TAQATO3
Violinist Mike Khoury came together with Sharif Sehnaoui (guitar, percussion, bouzouki) and Raed Yassin (bass) to create some very natural and organic improvised music during the Irtijal Festival in 2018. Khoury said, “the three of us had an instant connection with a common understood language that predated all of us.” The music was not a part of a festival performance but a sparate effort by the three musicians. Khoury is best known for his work as a soloist, in duet with percussionist Ben Hall…
Any sense of where we were gone
Any sense of where we were gone is music obsessed with the infinite within the minute, with the mercurial, breakable, with shifting, sifting, cohering, and digressing. It is an improvisational framework in five parts for chamber ensembles, prepared piano, and electronics, written for and played here by my good friends. It steals inspiration from postmodern fiction, obscure geometry textbooks, and poems about time. This is a live recording of the first performance
“To do. To do something, to do g…
Perpetual Guest
For a few days at the end of July 2023, I curated a series of concerts and recordings in a few spaces in the historic, now-defunct Kreenholm Textile Factory in Narva, Estonia, a stone's throw from the Russian border. In Kreenholm's reverberant rooms, these sessions reflected on the layers of history, labor, conflict, and lives past and present that have shaped the factory and the constantly re-evolv- ing border city. A large and unexpected part of this project involved the restoration of an anti…
Uchidome
Seijiro Murayama is a Paris-based drummer, percussionist, improviser and composer. It was in 2009 that he first released CDs on the Ftarri labels Hitorri, Ftarri and Meena. He has since released over ten CDs of performances in solo, duo, trio and quartet formations.
"Uchidome," Murayama’s fifth solo album from the Hitorri label, consists of three tracks recorded in France in January 2025. All his drum solo albums are outstanding, and this CD, with its unique and inimitable performances, is no ex…
Fumine
*200 copies limited edition* Born in 1954, Katsura Yamauchi is a saxophone player based in Oita, Japan. Since he began performing in earnest in the early 2000s, he has been touring and expanding his distinctive musical activities in Japan, Europe, North America and Asia. Koto player Kohsetsu Imanishi has an active career inside and outside Japan, performing music of various genres including classical Japanese music, improvisation and contemporary classical music. In addition to performing as a s…
Close Position
The concept is therefore to propose an immersive type of listening, in which the rather extended durations of sustained and seemingly static sounds create a certain tension generated by the anticipation of variation.
The live performance involves the use of samples, as the composed balances require multiple timbral layers to be active simultaneously. The closeness in pitch and the mimicry between instruments highlight the psychoacoustic phenomenon of beating: in fact, our auditory sy…
Prayer
For Sara(.es), who has resonated with numerous musicians, this is a special solo live recording, her first in about a year. Weaving together the sounds of bells, water-emitting instruments, harmonica, crystal bowls, triangle, and more, an energy-filled piano solo unfolds. From 1 May to 14 June 2025, the solo exhibition ‘Prayer’ by artist Keiichi Ikegami was held at Gallery Nomaru, the home of .es (dot es) and the base for Utsunomiya MIX. Following the sudden passing of Satoshi Hayashi, former di…
Fill With Empty
January 2025, Osaka contemporary art gallery ‘Gallery Nomart’ hosted Hideo Takashima's solo exhibition ‘Fill with Empty’. This was Takashima's first exhibition at Nomart, and featured the first live collaboration between British heavyweight drummer/percussionist Roger Turner and sara (.es).
The exhibition title ‘Fill with Empty’ refers to ‘a state filled with margins that contain diverse possibilities,’ according to Takashima. Takashima explains that the exhibition title, ‘Fill witt Empty’, refe…
Poor_in_Spirit | the (Re)constructed Pipe Organ
Australian, Copenhagen-based composer Calum Builder delves into a sonic journey inside the body of his dismantled pipe organ.
Glasscut
*125 copies limited edition* An alto saxophone and acoustic piano engage in an intimate musical dialogue, reflecting on the current state of improvised music. Okuda and Dyberg’s album unites two artists at the peak of their musical collaboration, deconstructing jazz history into shimmering fragments, reassembling them in new forms that deliberately move away from traditional references. The music incorporates diverse influences—glimpses of classical composers like Webern and Prokofiev, abstract …
Fever
Canyon's album 'Fever,' released on the Ikuisuus label in 2008, is an obscure freak folk record characterized by its enigmatic and experimental soundscapes. The album merges traditional folk elements with unconventional textures and moods, offering a captivating auditory experience for listeners who appreciate rare and avant-garde folk music.
Off the wall
The long-awaited and reissue of Wada's 1985 LP "Off The Wall", recorded in Berlin and originally released on the esteemed FMP label. A minimalist yet majestic monsterpiece ("massive", as Tom Johnson declares in his perceptive liner notes), "Off The Wall" features Wada and Wayne Hankin on bagpipes, Marilyn Bogerd on adapted organ, and percussionist Andreas Schmidt-Neri.
The original album consisted of two side-long pieces recorded on successive days by Jost Geber, who captured the power and dynam…
Another Thought
Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell’s music to be released after his death in 1992. Released on CD by Point Music in 1993 it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With revisits this first compilation for a new gatefold double vinyl version and a triple-fold digipak CD re-issue.
This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur’s most recognisable music, like the titl…
Aerodynamics
Tip! Welcome to the 20th Century: "My point of departure for the octet was to treat the ensemble as a flock of clarinets and develop swarm-like scenarios. At the same time, I thought of the 8 players as a kind of acoustic 8-channel-installation with the musicians surrounding the audience. This could be seen as an expansion of the stereo analogy we sometimes work with in The International Nothing. While The Nothin’ is all about developing a very personal language of new sounds with self-invented …
Richiamare
"Richiamare" is an attempt to create a bridge to the past, a connection between absence and precariousness as a vivid action of the present. The French Suite No. 3 by J.S. Bach is a piece that accompanied me for many years during my growth and studies as a musician. It made me confront the difficulties of the instrument, the need for dedication and the tendency to reach a higher stage of awareness. Many years later, that same piece resonates in my memory in a different way. It has created its ow…
Towers of Silence
Confront Recordings proudly presents Towers of Silence, an evocative new album by acclaimed artists Don Malfon and Vasco Trilla. This release explores sonic landscapes that blur the boundaries between experimental jazz and ambient improvisation, inviting listeners into a deeply immersive auditory experience. On Towers of Silence, Malfon and Trilla weave intricate textures and haunting melodies, crafting a soundscape both intense and contemplative. Their masterful interplay demonstrates a profoun…
Scratching At The Surface
“Scratching at the Surface” is a new collaboration from Erin Rogers and Kelsey Mines. This collection of striking vignettes dives deep into sonic exploration, weaving together powerful low-end resonance and shimmering high tones. Inspired by the sea’s raw energy and quiet beauty, Rogers and Mines craft a mesmerizing soundscape of undulating rhythms, bold textures, and immersive mystery.
Tarabita Espiral
Friendships and musical ties that are born unpredictably and are woven through distance, allowed the fortuitous encounter of Tarabita Espiral. A trio made up of Colombian saxophonist and clarinetist Maria Valencia, Puerto Rican NY- based double bassist Brandon López and NY-based vibraphonist Matt Moran. These three vibrant artists eschew traditional roles to sculpt a musical landscape of restless motion and textural dissonance.
Valencia’s reeds seethe and spiral, channeling both fractured lyrici…
Peel/Mondo
Ada Rave and Marta Warelis, two luminaries of Amsterdam’s improvised music scene, unite on Peel/Mondo to craft a compelling dialogue between saxophone and piano. Rave, an Argentinian saxophonist renowned for her bold tenor sound and innovative techniques, joins forces with Warelis, a Polish pianist celebrated for her sonic versatility and explorations of the piano’s timbral possibilities.
Points Of Convergences
This double album was recorded on the night of June 3, 2014, at Saint-Merry Church, in the heart of Paris. Beyond its architectural beauty, Saint-Merry possesses an extraordinary acoustic quality, which has shaped countless sonic experiences and left its mark on this recording. It was in this inspiring setting that we had the privilege of recording this music with Michel Doneda, in a moment of deep immersion, carried by the unique resonance of the space. The talented Augustin Muller masterfully …