial' orientation of some of the tracks, years before this became an accepted genre; the two musicians have continued to work together, in various groupings but notably in the percussionist's Celebration Orchestra. Philipp Wachsmann has also performed and/or recorded with: Derek Bailey's Company, e.g. on the recording Epiphanies; Georg Graewe; Barry Guy; Iskra 1903; King Übü Orchestrü; London Jazz Composers' Orchestra; Evan Parker, particularly as part of the Evan Parker Electronic Project; Quintet Moderne; Fred Van Hove's ML DD 4; Rüdiger Carl's COWWS (now CPWWS) Quintet; and Lines, with Martin Blume, Jim Denley, Axel Dörner and Marcio Mattos. He also plays as a solo musician.

Phillip Wachsmann also administers Bead Records."

-EFI: European Free Improv (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/mwachs.html)
10/16/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg ( JM VS ). Voice, performance, improvised music. Brussels. Born 1955. Member of Brussels' Inaudible Collective & Workshops since 1984. Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg develops vocal improvisation and voice extended techniques from low throat singing to high falsetto, overtones and yodels, mouth noises etc.. . " Phonoetry " (phonésie in french) describes the poésie sonore of his solo voice performance " ORYNX " (Orynx -Phonésie cd Inaudible 003.)

Solos in London, Lille, Slovakia, Liège and Brussels. Interested in telepathic interplay and adapting his sounds with different partners/ groupings. Worked with pianist Guy Strale and percussion poet and graphic artist Kris Vanderstraeten,first as a guitar player(...). Became vocalist gradually since the early 90's. Gingko 4 -JMVS, Guy Strale, flutist Adelheid Sieuw and guitarist Jan-Huib Nas- performed some years. (Freedom of The City 2006 cd Emanem 4139). Duos: guitarist John Russell, percussionnist Javier Carmona, singer Mara Pigeon, G. Strale, A. Sieuw and guitarist Pascal Marzan. The Mercelis Concert: John Russell / JM VS / Jean Demey (dblebass) cd Inaudible 006. SUREAU : Kris Vanderstraeten / Jean Demey / Van Schouwburg (Creative Sources CS112). Garden Gift: Adelheid Sieuw / John Russell / Jean Demey / JM VS Hurta Cordel 08 Madrid Performed with Jacques Foschia, Mike Goyvaerts, Lawrence Casserley, Paul Hubweber, Gianni Mimmo, David Leahy, Phil Minton and Ute Wassermann, Marco Loprieno, Jacques Fauville, Jean Coulon, José Bedeur, Michaël Delia,Timo Van Luyck, Hugh Metcalfe....

Festivals: Freedom of the City London, Sons Libérés Brussels, Hermes Ear Nitra, La Malterie Lille, Bevrijdt de Muziek Antwerpen, Hard Gaan Hasselt, Hurta Cordel 2008 Madrid with Garden Gift, R de Choc 08 Paris. Benjamin Péret's Poems Performance with Jacques Foschia's radios. Workestra of Inaudible.Since 1999, Inaudible has organized continuously workshops & concerts with Belgian and Foreign improvisers in Brussels. Inaudible members : Strale / JM VS / Nas / Sieuw / Loprieno / Legros / Demey etc... JMVS writes on the subject of improvised musics and his "Spontaneous Music Ensemble and John Stevens' Story" (1965-1994) was published in french magazine Improjazz.

Current groups are : Sureau with Kris Vanderstraeten percussion and Jean Demey double bass. Duos with Marjolaine Charbin piano and Audrey Lauro, sax alto. Garden Gift with Jean Demey, John Russell, guitar, Adelheid Sieuw, flutes & J-MVS. MouthWind with Lawrence Casserley and players Hubweber, Charbin, Sieuw and Foschia.

Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg belongs to the band : Adam Bohman / Zsolt Sörès/ Oli Mayne/ J-M Van Schouwburg. Works with composer and electro-acoustic musician Dario Palermo. Projects and performances with Adelheid Sieuw, John Russell, Lawrence Casserley, Jacques Foschia, Gianni Mimmo, Angelo Contini, Paul Dunmall, Paul Hubweber and some others. Performed also with Mike Goyvaerts, Mara Pigeon, David Leahy, Javier Carmona, Phil Minton, Ute Wassermann, Pascal Marzan, Dan Warburton, Pat Wichers, Gianni Mimmo, Enzo Rocco, Stefano Giust, Mick Beck, John Jasnoch, Hugh Metcalfe, Heddy Boubeker, .... Extracts of Orynx were selected in Peter Strickland's Katalin Varga soundtrack. Will play his singer's role in the movie Berberian Sound Studio of director Strickland."

-M-Etropolis (https://m-etropolis.com/blog/list/artists/t-u-v/van-schouwburg-jean-michel/)
10/16/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Currently living in London, Pascal Marzan performs on a 10 string microtonal guitar.

After studying classical guitar - mainly devoted to the twentieth century repertoire - and teaching guitar in several music schools in Budapest, Hungary and France, Pascal has dedicated himself to free improvisation and the exploration of microtonal tunings of his instrument. His playing has been influenced by his interest in the folk musics of Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.

He has recorded guitar duets with John Russell, Roger Smith (Emanem records) and a trio with Sabu Toyozumi and Dan Warburton (Improvising Beings records)."

-Mopomoso (https://mopomoso.com/artists/pascal-marzan/)
10/16/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Lawrence Casserley (born UK, 1941) has devoted his professional career, as composer, conductor and performer, to real time electroacoustic music. In 1967 he became one of the first students of Electronic Music at the Royal College of Music, London, UK, on the new course taught by Tristram Cary. Later he became Professor-in-Charge of Studios and Adviser for Electroacoustic Music at the RCM, before taking early retirement in 1995.

He is best known for his work in free improvised music, particularly real-time processing of other musicians' sound, and he has devised a special computer processing instrument for this work (picture above). He has worked with many of the finest improvisers, particularly Evan Parker, with whom he works frequently as a duo partner, in various larger groupings and in the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble. He also works as a soloist, processing sounds from voice, percussion and home-made instruments. CDs have been released by ECM, Konnex, Leo Records, Psi, Sargasso and Touch.

Much of Casserley's work has involved collaboration with other art forms, including poets, eg Bob Cobbing, and visual artists, including Colourscape artist Peter Jones. He is a Director of the Colourscape Music Festivals, presenting contemporary music in the unique environment of the Colourscape walk-in sculpture. He also collaborates with Peter Jones on sound/light installations.

Casserley's "instrumental" approach to live computer sound processing is the hallmark of his work; the Signal Processing Instrument allows him to use physical gestures to control the processing and to direct the morphology of the sounds. This is the culmination of forty years of experience in the performance of live electronic work; his earliest live electronic pieces were performed in 1969, and he has performed many of the live electronic "classics" of the 20th century; he has also collaborated with other composers to realise their electronic performance ideas. He is noted for the breadth and variety of his collaborations, which cross styles and generations."

-Lawrence Casserley Website (http://www.lcasserley.co.uk/biography.shtml)
10/16/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:

In Stock, Not Yet Cataloged
October 2026
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Quartet Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Bead.


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