New Arrivals
Rare Material
Totally essential two cd collection of some of the most elusive Moondog material of all . When the "Viking of Sixth Avenue" single volume compilation was reissued, we pleaded that here was truly a taste worth acquiring. Louis Hardin somehow managed to find the musical continuities between Bach, native american Sundances, be-bop, Stravinsky and yet still pursue his own musical paths and sound utterly unique. Strong claim, but the music truly bears it out. Drawing the entire disc one from the ultr…
Forbidden Planets
With Electronic music’s current resurgence and interest in the form at an all time high, this superb 2 CD set, containing compositions and original recordings by the pioneers of this fascinating style of sound, compiled here for the first time, is certain to attract enormous excitement amongst fans of the genre. Featuring tracks recorded largely in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, from names as diverse as the ever popular John Cage, Edgar Varese, Daphne Oram, Henri Pousseur, Miklosz Rozsa, Pierre…
W2 (1998-2008)
"We think that we « make a journey » but soon enough it's the journey that makes – and unmakes - us." (Nicolas Bouvier, "l'usage du monde"). When I listen today to these pieces, I hear, of course, a geographic inventory of all the places I encountered. Above all, though, and as if by default, I hear the sonic journal of twelve years spent recording sound.My relation to the sites wasn't based on a desire to « document » but it is worth noting, however, that a « sound story », more trivial perhaps…
Along the way
'From Chinese traditional music to avant-garde freestyle improvisation, this beautifully-packaged double-CD features the music created by the meeting of these two extraordinary artists of different cultures and even different generations - violinist Malcolm Goldstein (born 1936), one of the greatest maestros in the field of freestyle improvisation, and Chinese pipa virtuoso Liu Fang, young master on the traditional classical music of China.' label info
Melodies & Harmonies
Cage is by no means a synonym for obligingness. All the more astonished we listen to the melodious and harmonious objects Annelie Gahl and Klaus Lang present on this album. Lang, the trained organist and internationally renowned composer, performs these pieces on a Fender Rhodes for the first time. Gahl, known as a versatile interpreter of both Old and New Music, plays the violin exactly as requested by Cage, without vibrato and with minimum weight on the bow. The musical material dates …
Triadic Memories
In the summer of 1990, i released on Sub Rosa a recording of Triadic Memories by Morton Feldman (1926-1987). It was one of the first recordings of this long work for solo piano completed on July 23, 1981.The score i used had been published by Universal edition as number UE17326 in 1987. Shortly after my CD came out, Universal published a new edition. At the bottom of page 2, under a dedication to Aki Takahashi and RogerWoodward is a small-print mention: 'corrected edition: 14.2.1991. I disr…
12 Madrigali
Salvatore Sciarrino, in league with the Neue Vokalsolisten Stuttgart, embarks on the investigation of a new ecology of sound, through a form of polyphony reduced to chamber-music scale. The lyrics selected by the Italian composer are based on six haikus by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashô (1644–1694). A comprehensive explanatory text on the production is contributed by Max Nyffeler. The world premiere of the work was recorded at the 2008 Salzburg Festival and is now made available on CD for the fi…
Ligeti Edition
Terrific nine-CD box (digipack CD sleeves!) at a fantastic price! The heart of Ligeti's output, and the basis for the consensus that places him among the 20th Century's most important composers, is the series of masterworks written during his middle period, which lasted from roughly 1957 (after his escape from Hungary) to 1977 (marked by the completion of his opera Le Grand Macabre). The "sound surface" compositions from the period, including Atmosphères, the Requiem, Lux Aeterna and much of the…
Psappha; Rebonds A & B; Okho pour trois djembés
This amazing CD contains some of the great works for solo percussion by the authorities in the field of contemporary music. The performances and recording quality are both superb! Clearly all care and effort went into the recording and text however, the dual layered dvd /cd is in PAL format, and will require said player or a media transfer to see the studio footage and interview with Xenikas. Considering we spend much time searching for the "right music" to add to our collection, this disc…
The Naked Truth
LP version with bonus 7". Every once in a while, a record presents itself so defiant in its refusal of categorization that it becomes the bane of those poor vinyl archaeologists whose business it is to file and classify. The aptly-named The Naked Truth (1975) is one such artifact; a wayfaring stray of an album that weaves its insouciant magic through the edgelands of sound. The musical provenance is palpable -- an electric blend of spiritual jazz, rhythmic black psychedelia and far-out ex…
Duo box
Our Swedish hero of sublime saxophones, Mats Gustafsson, performs in three different duo constellations, spanning over three 7″ singles, all collected in a limited 99 copies box of wonder, on Kning Disk KD003-005. Mats collaborates with Fred Lonberg-Holm, Luca Tommaso-Mai and Leif Elggren, resulting in both electric, eclectic and sensational sounds; spanning over one 7″ single per collaboration. Two of the three singles has been previously released on Kning Disk in limited editions. The third co…
Tout for tea
Guitar, Voice - Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne. Recorded 2-1-1995. Released by Rectangle, a Jazz and improvisation music label from Paris.
Creative Orchestra
Recorded live at Alto Adige Jazz Festival in Bolzano, Italy in June of 2007. All compositions by Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 63, Composition No. 92 (part 1-2), Composition No. 164 (part 1-2), Composition No. 59
Ananke
Never mind the piano, the pianist is Fine! Milo Fine describes the particular piano as 'more remains than intact', yet he still manages to get the right music out of 'that wonderful beast'. The earlier date is unaccompanied piano improvised mainly at the keyboard. On the other longer concert, recorded towards the likely demise of the 'beast', Fine spends most of his time working on the innards resulting in a very wide range of sound. He also uses some electronics, and is joined by alto saxophoni…
Live At Slug\'s Saloon 1972
6CD set. Sun Ra & the Arkestra played every Monday night at Slug's Saloon in the Lower East Side of NYC for over 5 years, from 1966-1972. This is the 1st released documentation of this long residency, comprising 2 complete shows (6 hours total) recorded over the summer of 1972. High quality recordings that capture the Arkestra emerging from their psychedelic phase & moving back towards their jazz roots.
Spontaneous Suite For Two Pianos
A 4-CD box set of 9 "Spontaneous Sweets", elaborate, magnificent and melodic piano improvisations, recorded by Connie Crothers & David Arner performing in the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, NY. "It was magical from the beginning. The music seemed to create itself" "We trusted our spontaneity, our intuitive logic, our sense of form." "We had no set tempos, no preconception about soloing or accompanying." "We had no set themes or referents. What we did have was complete trust, i…
Trio With Interludes
Another fine disc from the Treader label, this time featuring the marvellous Evan Parker alongside John Coxon (Roland MKS 80, piano and harpsichord), Mark Sanders (Drums and percussion) and Ashley Wales (bass drum, riveted tambour and piano). As the title suggests this collection of improvisations is interspersed with brief interlude tracks, whereby Parker takes a backseat in order for his fellow musicians to plot out some experimental, palate cleansing sonics. During the main body of these piec…
Otinku
The Modern Sound Quintet were formed in Stockholm by Trinidadian steel drum master Rudy Smith. On Otinku, Smith wails out on his set of 'pans' (as I believe the vernacular goes) in an improbably slick bebop mode, accompanied by a rhythm section capable of keeping it free and swinging one moment, and then within an instant locking down a groove. While pieces like the title track and 'Bye Bye Blackbird' flow effortlessly, 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' and 'Memphis Underground' lay down a solid bedrock of …
Wazifa
PAT THOMAS (piano and synthesizer), CLAYTON THOMAS (double bass), RAYMOND STRID (percussion) recorded in concert at the 2009 Perspectives Festival, Västerås, Sweden.
Monte Alto Estate
This is the collaborative masterpiece of the 3-piece unit, sim (Oshima Teruyuki on guitar and composition, Ootani Yoshio on computer, electronics, etc, and Uemura Masahiro on drums) and Otomo Yoshihide (turntables, self-made synthesizer). The noise of Otomo sharply incises the unique sound of sim, where Uemura’s controlled roaring drumming sets an main axis on Oshima’s precise rhythmical composition, Oshima’s the chord cuttings beats minimally and the electronics of Ootani give extreme voltage. …