Formed in 2015 by reedist and multi-instrumentalist David Peck and percussionist Yuri Zbitnov to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments, using the now extended arsenal of exotic percussive instruments the collective has amassed, in a 2-part album with Mike Gruen on electric bass creating a power trio of unusual rhythmic intention.

With a core of Leap of Faith members (David Peck, Glynis Lomon & Yuri Zbitnov) along with trumpet, bass, computer & electronics, Moog, and analog synth, this rendering of Boston's far-ranging collective, using David Peck's framework compositions and arsenal of instruments, takes their listeners through controlled cosmic chaos with recitation and electronic companionship; wild!

PEK and Yuri Zbitnov's working project exploring chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments using a wide range of sonorities, including gongs, chimes, glockenspiel, Tibetan Bowls and other metallic sounds and horns, plus accompaniment tracks, with special guests Bob Moores on trumpet and guitar and Eric Woods on analog synth and performing real time Signal Processing.

One of the most prolific Evil Clown ensembles, Metal Chaos Ensemble distinguishes itself through the use of Gongs, chimes, glockenspiel, Tibetan Bowls and many other metallic sounds, with horns, compositions and narratives by multi-reedist PEK, in a rhythm-heavy fantastical journey in a septet with Moouse Traore on djembe and Mike Gruen on Azoth and Basilisk.

The Boston ensemble of unique instrumentation layering percussion, bowed and struck metal, synth, vibes and other percussive devices, whose core players are drawn from the Leap of Faith ensemble, is joined by Eric Woods on analog synth, along with two guitar players and Joel Simches on real time signal processing, allowing for an expanded palette of sound.

Each of these Boston-area improvisers handles an arsenal of equipment in the Metal Chaos Ensemble of David Peck (PEK) on reeds, synth, & daxophone, Bob Moores on synths & laptop, Eric Woods on synth, metal & wood, Abby on bass & electronics, and Yuri Zbitnoff on drums & percussion, in a massive work of detailed and passionate electroacoustics over PEK's large synthetic mix.

Metal Chaos Ensemble, formed in 2015 as a working project to explore rhythms on metallic instruments guided by rules-based chaotic systems of a very large number of small components, in a quintet studio recording using three dedicated drummers, reeds, electronics, and accompanying "tape" mixes, resulting in epic, inspired and wonderfully unpredictable improvisation.

Null Hypothesis is a return to the birth of Metal Chaos Ensemble 5 years previously with Null Theory, the duo of David Peck (PEK) on reeds, winds, percussion and other unique percussive elements, and Yuri Zbitnoff on drums, chimes, and other percussion - no spoken words accompaniment tracks, or overdubs, simply Zbitnoff and PEK and a room full of percussion, horns and electronics tearing it up live to YouTube for 70 minutes; epic.

Exploring chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments, the Metal Chaos Ensemble was formed in 2015 by multi-instrumentalist/reedist PEK and percussionist Yuri Zbitnov, using the "Evil Clown Arsenal" of exotic and unusual percussive instruments including gongs, chimes, glockenspiel, Tibetan Bowls and many other metallic sounds, here in an extended set with guest Moouse Traore on Djembe.

PEK and Yuri Zbitnov lead the Metal Chaos Ensemble, here in a septet rendering of this Boston-area free improvising group that embraces an impressive arsenal of percussive, electronic and acoustic instruments, using unique strategies to yield densely active and eerily surreal music, an incredible excursion through experimental improvisation.

One of the most prolific Evil Clown ensembles, Metal Chaos Ensemble distinguishes itself through the use of Gongs, chimes, glockenspiel, Tibetan Bowls and many other metallic sounds, with horns, compositions and narratives by multi-reedist PEK, in a rhythm-heavy fantastical journey in a septet with Moouse Traore on djempe and Mike Gruen on Azoth and Basilisk.

This Boston-area collective ensemble explores chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments, heard in this 2019 recordings with three horns, doubled percussion and electronics, analog synthesis, and driving drum and bass work from Yuri Zbitnov and Mike Gruen, leveraging the Evil Clown arsenal of percussive devices as they perform an extended improvisations covering a wide scope of sonority and concept.

A co-production between BeCoq Records and Creative Sources, the quartet of saxophonist Mathhiew Lebrun with 3 guitarists--Leo Rathier, Paul Menard, and Thomas Coquelet--use preparations, feedbacks, glass, cymbals, microswitches, and unusual sax techniques to create unusual sonic environments that ebb and flow in introspective and disquieting ways.

The Vancouver duo of Cody Oliver and Chris Dadge is joined by multi-instrumentalist Scott Munro (Bend Spoon Duo) for a mix of acoustic and electronic improvisation to create unusual and interesting sonic environments and improvised discourse.

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.

Sharing common ground in improvisational language and extended techniques but approaching these materials in diverse and disparate ways, alto saxophonists Tim O'Dwyer and Georg Wissel, both using preparations on their sax and distinguished in separate stereo channels, present a singular concert of reed interactions live at the Peter Kowald Ort in Wuppertal, Germany

German cellist and pianist living in Lisbon, Ulrich Mitzlaff recorded these two solo works titled "transparent — fluorescent sound fibers" #1 & #2 in 2015 and 2020, each voiced for extended and unusual instrumental technique in an interaction with percussive objects, the first from 2015 performing on cello, the second from 2020 performed on piano.

Strange monsters indeed, two creative improvising vocalists--Mascha Corman from Germany and Thea Soti from Serbia--join with Czech prepared saxophonist Salim Javaid, each using their instrument both as a voice and an unusual sound source, presenting 16 short works that explore harmonic and unexpected outcomes from their unique conversations.

After having collaborated in a variety of contexts for a few years, in 2017 Jonathan Moritz, Sean Ali and Carlo Costa started to perform regularly as a trio, over time honing a distinctive sound, using space through patient development, abstraction and textural playing and central tenets in their jazz-influenced improvisations, here in their first album.

Influenced by both free jazz and Caribbean folk music, the NYC-based MPT Trio, led by Francisco Mela (Crash Trio, Joe Lovano, McCoy Tyner, John Scofield, Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz), presents a stylistically innovative sound on their debut album, presenting eight original pieces blending diverse musical traditions with contemporary & avant-garde jazz structures.

Ever-active Calgary guitarist Scott Munro (Bent Spoon Duo) in his debut solo album of freely improvised guitar performed on a baritone guitar, treated and untreated, captured live at Weeds Cafe in 2010 & 2011.

Reacting to negative comments about Brazilian music, Sao Paulo-born double bassist Arthur Decloedt recruited saxophonist Filipe Nader to create a new, spontaneous and free-form take on Brazilian jazz, using pop songs as a jumping off point, with four vocalists and a five piece band creating compelling new and unusual hybrids of Brazil's rich, rhythmic and compelling music.

UK improvising saxophonist Rachel Musson incorporates spoken word text and daring instrumental experimentation in a large work for an 8-piece ensemble of bass, sax, and strings, with narration in a through-composed text written by Musson that explores the process of improvisation, and her reflections on the experiential process of making music.

Performing as part of the Blow Out Festival 2019, the UK improvising trio Shifa, meaning "healing", of Rachel Musson on tenor saxophone, Pat Thomas on piano, and Mark Sanders on drums, are captured live in Oslo for four dramatic and masterful collective improvisations, passionate and building works, releasing their tension and rebuilding in powerful waves.

Bridging improv and rock, this quintet including Luc Ex on guitar uses instrumental and vocal forms to draw on a wealth of styles with references to free improv, post-punk and RIO styles, beautifully pacing the album from energetic improv to slowly unfolding atmospheres.

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The trio of alto saxophonist Jonathan Suazo, guitarist Gabriel Vicens, and drummer Leonardo Osuna, formed in 2010 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, emerging from a standards-based band influenced by jazz, rock, electronic and ambient music to a fully free improv group, focusing on creative improvisation that balances lyrical moments with raw sound & energetic momentum.

Two large compositions by Montreal bassist Éric Normand, the first in a quintet with Camille Brisson, Antoine Simard, Marc-Antoine Mackin and Sébastien Maltais, using electronics, objects and motors; the second an acoustic work performed by the Quasar saxophone quartet of Marie-Chantale Leclerc, Mathieu Leclerc, André Leroux & Jean-Marc Bouchard.

A concise and essential concert from the Octopus octet, recorded in performances at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal during the Creativefest XII, the ensemble of mostly acoustic instrumentation (cello, viola, flute, clarinet, classical guitar, piano, percussion and synthesizer) carefully evolving a shade of blue in subtle details of tense restraint.

Existing between composition and free improvisation, this Norwegian quartet of Torstein Lavik Larsen on trumpet, Adrian Myhr on double bass, Fredrik Rasten on acoustic guitar, and Jan Martin Gismervik on drums & percussion are informed by minimal composed, folk and improvised musics, applying unusual technique and methodology to create beautiful textural and impressionistic sound.

Unusual glitch and extreme electronics improvised by the duo of New York artist Dominic Cole and Chicago/NY artist Hunter Brown (Sound Tribe Sector Nine), using approaches including glitch, noise & circuit bending in 9 pieces with tongue-in-cheek titles, balancing erratic moments with exploratory sections and near silence, an interesting and enigmatic album of aberrant electronics.

Evil Clown mastermind David Peck (PEK) in a double album of solo work, 1st pure solo, then in a long work accompanied by his own prepared mixes, using clarinets, saxophones, English horn, goat horn, tarota, bamboo, Chistmas & alto flutes, slide whistles, sheng, Melodica, Akai Wind controller, moog subsequent, gongs, brontosaurus & tank bells, Englephone, and delay.

A great example of the state of David Peck (PEK)'s approach to improvisation & arsenal of instruments, in an epic solo work merging acoustic and electronic sources with an unhurried path in a coherent long-form improvisation using reeds, sheng, fog horn, game calls, gongs, chimes, crotales, daxophone, [d]ronin, mpa 019, therimin, aquasonic, loops, & signal processing.

Two discs of solo work from Boston-area reedist, composer and Evil Clown collective leader David Peck (PEK), the first CD with 3 tracks, each focusing on a unique instrument from David Peck's large arsenal, in this case the bass tromboon, a C flute and a contrabass clarinet; the second a large improvisation using a mix from the first recordings along with live signal processing.

The fourth PEK Solo effort of 2020 finds Boston-area reedist David Peck in a virtual duo with himself, using a digital delay in a call and response on a single instrument - the tenor saxophone - his primary horn for a large part of his early history, demonstrating his current improvisational thinking & language on his most familiar instrument.

PROMO COPY WITH CUT CORNER

Approaching his solo work with new compositional strategies, multi-reedist and percussionist David Peck uses time and texture as the principal organizational elements in 9 pre-mixed recordings over which PEK was allowed more flexibility and freedom in instrumental choice during performance, using a vast collection of instruments in dramatic improvisations.

Four times David Peck, as the Boston reedist and multi-instrumentalist leverages concepts from his graphic scores for the Leap of Faith Orchestra designed to limit the excesses of large ensemble in improvisation, following his score of symbols and written instructions through four recorded iterations, listening to and reacting to the previous layers in a virtual quartet of PEKs.

David Peck, aka PEK, took advantage of the down time from his typically busy performance schedule with the Boston-area collective of bands centered around Leap of Faith to record a number of solo performances, using a variety of reed and wind instruments and the arsenal of unusual percussive instruments at his disposal, recording the 3 full CDs of new material presented in this set.

"Siete Colores presents a trio of Rodrigues' viola and the dual electric guitars of Moimeme and Argentinean Fernando Perales (perhaps best known for the group Reynols with Anla Courtis). As "23 44'00"S 65 29'00" O" opens what's immediat...

Plan Kruutntoone joins forces with avant-garde pianist Reinier van Houdt for a conceptual narrative blurring improvised music, compositional and rock forms, with a narrative based around Zorro and Rosa, geography (and Spielberg) and Brodski, or in their terms: composed and deranged music and lyrics (and other words) on guitars, basses, drums and a piano.

Plan Kruutntoone joins forces with avant-garde pianist Reinier van Houdt for a conceptual narrative blurring improvised music, compositional and rock forms, with a narrative based around Zorro and Rosa, geography (and Spielberg) and Brodski, or in their terms: composed and deranged music and lyrics (and other words) on guitars, basses, drums and a piano.

The North Carolina improvising collective Polyorchard is heard in this exceptional studio album, configured as a quintet with Michael Thomas Jackson on clarinet, David Menestres on double bass, Crowmeat Bob Pence on bass clarinet, Charles Phaneuf on clarinet, and Dan Ruccia on viola, for the 6 lettered "Sommian" suite of collective and far-ranging experimental improv.

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A unique approach to solo reeds and winds from French multi-reedist Matthieu Prual, also on flute and ORLA Keyboard, maintaining lyrical and comprehensible approaches with strong technical skills in captivating and succinct statements, truly excellent work.

Led by bassist Noah Punkt, this young Leipzig-Zurich improvising trio with drummer Ramon Oliveras and saxophonist Tobias Pfister blend an unusual sense of humor into serious free jazz, with strange asides or layers of sound punctuating superb and energetic playing.

"Shifa", or "Healing", is the London-based trio of saxophonist Rachel Musson, pianist Pat Thomas, and drummer Mark Sanders, here in a live concert at Cafe Oto in 2018 of two collective improvisations of arching sax lines, rolling and potent drumming, powerful block chords and intricate lines, from dark to joyful moments, an intoxicating tonic for the ears.

Naples tenor saxophonist Antonio Raia's album of solo saxophone improvisations employs a mix of traditional and unusual techniques in 12 concise pieces that fragment "scraps" of melody into a diverse ruminating streams, recorded at the city's Filangeri Asylum by sound artist Renato Fiorito, using ten microphones to capture the unique qualities of the space.

The Berlin-based electroacoustic Red List Ensemble founded by cellist Guilherme Rodrigues in a studio recording of the 3-part "Scope", improvised music created in real time using extensive techniques to create and raise tension in a game of contrasts, exploring orchestration in micro-groups through organization of surfaces that are opposed in terms of timbre and sound texture.

New Haven instrumentalist Carl Testa and Chicago guitarist Christopher Riggs in a large composition for prepared electric guitar and live electronic processing that references Ashley, Stockhausen and Braxton while manipulating one's sense of time, space, and memory.

Franck Vigroux's performance at Museum de la Mine, Saint Etienne, France in 2012, performed without an audience, dramatic textural sound work in an impressive and twisted industrial setting.

Portuguese guitarist Manolo Rodriguez chose these 9 pieces from about 8 hours of improvised music, recorded on a Gibson acoustic guitar with piezo microphones on various parts of the guitar, passed through effects and finally controlled by a mixer, intended as a tribute to "the sense of sight as an intermediary of thought, and to artists who, with their eyes, have changed the world."

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Not your average Creative Sources releases, the father/son collaboration of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello are joined by 2/3 of Red Trio — Hernani Faustino on double bass and Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano — with Pedro Carneiro on marimba, for an impressively active set of Swirling, Whirling and Twirling improvisations.

"A friction quartet, at times quite energized. In addition to viola, cello, and double bass, the instrumentation is notable for Kriton B.'s daxophone, a rather obscure instrument in the class of "friction idiophone," which consists of a...

Recorded in the studio in 2017, "Cyclic Symmetry" presents an electroacoustic trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and CS mainstay Carlos Santos on field recordings, in a minimal work suggested to be heard on infinite loop, contrasting deep silence with sections accenting the slow, interwining harmonics of both Rodrigues' string work.

Named for the Leipzig, Poland location in which this live concert was recorded, the acoustic free improvising quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone, and Johannes von Buttlar on percussion, explore extended ranges and approaches to their instrument in these building and detailed dialogs.

Two sets across two nights during CreativeFest #12 at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal, in a septet of six acoustic sources--viola, cellos, flute, trumpet, piano and percussion--and electronics, an extended journey approached with quiet tension and incredible detail, the recording of the first set used as the basis for the 2nd to create a virtual ensemble.

An eruption of sound from the long-standing collaboration of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and Abdul Moimeme, here on prepared electric guitar, in a trio with unique percussionist Antez, whose intimate relationship with the percussive objects he uses creates a tectonic aural range of explosive flows and deeply churning cymbal vibration, caught live at Lisboa Incomum, in Lisbon.

1. Plane, Line Segments, Rays And Some Dissipations 49:49

"3 Phases", or different aspects of the approach that violist Ernesto Rodrigues applies to improvisation, in three different groupings over three different days, all live at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal in 2018, here in an acoustic sax trio with strings, with Bruno Parrinha on soprano, Nuno Torres on alto, Paulo Galao on tenor sax.

1 Macaronesia 36:52

A unique take on the piano, with both participants--Ernesto Rodrigues and Carlos Santos--approaching the physical aspects of the instrument, somewhat beyond prepared piano, as the two record not just the strings but the wood, metal and most likely wheels of the instrument, creating a cantankerous display of sound that unfolds slowly; idiosyncratic and noteworthy.

Fragile and understated with long spacious sections, the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, harpsichord, e-bow guitar and field recordings, Guilherme Rordrigues on cello, and Denis Sorokin on ukelele and pitch pipes, distill the sense of isolation amid patient motion through the red city, sections defined by cars passing and augmented with birds; peaceful and beautiful.

A three part improvised work for viola, trombone, electric guitar and double bass from, respectively, Ernesto Rodrigues, Eduardo Chagas, Abdul Moimeme, and Joao Madeira, an ascending conversation that uses innuendo, mystery, subtle movement, silence and swells to create atmospheric environments, each "voice" shifting enigmatically in sublimely hazy ways.

"At the same time risky attempt, masterpiece and manifest, Licht is a fine example of the radical, collective, demanding and disciplined approach of the best productions of Ernesto Rodrigues. Divided into seven parts entitled I-VII, Lic...

Three strings--cello from Guilherme Rodrigues, double bass from Adam Pultz Melbye, and viola from Ernesto Rodrigues--plus harmonium and objects from Kriton Beyer, in a live performance at Kuhlspot Social Club in Berlin, each of the 9 movements a concentrative work named with a three-letter onomatopoeia, as the players draw sound from a mysterious dark distance.

French double bassist Fred Marty joins Creative Sources core performers, violist Ernesto Rodrigues, cellist Guilherme Rodrigues and electronic artist Carlos Santos for an extensive improvisation exploring both lyrical and pointillistic improvisation, themed loosely around a garden quartet or frame, the music detailed, active and formidably sophisticated.

Recorded on New Years Eve in Sintra in the Penedo region of Portugal, three strings--viola from Ernesto Rodrigues, cello from Guilherme Rodrigues, and a second cello from Miguel Mira--are joined by Carlos Santos on electronics for three extended and richly detailed improvisations, active yet concentratively controlled, using impressive and extended techniques.

An immersive album of collective sound from the Portugues quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone, Eduardo Chagas on trombone, and Carlos Santos on computer, developing rich sonic environments of great detail and intense patience, a tremendous journey that rewards the careful listener.

An exceptional lowercase acoustic improvisation album from some of the finest of Europe's outside-technique free improv players, with frequent collaborators and label-mates Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Nuno Torres on alto sax, and Guiherme Rodrigues on cello, in quintet with Red Trio pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro and French improv drummer Naoto Yamagishi.

Portuguese violist Ernesto Rodrigues joins with German electronic improviser Has W Koch for an album of interactive acoustics and electronics, where textures from Rodrigues' viola are fed into Koch's electronics to create new and unanticipated transformations, both patiently evolving the textures to reveal sublime minutiae and detail.

A very open free improvisation of Portuguese musicians recording in Azores, PT from the quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Luis Senra on tenor saxophone, Gianna de Toni on double bass, Luis Couto on electric guitar, and Biagio Verdolini on homemade instruments, using space amid patiently evolving conversation with an overall acoustic feeling in three movements of "Dissonanze".

Three frequent collaborators--Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone, and Abdul Moimeme on electric guitar--captured live in 2019 at Logradouro da Compostinha, in Lisbon, Portugal, each using their instruments with unusual approaches through extended techniques, in a half hour set balancing subtle aural ambience with rich, detailed activity; spellbinding.

Norwegian percussionist Stale Liavik Solberg (Gjerstad, VCDC, &c) joins frequent collaborators Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Nuno Torres (saxophone), and Carlos Santos (electronics) for a studio album of often pointillistic interaction, Solberg punctuating the unusual voicing and techniques of acoustic and electronic interactions as they permute the word "soon".

A live recording of a subtle improvisation led by Portuguese violist Ernesto Rodrigues in a quartet with winds and brass--Paulo Curado on flute, Bruno Parrinha on soprano saxophone & bass clarinet, and Eduardo Chagas on alto trombone--each using understated approaches to their instruments using extended and unusual techniques, aptly titled but rewarding close listening.

Nine numbered improvisations for viola, cello and analog synth from the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues and Richard Scott, recorded live at Audience, in Berlin, Scott's synth layers adding subtle nuance including vocal sampling and static and strange noise as a counterpoint to the Rodrigues' subdued but detailed techniques, textures and intense concentration.

Subtle acoustic improvisation from a global set of improvisors--Yu Lin Humm on cello, Pedro Frazao on euphonium, Ryoko Imai on marimba, percussion, Andre Hencleeday on piano, Philippe Trovao on tenor saxophone, and Ernesto Rodrigues on viola--in an attentive and tension-filled single movement, each player adding and reacting as ideas percolate and subsume.

Portuguese cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, an essential performer in the Creative Sources community of free improvisers, recorded this album from a personal need to share his freedom as a cellist, arriving at the studio and playing for almost two hours with nothing pre-planned, recording 23 concise improvisations that he describes as "fluid as a waterfall".

Recorded over a 3 year period, the trio of Portuguese string improvisers Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello met with New Haven, Connecticut double bassist & synth player Daniel Barbiero, developing this detailed, two part lowercase acoustic improvisation with a spacious, patient feeling that interacts with its ambient environment.

Saxophonist and bass clarinetist Andre Roligheten leads his quartet with Adrian Loseth Waade on violin, Jon Rune Strom on double bass, and Erik Nylander on drums and percussion through 7 original compositions and Ornette Coleman's "Kathleen Gray", writing for the players, particularly the combination of sax and violin, and the flexibility of a chordless quartet.

Four improvisations in a series titled "Etoile" [star] and one composition using graphic notation titled "Toile" [canvas], from French clarinetist Joris Rhule, working with multiphonics and extended harmonic technique to extoll unusual sonorities from the single reed instrument, from fragile to forceful, fascinating examples of extreme sonic exploration.

The first of two planned volumes of studio improvisations between Brooklyn trumpeter & flugelhorn player Michael Sarian and keyboardist Matthew Putman, recorded in Sarin's home studio during the 2020 pandemic, allowing freedom in exploration as they sought out cadences, rhythms and melodies, this 1st volume presenting the finest of their investigations.

Titled for the Amazonas Indians, Brazilian sound sculptor Marco Scarassatti performs on his self-made instrument the Kraiser in a quartet with Creative Sources regulars Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues, and Nuno Torres for a dream-like set of improvisations named with indigenous expressions, blending neoprimitivism with creative acoustic improvisation.