Blast's 2nd release on the ReR label, compositional rock that incorporates complex compositions with improvisation sections in seamless and breathtaking ways.

Violinist Del Fabbro (Fanfare Pourpour, Rouge Ciel) present 13 pieces for up to ten players with Jean Derome, Pierre Tanguay in a melting pot of avant-rock & compositional forms.

Since 2003 this Vancouver septet has merged jazz, improv, electro-acoustic, and progressive/avant musics into an exhilarating ordered chaos of highly listenable music.

The chamber rock 8 piece Saint Dirt Elementary School ensemble in their second release on Barnyard, superb sophisticated compositions reminiscent of L'Ensemble Raye or Conventum.

Luis Lopes put together this international group including Sei Miguel, Joe Giardullo & Benjamin Duboc for gigs in Portugal, which worked so well that they went to the studio for this impressive release.

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.

Steve MacLean's 5-piece ensemble perform complex, composed polyrhythmic pieces interspersed with atmospheric improvisations for guitar, bass, keyboard, percussion and various objects.

Fred Frith's West Coast Cosa Brava with Carla Kihlstedt, Zeena Parkins, and Matthias Bossi playing all Frith compositions driven by his love of the (improvised) rock format.

Fitting squarely in the Rock In Opposition mold, Stop Motion Orchestra is an Austin, Texas-based instrumental chamber rock band orchestrated with sax, violin, guitar, synth-bass, drums, here in their second album bringing a bright and melodic force that reminds of Hamster Theatre, Debile Menthol or L'Ensemble Raye; sophisticated, charming and knowledgeable music.

Unique voicing through the orchestration of saxophones, basset horn, glissotar (a modern continuous pitch wind instrument) and vibraphone, heard in this recording at the international artist house Villa Waldberta, in Feldafing-Munich, Germany, for seven recordings that blend free jazz forms with chamber jazz approaches with remarkable sophistication and composure.

Led by Univers Zero bassist and composer Guy Seger, the third album from Eclectic Maybe Band combines elements of rock, jazz, electronic and abstract landscapes, performed by an ensemble of chamber rock players including Discus label leader Martin Archer, varying groupings within the band focusing on each section in a mix of composed and improvised approaches.

The literal album title belies the subtle interplay between Swedish improvisers, cellist My Hellgren and Peter Söderberg, the latter known for his work on classical lute but here on guitar, oud and theorbo (a long-necked lute that adds additional bass notes), recording an extended, warmly beautiful and intricate acoustic dialog of gentle tension and masterful skill.

In 2004 legendary European Free Jazz pianist Georg Graewe and German multi-reedist Frank Gratkowski met with Chicago cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm on the stage at LOFT in Cologne, Germany to perform these six collective improvisations with an innate chamber jazz feeling, particularly the four part "Trilinear Polarity"; a spectacular set available for the first time.

Translating loosely to "Something begs the patience of the clouds", the collaborative electroacoustic quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet, Luisa Goncalves on piano and Carlos Santos on electronics present two extended improvisations of tension, masterfully adept technical skill and intensively close listening.

The 2nd part of a composition commissioned by L'Ecole Nationale de Musique de Villeurbanne as a 2 year residency and performed by a large group conducted by Frith.

Influenced by the seemingly contradictory sources of 16th century Italian composers and their polyphonic compositions, Eliane Radigue, and North Indian classical, Italian composer Marco Baldini's beautifully dark works employ a slow, rarefied pace and subdued dynamics with a fascination for pianissimo playing, heard in eight chamber compositions for low strings and marimba.

Better known for his bass work with his own free jazz trio and quartet, or as a sideman for Simon Nabatov, Chris Pitsiokis, &c. this album reveals another facet to the musician, presenting a chamber music album of strings, reeds and piano, where his role as composer and conductor brings life to works with references to Messiaen & Kafka.

Written for and performed by the UK ensemble Apartment House, composer & performer Magnus Granberg's latest work reduces his working size from the larger Skogen ensemble to this sextet, opening new possibilities for composed structures that incorporate improvisation, in a work structured around components from Schubert's Abendbilder and So in Love by Cole Porter.

Two works written for a group of Australian performers living in Berlin--Jon Heilbron, Rebecca Lane, Jess Aszodi & Sam Dunscombe--by Australian composer and pianist Anthony Pateras, A Dread Of Voids developed for a residency at the Archipel Festival in Geneva after enduring a pandemic quarantine; and Patterned Language, composed for the Astra Chamber Music Society.

Luigi Nono associate Roberto Fabbriciani on hyperbass flute improvising with Berlin-based tuba player Robin Hayward at the Basilica di San Domenico in the Tuscan hilltown of Arezzo.

Part of the Henry Cow boxset, now available for individual purchase, compiled from live recordings, radio transcription, or early recordings, remastered and presented to give a complete look at the history of Henry Cow.

Sound artist Martin Kay focuses on the intimate and visceral symphony of domestic activity reverberating throughout a variety of shared courtyard spaces in Paris, using field recordings from various locations to examine their distinct acoustic characteristics.

Eschewing his many monikers (Birg Borgenthal, Elan Pauer and Ra Ra da Boff) pianist Oliver Schwerdt steps away from EUPHORIUM_freakestra, uses his given name, and takes the stage of the Bauhaus building in Dessau where such legends as Fred van Hove and Alexander von Schlippenbach have played, to record these four exemplary and extended, kinetic & free solo piano improvisations.

Reworking a piece for string trio originally commissioned by the Concertgebouw Brugge and premiered by the Goeyvaerts Trio as part of the 2019 SLOW Festival, this new version expands on the original composition to bring elegant calmness and clarity to the work, performed by UK's Apartment House members Mira Benjamin on violin, Bridget Carey on viola and Anton Lukoszevieze on cello.

The debut of Vancouver & Montreal violinist Joshua Zubot's string ensemble with fellow violinists Jesse Zubot & Meredith Bates, cellist Peggy Lee and acoustic bassist James Meger, performing ten Zubot compositions informed by his involvement in diverse musical styles, each allowing room for improvisation as he takes the string ensemble into unique and unorthodox territory.

Creating structured works from real time improvisations, Guy Seger's (Univers Zero) large ensemble of absolutely impressive players breaks down to smaller grouping to record the layers of each piece, which Seger then uses as raw material for each finished piece, as elements of rock, jazz, composed, and experimental forms merge into accomplished and engaging compositions.

The debut of Vancouver & Montreal violinist Joshua Zubot's string ensemble with fellow violinists Jesse Zubot & Meredith Bates, cellist Peggy Lee and acoustic bassist James Meger, performing ten Zubot compositions informed by his involvement in diverse musical styles, each allowing room for improvisation as he takes the string ensemble into unique and unorthodox territory.

The improvising string duo of stalwart London improvisers, Daniel Thompson on acoustic guitar and Phil Durrant on the octave mandola, are heard in two settings of texturally rich, intricate interactions, first at Cafe OTO in 2022 for an extended improvisation, then at Cable Street Studios two months later for six succint, impressively diverse dialogs.

Two "songs" from a series of works by Netherlands composer and pianist Danya Pilchen, exploring the possibilities of making and experiencing time through attentive listening, these works focused on creating a dialogue between two measures of time, performed with Anne La Berge on flute, Germaine Sijstermans on clarinet, Seamus Cater on harmonica and Koen Nutters on double bass.

Influenced by New York School composers, Fluxus, Oliveros Sonic Meditations, and Wandelweiser, Boston-based composer Nomi Epstein's fascinating scores take unique and experimental approaches to composition, heard here in three chamber works, two recorded by London's Apartment House, and a live recording from a 2019 concert in Berlin, "sounds for Berlin".

Seven works from Italian composer Marco Baldini, a follow-up to his well-received 2023 album Vesperi, this album introducing a variety of recent chamber works for strings from trios to quintets, performed by members of London's Apartment House ensemble, with the pieces "Selva", "Plutone" and "Otto" written specifically for Apartment House.

Reflecting on the slow decay of Roman and Egyptian murals, New York City-based, Puerto Rican-born composer, guitarist, visual artist and No Base Trio member, Gabriel Vicéns, presents a collection of chamber works including two piano trios, a wind quintet performed by Nu Quintet, cello & violin and violin & piano duos, a solo piano work, and a sextet conducted by David Bloom.

Opening with an adaptation of Cornelius Cardew's "Red Flag", the Buffalo-based new music ensemble Wooden Cities Brendan Fitzgerald introduces the first of a trilogy of albums, a set of narrative works that confront topics of work, labor, commodity, and justice through a blend of composition and improvisation, including works by Cardew, Julius Eastman, and Frederic Rzewski.

Moons' debut album features long-time collaborators Judith Berkson, Laura Cetilia, Katie Porter, and Christine Tavolacci, each contributing a composition blending accordion, voice, cello, clarinets, and flutes, with works exploring memory through tunings, divine visions, impermanent graphic scores, and micro-intervals to create dynamic, shifting sonorities and felt-time improvisation.

Highly-regarded Slovakian composer Adrian Demoč, known for his delicate and introspective approach to contemporary music, presents three chamber works: "Zamat," a 10-minute quartet for clarinet, bass clarinet, and cello exploring Korean unisons; "Gebrechlichkeit," a 25-minute string quartet; and "...o proton jasu...," a 30-minute piece commissioned by Another Timbre, for two clarinets, viola, and cello.

The 6th album on Another Timbre from Canadian composer Linda Catlin Smith, a leading voice in contemporary chamber music, presents eight exquisite works performed by Apartment House, including the 1st recordings of three string quartets, alongside a violin duo, a clarinet quartet, an early string trio, a cello and piano duo, and a bass clarinet solo; evocative and deeply expressive artistry.

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.

Reinterpreting the intricate polyphony of Renaissance composer Nicolas Gombert through the lens of contemporary music, composer James Weeks and the ensemble Apartment House replace choral voices with a varied instrumental ensemble to reveal the interwoven textures of these works, interspersed with new compositions that reflect on history, interpretation, and the evolving role of early music in a modern context.

Drawing inspiration from Fernando Pessoa's "The Book of Disquiet," composer Luke Martin leads the ensemble Ordinary Affects — Morgan Evans-Weiler & Francesca Caruso (violin), Jordan Dykstra (viola), Laura Cetilia (cello), J.P.A. Falzone (vibes) and Luke Damrosch (farfisa organ) — through two introspective, quietly evolving compositions of minimalistic beauty creating thoughtful sonic dialogues.

A superb interpretation of John Cage's early chamber works, performed by members of Apartment House and pianist Kerry Yong, recorded at The Old School, in Starston, UK, highlighting Cage's intricate balance of rhythm and resonance through prepared piano, strings, and percussion, captured in detailed and intimate recordings by Simon Reynell at The Old School in Starston, UK.