"If this quartet most resembles a jazz band among these Berlin recordings, it might be in its speculative assembly. [...] It's akin to a novel, Julio Cortazar's Hopscotch, designed with multiple reading sequences, or Nanni Balestrini's Tristano, in which the order of paragraphs is different in every single copy."-Stuart Broomer, from the liner notes.

Liz Allbee (b. 1976 in Vermont, USA) is a composer, improviser and performer whose work ranges from improvisation to electro-acoustic composition and basic instrument building. Recurring themes in her work are embodiments and extensions as well as strategies for spatialization. She has performed at venues and festivals worldwide and is part of various ensembles including Pareidolia, Ganzfeld and The Liz. She lives in Berlin.lizallbee.net

Ignaz Schick (b. 1972 in Trostberg, Germany) is a turntablist, composer, sound and visual artist and curator. Since the mid-1990s he has been living in Berlin, where he was an active member of the so-called Berlin Nouvelle Vague and real-time music scene. He has performed in numerous duos including with Andrea Belfi, Sven-Åke Johansson, Andrea Neumann, Andrea Parkins and David Watson. He is also member and founder of various ensembles such as Perlonex, Phosphor and the Berlin Sound Connective, and has toured and recorded extensively.soundcloud.com/ignazschick

Marta Zapparoli (b. 1975 in Isola della Scala, Italy) is an experimental sound artist, improviser, performer and self-taught researcher. She has studied soprano saxophone and visual arts at the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna. She has been active in sound art since 2003, with frequent incursions into experimental theatre, dance, performance and radio broadcasting. She has collaborated with numerous musicians including Werner Dafeldecker, Ignaz Schick, Burkhard Beins, Liz Albee, Andrea Neumann and John Butcher. She has been living in Berlin since 2007.martazapparoli.klingt.org

Allbee, Schick and Zapparoli are prominent proponents of Berlin's dynamic "Echtzeitmusik" scene, which emerged in the mid-1990s outside of mainstream economic circuits. Initially confined to semi-confidential spaces, it has evolved into a large and musically diverse community with established venues such as ausland and KM28. Retaining its original focus on experimentation and openness to new forms of music-making and -listening, it keeps renewing itself thanks to the input of musicians from all parts of the world.

John Butcher (b. 1954 in Brighton) describes himself as "a saxophonist who attempts to engage with the uniqueness of time and place." His music ranges from improvisation and compositions to multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback and unusual acoustics.

After publishing a PhD in quantum chromodynamics (1982), Butcher left academia and took off with music. He has since collaborated with hundreds of artists, for many decades in the case of some, including Eddie Prévost, Derek Bailey, Steve Beresford, Paul Lovens, Rhodri Davies, Matthew Shipp, Akio Suzuki, Thomas Lehn, Christian Marclay, Gino Robair, Okkyung Lee, Mark Sanders, Ståle Liavik Solberg, Phil Minton and Angharad Davies and the groups Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Thermal and Polwechsel.

Compositions have been varied, the most recent being Tarab Cuts (based on early Arabic recordings) and Fluid Fixations for 14 players at HCMF (2021).

Butcher also values playing in occasional encounters ranging from large groups, such as Butch Morris's London Skyscraper and the EX Orkestra, to duo concerts with David Toop, Ute Kanngiesser, Joe McPhee, Keiji Haino, John Tilbury, Fred Frith, and Otomo Yoshihide.

The John Butcher Vinyl Series / Part 1:

A set of 5 LPs with live recordings featuring the prominent British saxophonist in five different musical formations. They capture a series of concerts held in 2019, four of which saw Butcher joined by a roster of international musicians for a two-day celebratory event at ausland in Berlin, and the fifth marking the debut of a new trio recorded in Leipzig and Berlin.

The series bears witness to the extraordinary breadth of Butcher's musical palette, which allows him to play across different musical scenes and with performers from the most diverse backgrounds. In these recordings, he variously reunites with colleagues with whom he has worked extensively in the past (Burkhard Beins, Werner Dafeldecker, Thomas Lehn, Gino Robair, Sophie Agnel, Tony Buck, Magda Mayas) and engages with a group of performers from the eclectic Berlin Echtzeitmusik scene (Liz Allbee, Ignaz Schick, Marta Zapparoli).

The recordings cover a wide range of musical approaches and experiments, from "expression, speculation, ceremony, initiation and transcendence" (Stuart Broomer) to sound refractions and mimicry. Documenting Butcher's versatility and empathic sense of communion, they underline his unique status in the improvised music world, which has earned him a reputation as one of the scene's most influential musicians.

Five LPs in an edition of 300 copies, edited and mixed by John Butcher, liner notes by Stuart Broomer, Inner sleeve photography by Cristina Marx.