Cellist Khabat Abas and violist Ivor Kallin engage in a taut, exploratory duo dialogue built from extended techniques, fractured vocalizations, and deliberate use of space, where cantankerous textures, unconventional pacing, and carefully placed silences shape a curiously absorbing improvisation that balances raw intensity with focused restraint.

Bringing together two prolific figures in the UK's improvised music community, guitarist Dominic Lash and drummer/percussionist Mark Wastell explore a stripped yet expansive duo format that nods toward free jazz, where a seemingly conventional setup gives way to a language rooted in texture, gesture, and sonic detail rather than pulse or harmonic progression.

Expanding their earlier duo work into a live setting, pianist Chris Abrahams and percussionist Mark Wastell engage in a patient, textural session of free improv, where rippling piano figures and resonant cymbal washes unfold in a deeply attentive dialog, shaping a meditative, slowly evolving sound world defined by subtle interplay, spatial awareness, and restrained, ritual-like intensity.

The duo of improvisers Stuart Wilding and Mike Adcock transform an array of percussion, prepared objects, piano and unconventional instruments into a playful yet deeply attentive dialogue of texture, shaped by the natural resonance of Whiteshill Village Hall, balancing spontaneity, humor and focused listening in an intimate exploration of improvised sound.

Improvisations recorded at various locations in Manchester between 2022 and 2023 bring together Francis Comyn's texturally driven percussion and Adam Fairhall's prepared electric and toy pianos in nine alloy-titled pieces that explore resonance, metallic timbre, and shifting rhythmic tension, resulting in a concise yet richly detailed dialog of tactile free improvisation balancing restraint, density, and finely tuned sonic interaction.

Cellist Khabat Abas and violist Ivor Kallin engage in a taut, exploratory duo dialogue built from extended techniques, fractured vocalizations, and deliberate use of space, where cantankerous textures, unconventional pacing, and carefully placed silences shape a curiously absorbing improvisation that balances raw intensity with focused restraint.

The Berlin trio of Miako Klein (recorders), Magda Mayas (piano), and Biliana Voutchkova (violin, voice) further refine their fully improvised approach into an immersive sonic practice, where sustained textures, extended techniques, and collective restraint blur individual voices into a cohesive, ever-shifting sound world, captured at the Studio for Electroacoustic Music at the Akademie der Kunst in Berlin.

An intimate, immersive duo recording in which Tom Jackson's finely articulated clarinet and Daniel Thompson's responsive, highly attuned guitar create a richly expressive terrain of spontaneous sound, channeling the spirit of free improvisation's pioneers in a deeply communicative exchange of timbre, space, and dynamic nuance.

A deeply immersive duo performance from saxophonist Don Malfon and percussionist Vasco Trilla, this exploratory session unfolds as a richly textured dialogue of breath, resonance, and rhythm, where haunting tones, shifting densities, and subtle dynamics blur the lines between experimental jazz, ambient improvisation, and abstract sound sculpture, revealing a finely balanced interplay of intensity and restraint.

This double-CD set finds Michael Pisaro and Michael Francis Duch probing the attentive meeting of electric guitar and double bass in extended, quietly rigorous works that privilege the fine gradations of sound, duration and silence, offering a minimal but richly textured listening experience rooted in subtle transformation rather than overt spectacle.

Seminal figures in the evolution of free or nonidiomatic improvisation, guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist/pocket trumpeter John Stevens are heard in a 1989 London performance vividly captured by Michael Gerzon at The Duke of Wellington, their restless and enthusiastic interplay shifting from angular invention to lyrical reflection in a compelling document of their remarkable rapport.

The cross-continental trio of Cheryl E. Leonard, Tom Djll, and Bryan Day create an improvised electro-acoustic environment of equal voices, blending trumpet with attachments and electronics, invented instruments, homemade synths, driftwood, shells, bones, feathers, and field recordings in a dynamic performance recorded in Albany, NY and San Pablo, CA, mastered by Thomas Dimuzio.

A 2020 Berlin recording uniting British baritone saxophonist Simon Rose and German guitarist/electronic musician Nicola L. Hein in a richly textural duo of sustained microtonal guitar, gravelly saxophone rumbles, layered drones, and shifting intensities, balancing intense and sometimes corrosive abstraction with earthy, lyrical interplay.

A trio of iconic UK improvisers — John Butcher on saxophones, Phil Durrant on electric mandolin and electronics, and Mark Wastell on percussion — perform at Poland's Spontaneous Music Festival in a richly textured set of acoustic and electronic interplay, where density, space, and responsiveness converge in a uniquely dynamic and nuanced session of free improvisation.

Recorded live at Saint Augustine's Wrangthorn in Leeds, UK, the duo of saxophonist Ed Jones and drummer Emil Karlsen bridge free jazz and free improvisation in a dynamic, low-key but deeply interactive session, emphasizing collective phrasing, evolving structures, and subtle momentum in an hour-long exploration of nuanced, expressive dialog.

A one-track electroacoustic work composed and mixed by Lance Austin Olsen, combining amplified copper plate, shruti box, guitar, flute, found tapes, and processed objects with extended voice and sampler, forming a dynamic and unpredictable narrative that shifts between silence, tension, and resonance in a rich, scored soundscape of urban unease.

Two 2024 sessions from the free improvising trio of John Butcher (tenor and soprano saxophones), Phil Durrant (electric mandolin and electronics), and Mark Wastell (drums and percussion): the two-part dialog "Around", recorded live at London's Vortex Jazz Club, and the four-part collective improvisation "Above", captured at The Rose Hill in Brighton, UK.

A collaborative tribute to Nordic poet Nils Christian Moe-Repstad (1972-2022), Wunderkammer blends live recordings from Punkt Festival 2023 with Moe-Repstad's 2014 voice recordings, as Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, Michael Francis Duch, David Toop, and Mark Wastell weave a spectral and meditative ea-improv work of minimalism, poetic tension, and reverent sonic exploration.

Recording live in the studio in San Diego, percussionist Nathan Hubbard and double bassist Kyle Motl engage in four fascinating duets of improvised music, blending extended techniques and unconventional approaches to their instruments to evoke richly textured, unpredictable, and exploratory performances that push the boundaries of traditional bass-and-drum interplay.

Recorded live in Munich, Germany, Udo Schindler and Paul Rogers unite in a masterful duo performance blending Schindler's clarinet, double bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, and cornet with Rogers' work on the 7-string double bass, crafting an intricate, dynamic improvisation that explores space, texture, and resonance in a profound and sometimes exultant exploration of Recorded live in Munich, Germany, Udo Schindler and Paul Rogers unite in a masterful duo performance blending Schindler's clarinet, double bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, and cornet with Rogers' work on the 7-string double bass, crafting an intricate, dynamic improvisation using space, texture, and resonance in a profound and sometimes exultant exploration of low tones. tones.

Recorded live in Kassel and Cologne, Germany, in May 2023, turntablist Ignaz Schick, prepared pianist Anaïs Tuerlinckx, and bass clarinetist/soprano saxophonist Joachim Zoepf deliver two wild and extended electroacoustic improvisations, blending tactile textures, dynamic interplay, and outside approaches to redefine the sonic possibilities of their respective instruments.

An impressive live performance at Exploratorium Berlin in 2024 as part of the international symposium Musicians' Perspectives on Improvisation, which explores the practices, ideas, visions and theories of improvising musicians, from the trio of John Butcher on saxophones, Luigi Marino on cymbals, zarb, zarb e zurkhaneh & feedback devices, and Mark Wastell on percussion.

An unusual and engrossing concert of free dialog using tightly controlled technique between two legendary free jazz improvisers: percussionist Paul Lytton performing on tabletop percussion and "bits and pieces", and saxophonist Georg Wissel performing on augmented alto saxophone and tenor saxophone, from reserved intricate detail to forcefully passionate expression.

The trio of Barry Chabala on acoustic guitar, objects & radio, David Forlano on laptop, EWI & live sampling and Drew Gowran on drums & percussion are heard in a set of four experimental soundscapes and improvised dialogs of great detail and diverse momentum, captured live at Juno Brewery + Cafe, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

London clarinetist Tom Jackson, active in both free improvisation and contemporary classical music, meets with cellist Tyler J. Borden, who concentrates on the extremes of his instrument through unusual and extended techniques, interpret one of London's "lost rivers"--Parr's Ditch--in three extended, interpretative improvisations of powerful impressions.

A three-part construction of intense and highly textured drone, waves of sound and spacial tension through the innovative use of snare, cymbals and a bowed acoustic guitar, from the duo of chameleonic Belgian improviser and experimental guitarist Dirk Serries (vidnaObmana, Fear Falls Burning, A New Wave of Jazz) and collaborative UK drummer/percussionist Andrew Lisle.

An expressive piano trio from Steve Beresford on piano, Italian-born, UK-based drummer/percussionist Valentina Magaletti, and Italian Bassist Pierpaolo Martino, Beresford using piano preparations, electronics & toys to expand the palette of their instrumentation, all three bringing a wealth of experience in jazz, free improv and experimental sound to their solid conversations.

Double bassist Jonas Gerigk invited two Berlin-based musicians--pianist Anaïs Tuerlinckx and percussionist Burkhard Beins--for a week of musical experiments and exploration at the venue Saxstall in Pohrsdorf/Tharandt, Germany, culminating in a well-recieved live performance; these two recordings are the result of their week of sonic investigation and improvisations.

The full performance of legendary improvising guitarist Derek Bailey's 2001 exhilarating duo with bassist Simon H. Fell at Sound 323, originally released as a mini-CD and voted record of the year in 2002 by The Wire, then released on CD and now as a deluxe 2 LP set on 180gm White Vinyl.

John Butcher mastered this live recording immaculately captured by Alex Ward at the Vortex in London in 2022 between two exceptional free improvisers, Dominic Lash on electric guitar and Ståle Liavik Solberg on drums & percussion, their three-part dialog sliding in and out of jazz, non-idiomatic and experimental modes in quick-witted and masterful exchanges.

Extending the duo of British improvisers, legendary vocalist and leader of London's The Gathering, Maggie Nicols, also performing on taps and percussion, and Confront label-leader, percussionist Mark Wastell performing on cymbals and frame drum, with Swedish percussionist Matilda Rolfsson on bass drum, captured in a captivating concert at All Ears in Oslo in 2023.

An impressive set of recordings from the electroacoustic improvising trio of Camille Émaille on percussion, dieb13 on turntables and Hans Koch on soprano sax, clarinet & bass clarinet, recording live in Switzerland at Le Singe and at Poestremeis for eleven intricate exchanges of mystery and suspense using remarkable technique and patient attention to each player's contribution.

Beginning in February 2022 on the 1st Saturday of the month Mark Wastell would bring his cello to the Hundred Years Gallery in London with the grace of gallery owners Graham MacKeachan and Montse Gallego and play, not as a performance, not as a rehearsal, just to play and record his improvisations as he expands his reach on the instrument, heard here in 17 fascinating excerpts.

In 1980 Duck Baker's first label deal had expired and the label changed direction, as did Baker himself from arranging traditional tunes into compositions for improvisation; still, these well-recorded demos from 1982 held an appeal through song selection and a uniquely edgy yet lyrical approach to his playing, now finally released to the public 40 years later.

Dave Tucker, a one-time member of The Fall and long-time free improviser involved with the Alan Tomlinson Trio and his own School of Velocity quartet with Evan Parker, John Edwards & Steve Noble, in a duo with double bassist Pierpaolo Martino for 11 succinct and assertive dialogs titled "Melophobia" I - XI, diverse works from active Crimson-esque playing to dark & introspective ruminations.

A fully free improvisation of subtly disruptive, extended electroacoustic mastery, recorded during the Svensk Musikvår Festival at Aliasteatern, Stockholm in 2021, in a piece conceived by Mats Gustafsson who performs on saxophone & flute, with Anna Lindal on violin, Mats Lindstrom on electronics, effects & sampler and Joachim Nordwall on analog synths, effects & tapes.

An extended improvisation interweaving acoustic and electronic instruments in a beautifully coherent evolution of mysterious and approachable sources, from the trio of Jan Bang, David Toop and Mark Wastell, combining tam tams, gongs, flutes, lapsteel, live sampling, gongs, brushes, elastic, paper and more to captivate the curious listener.

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.

Having been acquainted with each other for decades but never finding the opportunity to record, improvising American guitarist Duck Baker and British guitarist Mike Cooper finally found their chance in 2010 while both were in Rome, taking two acoustic nylon Spanish guitars into the studio to record these three extended, intertwining improvisations.

A comprehensive album of live performances from IST (Rhodri Davies: harp, preparations; Simon H. Fell: double bass, preparations; Mark Wastell: violoncello, preparations) between 1996 and 2000, beginning with their concert at Club Orange in London and including concerts in London, Billericay, Norwich and Cambridge, with a 20 page booklet of photos and text from the band & collaborators.

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.

Two extremely compatible guitarists are heard in two live recordings in Tokyo, Japan, at OTOOTO and at Permian, in 2017 & 2018, using unusual tunings, extended techniques and a patient sense of space and momentum that allows each of their contributions to resonate distinctively while maintaining a confident dialog of connected abstraction and exploration.

UK sound artist Fermata Ark, aka Harry Smith, composed this work from improvisations recorded by Mark Wastell performing on cello, double bass and harmonium, and Spencer Grady performing on 5-string banjo, ebow, violin bow and brass slide, creating an extended work of immersive and mesmerizing textures and tones, sounds rising and falling in sublime and passionate ways.

Inspired by a work by John Stevens from 1991, Mark Wastell developed this work merging narration and improvisation by transcribing the text from Steven's performance, preseanted here by an electroacoustic ensemble including Phil Durrant, Dominic Lash, Bertrand Denzler, Jennifer Allum &c, yielding an enveloping and fascinatingly mysterious piece presented in two versions.

An absorbing album of percussion and voice from the working duo of Christian Wolfarth on drums and percussion, and Jason Kahn on voice, for two extended improvisations of cathartic vocal expression and assertive rhythmic and reflective percussive accompaniment, balancing eccentric and mesmerizing sound in gripping and compelling ways.

A series of unusual compositions originally written by Jacques Demmiere and Vincent Barras, here reworked by Demmiere and violinist Anouck Genthon, each piece focusing on sounds, breaths, frictions, silences, vowels and consonants, weaving and complementing each other through a mix of traditional, extended and unconventional techniques; fascinating.

IST, configured as the duo of double bassist Simon H. Fell and cellist/percussionist Mark Wastell, performing a virtual quartet at London's Cafe OTO, using using pre-recorded fragments of solo work from late guitarist Derek Bailey and tap dancer Will Gaines, combined with sections of silence of unforeseeable length, and then combined with the live musicians; amazing.

Assigning different times systems--standard time, decimal and hex time--to different musicians, harpist Rhodri Davies develops an electroacoustic improvisational environment of unusual perception and sensation, performed live in Cardiff in 2018 with Ryoko Akama, Sara Hughes, Sofia Jernberg, Pia Palme, Andre Parkinson, Lucy Railton, Pat Thomas, & Dafne Vicente.

Lapsteel guitarist and electronic artist Mike Cooper and percussionist Mark Wastell, employing a paiste 32" tam tam and a shruti box, pay homage to the large acoustic sound mirrors used in Britain from 1916 to 1930 as an early form or radar, each of their detailed improvisation referencing one of the locations on the British south and northeast coasts.