Reimagining and transforming Ahmed Abdul-Malik's Jazz Sahara in their first studio session, the [Ahmed] quartet of Pat Thomas, Joel Grip, Antonin Gerbal, and Seymour Wright ignite four compact, single-take explorations that fuse percussive intensity, kaleidoscopic group interplay, and a fearless reshaping of tradition into dizzying, future-leaning improvisation.

"Learning, Sophie Agnel's first solo LP, feels like the dark, physical inversion of her excellent Song which came out on Relative Pitch. Sinking her unique sound into vinyl for the first time, the LP arrives as Agnel recovers from a bra...

Capturing their first UK appearance since 2016, the duo of Toshiji Mikawa and Fumio Kosakai unleash two blistering sets of "hard noise" at Cafe Oto, forging scorched-earth tape loops, feedback vortices, and pedal-chain eruptions into a ferocious, fire-music-level onslaught that channels pure chaos into a gripping, cathartic sonic upheaval.

Celebrating three decades of collaboration, Loren Connors and Alan Licht performed at Café OTO in 2023, captured in their first set with Connors on piano before shifting to guitar, their improvisation unfolding with spacious warmth, melodic restraint, and shimmering textures that evoke Rothko-like hues, blending blues abstraction and lyrical fragments into a calm, luminous dialogue.

Recorded live at Cafe OTO, the formidable trio of pianist Sophie Agnel, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Steve Noble delivers an explosive set of collective free improvisation, deconstructing their instruments into raw sound materials through playful intensity, percussive collisions, and a fearless, physical approach that dissolves the line between instrument and expression.

The fourth solo piano album from British improviser Pat Thomas on Otoroku, recorded at London's Fish Factory and drawing from his Sufi faith and the legacy of Arabic scientific innovation, as Thomas explores cosmic motion and spiritual resonance through dynamic inside-piano techniques, harmonic clusters, and deeply personal, rhythmically charged improvisations.

The fourth solo piano album from British improviser Pat Thomas on Otoroku, recorded at London's Fish Factory and drawing from his Sufi faith and the legacy of Arabic scientific innovation, as Thomas explores cosmic motion and spiritual resonance through dynamic inside-piano techniques, harmonic clusters, and deeply personal, rhythmically charged improvisations.

One of Peter Brötzmann's final recordings, captured live at Cafe OTO with vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Steve Noble, presenting two nights of emotionally charged and fiercely expressive performances that blend power, lyricism, and deep intergenerational connection in a fitting and resonant farewell to the legendary saxophonist.

One of Peter Brötzmann's final recordings, captured live at Cafe OTO with vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Steve Noble, presenting two nights of emotionally charged and fiercely expressive performances that blend power, lyricism, and deep intergenerational connection in a fitting and resonant farewell to the legendary saxophonist.

Recorded at Hackney Road Studios in London, vocalist, composer, and movement artist Elaine Mitchener presents her first solo LP, drawing on the works of African-American and African-Caribbean poets Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Aimé Césaire, Una Marson, and N.H. Pritchard, creating twelve vocal compositions that disrupt semantic sense through phonetic freedom, silence, and multiphonics.

The first vinyl re-issue of the 1980 duo between UK saxophonist Evan Parker and US trombonist George Lewis, captured live at the Art Workers Guild in London, using the natural resonance of the space and phenomenal technique in an intense set of dialogs showing the mastery of each player and the forceful voice each of them brings to free improvisation.

The first vinyl re-issue of the 1980 duo between UK saxophonist Evan Parker and US trombonist George Lewis, captured live at the Art Workers Guild in London, using the natural resonance of the space and phenomenal technique in an intense set of dialogs showing the mastery of each player and the forceful voice each of them brings to free improvisation.

A much-needed reissue of saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer/percussionist Paul Lytton's first duo album, recorded in London at the loft of The Standard Essenco in 1972 and originally released on the Incus label, the duo approaching their instruments in fantastic and unusual ways in a dialog far ahead of its time, augmented with recordings and eccentric assemblages.

Manipulating orchestral elements via midi composition at physically impossible speeds, LA musician Sunik Kim unleashes two side-long works of synthetic mayhem organized in strangely consumable blocks, with collisions and breath-catching pauses until the commotion drops over the compositional cliff once again; reflecting our current chaotic society? Mayhap.

Reflecting on a magnificent career as an improviser, vocalist & organizer, including Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Les Diaboliques and the Feminist Improvising Group, Maggie Nichols releases an LP solo vocal improv: a set of intimate & expresive songs performed on voice and piano applying techniques going back to John Stevens/SME, and a take on Zappa's 'what's the ugliest part of your body'.

Reflecting on a magnificent career as an improviser, vocalist & organizer, including Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Les Diaboliques and the Feminist Improvising Group, Maggie Nichols releases two related CDs of solo vocal improv: a set of intimate & expresive songs performed on voice and piano; and a set of overdubbed free improvisations applying techniques going back to John Stevens/SME.

Recorded during cellist Okkyung Lee's 2019 residency at OTO Cafe, this album presents two duos: the A side with Jerome Noetinger performing on tapes & electronics, processing Lee's cello live to create a virtual trio of incredible technical skill; the B side with a master of the historic keyboard Ondes Martenot, Nadia Ratsimandresy, in an uncommon dialog of strings and synthetics.

An unusual sax and drum duo from saxophonist Seymour Wright and percussionist Paul Abbott, taking recordings from a dozen years of their work together and assembling, mixing and re-recording them into these two impressive works of "mutated multiphonics and triggered percussion" offset with periods of reflection; startling, unexpected, amusing, awe inspiring.

Bringing together the rhythm section of frequent collaborators, percussionist Hamid Drake and bassist William Parker, with London's improvising duo Black Top of Orphy Robinson on marimba and electronics & Pat Thomas on piano & electronics, plus improvising vocalist Elaine Mitchener, for a passionate and often ecstatically cathartic live concert at Cafe OTO.

Virtually unprecedented for the time, Evan Parker's 1976 solo soprano saxophone album captures Parker's prowess and unusual harmonic approach to the saxophone in a 1975 concert at the Unity Theatre in London and in the FMP studio the same year, using the instrument in startling ways as he captivates his listeners through a unique revelation of logic, drama and staggering skill.

London's Otoroku label keeps this magnificent album in print with a 2021 reissue of the 1982 Incus release featuring Evan Parker performing solo on soprano saxophone, using the natural resonance of the Church Of St. Jude-on-the-Hill, in Hampstead London as he explores upper tones and high frequency split tones in a technically brilliant display.

The UK Decoy trio of John Edwards (bass), Steve Noble (drums) and Alexander Hawkins (keys) joins forces with pocket trumpet and saxophone player Joe McPhee during McPhee's residency at London's Cafe OTO, recording these two huge sets of brilliant free improv, Hawkins performing on organ adding a unique and soulful tone to a set that balances powerful energy with innate lyricism.

More typically a solo performer, Japanese bluesman Kan Mikami has created a distinctive path for his voice, guitar and poetic lyrics; here he is propelled in an improvisational setting with two powerful UK players--John Edwards on bass and Alex Neilson on drums--captured live at London's Cafe Oto for a growling concert of finesse and brusque attitude.

2018 Reissue: A much-needed vinyl reissue of the seminal London & European Free Improv trio release from 1970, an amazing album showing the relationships between established jazz forms and the emerging modern language.

A 2 CD issue of the 2013 LP with 78 additional minutes, from the two day residency at UK's Cafe Oto of Decoy (bassist John Edwards, Alexander Hawkins on Hammond B3, and drummer Steve Nobles) with special guest Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto sax.

A return to the group that kick-started Otoroku - the veteran German reedsman and free jazz pioneer Peter Brotzmann with the long-running London bass/drums partnership of John Edwards and Steve Noble, recording at the last set of a two-day residency at Cafe OTO in 2013.

The final night of Otomo and Sachiko's first residency at London's Cafe OTO in 2009 saw the pair joined by the long-running trio of Evan Parker, John Edwards and Tony Marsh and special guest John Butcher, for an exceptional set of creative improvisation.