New Arrivals
Aíneen Musta Puhelin / Black Telephone Of Matter
Best known as one-half of acclaimed techno minimalists Pan Sonic, Mika Vainio also has an impressive résumé as a solo artist that stretches back to the early '90s and his association with influential Finnish imprint Sähkö. Recording primarily under the aliases Ø and Philus, and sometimes his birth name (depending on the project), Vainio's aesthetic mission has been consistently and rigorously defined by an investigation into the materiality of sound. Indeed, just about everything in his catalog …
Noise Art
An album of unreleased music made by Jeff Keen, one of the UK's great avant garde artists. This is music found on cassettes in his studio after his death. It was made by Jeff (throughout the 1980s) using field recordings from his local amusement arcade: radio, TV, films, an Atari, a ZX Spectrum, a delay unit and a WASP synth. This is the first Jeff Keen album ever issued. Jeff Keen is one of the great undiscovered artists of our times. A missing link between the Dadaists, Cocteau, Warhol, …
Murmurios
TONARTENSEMBLE: Georgia Ch Hoppe (clarinet, mandolin, objects), Nicola Kruse (violin), Ernesto RODRIGUES (viola), Robert Klammer (zither, electronics, analog synthesizer), Heiner Metzger (soundtable), Helmuth Neuman (trumpet, waldhorn), Thomas Niese (double bass), Thomas Österheld (bass clarinet), Krischa Weber (cello) and Hannes Wiennert (soprano saxophone, trompsax, sheng). Recorded December 2009 in Hamburg.
Camber Sands Sunday
Recorded live at Camber Sands Holiday Park, England on May 14, 2006. Featuring RICHARD YOUNGS (bass guitar) & ALEX NEILSON (drums)"At this 2006 concert, we have Jandek with a sympathetic rhythm section, and like a rhythm section that would back, say, a Lightnin’ Hopkins or a John Lee Hooker, they adapt themselves to the artist’s flow and provide a kind of pillowy environment or canvas on which he can do his thing. To give you an analogy from the free jazz world, some of the recent Jandek p…
Spacer
Vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz's (of Exploding Star Orchestra fame) Chicago Trio with drummer Mike Reed and bassist Nate McBride in a great modern jazz release of original compositions, informed, warm and compelling music. "The Jason Adasiewicz Trio features Jason on vibraphone, Mike Reed on drums, and Nate McBride on bass. The Chicago jazz group formed in 2008, first experimenting as a free improvising trio, and later focused attention on arranging tunes that Adasiewicz wrote during his wife's …
In light
Four years after the release of their debut album Outflow, Japan’s Small Color, a duo comprised of Rie Yoshihara (aka Trico!) (accordion, voice, vintage keyboard instruments) and Yusuke Onishi (guitar, banjo, bass, programming and production) are back with the beautifully polished In Light. This album marks what some may consider a departure for 12k: sublime and gentle, minimal, acoustic J-pop, which once may have been destined for the now-defunct Happy label, but can now sit comfortably beside …
Somethingtobesaid
Specially written for the John Butcher Group, this is the first full performance of somethingtobesaid - recorded live at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival in November 2008. Chris Burn (piano), John Butcher (saxophones & pre-recordings), Gino Robair (percussion), John Edwards (bass), Thomas Lehn (synth), Dieb 13 (turntables), Clare Cooper (harp-guzheng), Adam Linson (bass & electronic processing).
Suite N° 10 \"Ka\" / Suite N° 9 \"Ttai\"
Scelsi's works usually originated as transcribed improvisations; therefore they are never based on superficialities of form or compositional technique but always directly reveal the core of their message. Pianist Marianne Schroeder reports that Scelsi recommended daily improvisational practice as a method for discovering one's own creativity; and on his Suite No. 9 "Ttai" the composer is said to have commented: "Play it whenever you're sad. And when you're in high spirits." In Ttai, which links …
City of Straw
On their seventh studio album, Sightings don’t make any radical breaks from their past. Instead, Richard Hoffman, Jonathan Lockie and Mark Morgan continue the slow evolution of their vision, a sort of "industrialization" of rock. On 2007’s Through the Panama, the trio achieved their best amalgamation yet. City of Straw doesn’t really up the ante, but it stays right there. These 39 minutes run the gamut from chittering electronics to punk chaos. When saying "industrial" in reference to …
Bricolage
'Alessandra Rombolà: flutes, tiles & preparations. Rhodri Davies: electric harp & electronics. Ingar Zach: percussion, drone commander & sruti box. All music by Muta. Recorded by Fadi Tabbal on the 8th of april 2009, at Tunefork studio, Beirut. Edited by Ingar Zach, mixed & mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi. Artwork & design by Mazen Kerbaj. Produced in Lebanon by Al Maslakh & Muta.'
E.E. Tension And Circumstance
The first meeting of AMM guitarist Keith Rowe and pianist John Tilbury after Rowe departed in 2004, a delicate and intricate long improvisation, fascinating dialog between two long-acquainted and innovative conversationalists. "Keith Rowe and John Tilbury are both known as prominent members of AMM, the legendary ensemble which has been incredibly influential on the field of improvised music.Originating the tabletop guitar, Keith Rowe was a co-founder of AMM in 1965. He's since been involved in a…
Volume objects
In the desire to make recorded sound as tactile as possible Autistici (UK), recently featured on 12k’s Blueprints compilation (12k1039), has sculpted found objects, broken acoustic instruments, synthesizers and environmental recordings into Volume Objects. Expertly realized and designed, Volume Objects is loose and organic and demands careful listening. Melody and form are hinted at and then in a whisper, a crackle, are gone. A sense of narrative and place created as if a hundred tiny objects ar…
Watashi-dake
Much needed reissue of the first solo Haino from 1980. The extreme personal depth that every Haino release exudes. This CD adds previously unreleased track of 28 minutes!
Recomp
Israeli bassist and Improvised Music pioneer Jean Claude Jones revisits eleven musical pieces recorded live and in studio over a period of ten years, performing, what he calls recomposition of the pieces. In his own words: 'As opposed to mere editing, recomp involves the deconstruction, subtraction, rearrangement, and reconstruction of the material. It not only changes the sequencing, but it radically affects the feeling and the flow of the music. It also changes the texture of the weave, the vo…
139
Six untitled pieces compiled from improvisations recorded 2–3 July 2011 at Utterpsalm studio. The sound sample is an unused excerpt from the second recording session which took place on 14–15 September 2011 at Mark Durgan’s studio in Bristol. Edited by Mark Durgan.
Succubus
Seductive but perilous, he Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble's new session under the Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation name is a new combination of drones and jazz. Creating sensual, murky and dark atmospheres, “Succubus” the evolution of this band, with stronger horns and a focus on hypnotic, soundtrack-like material. A deep, dark and yet seductive trip again for the corporation.
Soliloques
Gabriel Severin has been active in the field of electronic music for almost two decades (Silk Saw, Jardin D'Usure, Ultraphonist, Rob(u)rang, Dead Hollywood Stars). This sound artist and musician has delved in several disciplines. He likes to research forgotten or obscure avant-gardes.
Krewton the Knewtron
'Previously unreleased material by the legendary Rick Potts of the Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS), to commemorate his solo tour of Japan. Raw, lo-fi avant-garde experiments with field recording, improvisation and tape music, recorded in the late seventies when Rick was in his early twenties. Featuring contributions by Le Forte Four and Doodooettes on one track, and two recently recorded unreleased tracks. " In 1977 I wanted to make an animated film filled with the strange creatures…
Ready\'n
Seijiro Murayama: snare drum, cymbal, sticks, brushes. Masafumi Ezaki: trumpet. Kazushige Kinoshita: violin. Recorded live by Taku Unami at Kobe Art Village Center, Kobe, April 12, 2008. Mastered by Taku Unami. Photo by Nobuhiro Sasaki. Includes liner notes by Seijiro Murayama in Japanese and English.
Live
Oxtirn 'live' documents a performance in new york city, by the new trio of geoff mullen, ashley paul and eli keszler. following a score by keszler, the group performs on an array of instruments, using three guitars, drums, voice, auto-motorized harps, tenor harp, bass harp, microphones, clarinet, alto saxophone, crotales, drums and cymbals. the music drifts in a unique way between a wide variety of sounds, from incredible density of clattering metal textures and string attacks, wall of so…