New Arrivals
Himmelgeister 19 (2008)
“Himmelgeister 19 (2008)” for chamberorchestra and 3 voices. Johnny Chang (violin), Conrad von Coelln (viola), Nataliya Demina (violin), Rodion Dubirnij (trumpet), Jürg Frey (clarinet), Sven Herman (accordion), Eva-Maria Houben (harmonium), Marcus Kaiser (violoncello), Tobias Liebezeit (percussion), Normisa Pereira Da Silva (flute), Radu Malfatti (trombone), Koen Nutters (bass), Sven Oetter (horn), Michael Pisaro (guitar), Burkhard Schlothauer (violin), Thomas Stiegler (violin). Antoine Beuger (…
Massacre
In "massacre" Wolfgang Mitterer presents us with a passionate analysis of a timeless threesome: power, religion and violence. An opera for five singers, nine musical instruments and electronics.Based on Christopher Marlowe’s drama »The massacre at Paris«, Wolfgang Mitterer paints an acoustic picture of destruction, conspiracy and the thrill of power. His protagonists virtually rid themselves of their identities, turning into typological representations of different points of view. The concrete e…
Sunshrine
With a mindblowing track gracing this weeks phenomenal ‘Gold Leaf Branches’ compilation, James Blackshaw's brilliant "Sunshrine" album is finally being made available on cd. At only 23 years of age, Blackshaw has already mustered up enough talent on the guitar to put many more renowned acts to shame. His gorgeous finger picked melodies on 12-string guitar are incredibly affecting and a stark contrast to the ragas and ragtimes of peer Jack Rose. Instead of concentrating on replicating a sp…
Planetary Unknown
"It's a great summer for music, with some excellent albums just released - and more reviews to come ... Let's start with the great David S. Ware and his new quartet, a great quartet, with William Parker playing the bass as on all other David S. Ware albums, with Cooper-More on piano instead of Matthew Shipp, and with Muhammad Ali on drums (the latest in a long list, with Susie Ibarra, Guillermo E. Brown, Warren Smith, Whit Dickey, Hamid Drake, ... and quite a phenomenal list at that).It is no do…
Sublunar
Sublunar is the first full-length release from Kane Ikin who is also known as one half of the duo Solo Andata. Sublunar follows Kane’s solo debut Contrail (7”, 12k2022) picking up where that EP left off and pushing the boundaries outward in every direction into denser, deeper, wetter and more decayed terrain. The word “sublunar” can be read to contain many conceptual layers important to the album. It is music about moonlight, darkness, the faintest hint of light and shadow.... Moons locke…
Sounds Like Silence
In 2012 the world celebrates not only the centenary of John Cage’s birth, but also the sixtieth anniversary of the premiere of his ”silent piece” 4’33”(four minutes, thirty-three seconds) on August 29, 1952. This composition in three movements without intentional sounds is the composer’s best-known work today. As an ”art without work” (John Cage), it takes up and renews the impulses of the avant-gardes of the early twentieth century, notably Marcel Duchamp’s readymades, which the artist h…
Tenor
Bertrand Denzler tenor saxophone. Recorded by Christophe Hauser on february 21st, 2010. 'As well as being part of such improvisation ensembles as Hubbub, Trio Sowari and Propagations Sax Quartet, Bertrand Denzler, who plays the tenor saxophone, also records solo music. Each of the three lengthy pieces on Tenor use a single note which are subsequently layered. Not by repeating them on the computer, like say Phill Niblock would do this, but by adding small variations in how he plays them. In Filte…
With Records
Otomo Yoshihide (turntable), Ozeki Mikito (kirie), Mats Gustafsson (baritone saxophone from Mats Gustafsson's solo LP 'It Is All About' on Tyyfus label). Mastered by Jun Numata. Released to commemorate the exhibition Ensembles '09: With Records at Gallery 45-8, Tokyo, October 11-November 8, 2009. No cover, limited 800 copies, serial numbers. Otomo Yoshihide (turntables), Ozeki Mikito (cutout art) and Mats Gustafsson (baritone sax).
Dead Space
Blip is a duo collaboration between Jim Denley and Mike Majkowski: two of Australia's most prominent improvising musicians. They began playing together in 2002, as members of The Splinter Orchestra, and formed Blip in 2009. They have been developing their own approach to the woodwinds/strings duo arrangement, deconstructing and reconstructing this format. Blip music focuses on duration, the subtleties of sound, the pitch within timbre and texture, as well as pulse. Wi
Invisible ear
Two decades ago, saxophonist John Butcher abandoned his doctoral pursuits in theoretical physics to pursue a life in improvised music and has since become one of the genre’s leading instrumental and structural innovators. Butcher’s pursuit of extended techniques has yielded and continues to yield, as indicated by this most recent solo outing, a treasure trove of unfathomable timbral and dynamic possibilities for an instrument whose role in experimental music seems to consistently teeter o…
Otter Songs
Otter Songs is the culmination of the process that began in 2008 by Lingua Fungi and Alio Die. The idea for the collaboration was born from the initial recordings by Jaakko Padatsu utilizing diverse self made instruments and natural objects including driftwood, snail shells and otter skull ocarinas. The archaic and arctic drones were later complemented with subtle recordings by Stefano Musso with zither, sitar and other acoustic instruments. The collaboration was sealed with final recordings i…
Music For Listening On The Moon
"This CD is made for the occasion of Moon Life by Alicia Framis, Shanghai. A continuous sound material from the installation 'Wormhole 2' in Yan Jun's washroom. After simple mastering (Denoise and Compression only). For playing in any environment and listening with any other sounds. 'Wormhole 2' is a continuation of the installation 'Wormhole Trip Souvenir' in The Shop Beijing, as 'Music For Listening On The Moon' is a continuation of 'Wormhole Trip OST'" (Label info)
Cracked Refraction
Cracked Refraction ties its complex knots with infectious vigor and a predilection for playfulness. Wrack’s melodies are slithering and serpentine, and the music is built of smaller segments assembled in what can seem a slapdash manner, with all sorts of jutting ends and unexpected collisions. What Bruckmann’s done, though, is intentional, placing his players on different planes, with straight lines failing to meet, runs of notes ricocheting at impossible angles, and expected avenues folding in …
Fifteen point nine grams
Burkhard Beins: selected percussion, objects. Lucio Capece: soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, preparations. Rhodri Davies: electric harp, electro acoustic devices. Toshimaru Nakamura: no-input mixing board. Recorded live at NPAI Festival, Parthenay, France July 19th, 2007. Mixed by Toshimaru Nakamura. The artwork for this disc was created by QQ in Argentina.
13 Japanese birds Vol.10 Niwatori
'MERZBOW's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January 2010. Cover art by Jenny Akita.'
It won't be called Broken Chair
"Two improvisations on piano & tenor saxophone, one in concert and the other before the audience arrived, recorded at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam in 2006. The sleeve design is derived from work by the late Tomas Schmit whose work is much loved by both MM and EP."-psi
Orchestral Works
Beautiful boxet with 5 CDs "It would be an understatement to say that Iannis Xenakis, who passed away nearly ten years ago, marked the whole second half of the 20th century. Whether or not assisted by computer, he built vast musical architectures, which diverge resolutely from what was being done at the time and is still being done: another world of sounds, combined according to a different, but never gratuitous, approach resulting in something magical. The listener is surrounded by sound, immer…
Dream Loops
This CD was created to raise funds for my mother, Jeanine, to assist in her fight against stomach cancer diagnosed in June 2009. Edward Ka-Spel has generously donated "Dream Loops" to this cause and all proceeds will be donated to her to assist in covering medical and travel expenses.
Okkupation
Thomas Rehnert lives and works in Berlin. He was deeply influenced by the European free jazz of the 1970s, and in West Berlin in the 1980s he played percussion in various punk bands. In the world of punk and experimental music of these years, he began to occupy himself with electro-acoustic music, machine music and automata. He builds sound machines from analogue modular synthesizer systems that are voltage- controlled and steer themselves.His formative principle of organization is variation by …
Tidings / Amesthyst Waves
Trying to put the last 15 years of music into context, you’d be hard pressed to get anyone to agree on a single thing. If anything, this period has been a collective convergence of all things cool-sounding: naïve experimentalism, academic composition, art-rock synthesis, electronic nihilism/flagellation, and, well, everything else. Mark McGuire could muddy anyones interpretation of the contemporary canon with his buddies in the triadic mega-unit, Emeralds, his collaborative outings in Sun Wa…