The Squid's Ear Magazine
The Squid's Ear Magazine


Wachsmann, Philipp / Matthew Hutchinson: Startle The Echoes (Bead)

Beginning their collaboration during the 1970s in the Chamberpot Ensemble, the duo of violinist Philipp Wachsmann and keyboard and electronic improviser Matthew Hutchinson are heard in live recording from three London Concerts in 2002 & 2003, Wachsmann's violin extended via live signal processing and transformations, extending their dialogs in expansive ways.
 

Price: $15.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 5.00 units


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





Product Information:

Personnel:



Philipp Wachsmann-violin

Matthew Hutchinson-keyboards, electronics

Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.



UPC: 5024545279825

Label: Bead
Catalog ID: Bead CD05 SP
Squidco Product Code: 32532

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2004
Country: UK
Packaging: Jewel Case
Tracks 1 and 3 recorded at The Red Rose, in London, United Kingdom, on March 17th, 2002; Tracks 4 and 6 recorded at The Charteris Centre, in London, United Kingdom, on December 15th, 2002-12-15; Tracks 2 and 5 recorded at Camden People's Theatre, in London, United Kingdom, on June 29th, 2003.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

"Philipp Wachsmann. Born Uganda, 1944; violin, viola and electronics.

In the CD booklet to Gushwachs, John Corbett notes that Phillip Wachsmann came to free improvisation from a predominantly classical background, particularly via the contemporary experiments of "indeterminacy, graphic and prose-based scores, conceptualism and electroacoustics, listening to Webern, Partch, Ives, Berio and Varèse, reading 'Die Reihe' and interrogating the rhythmic, harmonic and melodic preoccupations of Western art music. Starting in 1969, Wachsmann was a member of Yggdrasil, an ensemble performing works by Cage, Cardew, Feldman, Ashley and others and in this group he used contact mikes on the violin and made his own electronic instruments, ring modulators and routing devices. Ironically, his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1969-1970) pushed him hard in the direction of free music. He recalls: 'Despite her neoclassical orientation, her insistence that composition is about the imagination of performance and its realisation, the live moment, and her stunning ability to make this happen was a powerful influence on me, steering towards 'performance' and therefore 'improvisation'.'"

Wachsmann moved from Yggdrasil to Chamberpot - recorded on Bead 2 - and shortly thereafter appeared on Tony Oxley's influential February papers, forward looking in the virtual 'industrial' orientation of some of the tracks, years before this became an accepted genre; the two musicians have continued to work together, in various groupings but notably in the percussionist's Celebration Orchestra. Philipp Wachsmann has also performed and/or recorded with: Derek Bailey's Company, e.g. on the recording Epiphanies; Georg Graewe; Barry Guy; Iskra 1903; King Übü Orchestrü; London Jazz Composers' Orchestra; Evan Parker, particularly as part of the Evan Parker Electronic Project; Quintet Moderne; Fred Van Hove's ML DD 4; Rüdiger Carl's COWWS (now CPWWS) Quintet; and Lines, with Martin Blume, Jim Denley, Axel Dörner and Marcio Mattos. He also plays as a solo musician.

Phillip Wachsmann also administers Bead Records."

-EFI: European Free Improv (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/mwachs.html)
9/9/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Matthew Hutchinson is a UK pianist, known for Chris Burn's Ensemble, Timothy Victor's Folk Orchestra and his work with Phil Wachsmann, Richard Beswick, Hugh Metcalfe, Trevor Taylor, and Paul Medley.

-Discogs (https://www.discogs.com/artist/617231-Matthew-Hutchinson)
9/9/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Stringed Instruments
Electronic Forms
Duo Recordings
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms

Search for other titles on the label:
Bead.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Gush (Gustafsson / Sandell / Strid) + Guests
Gush 30 - Krakow 2018 [3 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
The Gush trio — Mats Gustafsson on reeds and flute, Sten Sandell on piano, and Raymond Strid on drums — celebrate 30 years since their original formation, in extraordinary concerts at Alchemia and Manggha Hall in Krakow, joined by guests in three dynamic configurations — two sextets and a septet — for an unforgettable series of performances of irrepressible collective improvisation.
King Ubu Orchestru 2021
Roi
(FMR)
Originally formed in 1985, this free improv ensemble continues in a new rendition of the Örchestrü, with original members Mark Charig (cornet), Paul Lytton (percussion), Alfred Zimmerlin (cello) and Phillipp Wachsmann (violin) joined by new members including Axel Dorner (trumpet), Phil Minton (voice), and Melvyn Poore (tuba), for two exceptional examples of advanced collective and cooperative improvisation.
Brighton, Ian
Imaginings
(FMR)
Looking back and fondly imagining some of the locations and configuration that UK guitarist Ian Brighton played in the 70s, Brighton developed the pieces on this album, each compositions varying the personnel from life-long partners (Taylor, Wachsmann, Mattos) to musicians Brighton has performed with since his 2016 return to improvisation (Carrier, Beresford, Metcalfe).
Fusi, Marco / Pierre Alexandre Tremblay
Suite
(Bead)
Italian violinist and viola d'amore explorer Marco Fusi meets Canadian bass guitarist and electronics performer Pierre Alexandre Tremblay in a first free improvisation recorded at Huddersfield, where bowed resonance, baroque memory, electric bass vibration and electronic transformation merge into a tactile electroacoustic dialogue of gesture, space, memory and shifting emotional tension.
Genthon, Anouck / Lionel Marchetti
Suite Blanche [2 CDs]
(UnRec)
Exploring the fusion of acoustic presence and electronic projection, violinist Anouck Genthon and electronic musician Lionel Marchetti shape a two-disc journey where the violin's resonance folds into shifting synthetic textures, spatial loudspeaker design guiding evolving sound-forms that radiate like a focused beacon through immersive, exploratory improvisation.
light.box (Bonney / Tremblay) + Tom Challenger
Eyre
(Bead)
For their fourth album and second on Bead, the duo light.box — Alex Bonney (trumpet, electronics) and Pierre Alexandre Tremblay (bass guitar, electronics) — join tenor saxophonist Tom Challenger for their first-ever performance as a trio, traversing cinematic drones, microtonal detail, rapid-fire exchanges, and waves of distortion in an immersive, exploratory session.
Sjostrom, Harri
SoundScapes #4 Festival Berlin 2023 [3 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A remarkable live document of Finnish saxophonist Harri Sjöström's SoundScapes #4 festival in Berlin, bringing together 19 extraordinary musicians from across Europe, Australia, and the U.S. for a series of improvised performances from intimate duos to expansive octets, highlighting spontaneous collaborations all driven by creative risk-taking, deep listening, and a profound sense of musical trust.
Spaces Unfolding + Pierre Alexandre Tremblay
Shadow Figures
(Bead)
Performing together as Spaces Unfolding since 2021, the trio of Neil Metcalfe on flute, Philipp Wachsmann on violin, and Emil Karlsen on drums expands their initial focus on acoustic exploration, as heard on this debut album, with the addition of Pierre Alexandre Tremblay on electronics, blending acoustic and electronic elements to reflect on the evolving influence of technology in their sound.
Durrant, Phil / Daniel Thompson
Live / Studio
(Bead)
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.
Sjostrom, Harri / Erhard Hirt / Philipp Wachsman / Paul Lytton
Especially For You
(Bead)
A concert recording on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Einstein Kultur in Munich from the quartet of Erhard Hirt on guitar & computer and Paul Lytton on drums, percussion & objects (half of the Quartet XPACT) plus Harri Sjostrom on soprano & sopranino saxophones and Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, presenting a remarkable set of collective ea-improvisations.
Wachsmann, Philipp / Trevor Taylor
Two
(FMR)
Eight studio compositions recorded in Kingston, London in 2022 between FMR label-leader Trevor Taylor on percussion and electronics, and violinist Philipp Wachsmann, also processing his sound through electronics, the two finding common ground and great compatibility in reserved pacing that seemingly allows each note and gesture to express itself fully.
Spaces Unfolding (Metcalfe / Wachsmann / Karlsen)
The Way We Speak
(Bead)
All three having met in the London Improvisers Orchestra, Neil Metcalfe on flute and violinist Philipp Wachsmann each worked with drummer Emil Karlsen in separate projects including Tern, and then at Karlsen's suggestion creating this new Spaces Unfolding trio, heard in their first album, recording in the natural resonance of St. Mary's Old Church in Stoke Newington.
Wachsmann, Philipp / Lawrence Casserley
Garuda
(Bead)
Both members of Evan Parker's Electro Acoustic-Ensemble and Colourscape, the ea-improv duo of Philipp Wachsmann on violin & viola and Lawrence Casserley using a signal processing instrument and percussion, are heard in these 2012 studio recordings in Buckinghamshire in 9 wide-ranging dialogs exploring permutations of playing, processing and transforming their instruments.
Wachsmann, Philipp / Michael Bunce
Refractions In Air
(Bead)
Philipp Wachsmann's acoustic violin is routed through his own electronics and then fed into the Live Electronic Sampling & Transformations (LiSa) systems of Michael Bunche, processed and re-performed using time-based transformations shaped by gestural input or as static samples, creating new and unexpected trajectories, sounds snd forms for Wachsmann's playing.
Wachsmann, Phillip
Chathuna
(Bead)
Recordings from a unique concert at the Synagogue in Oerlinghausen, Germany in 1996 between long-term collaborators Philipp Wachsmann and artist Sarah Brigitte Eckel, Wachsmann improvising in the resonance of the synagogue on violin, viola, electronics & tape in response to Eckel's exhibition extemporizing five canvas painting and a floor installation.
Oxley, Tony
Unreleased (1974 to 2016)
(Discus)
The second in Discus Music's "Unreleased" series selected from percussionist and electronics legend Tony Oxley personal collection, here in three configurations: a quintet with Barry Guy, Dave Holdsworth, Howard Riley and Paul Rutherford; a quintet with Howard Riley, Larry Stabbins, Phillip Wachsmann and Hugh Metcalfe; and a duo with Stefan Hoekler.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Miguel, Sei
Viva! O Carro de Fogo de Sei Miguel [2 CDs]
(Clean Feed)
Featuring Sei Miguel on trumpet and direction with Fala Mariam, Nuno Torres, Pedro Lourenco, Bruno Silva, Andre Goncalves, Raphael Soares and Luis Desirat, documenting the final performances of O Carro de Fogo in two 2023 Portuguese concerts, where spacious ensemble architecture, microtonal phrasing and tightly controlled collective interplay affirm Miguel's singular late-period vision.
Ballister + Luke Stewart
Clocking the Wheel
(Aerophonic)
Joining Dave Rempis on saxophones, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums with bassist Luke Stewart, this live Ballister performance from Roulette expands the trio's ferocious long-running rapport into a dense, high-velocity quartet, Stewart locking with Nilssen-Love in elastic propulsion as cello and saxophone surge through explosive, telepathic collective improvisation.
AMM (Prevost / Rowe / Tilbury)
Phlegm
(Matchless)
A late-period live recording from AMM — Eddie Prévost, Keith Rowe, and John Tilbury — capturing their refined electroacoustic free improv language of near-silence, where percussion, electronics, and piano dissolve into a shared sonic field shaped by extreme restraint, microscopic detail, and a collective focus on texture, duration, and deep listening.
Ulher, Birgit / Jaap Blonk
Breezes - Improvisers
(Kontrans)
Birgit Ulher and Jaap Blonk engage in an eccentric duo of trumpet, radio, electronics, and voice, where drifting textures, interference, and extended techniques shape a spacious, volatile improvisation balancing delicate detail with sudden, fractured gestures, recorded at the artist-run collective, gallery, and cultural venue Westwerk in Hamburg, Germany.
Merzbow / Gustafsson / Pandi
Cuts Cut
(Les Disques Victo)
Documenting a ferocious live performance from the 2018 Victoriaville Festival with additional recordings from 2025, the trio of Merzbow (electronics), Mats Gustafsson (bass & baritone sax, electronics), and Balázs Pándi (drums) unleash a volatile collision of noise, free jazz intensity, and crushing rhythmic force of towering electronic textures, blistering sax blasts, and wildly inventive percussion.
Kahn, Jason
Dotolim (2023)
(Editions)
Composed for the Seoul experimental space Dotolim and originally realized in 2009, Jason Kahn's graphic score is revisited here with a new generation of Seoul-based experimental musicians, combining voice, electronics, tape devices, film projectors, and resonant objects in a subtle electroacoustic performance shaped by texture, space, and collective interpretation.
Evans, Peter / Mike Pride
A Window, Basically [CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)
Concentrating their work from the Pulverize the Sound trio, trumpeter Peter Evans and drummer Mike Pride reveal a ferocity that pushes free improvisation to its extremes, balancing explosive virtuosity with kaleidoscopic percussive interaction through dense sound clusters, fractured grooves, unexpected silences, and wild exploration, in seven high-risk dialogs tempered by moments of striking clarity.
La Casa, Eric / Jerome Noetinger
Off Tracks
(erstwhile)
Compositions from Éric La Casa and Jérôme Noetinger built from site recordings made while exploring buildings emptied of their activities, crossing spaces abandoned by their occupants and drifting through the ghostly traces of vanished presence, revealing a mysterious electroacoustic force that lingers within the shifting textures of these emptied environments.
Malfon, Don / Vasco Trilla
Towers of Silence
(Confront)
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.
McKain, James / Damon Smith / Weasel Walter
... Seeing the Way The Mole Tunnels...
(Balance Point Acoustics / International School of Evidence)
Energetic trio interplay from saxophonist James McKain with Damon Smith and Weasel Walter, recorded in Collinsville, Illinois, where taut lines, volatile textures, and razor-cut dynamics sketch "free jazz by way of the European tradition," six concise pieces whose titles nod to Thomas Bernhard and whose restless momentum — anchored by springy bass and splintered drums — turns spontaneity into vividly shaped form.




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC