Using a handful of improvisations from French horn, bass guitar, voice, electronics and objects collaged with field recordings made separately, Ann Guthrie and Billy Gomberg reflect on their enforced domesticity during the 2020 lockdowns, using the time to expand on the balance of electronics & objects in relation to acoustic instruments, creating detailed abstractions.

Inspired by Jeroen Diepenmaat's Xerox collage art book, "co//age co//py", sound artist Jos Smolders developed these tracks as a response through 9 brief works and one larger construction, intersecting voice, synth, sax, piano and field recordings in a mix of oddly and abruptly sliced sound offset with periods of beauty; a compellingly curious album.

Frond, aka Richard Bultitude, is a UK sound artist who creates rich soundscapes of guitar, synthetics, field recordings and other ethereal elements, the mix of live instrumentation over drone and ambient environments adding warmth and personality to beautifully crafted works, each exuding a sense of inner calm through innately melodic music replete with detail.

The electroacoustic duo of singer Andrea Silvia Giordano and drummer Nicholas Remondino, working with Pierre Bastien, E-cor Ensemble, Gianluca Verlingieri, Maria Dybbroe and Torstein Lavik Larsen, create uniquely motioned works of decay, deconstruction and destruction, percussion and voice weaving amid unusual sonic sources both abstract and rhythmic.

Vocalist Amirtha Kidambi (Elder Ones, Mary Halvorson's Code Girl) and guitarist/composer Matteo Liberatore create sonic environments and aural landscapes without using effects, slowly evolving their work so as to allow each utterance and sustaining note to be fully absorbed, their meditative and introspective works rewarding to the attentive listener.

A "document of sonic purging" from New York sound artists Merche Blasco and Gryphon Rue, a combination of compositions and electroacoustic improvisation using an unusual collection of instruments--EMS Synthi AKS, modular synth chain, harmonium, voice, percussion and musical saw--applied through diverse approaches to create inspired landscapes and curious constructions.

Using unusual techniques and a collection of instruments that include the standard Western instruments of cello and flute, along with guembri, sulittu, dilli kaval, bass xun, launeddas (mancosedda, tumbu), plus the application of objects against strings, the Italian duo of Antonio Bertoni & Stefano Leonardi engage in seven remarkable and assertive improvised duos.

During the lockdown of 2020 clarinetist and composer Aaron Novik recorded the sounds of clarinet, bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet, using those samples to create this 10-part composition, a work of active counterpoint and minimalist structures with a playful sense of humor, the character of the samples bringing forth both acoustic and electronic evocations.

Chicago tenor saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher, known for his duos with Anton Hatwich and with Julian Kirshner, the improvising trio Devouring the Guilt with Eli Namay & Bill Harris and a trio with Mars Williams & Lia Kohl, is heard here in three extended solo improvisations, with strong tone riffing on grooves, exuding warm melodies, and running demanding technical passages on his horn.

Using prepared re-recorded cassettes, iPad apps, sound effects, laptop, shortwave radio, small synthesizers, ancient 2bit sampling device, all recorded on the spot without multi-tracking or extensive post-editing, Frans de Waard's 2017 Modelbau release presents 22 concise recordings of joyfully quirky electronic expression, from Kraftwerkian sound to curious peculiarity; wonderful.

Featuring electronically-augmented vocal interpretations of lieder songs by such composers as Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann, New York vocalist Judith Berkson also presents purely electronic pieces engaging noise and feedback-oriented vignettes, the evolution of her project started in 2016 as she re-contextualizes classical music in powerfully expressive ways.

An improvisational investigation into two bass drums over two extended recordings from West Coast experimental improvisers Kevin Corcoran and Jacob Felix Heule, as they apply an arsenal of unusual techniques and engage every inch of the drums with a diverse set of objects, evoking strange sounds, pattering rhythmic echoes, metallic cries and deep rumbling effects.

Extending his series of experimental works for solo double bass, NYC-based Nat Baldwin's 3rd "AUTONOMIA" release merges new music with noise in concentrated approaches through positioning the bass in unusual orientations to access the strings from below; using multiple bows, one prepared and one in agressive motion; and exploring the high harmonic range of the instrument.

Recorded primarily at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn and leveraging the natural resonance of that performance space, the New York trio of innovative improvisers Henry Frase on double bass, John McCowen on Bb and contrabass clarinets and Sam Weinberg on tenor & soprano saxophones explore the peripheries of their instruments in intense and reflective interplay.

Spanish double bassist Alex Reviriego (Memoria Uno) in a solo album recorded by Ferran Fages in 2019, the second chapter of his "German Poets Trilogy" following his 2018 Blaue Tauben album, here inspired by the writings of Romanian-born poet Paul Celan in an intense and moving album of dense foreboding depicted through nine improvisations of heavy bowing, ruminative harmonics and dark friction.

Brought together by violinist Joanna Mattrey during the dark period of COVID lockdown, four NY free improvisers (Gabby Fluke on Mogul on violin, Matteo Liberatore on acoustic guitar, Joanna Mattrey on viola and Ava Mendoza on electric guitar) explore the implications of the pandemic through separation, loss and new life in 10 succinct and dynamic explorations.

Two large works of sound from frequent collaborators, Dutch sound artist and experimenter Steffan de Turck (aka Staplerfahrer) and Netherlands sonic innovator Wouter Jaspers, the first piece contrasting music-box synthetic melodies with deep drone and noise; the second a dark work of haunting properties that evolves to a spectral whisper of submerged voice.

Explorative electronics and percussion from Italian improvisers Andrea Borghi, Giacomo Salis and Paolo Sanna, all three steeped in electronics, percussion and sound art, using prepared turntable and objects to create mysteriously rich environments in a seething cauldron of sound that never boils over, engaging through uniquely developed interaction from quirky to oddly charming.

Initiating like a jet shaking the sky, the trio of Kevin Corcoran on percussion & objects, Giacomo Salis on percussion, objects & field recordings and Paolo Sanna on percussion & objects create otherworldly sonic environments that project collapsing and ringing events above often turbulent foundations, creating side-long journeys that engage through mysterious and surmisable sound.

Recorded at Elektronmusikonstudion EMS, Stockholm and Studio W, Brussels between 2017 & 2019, Giovanni Di Domenico presents two extended compositions for solo piano and electronics, melodically evolving piano figures taking the foreground over unusual rhythmic and percussive interactions, building in complexity and releasing in exquisite ways.

A series of unusual improvisations between London free improvising trombonist Edward Lucas (Hyperion Ensemble, London Experimental Ensemble) and experimental sound artist, turntablist & percussionist Graham Dunning, merging acoustic sources with controlled feedback, objects and field recordings, pressed to dubplate to create these engagingly strange and concise dialogs.

Using small objects and contact microphones to create peacefully clacking, mewling and idiosyncratic utterances, sound artists Takamitsu Ohta and Anne-Francoise Jacques developed this installation shown in 2019 at the Bonjour! Gendaibunmei gallery in Kyoto, recorded by Jacques as a tour of the various sonic manifestations that a visitor to the gallery might experience.

The fourth release from the long-standing sonic research duo of Montreal sound artist Anne-F Jacques, who uses "rotating devices" based around small amplified motors, and Montreal ex-patriot living in Kobe, Japan Tim Olive (845 Audio), using magnetic pickups on objects and self-built instruments, here in six richly detailed and sometimes curiously menacing recordings.

Working with sculpture and objects in sound installations and live performance, Rie Nakajima captured this appealing set of kinetic performances named for the objects featured in each: a handle of a Japanese sliding door (fusuma), Japanese rice bowls, coils, jars, shells, flower pots, plastic bags, tin foil, tin cans, chopsticks, a bamboo pot, stones, cups, &c.

Applying techniques similar to those of the prepared piano, Japanese experimental artist Kayu Nakada uses circuit bending--circuit boards from electronic instruments short circuited for new effects--joining forces with Japan-based Canadian electronic instrument maker Tim Olive (845 Audio) for four works of intriguingly interactive glitch, hum, static and sonic inexplicables.

Using handmade devices and contraptions including small motors and found objects, Montreal sound experimenter Anne-Francoise Jacquese amplifies her miniature devices to create unexpectedly large textures and rhythms, which she manipulates with great instinct to create fascinating sonic environments, heard here in four pieces recorded in Montreal and Sackville from 2018-19.

Originally released in 2004 on CDR and only now properly released, the Cleveland trio of Lawrence Caswell (bass, vocals), Chris Kulcsar (drums, guitar) and R.A. Washington (trumpet, percussion) embraced the heart of free jazz and the concepts of freedom in bold and passionate improvisation and a scathing song, captured in two concerts at The Black Eye and Grog Shop.

Interdisciplinary artist based between NYC and LA, Chris Ryan Williams, and Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist based in LA, Patrick Shiroishi, explore extremely open approaches to free improvisation, Williams primarily performing on brass instruments and Shiroishi on sax & reed instruments, with additional sources from synth, glockenspiel, and electric toothbrush.

Thirteen succinct improvisations pitting Gordon Grdina's swinging middle-eastern flavors on the oud offset by gritty, experimental guitar work against drummer Jim Black's well-chosen and rock-solid grooves, an engaging album that shifts and explores a tremendous range of ideas and adventurous attitudes that span jazz, rock and experimental genres with ease.

With virtually the same lineup as their Feeding Tube album Ourania, the Chicago-based duo of Mako Sica--Brent Fuscaldo (electric bass, voice, harmonica & percussion) and Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (electric trumpet, electric guitar & mandolin)--again join with Tatsu Aoki on bass & shamisen and Thymme Jones on keyboards, trumpet, balloon & voice, subbing drummer Jacob Fawcett.

Two side-long tracks of minimal improvisation from NY saxophonist Jeff Tobias (Sunwatchers) and UK guitarist Jack Cooper (Ultimate Painting); "Wicken" and "Debden" are named for and inspired by the tributaries of the River Cam in North Essex, revealing themselves in steady progressions and subtle application of instrumental technique in a beautifully flowing reflection.

Skronky multi-faceted NY Downtown-style improvisation with an electric edge from the quintet of Chris Pitsiokis on alto sax, winds, electronics & samples, Wendy Eisenberg on electric guitar, Richard Lenz on electric bass, Kevin Murray on acoustic & electronic drums and Nick Neuburg on percussion, rolling and rollicking through riffs and scrabbly exploration.

The Nick Mazzarella Trio, here configured as Mazzarella on alto saxophone & bells, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass and Avreeayl Ra on drums, are heard live at Constellation in Chicago in 2019, bringing together two generations of Chicago improvisers with Norwegian/US drummer Haker-Flaten for seven pieces espousing both tradition and innovative creative approaches.

An evening of free improvisation recorded in Berlin at au Topsi Pohl in 2020 from the Swedish trio of Euro Free Jazz legend Sven-Ake Johansson on drums, Niklas Fite on acoustic guitar and Joel Grip on double bass, performing two extended and dynamic improvisations, and then settling into jazz standard form for "Isn't It Romantic" and "Out of Nowhere" sung by by Johansson.

Narrated by text-to-speech vocalization, Korean-American pianist and composer Lucy Liyou collaborates with Bulgarian-born guitarist Ivana Kafedjiyska (YSKA) in an album of languorously floating and understatedly abrasive music complemented by subtle field recordings, two works of curiously philosophical, baffling and observational verse; unique and compelling.

Sonic exploration and studio composition from Kobe, Japan-based, Canadian sound artist Tim Olive, using amplified objects, cast-off electronics and home made instruments including metal teeth, tuning forks, clockwork motors, electromagnets, cassette playback heads and magnetic pickups, recording each and layering them in the studio to create corrosively captivating aural journeys.

A joint release between Astral Spirts and Relative Pitch, guitarist Ava Mendoza conjures five assertive and rugged "spells" performed on solo electric guitar, passionate works of raw technical skill and bold power as she improvises over two songs composed by herself, alongside pieces written for her from Devin Hoff, Trevor Dunn and John Dikeman.

Travelling through the US & Greece to join with performers for duos and trios, in six recordings between pianist Thollem McDonas in a trio with Amy Denio & Samantha Boshnack; a duo with Seetha Shivaswamy; a trio with Mat Weisman and Rick Kodramaz; a duo with Djallo Djakate; a hand percussion duo with Jason Finkelman; and a vocal duo with Maria Karamouza.

Drummer Hampus Ohman-Frolund (Apuh!) leads the Huvudbry septet of structured rock forms, with an intriguing orchestration of trumpet, lap steel, double bass, guitars, keyboard and voice, using intervals of unusual sonic experimentation and field recordings to create a unique album that bassist Mats Dimming refers to as "A mix of Captain Beefheart, Yann Tiersen & Swedish House Mafia".

Essentially a solo album from composer and improviser based in NYC Hampus Öhman-Frölund, this extended work uses a zither as its basis, augmented by a MicroKorg and the voice of Huvudbry bandmate Avery Leigh Draut, using no set tempo and framed and inspired around a picture of the woods near where Öhman-Frölund grew up; really lovely and inspired work.

The first collaboration between Brooklyn-based experimental improvising drummer Hampus Ohman-Frolund (Apuh!) and guitarist John Lindaman (True Love Always), blurring rock forms and experimental electronics into a hybrid space rock that takes unexpected twists and turns, with the goal to produce compelling psychedelic inspired sound; headphones recommended!

An intensely experimental journey in sound through guitars, electronics and percussion from the Brooklyn-based duo of John Lindaman and Hampus Ohman, a diverse set of pieces improvised using sound sculpting, noise and melodic elements, creating a great balance between darkness and light amidst solid conceptual and technical approaches to their instruments.

Aubjects label leader D. Petri (Amalgamated, Dog Hallucination) continues his work in unusual and sometimes aggressive exploration of the guitar as a sound source, looking for "novel anomalies" in amorphous compositions, seeking an extreme mixture of audio fidelities, peculiar equipment configurations, personally significant field recordings & various multi-level manipulations, in parts joined by Hillary Ulman on percussion.

Strange environments of sound from the French trio of Simon Le Vigouroux on double bass, Cyril Noël on electronics and Thomas Coquelet on electronics, in two morphing works connected by name through each side of the cassette, expeditions guided by murky rythmic elements and mutated field recordings, surrounded by rich and darkly tinged sonic elements.

The 2nd installment in percussionist Matt Weston's opera for percussion and electronics in a limited cassette + download, a cantankerous set of recordings that alternate disruption with introspectively unusual techniques realized through graphic, multidimensional and instantaneous scores, each piece a narrative exploring mental health struggles as they develop over time.

The third release from the Barcelona-based experimental improvising duo L'Ocell of Chilean acoustic guitarist Fernando Carraso and Spanish double bassist Àlex Reviriego-double bass, here joined by guitarist Ferran Fages (a member of Phicus and Radium with Reviriego), for a set of mysteriously dark improvisations recorded live at Sant Roma de Mianigues church.

Written for the restored Aeolian-Skinner Organ (Op. 985) and performed live at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University, NY, composer and keyboardist Steve Long's piece references the Navajo code talkers of WWII while calling into question fundamental ideas about the nature of language, evoking instances of communication impeded both intentionally and unintentionally.

The debut release of NY acoustic & amplified trumpeter Joe Moffett and Argentinian electronics artist based in NY, Cecilia Lopez, presenting a collection of improvised pieces of startling interactions using circuit bending, odd horn techniques and a wonderfully volatile approach to their dialog as they distort, deconstruct and intertwine their instruments.

Initially based around improvisations on a mbira and a tiny accordion, NY improvisor Ted Reichman expanded the concept through complex systems of electronic treatments, developing layers of feedback, transpositions, distortions, intentional or accidental patterning that were performed in real time, creating an extended, deeply aquatic work split between the sides of a cassette.

Bringing together New York City and Philadelphia improvisers, the trio of T.J. Borden on cello, James McKain on tenor sax and Leo Suarez on drums, freely improvising through a "personally refined approach to pointillistic communication, interplay and the construction/demolition of static foundations" evolved through repeated sessions and live recordings.

Rich sound worlds or mysterious space and controlled chaos in this work commission by the TAK ensemble, the score devised partly in text and partly through instruction, giving directions for interpretation to the performers--Laura Cocks, Madison Greenstone, Marina Kifferstein, Charlotte Mundy, Ellery Trafford & Lopez himself--allowing each to become part composer, part improviser.

Delicate abrasions and corruption of their instruments from the NY duo of Erica Dicker (Till by Turning) on violin and Dennis Sullivan (Radical 2), 9 works of improvised soundscape and avant-raw chamber music through prepared strings, tapes, looped feedback, resonant metals, modified snares and liberally bowed surfaces, richly constrained and luxuriously blood-curdling.

The Amalgamated collective in a two cassette package including an extensive booklet of fractal images and a folding card with images; the music presents dark and detailed industrial sound, a mix of drone and collage that engulfs the listener into their alchemical world.

Recorded in two studios — Saint-Petersburg, Russia and Zurich, Switzerland — capturing 5 encounters between experimental improvisers Ilia Belorukov performing on modular synthesizer, and Jason Kahn, who steps away from his electronics and drums in favor of stark vocalizing, each providing perfectly caustic responses to the other's intense and determined tactics.

Sebastien Branche (Insub Meta Orchestra, Miguel A. Garcia) uses the tenor saxophone as a sound source, meticulously applying extended techniques, circular breathing and the resonance of the saxophone itself during improvisation, using Supercollider software in a two-way collaboration where the instrument also transforms the sounds provided by the computer.

Part of a series of 8 split release cassettes, hand-painted & numbered; Side A presents S27E152, aka Brisbane's Tristan Eyles, using field recordings and image synthesis; Side B is Chefkirk, aka Roger Smith, combining concrete sound with improvised drone and harsh electronics.

Part of a series of 8 split release cassettes, hand-painted & numbered; Side A presents dark soundscapes from Jeff Winter, aka Faint Glow, in slowly unfolding electronic works; Side B a variety of electronic approaches from arpeggiated to slowly abrasive grumbling.

During 2012 Patrick Farmer walked half of the Welsh Coast, writing a series of observations, which on this release are read in environmental settings by Antoine Beuger, Jeph Jerman, Bruno Guastalla, Sally Ann McIntyre, Holly Pester, Daniela Cascella, & Michael Pisaro.

Electro-psychedelic explorer Chester Hawkins presenting two live performances in Washington DC -- one recorded in isolation at Intangible Arts' studio (4th September 2018) and one in public at Rhizome community arts space (8th September 2018) -- improvised autopsies of Lutoslawski's String Quartet by means of three granular synth engines and one tape-edit/concrete emulator.

A contemplative solo work of subtle nuance and laden atmospheres, slowly drifting through a virtual landscape of dampened details, from London composer and improviser Sarah Hughes, performing on zither, piano, Hammond organ, sine tones, white noise, electric harpsichord, and objects, using an eBow to draw sustained tones over which delicate progressions advance.

Sonic sources of a wide variety of timbre, rhythm and tone, mixed with voice, feedback, even bird sounds, make up the strata of this intriguing album from Oslo Improvisers Agnes Hvizdalek (voice), Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard (electric bass, electronics, field recordings), Utku Tavil (snare drum, no input mixer, sampler), and Natali Abrahamsen Garner (voice, electronics).

An unissued album from Bavarian experimenter & songwriter Konrad Strumpfel and "The Set", the Czech duo of Herbert Lukundra & Josif Afkak, who added their contributions to Strumpfel's work which had been sent to them by post, the strengthening of the "Iron Curtain" between the USSR & Europe in the late 80s then prohibiting the release of their collaboration.

Despite using traditional instrumentation, the Montreal trio of pianist Lisa Cay Miller, guitarist Vicky Mettler, and bassist Raphael Foisy-Couture avoid sounding anything but traditional, through preparations and a mischievous attitude transforming their instruments and applying them to a highly interactive and darkly optimistic set of very unique dialogs.

A split cassette between Wilmington sound artists Joshua Marquez, a Filipino-American composer, guitarist, and activist who explores the liminal space between tone and noise; and Mr. Stonecipher, aka Ryan L Lewis IV, a sound artist and filmmaker who works with dramatic sound and feedback of a cinematic quality, often employing unusual objects as source.

A cassette release joining 910 Noise and Ack Recordings from Ryan Lewis and August Traeger, harsh American noise that "will destroy the speakers" (Feast of Hate and Fear).

Takamitsu Ohta, known for his work with artists Anne-F Jacques & Ryoko Akama, in three unexpected recordings using the microphone and speaker of small devices with recording and playback ability, from five to fifteen such linked devices creating surprisingly stacatto and expressive voices from feedback, each piece aptly named for the resulting articulation each combination creates.

Matt Weston (Arthur Brooks Ensemble V, Arc Pair) initiates a series of limited cassette releases with this solo album, seven works of percussion using traditional and idiosyncratic percussive sources with a pensive pace and somewhat irascible attitude, each piece fully notated and executed live in the studio, using a similar aesthetic to link each work.

The 3rd installment in percussionist & composer Matt Weston's serialized opera for percussion ensemble + electronics, a set of narratives and counter-narratives that explore mental health struggles as they develop over time in varying circumstances, realized through a combination of site-specific graphic, multidimensional and instantaneous scores.

Borrowing from traditional music notation, Jessica Pavone's compositions for her string ensemble with Aimée Niemann and Abby Swidler alternates between metered and time-based scores allowing the performers freedom to move between long tone sounds and clusters at the performer's chosen rate, responding to each other while creating a "collaboratively sewn musical fabric".

The 2nd of two studio albums from the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums, recordings from the same sessions as the 1st volume with five shorter works, as the long-time collaborators and friends show their nearly telepathic rapport in adventurous and masterful modern jazz.

"The Inflatable Leviathan documents the first studio recording of Cecilia Lopez, Michael Foster, Sean Ali, and Eli Wallace. The group began playing concerts in 2019, exploring the potential musical direction given the combination of the...

"The Red Barn is a small book of short fiction originally released by Calamari Archive, Ink in 2017. The audio version was recorded 5 years later, co-released by Calamari and Tripticks Tapes. The recording features excerpts from the tex...

Referencing the highs and lows to which the NY duo of free improvising vocalist Amirtha Kidambi and bassist Luke Stewart take their listeners, both bringing along electronics as they divert between clear acoustics and extreme processing, pouring out the turbulence of the time with a unique sense of duress and oddly hopeful musing; frighteningly unique and fascinating.

"Nat Baldwin's AUTONOMIA II: Recombinations braids new music, noise, and free improvisation to generate a distinctive sonic vocabulary for solo double bass. Picking up where AUTONOMIA I: Body Without Organs left off, Baldwin uses an add...

"Following the conceptual avant-hillbilly trajectory of their previous SUPERPANG release "Verd Mont", "Old Time Music" is composer/improviser Weston Olencki's newest collection of historically-driven sound works. The album's three piece...