A first-time collaboration between two American noise/sound artists, Tim Albro and Tyler Keen, using electronics, guitars and other lo- to medium-fi sounds and crackles to create well-paced stories in sound, apparently mysterious travelogues from city to city.
A melodic set of improvisations composed by bass clarinetist Chris Cundy, using approaches for songwriting to create compelling jazz compositions, in a band with Fyfe Dangerfield on piano, Mat Martin on guitar, Hannah Marshall on cello, Mark Sanders on drums and Dominic Lash on bass.
Saxophonist Pierre-Antoine Badaroux and double bassist Sebastien Beliah formed Ensemble Hodos in 2008 to perform the music of composers who wrote scores that include freedom and/or improvisation for the players, here performing the music of Philip Corner.
The sophisticated and influential Jimmy Giuffre 3 led by clarinetist Giuffre with Paul Bley on piano and Steve Swallow on double bass, in a 2-CD reissue of their only known well-recorded concerts, alongside two tracks from their "Fusion" album not included in the ECM reissue.
Using electronics, field recordings and spoken word, Graham Lambkin explores "Community" in abstract and literal ways, reflecting on society and describing aspects of community through spoken word and sound, a thought-provoking and complex work of organized sound.
A brilliant album of subtle and masterful improvisation recorded in 2012 at and using the reverb of the St. Peters church in Whitstable by soprano saxophonist Evan Parker with two percussionists: Toma Gouband on lithophone-based percussion and Mark Nauseef on metallophone-based percussion.
erstwhile records releases their first CD on their ErstClass imprint, issuing and collecting historically important work, here with composer Michael Pisaro's piano works from 1994-2016, 11 compositions performed by Netherlands pianist Reinier van Houdt.
The 15th album from the UK based, saxophone heavy Remote Viewers led by David Petts, bridging compositions and improvisation with a rock sensibility, in a sextet that includes improv heavies Mark Sanders on drums and John Edwards on bass.
A journey in sound--drone, abrasive noise and subtle ambiance--in a well-paced example of non-idiomatic soundscape from the first meeting of Reed Evan Rosenberg on microphones, pedals, max, and voice, and Ethan Tripp on speakers, microphones, motors, junk.
An amazing collection of concepts described in John Steven's manual "Search and Reflect" and recorded in workshops and concerts primarily in the 70s, with participants including Trevor Watts, Evan Parker, Paul Rutherfod, Ian Brighton, Nigel Coombes, John Russell, Lindsay Cooper, &c.
Legendary pianist Veryan Weston set out across England in 2014 in search of tracker-action organs, which he tested for suitability for a planned trio album, where possible recording himself on the instrument, as heard in these seven recordings of unusual and impressive improvisations.
An unusual album of abstracted sound and spoken word, NY bassist Sean Ali's first solo album, using extraneous and unidentifiable sound and punctuation over layered voices of varying quality in a non-linear narrative, a curious album of impressive sonic interest.
A strange take on Captain Richards Phillips, who faced Somali pirates at sea, and who wrote of it and is the subject of a movie where he is played by Tom Hanks; here in a disjointed spoken narrative with sax, percussive balloons and snare drum over a live NYC soundscape.
The minimalist New York City performing duo of drummer/percussionist David Grollman and saxophonist Nathaniel Morgan, using words, space, innuendo and tension to tell unusual facets of stories or create unique sound environments rewarding the careful listener.
New York City poet Colleen McCarthy & drummer David Grollman both read and improvise on McCarthy's book of short verses, "Epitaphs", honoring the deceased and the not-dead-yet who suffer(ed) variously psychoses and suicide, with Grollman accompanying on snare drum.
A wonderfully bizarre set of free improvisations from the Downtown NY trio of Andy Haas on sax and electronics, Michael Evans on drums, electronics, objects & voice, and David Grollman on snare, objects, balloon and voice, pushing the limites of free sound in intelligent ways.
The title and album cover give no clue to David Grollman's actual intent in creating this layered work of ambient recordings and percussive sounds, using drums, percussion, percussive balloons, and voice recordings to create a uniquely opaque narrative of NYC.
An unusual duo of voice and percussion from New York City percussionist David Grollman (Prom Night, Wee Tapes) and vocalist Ryan Krause, using space, dynamics and acoustic to create improvised works that range from atmospherically tonal to bizarrely interactive.
A Downtown NY quartet of drummer percussionists--Carlos Costa, Flin van Hemmen, Max Jaffe, and David Grollman--all active in the NY improv scene, here merging for an album of unique approaches to their instruments, from thunderous drones to curious experiments.
The roots of Xenofox, the duo of electric guitarist Olaf Rupp and drummer Rudi Fischerlehner, performing at the 2014 Lydfestival in Aarhus, Denmark in an excursive set of free improv with a rock-oriented edge that ebbs and flows with power and technical skill.
Free improvisation from the German trio of Olaf Rupp (electric guitar), Matthias Muller (trombone), and Rudi Fischerlehner (drums), evolving pieces of intuitive music that plays below and above the surface in murky musics or confident collective improvisation.
Long-time collaborators and compatriots Frank Paul Schubert on soprano sax and Rudi Fischerlehner on drums and percussion recorded these intricate and engaging improvisations in their shared studio in Berlin, presented as a live album, unedited and in the order performed.
Stream of consciousness improvisation in voice, violin harmonics, and unidentifiable percussive sounds, all over a NY neighborhood traffic drone, from the duo of violinist Natalia Steinbach and drummer/percussionist David Grollman, reporting from a strange dream.
The debut of Xenofox, the duo of Olaf Rupp on electric guitar and Rudi Fischerlehner on drum playing electric improv that ranges from critically dense to spacious and exploratory, blending rock and European Free Improv sensibilities into a moody and absorbing album.
Continuing on from "Sagittarian Domain" & "Quixotism", Oren Ambarchi joins forces with Jim O'Rourke, Chris Cole, Keith Fullerton Whitmanm, Konrad Sprenger, Mark Fell, Will Guthrie, Joe Talia, Ricardo Villalobos and Arto Lindsay for this album of driving rhythm and sound.
Continuing on from "Sagittarian Domain" & "Quixotism", Oren Ambarchi joins forces with Jim O'Rourke, Chris Cole, Keith Fullerton Whitmanm, Konrad Sprenger, Mark Fell, Will Guthrie, Joe Talia, Ricardo Villalobos and Arto Lindsay for this album of driving rhythm and sound.
Paying homage to one of the most original creators in improvised music, Lawrence 'Butch' Morris, the Bay Area Rova Quartet is expanded into an orchestra with an impressive set of improvisers in three works that balance compositional approaches with improvisation through conduction.
On the cover: English folk singer and underground music maven Shirley Collins; Ectoplasm Girls; Roy Montgomery; Fritz Welch; Tarek Atoui; plus: The Wire Tapper 42: 20 new tracks by Aluk Todolo, The Gaslamp Killer, Giorgio Moroser, Jah9, The Splitter Orchestra and more.
A beguiling and atmospheric work of overtones, harmonics, tonal and microtonal progressions from a trio of clarinetists (Hans Koch, Michael Thieke, and Paed Conca) with Japanese vocalist Maki Hachiya, an immaculately paced and exotic work of sound.
Goh Lee Kwang recorded these tracks from 2012-2015, a diverse set of pieces using sound, noise, field recordings, even guitar and rhythm to create unique audio environments, a succint and interesting reflection on the inquisitive nature of this audio explorers work.
Reissuing 2 Palilalia cassettes from the tour following guitarist Bill Orcutt (here on electric) and drummer/percussionist Chris Corsano's "The Raw and the Cooked" LP, both in excellent form as they play Northampton, Mexico City, Brooklyn, Montreal, Cleveland and Rochester.
Henry Threadgill's new epic work in four movements written specifically to feature each of the musicians in Zooid: "Ceroepic" for Elliott Kavee (drums), "Dosepic" for Christopher Hoffman (cello), "Tresepic" for Jose Davila (trombone & tuba), and "Unoepic" for Liberty Ellman (guitar).
The Edinburgh trio of Archibald (drums), Colin Stewart (bass) and Rebecca Sneddon (alto saxophone) play an experimental blend of doom metal and free jazz, with guests trumpeter Luc Klein and trombonist Patrick Darley, in an album that bridges heavy rock with melodic improv.
Pianist John Escreet brought his trio with drummer Tyshawn Sorey and bassist John Hebert on a tour of Europe in 2016, meeting with British saxophonist Evan Parker in Amsterdam's Bimhuis and at Rotterdam's Lantaren Venster to record these profound performances of free improvisation.
The 40th Anniversary release for the creative free improvising jazz trio of Gerry Hemingway (drums), Mark Helias (bass) and Ray Anderson (trombone), with guests Joe Lovano on sax and Jason Moran on piano; superb lyrical soulful collective improvisation of the finest order.
Composer Jean-Luc Guionnet wrote "Distances ouies Dites" ("Distances: Hearsay") for the 7-piece Dedalus Ensemble, who are positioned in separate rooms at Le Consortium, each having to use the features of the room and distance from each other to confer liked musical ideas.
The NY duo of accordionist Andrea Parkins, using self-designed virtual instruments, field recordings, everyday objects and small instruments, and drummer Brian Chase, applying guitar pedals to his percussion, create fascinating sculpted works of electroacoustic improvisation.
Clarinetist Tom Jackson and pianist Keith Tippett have worked together since 2001, with bassist Ashley-John Long joining them in improvisation in 2009, adding violist Benedict Taylor that same year in London, here meeting in the studio for 4 subtle and expansive recordings.
Live recordings at Sugar Maple/Okka Fest in 2015 from the duo of saxophonist Joe McPhee on tenor & soprano, and double bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, in a set dedicated to Paris jazz singer and club owner Ada Beatrice Queen Victoria Louise Virginia Smith, aka Bricktop.
Spontaneous compositions of freely improvised music performed on piano, synth, whistles, electroacoustic guitar, percussion, live electronics and effects from this trio who hail from Moscow and Siberia, recording their unique and adventurous dialog in the studio.
Performing together since 2014, the free improvising trio of Yoni Silver on bass clarinet, Mark Sanders on drums, and Tom Wheatley on double bass are captured live at the Hundred Years Gallery in London, in 2015 for a dark and spacious journey in two large improvisations.
A reissue of Peter Kowald Quintet's self-titled album, originally released by FMP in 1972, with the line up of Peter Kowald on tuba, bass, and alphorn; Gunter Christmann and Paul Rutherford on trombone Peter van der Locht on alto saxophone; and Paul Lovens on drums.
During the 80s, free jazz saxophonist Joe McPhee teamed up with French guitarist Raymond Boni to perform and release albums; this live concert at the University of Alabama is from that period, an excellent example instant composition inspired by Eric Dolphy.
Viennese Actionism founding artist Hermann Nitsch, an Austrian painter, performance-artist, and composer, in an audio recording of a work of sound and drone premiered in NYC in 1968, and recreated in a performance at gallery Pakesch, Vienna in 1982.
Vancouver based cellist Peggy Lee leads the Film in Music project with a cast of superb improvisers including Dylan van der Schyff (drums), Torsten Muller (bass), Jesse Zubot (violin), &c, writing compositional drama for the 8 band members as as a basis for adventurous improv.
The 4th album in 14 years from this instrumental Vancouver 7-piece avant rock band exploring both heavy and beautiful sonic environments; the band shares members with The Tony Wilson 6Tet, Dark Blue World, Aeroplane Trio, with Drip Audio leader Jesse Zubot on violin.
Canada's premiere music magazine, with articles on The Sound Future of Virtual Reality; Roarke Menzies; Heidi Chan; Erin Gee; Eric Normand; Carmen Braden; Nick Dourado; plus a CD with recordings from Eric Normand, Carmen Braden, Erin Gee, Nick Dourado, Heidi Chan, and Plumes Ensemble.
Reissuing and remastering Braxton's outstanding radio concert for Radio DRS in Safranzunft, Basel in 1977 in a quintet with George Lewis on trombone, Muhal Richard Abrams on piano, Mark Helias on double bass, and Charles "Bobo" Shaw on drums.
Soprano Juliet Fraser performs Morton Feldman's late work for 3 voices, performed by 1 vocalist (originally Joan La Barbara) who performs with themself on tape, in a work that Feldman described as "lucious", "sexy", and "gorgeous", as heard in Fraser's beautiful rendering.
Melodic and texturally rich jazz from the trio of pianist Jackson Harrison with Ben Waples on double bass and brother James Waples on drums, a lyrical album of original compositions named for the process of coalescing a powder into a solid by heating it without liquefaction.
Fascinating works for doublebass from American composer James Tenney, 3 pieces for solo doublebass, and a large work for viola, cello, doublebass and tape delay system, performed by bassist Dario Calderone with William Lane on viola and Francesco Dillon on cello.
A much-needed reissue of Eugene Chadbourne's ground-breaking free country improv album recorded in NYC with a great Downtown NY lineup including Tom Cora, John Zorn, Scott Manring, and David Licht, performing twisted takes on classics by Paycheck, Haggard, Miller, &c.
A half-hour work of non-narrative radio theater featuring music and text collage, as well as Terri Kapsalis on violin and John Corbett on analog synthesizer, commissioned and recorded in the Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago in 2000 for the Outer Ear Festival.
In 1979 saxophonist/cornetist Joe McPhee met French reedist Andre Jaume in Paris to record this exceptional album of standards, drawing on works from Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Duke and Ellington, and Ornette Coleman; melodic, poignant, emotional and insightful jazz.
ICP Orchestra cellist/composer Tristan Honsinger wrote these sophisticated works combining free improv with mischievous songs in a band with Toshinori Kondo on trumpet, Sean Bergen on sax, Jean Jacques Avenel on bass, Michael Vatcher on drums and Tiziana Simona Vigni on voice.
A masterful fountain of melodic ideas, intriguing rhythms, and exceptional technical skill from the duo of Hamid Drake on drums and frame drum, and Sylvain Kassap on clarinets and chalumeau, recording live at the France Musique at Studio Theatre dÕAlfortville and in the studio.
A live performance at Judson Church in Manhattan as part of the 20th Vision Festival from the NY/France free improvising trio of Joelle Leandre on double bass, Mat Maneri on viola, and Gerald Cleaver on drums and percussion, two tracks of steadily building, incredibly compatible dialog.
The Swedish duo of percussionist Andreas Pollak and prepared pianist Johan Graden (Adam & Alma) in an album of references and innuendo, clandestine and furtive sounds that evoke great mystery and drama in beautifully shaped sound; evocative music that deceives to emerge from the electronic realm while in actuality coming from all acoustic sources.
The second volume of the project heard in the previous Creative Sources album, "Suspensao", here in a 9-piece electroacoust ensemble with viola, cello, doublebass, alto sax, trombone, piano, electric guitar, computer and percussion, suspenseful lowercase music that unfolds in mysterious, beautiful and rewarding ways.