Unfolding as a deep listening experience with slowly oscillating sine waves created through SuperCollider, Jonathan Deasy's hour-long drone composition blends digital artistry with warmth, evoking orchestral textures reminiscent of processed cello or trombone with ascending and descending notes, creating a dramatic yet slow-moving, dark and spacious soundscape.

Seven studio improvisations from frequent collaborators Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone and Carlos Santos on digital electronics, quiet conversations of subtle and extended technique that adhere to the session title, emulating electronic impulses and signals through understated and impeccably controlled acoustic and electronic expression.

Two itinerant and unique performers in solo and small group configurations--Japanese saxophonist Katsura Yamauchi, who has recorded & performed with Voice Crack, Tatsuya Nakatani, Otomo Yoshihide, &c. &c., and Swiss electroacoustic improviser Jason Kahn--meet during Kahn's 2023 visit to Japan, recording these perceptively subtle duos live at HALL, in Oita and at IAF SHOP, in Hakata.

The trio of violist Ernesto Rodrigues, cellist Guilherme Rodrigues and clarinetist Bruno Parrinha on alto & bass clarinets are captured live at Lisboa Incomum, during the 2022 Festival DME, performing two sophisticated chamber improv works, their titles translating to "The aging skies - it's all illusion" and "Pass The Bridges If It's Windy - The Flame Of The Solemnity".

The collaboration between guitarist Barry Chabala and Clara Byom on clarinets and accordion is expanded through Chabala's audio samples and Byom's use of objects, as they join in a trio with Albuquerque violinist Muni Kulasinghe, also performing on objects, for seven distinctive, spaciously paced improvisations recorded live at The Sitting Room in Albuquerque, NM.

The third collaboration between sound and electronic artists Bruno Duplant and Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) is a darkly heavy and dramatic work of subtle motion that slowly unfolds and shifts through vast sonic environments, fueled by acousmatic sources that take the listener to the edge of darkness and then pulls them back in warm waves or rich ambiance.

Clarinetist Xavier Charles, accordionist Jonas Kocher and percussionist Toma Gouband join French improviser Joris Ruhl for this extended improvisation of multiphonics, textures and timbres, evolving from subtle harmonics into vast waves of sound, pausing to punctuate with pointillist interaction, then expanding into dramatic waves of sound before carefully fading away; sublime.

Composer Magnus Granberg originally composed "Come Down to Earth Where Sorrow Dwelleth" for the Boston-based ensemble Ordinary Affects, previously released in 2020 on the Meena label, now in a version reworked for sho, koto, prepared piano and electronics by Ko Ishikawa, Miki Maruta and Toshimaru Nakamura, recording in the studio before their performance at the 2019 Ftarri Festival.

Thirteen realizations of sound artist Rubén Turba and violist Minami Saeki's concept for two musicians or more, where each performer chooses five sounds as a "gift" to one of the others, played up to three times during the realization before moving to the next sound; these recordings were made independently in Tokyo & Madrid and then combined without editing.

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.

One of the core Creative Sources trios of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, João Madeira on double bass and Jose Oliveira on percussion, is extended to a quartet with Netherland's New Wave of Jazz/Vidna Obmama archtop guitarist Dirk Serries, presenting the 9-part "Dripping" series of free chamber-oriented lowercase improvisation.

A profoundly patient extended improvisation referencing the pensive and strategic decisions made in a game of chess, creating a dynamic interplay of sounds through unconvential technique in this live recording at Werkhalle Wiesenburg, Berlin from the quartet of trumpeter Axel Dorner, cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, tenor saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim and percussionist Stephen Flinn.

Seven studio improvisations from frequent collaborators Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone and Carlos Santos on digital electronics, quiet conversations of subtle and extended technique that adhere to the session title, emulating electronic impulses and signals through understated and impeccably controlled acoustic and electronic expression.

Two improvisations by saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet & violinist Dan Warburton recorded in Paris & Melbourne parking garages 14 years apart, registering the behavior and characteristics of environmental and instrumental sound within these unique spaces, edited by Eric La Casa and Philip Samartzis as a 4-channel master by synchronizing two sets of independent stereo recordings.

Portugal's suspenseful reductionist improvising ensemble, blending acoustic and electronic instruments in delicately detailed motion, heard in this live recording at SMUP in Parede from Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Nuno Torres (sax), Bruno Parrinha (bass clarinet), Luisa Goncalves (piano), Flak (electric gutiar), Joao Madeira (bass), Carlos Santos (analog synth) and Jose Oliveira (percussion).

Clarinetist Xavier Charles, accordionist Jonas Kocher and percussionist Toma Gouband join French improviser Joris Ruhl for this extended improvisation of multiphonics, textures and timbres, evolving from subtle harmonics into vast waves of sound, pausing to punctuate with pointillist interaction, then expanding into dramatic waves of sound before carefully fading away; sublime.

Referencing the collective NY Loft scene of the 1980's, the trio of Jean-Jacques Avenel on bass, Siegfried Kessler on piano, keys & ring modulator and Daunik Lazro on alto sax & tuba sax, are heard in a Béziers Jazz Action concert recorded in the crypt of a Franciscan theater, in two suites of collective improvisation, the 2nd adding unusual electronics from Kessler.

The Swiss-based Ever Present Orchestra, dedicated to the presentation of later works by composer Alvin Lucier written for this orchestra and centered on pieces for the electric guitar, in two works of differing characteristics: "Arrigoni Bridge" for 3 lap steel electric guitars + violin, sax & cello; and "Flips" for two guitars, bass and glockenspiel.

The trio of pianist Jacques Demierre, trumpeter Axel Dorner and accordionist Jonas Kocher recorded these live improvisations at Theatre Le Colombier in Les Cabannes, France, each performer then assembling a complete album selecting from the fourteen recordings, unique to each performer's aesthetic selection, sequencing and length, creating three distinct yet deeply attached albums.

The seventh album from Creative Sources' detailed electroacoustic improvising group Suspensão led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, recording at SMUP in Parede, Portugal in 2022 with Joana Sa on soprano sax, Nuno Torres on alto sax, Luisa Goncalves on piano, Joao Madeira on double bass, Carlos Santos on synthesizer and Jose Oliveira on percussion.

The trio of violist Ernesto Rodrigues, cellist Guilherme Rodrigues and clarinetist Bruno Parrinha on alto & bass clarinets are captured live at Lisboa Incomum, during the 2022 Festival DME, performing two sophisticated chamber improv works, their titles translating to "The aging skies - it's all illusion" and "Pass The Bridges If It's Windy - The Flame Of The Solemnity".

Inspired by a trip to the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, guitarist Ed Pettersen recorded this, his first solo guitar album, as a set of ambient/electronic recordings of long sustain and unexpected angles; seven tracks recorded live in the studio in London, and one recording in the Vigeland Mausoleum itself, using the resonance and 18-second decay of that space.

Four unique compositions from Portuguese trumpeter Sei Miguel, whose work embraces jazz history while incorporating his own music systems, here each piece varying the size of each grouping with one constant, his frequent sideman, alto trombonist Fala Mariam; plus luminaries including Rodrigo Amado, Ernesto Rodridgues, Helena Espvall, Nuno Torres, Rafel Toral, Paulo Curado, &c.

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The third Spiegel, or mirror, takes the Portuguese acoustic octet led by violist Ernesto Rodrigue through an extended improvisation and its reflection, captured live at the 2021 CSFest XV, at O'Culto da Ajuda, by performing and recording their performance in a first pass, and then playing over the first improvisation, layering and extending their work.

Appropriately recorded at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn, the 3rd release from the NY trio Pulverize the Sound of Peter Evans on trumpet, Tim Dahl on electric bass and Mike Pride on drums & glockenspiel, expands on this 10 year working band's assertive approach to collective free improv, doing so with innovation, breathtaking technical skill and a wide range of mood and texture.

An immersive album of understated but incredibly detailed free improvisation from the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet, Emidio Buchinho on electric guitar and Carla Santana on electronics, performing live at Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema, in Amadora, Portugal for a four part concentration on silence through sound.

Rhythmically rich instrumental music crossing experimental, rock and compositional forms with an ear towards primitive and instinctual pulses, the French quartet of drummer & bass harpist Julein Chamla, percussionist Benjamin Flament, Simon Henocq on live electronics and guitarist Richard Comte explore innate pulses imbued with modern and urgent overtones.

Australian sound poet and vocalist Sage J Harlow aka Sage Pbbbt, whose innovative vocal work takes inspiration from Tuvan and Mongolian overtone singing and Inuit throat singing, created this mysterious set of electroacoustic compositions on the unceeded lands of the Whadjuk People of the Noongar Nation, developing four works of spellbinding spectral ambience.

The first recording between French improvisers, guitarist Guillaume Gargaud and double bassist Patrice Grente, who began their work together in 2016 performing noise and minimalist music, increasing the frequency of their collaborations until a forced 1 year break, meeting again in 2021 to record this beautifully complementing set of all-acoustic duos.

Approaching the string trio of viola, cello and double bass through improvisation and exceptionally extended techniques, the Portuguese trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Joao Madeira on double bass "scratch, stretch and strop timbers" as they express a unique universe of string interaction from raucous to reflective.

After the Lisbon String Trio for the Dada album, Bruno Parrinha on B-flat, alto and bass clarinets joins with the string pairing of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues to record this impressionistic 3-part work, the title translating to "Without Forgetting The Trees", each movement expanding into darkly colored branches of remarkable control.

Aptly described as chiaroscuro--a veritable play of light and shadow in quick-witted--through nearly microscopic and highly interactive acoustic improvisation from the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Maria da Rocha on violin, Bruno Parrinha on clarinet & bass clarinet and Jose Oliveira on percussion, performing live at Galeria Monumental, in Lisbon in 2022.

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.

Using harmonic intersections and extraneous sonic emanations from two clarinets, the duo of Kai Fagaschinski and Michael Thieke (also of The Magic I.D.) continue their long-standing International Nothing project of composed works through patient interactions of powerfully focused technique, here in their fifth album presenting a 42-minute work of delicate, dark beauty.

Four improvisations recorded iteratively during the pandemic and assembled into this exquisitely subtle two-part composition with Eva Maria Houben's piano & organ recorded in Berlin in 2020, Guilherme Rodrigues's cello recorded in Berlin and Ernesto Rodrigues's zither recorded in Lisbon in 2021, merged with nocturnal recordings from Carlos Santos captured in Spain & Portugal.

A reductionist set of spartan improvisation performed live at Casa da Cultura, in Setubal, Portugal in 2021 from the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, João Silva on trumpet and Andre Hencleeday on piano, applying extended techniques on their instruments in a dark night, quiet but intently close listening conversation from three authoritative voices.

Two strings, sax, bass and percussion from the free improvising chamber jazz quintet of Mia Dyberg on alto saxophone, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Johan Moir on double bass and Jose Oliveira on percussion, in an interactive and dynamic live performance recorded in 2018 during the CreativeFest XII at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal.

A double CD compilation released to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the electro-acoustic improv space E42.A8 based in Tournai, Belgium, featuring 21 musicians, in varying ensembles, from 2 to 9 people, presenting an eclectic and diverse mix of styles and approaches to experimental music through textures, rhythm, and indescribable sound sources; fascinating.

A slyly disruptive set of minimalist compositions from New York electronic artist Dominic Coles, recounting six dreams, each described in the liner notes, by using the voice to drive various forms of synthesis on computer and through circuitry, a curious and surprisingly detailed retelling through unexpected tone, punctuation, confrontation and silence.

The French Lunar Error Ensemble employ acoustic and electric instruments including reeds, piano, percussion, electric guitars, synth & computers to create complex drone and sonic environments, here performing Jean-Luc Guionnet's work for micro-variations and harmonic interference, a slowly building and massive work recorded in the resonance of the Protestant temple, in Reims.

Reissuing their limited 2014 release on Joachim Nordwall Editions, the Oceans Of Silver & Blood duo of Joachim Nordwall on analog synthesizer, effects & tape and percussionist Mark Wastell on tam tam and timpani present two pieces, the first an environmental work underpinned by subtle percussion, the second a richly resonating work of threatening warmth.

Post-pandemic, the electroacoustic IKB ensemble returned to the stage in 2021 at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon with some of Portugal's finest improvisers performing under the direction of violist Ernetso Rodrigues, to express in sound the large rainforest beetle Titanus Giganteus, represented in an extended collective improvisation of restraint fueled by masterful and creative skill.

Two extended acoustic improvisations of reductionist approaches recorded in the studio in Parede, Portugal in 2021 from the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet, Andre Hencleeday on piano and Joao Valinho on percussion, guided by a poem from Rodrigues as they slowly and exquisitly explore a "Closed Window" and an "Open Window".

Bringing together Lisbon artists active in contemporary classical, electroacoustic soundscape and improvisation, the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Joana Sa on soprano saxophone, Luisa Goncalves on piano and Carlos Santos on electronics delicately "Melt" or merge these elements in a subtle and absorbing concert captured live at Lisboa Incomun.

Six "Segments" A to F of powerful restraint and extended technique, recorded at Ausland in Berlin, Germany from the free improvising quartet of Quentin Tolimieri on piano, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello and Fyodor Stepanov on double bass, the close associations between the Rodrigues' and Tolimieri & Stepanov evident through their shared aesthetic.

Sound and visual installation artists Joakim Forsgren and Andreas Hiroui Larsson use a multiplicity of approaches, both rhythmic and abstract, and a vast set of instruments (flutes, bass, drum machines, saxophone, maracas, sythesizer, &c) and objects (kitchenware, nails in a box, aluminum foil, &c) to create a universe of quirky and embraceable song-like structures.

The second-ever solo release from Tim Olive and his first since 2008, in a distinctive set of compositions that layer and superimpose multiple, darkly intense recordings of improvisations made with magnetic pickups, metal plates, springs, wire, tuning forks, electromagnets, bow, breath, dental floss, envelope generator, fuzz, spring reverb, and preamplifier.

"An invitation into our perceptual periphery, where noise(s) — and perhaps we — can be somewhat disobedient" read the liner notes to Colombian composer Sergio Cote Barco's sound work, three compositions from extreme minimalism and silence to rich sound, each varying the topography and envelopes of sound, ostensibly performed by "electronic music".

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.

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.

Stockholm composer Magnus Granberg's first visit to Japan was to perform at the 2019 Ftarri Festival, adapting his extended and subtle work "Come Down to Earth Where Sorrow Dwelleth", originally composed for the Boston ensemble Ordinary Affects, here reworked for sho, koto, prepared piano and electronics performed by Ko Ishikawa, Miki Maruta and Toshimaru Nakamura.

While contrabass player Matija Schellander was performing a residency at the 2017 music Festival Artacts in Austria, this quartet formed with Paris saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet, percussionist Seijiro Murayama and Beijing-based vocalist Yan Jun, developing this work of quiet tension and sudden release, here from one of four performances, recorded live at Ljubljana in Slovenia.

Acoustic and sublime minimal acoustic improvisation with an emphasis on strings from the Portuguese quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Almeida on acoustic guitar, Andre Lanca on electric guitar, Bernardo Alvares on double bass, and Felice Furioso on percussion, performing live during the Small Format Materials Festival at Galeria Monumental, in Lisbon.

IKB, a ten-piece reductionist electroacoustic ensemble of strings, reeds, guitar, computer, percussion, piano, drums & objects, continues their exploration of exotic animal species with this 2020 live performance at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon, Portugal, detailing the long-billed shore bird Limosa through intricate, restrained and remarkable expression.

The 8-piece String Theory ensemble directed by violist Ernesto Rodrigues performs a beautiful and subtle work inspired by a poem written by Rodrigues, "Une Ombre Du Bonheur", realized through viola, violin, cellos, viola de gamba, double bass, piano, zither and objects, a stunningly beautiful and deceptively tranquil work of exceptional detail and dexterous execution.

The trio of Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet & alto sax, Abdul Moimeme on prepared electric guitar & objects, and Carlos Santos on electronics & objects performed this confrontational improvisation at the 2020 Small Formats Materials Festival, weaving acoustic and electronic expression with assertive confidence, affirming reductionist approaches as commanding statements.

An exquisite and mysterious album of free improvisation merging acoustic and subtle electroacoustic elements, from the trio of Bertrand Denzler on tenor saxophone, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Abdul Moimeme on electric guitar & objects, recording in the studio for this extensive work in four parts that transitions between moments of transfixing sound and cautious motion.

Two concert recordings between alto saxophonist Bertrand Gauget and pianist John Tilbury, one at Eglise Saint Maximin, in Metz, France in 2016 and the other at Festival Paysages d'écoute at Les Quinconces, France in 2019, leveraging the natural resonance of both spaces as they perform with concentrative pacing using advanced techniques to create drama and intensity.

A live performances at CreativeFest 2018 in Lisbon from the electroacoustic quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Fred Marty on double bass, and Carlos Santos on electronics, the title translating to "On our footsteps in the light of day" as the improvisers merge strings and electronics through spirited and radiant playing.

Acoustic and sublime minimal acoustic improvisation with an emphasis on strings from the Portuguese quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Almeida on acoustic guitar, Andre Lanca on electric guitar, Bernardo Alvares on double bass, and Felice Furioso on percussion, performing live during the Small Format Materials Festival at Galeria Monumental, in Lisbon.

Composer Andrew Lafkas' large ensemble piece with performers including C. Spencer Yah, Ron Stabinsky, Barry Weisblat, Sean Meehan, Ben Owen, &c. is a meditative work intended for live performance, this album the 2nd of 3 performances, a brooding and resonant rendering of rich and subtle detail that evolves over 70 minutes, carrying its listeners in a profound revery.

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.

The title gives a sense of the unusual acoustic improvisation this West Coast collective perform, along with their description "prickles and bleats, an abrasive delicacy; fricative rasp and withheld breath seethe together in a discomfiting cuddle" — from Kyle Bruckmann on oboe & English horn, Tom Djll on trumpet, Jacob Felix Heule on floor tom, and Kanoko Nishi-Smith on koto.

Translating to "Little Trumpet Music", the duo of trumpeters Birgit Uhler and Franz Hautzinger, Uhler also performing on radio & objects, use extreme techniques and approaches to their improvisations, focusing on extraneous sounds from their instruments in enigmatic and captivating ways, expansively defining reductionism in masterfully idiosyncratic ways.

Two sets of profound composure and restraint, captured at a concert in Munich in May 2019 by Berlin improvising instrumentalists -- Werner Dafeldecker (double bass) and Lucio Capece (bass clarinet, slide saxophone, feedback and room amplification) -- invoking moods of Polwechsel through focused structures of intense precision of dense interaction.

After twenty years playing together, the Sealed Knot trio of Burkhard Beins on amplified percussion, Rhodri Davies on amplified lap harp, and Mark Wastell on dual 32 past tam tams, gongs & nepalese singing bowls, performed live at Cafe OTO to record this beautifully captured, contemplative concert of tone, texture and ringing sound, like a 20-year dream reflected.

A live performance at CreativeFest XIII at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon in 2019 from the quartet of Emilie Skrijelj on accordion, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Mira on cello, and Tom Malmendier on percussion, Lluvia referencing Rain as the quartet quietly builds and releases tension through subtle cues, persistent figures, tonal innuendo and shades.

The trio of Portuguese cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, Japanese percussionist Naoto Yamagish currently residing in France, and Japanese violinist Naoki Kita, active in improvisation and contemporary fields in Portugal and Berlin, met in Saitama, Japan at Barber Fuji to record these open conversations integrating extraneous noise and incidental instrumental sounds.

The concept of a spiegel, or mirror, is explored by this perceptively patient electroacoustic octet led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, each of the 3 tracks an evolution of the first recorded improvisation, the 2nd "Spiegel" layering and reacting to the first recording, and the 3rd to the previous two, ultimately reflecting a conversation of 24 virtual musicians.

Taking their project name as a concatenation of their personal names, appropriate to the close improvisational bond shared by the Spanish drum and sax duo of Nasim Lopez-Palacios and Pau Torres Serra, who present a unique and idiosyncratic language on their instruments to create an engaging set of dialogs through energetically controlled yet never chaotic interaction.

An electroacoustic octet drawn from the collaborative community surrounding Creative Sources, captured live during the Small Format Materials Festival at Galeria Monumental, in Lisbon in 2019, a subtle and substantial work of intimate tension and quietly detailed interaction, seemingly minimalistic yet dynamically a narrative evolution of sublime patience.

A live performance at Casa da Cultura during the "Creative Sources Cycle" in 2020, capturing an extended acoustic improvisation between Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone, and Miguel Mira on cello, using restrained approaches to deceptively detailed dialog of magnificent technique, as they sonically describe the Setúbal Inlet near Lisbon.

ppooll sound artist Klaus Filip and Japanese experimental vocalist Moe Kamura (10Tet, Taku Sugimoto) in a two-part improvisation of electronic tones, textures, silence, and minimalist vocalization and utterance, Filip using a dynamic frequency palette inspiring Kamura's wordless expression; lowercase or Onkyo, a meditative and moody work.

Performing on soprano and sopranino saxophones, French saxophonist Michel Doneda is heard in concert at Tiasci in Paris for three "Monstre" solo improvisations of quietly emphatic playing using extended techniques and unusual phrasing, released as a limited 250g paper card hand-printed by Normad with an accompanying download code, 1 of 2 art cards initiating an 8-card series.

An album of quiet improvisation focused on timbre, rhythm and pensive pacing from the duo of bass clarinetist Philippe Lauzier and bassist Éric Normand, also using objects to create mysterious tones and acoustic sonics, released as a limited 300g paper card hand-printed by Normad with an accompanying download code, 1 of 2 art cards initiating an 8-card series.

First performed in November 2019 at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and then at the Splitter Orchester festival in Berlin, this studio recording of Magnus Granberg's delicately complex and exquisitely dream-like composition features his Skogen ensemble, including Granberg, Rhodri Davies, Toshimaru Nakamura, Erik Carlsson, Petter Wastberg, &c.

Extremely patient compositions for electronics, cello, guitar and tenor sax from French sound and visual artist Pierre Gerard: "Air" using recordings from his duo partner of tenor saxophonist Bertrand De Lamalle with long sections of silence; "Cavity" employs previously recorded guitar improvisations that interact with Gerard's live electronic improvisations.

A substantial live work from the 2019 CreativeFest XIII at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon from the improvising ensemble Sfumato lead by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, fulfilling the title of the album in great tension and suspense as the 11 members improvise, generating waves of activity between concentrated and meditative moments, an incredible example of power and restraint.

An improvising string quartet with Creative Sources label leader Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, German violinist and violist Dietrich Petzold and German double bassist Jan Roder, recording in the studio in Berlin in 2018 for seven active improvisations with a chamber feel, each named by the letters making up the word "PICTURE".

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.

Guitarist Olaf Rupp recorded this trio session with violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, capturing five improvisations from around 8 minutes to 18 in length, the first three demonstrating intense interaction with an overall sense of restraint, closing with two more reflective works, a beautiful balance of reductionist sensibility amid superb technique.

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.

The fourth release from the Portuguese lowercase electroacoustic ensemble Suspensao, merging viola, cello, bass clarinet, alto sax, electric guitar, piano, double bass, percussion and electronics in intensely detailed, slow moving improvisation, revealing impressive tension and suspension of time in impeccably concentrative collective conversation.

A fascinating confluence of improvisation and contemporary compositional approaches from this Spanish ensemble led by composer and drummer Nasim Lopez Palacios, using 5 reeds, trumpet, flute, piano, electric guitar, harp, double bass, drums and electronics in an extended work exploring space, tension and motion, with a beautiful build to catharsis.