★Astral Spirits
Garland Of Heads
With virtually the same lineup as their Feeding Tube album Ourania, the Chicago-based duo of Mako Sica--Brent Fuscaldo (electric bass, voice, harmonica & percussion) and Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (electric trumpet, electric guitar & mandolin)--again join with Tatsu Aoki on bass & shamisen and Thymme Jones on keyboards, trumpet, balloon & voice, subbing drummer Jacob Fawcett.
Martian Kitties
This outstanding set of improvised pieces by the guitarist/oud player Gordon Grdina and the drummer Jim Black, bristles with multi-genre paradoxes and incredible articulations. Recording together for the second time (after Grdina's Nomad Trio's debut album), these lads bring lots to the table with their faultless synergy and love for the avant-jazz, prog-rock, indie electronic and world music.
Things get down to business immediately with "Martian Kitties", the track that gave the album its titl…
Swinging At Topsi's
An evening of free improvisation recorded in Berlin at au Topsi Pohl in 2020 from the Swedish trio of Euro Free Jazz legend Sven-Ake Johansson on drums, Niklas Fite on acoustic guitar and Joel Grip on double bass, performing two extended and dynamic improvisations, and then settling into jazz standard form for "Isn't It Romantic" and "Out of Nowhere" sung by by Johansson. The novelty and warmth of the songs aside, the serious work heard in Sets 1 & 2 of shows the trio in fine form, evolving thei…
Martian Kitties
This outstanding set of improvised pieces by the guitarist/oud player Gordon Grdina and the drummer Jim Black, bristles with multi-genre paradoxes and incredible articulations. Recording together for the second time (after Grdina's Nomad Trio's debut album), these lads bring lots to the table with their faultless synergy and love for the avant-jazz, prog-rock, indie electronic and world music.
Things get down to business immediately with "Martian Kitties", the track that gave the album its titl…
El Templo
A perfect matching for a free jazz collective piano trio, bringing frequent collaborators Argentinian pianist Paula Shocron and drummer Pablo Diaz, part of the SLD trio heard on Listen! Foundation and Hatology, together with NY bass legend William Parker, recording in NYC for four powerful improvisations of great technical prowess and attentive explorative interaction. The document you hold in your hands is a very special and beautiful document and for many reasons. There is a balance, an equili…
Illusory Expansion
Crazy Doberman is a curious outfit, a rotating collective of musicians that come and go for recordings and live performances. The group is centered around Drew Davis, Tim Gick, and John Olsen of Wolf Eyes. Illusory Expansion is far from their first dance – it is more like their 20th release – and features a total of 16 musicians in a free-improvisational jam session. There is a hint of a Bitches Brew vibe herein, but Crazy Doberman is more experimental and not overtly jazz. Other reference poi…
Everyone Is Rolling Down a Hill or...
Crazy Doberman are an Indiana free-improvisation and jazz collective created in 2016 as an offshoot of the group Doberman, started three years before. Core members, including Tim Gick and Doberman cofounder Drew Davis, appear on many recordings, but Crazy Doberman’s lineup is loose—it varies on each of the band’s 40-plus albums and has featured dozens of musicians, among them Wolf Eyes’ John Olson and percussionist Tyler Damon.
Living Midnight
**imited edition of 175 copies** Toronto-area saxophonist Colin Fisher, best known for his group I Have Eaten The City, with his collective quartet of NY players Daniel Carter on tenor, alto & soprano saxophones + clarinet & flute, Brandon Lopez on upright bass, and Marc Edwards on drums & percussion, for three extended and exploratory improvisations of exemplary creative insight. This might be the only we've seen with Fisher as a leader – but the set's got a quality that will certainly have us …
Interpersonal Subjectivities
The trio of guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama, saxophonist Gregor Vidic, and drummer Nicolas Field introduces Akiyama to Vidic and Field’s standing duo. The result is a magnificent set of exploratory improvisation. Vidic and Field’s playing has a rich, textural quality, developed through their use of timbre and dynamics. In this way, Akiyama’s multiphonic approach to guitar, and his innovative use of effects, offset’s Vidic brilliantly. Over the course of 45 minutes, Akiyama, Vidic, and Field generate a …
Contractions
** First pressing of 200 with artwork by Tiny Little Hammers ** Recorded over the course of 2019 by Don Forks at Palliative Studios. Dedicated to Steve Dalachinsky 1946-2019. Michael Foster: saxophones, Ben Bennett: drums, percussion
Unity in Isolation
** First pressing of 200 with artwork by Tiny Little Hammers ** Astral Spirits presents Unity in Isolation by Landon Caldwell & Nick Yeck-Stauffer. Crazy Doberman were holed up at A-Space in Indianapolis for their Illusory Expansion sessions, an amorphous span of organic and guided jams punctuated by smoke breaks, meals, and sleep. Players came in and went, sometimes in the middle of jams. I had never met Nick before. Most everyone went outside to smoke and give their ears a rest. I was sitting …
Sounds Passing Through Circumstances
** First pressing of 200 with artwork by Tiny Little Hammers ** Astral Spirit presents Sounds Passing Through Circumstances by Jayve Montgomery: Saxophone, Flute, and effects & Nick Turner: Mellotron and effects. Written and recorded by Montgomery and Turner in the spring/summer of 2020. Mixed by Drew Sullivan and Nick Turner. Mastered by by Drew Sullivan at SDS Studio (WA). Artwork & Layout by Tiny Little Hammers.
North of the Future
** First pressing of 200 cassettes on White shells ** Music for constructing a new localized reality, North of The Future is a document of sonic purging by Gryphon Rue and Merche Blasco, recorded under conditions of straitjacketed stasis and thick idle air. Seeded in a deep yearning to sound together and disrupt the external circumstances, the collection charts non-idiomatic improvisations bound to deformations of time and place.
The shimmering Super Tender introduces us to North Of The Future’s…
Grounded
** First pressing of 200 ** Astral Spirits presents Grounded by Aaron Novik. This album was made with the acoustic sounds of the clarinet, bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet with minimal effects. It was recorded during lockdown in Elmhurst Queens, NY, April-May 2020. Mixed by Eli Crews at Spillway. Mastered by Jon Cohrs at Bear Call. Cover Art by Ariadna Garza.
Viandes
** First pressing of 200 on Green Foil cassette shells with artwork by Jaime Zuverza ** Astral Spirit presents Viandes by Stefano Leonardi & Antonio Bertoni. ll compositions by Antonio Bertoni and Stefano Leonardi. Recorded by Antonio Bertoni on October 26, 2018, live acoustic sound, no overdubs. Mixed and mastered by Antonio Bertoni. One of the best perspectives with which to savor human existence was provided by Jacques Attali, when he declared that the world should not be looked at or read, b…
Thollem’s Astral Traveling Sessions Compilation
** Edition of 150 copies ** This is a compilation of segments from 6 different recordings throughout the U.S. and Greece including: a trio with Amy Denio and Samantha Boshnack at the Good Shepherd Chapel in Seattle, part of the Wayward Series; a duo with Seetha Shivaswamy in Austin for NMASS; a trio at the BopStop in Cleveland with Mat Weisman and Rick Kodramaz; a duo with Djallo Djakate in Djallo’s studio in Detroit; a hand percussion duo with Jason Finkelman in Allen Hall at the University of …
Tributaries
** First pressing of 250 copies on aqua blue cassette shells with artwork by Jaime Zuverza ** Wicken and Debden are tributaries of the River Cam, North Essex and the inspiration for this music. These systems were written by Jack Cooper. The music was arranged, recorded and performed by Jeff Tobias and Jack Cooper. Additional mixing and mastering by Ed Deegan at Gizzard Recording, London. Artwork and layout by Jaime Zuverza.
Traantjes
** First pressing of 500 glass mastered CD's ** Astral Spirits presents Traantjes by Orquesta del Tiempo Perdido. All music composed and produced by Jeroen Kimman. Mixed and mastered by Sandor Caron at Poesco Studio. Initial rhythm section recording on March 10 2020 at Studio De Zoete Inval by Jasper Schonewille. Editing and additional recording at Nananananineteen Studios. Further additional recording all over the place, corona-proof, emailed. Thank you Marksk, Nate, Sambo, Sjeng, Oona, LoÏe, H…
The Very Cup of Trembling
** First pressing glass mastered edition of 500 copies. Cinderblocks, safety glass, enfolded glass etched with text ** “Often, when finding titles for improvised music I go through poetry that I feel might have some relation to the way the music turned out. I look for two or three word phrases that capture something related. I think of this as “consulting a professional” when it comes to titles. When it came time for these titles, I found myself reaching for Fred Moten’s fantastic book “The Feel…
Shadows of Tomorrow b/w The Brain Produces Electrical Waves
** First pressing of 350 with artwork by Jaime Zuverza ** Astral Spirit presents Shadows of Tomorrow b/w The Brain Produces Electrical Waves by Mats Gustafsson & Joachim Nordwall. Recorded in Nickelsdorf and Brännö in 2019-2020. Mixed by JN at the Gothenburg Sound Experiment.