Hoo-Ha
Extraordinary, free, and expressive, the trio woo (Wodrascka Owczarek Orins) is the result of the moment and fortunate encounters. Paulina Owczarek and Peter Orins have been playing together for a few years, meeting in Berlin in Satoko Fujii’s orchestra, then venturing into a duo, producing music of subtle gestures, barely perceptible movements, but also of raw and liberated energy. Christine Wodrascka meets Peter Orins within the Franco-American ensemble Sangliers, with Dave Rempis, Keefe Jacks…
The Theory of Constraints
The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a framework of interdisciplinary knowledge, methods, and management tools for organizations. It starts from the premise that imbalance is inevitable but also desirable. The flow management method of the Theory of Constraints, called Drum – Buffer – Rope, involves pacing the release of manufacturing orders to the pace of the bottleneck to avoid excess work in progress and reduce cycle times, while ensuring that parts arrive sufficiently early to never stop the s…
Medea
Duo in the mirror that, in a continuous game of doubling and multiplication, ventures into another world, dense with unexpectedness and vital thrills. Sun Ra and post-rock, as well as Chicago experimentation and echoes of the world of Suzanne Ciani and minimal music, are the hints one can sense while listening to Medea, a journey to the edge and beyond. Star Splitter's new album comes five years after the debut album, a period in which the two artists experimented with the infinite possibilities…
Svart/Hvitt
*2024 stock* "Put on the circuit via Oslo / Norway-based imprint Conrad Sound on December 4th, 2k20 is "Svart / Hvitt", the sophomore album effort created by the multi-membered group named The Touchables which includes a plethora of artists from the countries Jazz and Contemporary Music scene with at least one of its members - Martin Taxt - being a household name to readers of these pages for his deep explorations of microtonal tuba performances. Split in four subsequently numbered, unnamed part…
Nerve Plexus
*25 copies limited edition* Originally released on tape by the Belgian label Dadaist Tapes, Nerve Plexus takes on an improvisational approach; constructed from a blend of homemade instruments, guitar and percussion; the sounds are uniquely placed and sculpted into jumpy abstractions and atmospheric forms generating a synthesis of genres. Recorded and mixed at ZIG Systems, Hudson Valley. New York 20-21 Mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering, Brooklyn New York. Lacquer cut by Rich Flores at NYLC,…
Bee Reiki
Bee Reiki gestated within the regular lockdown zoom meetings Steve and Paul were holding in 2020 and 2021. Steve being based in London and Paul just outside Brighton, in these online meetings, like many musicians at that time, they mostly chatted and caught up with news and analysed the lack of live performance opportunities created by the pandemic.
In the odd fifteen minutes or so they weren’t doing that, they attempted to improvise together using the Zoom platform. Steve would balance his iPad…
Dead Slow
Michalis Siganidis seems to narrate through the strings in this absolutely physical, organic way his experiential, intellectual and emotional relationship with the instrument. The accompanying electronic commentaries by Jannis Anastasakis refers to a dialectic of question and answer. Through this pulsating sound environment, the listener receives a musical world deeply internal, a circuit - extremely subtle but also coarse with a fierce intensity in places - of rare in expressiveness psychic vib…
Bass Works: As I Venture Into
Zurich bass guitarist and composer Martina Berther is known for her delicious basslines in experimental rock outfits Ester Poly and AUL. On this solo debut, she conjures something utterly unique from her instrument. 'Bass Works' showcases Berther's talent and ingenuity across 12 startlingly varied one-take compositions. Taking root in improvisation, the collection unfolds like a playbook of strange and beautiful techniques. Voided melodies, harmonics and surfaces that prickle and collapse in sol…
My God Is Every Bird In The Universe
Deadly double-header of concrète jazz and shearing computer music from Wanda Group, spurted on his private label U G ORGANIC THROAT BLOWER - RIYL Sun Ra, Tod Dockstader, Graham Lambkin, Joseph Hammer.
Shadows
*2024 stock* This is not a split album. Shadows is the curious offspring of MoE and The Observatory, a radiant chase after light and darkness, casting amorphous, illusory paths of Indian carnatic loops and heavy narcotic gamelan dreams. Containing just three songs, the album explores a hauntology of sounds, a melange of evocative synths, disembodying voices, percussion, and a ton of guitars from the most rancorous to the more profound. Wandering along the length of spaces and in between, Shadows…
Drums & Octobass
*2024 stock* "A lone voice rises over the booming rumble of the octobass, a large acoustic instrument resembling a double-bass, yet twice the height. The octobass’ unusually large stature lends itself to these haunting sounds, looming over this cacophonous reverberation like a specter of monstrosity. Another voice lightly ascends, and the two vocalizations coalesce as this musical foundation crumbles along, carried by the tapping of harmonium keys, swimming and dissonant.
This patient singing b…
Skinwalker
*2024 stock* "Recorded back in 2019, in Newcastle upon Tyne, “Skinwalker” is a collaboration between noisy British punk band Bruxa Maria and Norwegian trio MoE. Between these two acts, fireworks might be expected to fly constantly but “Skinwalker” turns out more restrained and controlled than you’d expect. Four tracks, of which three exceed ten minutes, are on offer here, all of them brimming with caged fury and aggression which, if unleashed, could turn this recording into a tapestry of burning…
Saint Vitus Dance
*2024 stock* "On the same day that MoE released “Skinwalker”, their collaboration with UK band Bruxa Marie, the Norwegian trio also released “Saint Vitus Dance”, itself also a collaboration with Escalantes (Martin and Oscar). As with “Skinwalker”, we can expect a lot of noisy experimental jazz improv / sludge doom rock fusion, though with Martin Escalante on saxophone the recording leans a bit more to the free jazz side. Even so, sludge doom metal fans shouldn’t dismiss this album as there’s ple…
Tolerancia Picante
*2024 stock* "I picked this album up because I was (and still am) enthralled by MoE’s 2018 release with Lasse Marhaug. The sardonically titled Tolerancia Picante, however, is a different beast altogether and this beast is punk rock. The adjective, the attitude, and the aesthetics. Not pop-punk or post-punk or one of those derivations, but straight-up cacophonous, cantankerous in-your-face aggression…minus the power chords and fueled by free jazz curiosity and musicality. “Tolerancia Picante” ope…
Knækket Smil
In an exhilarating convergence of sonic exploration, experimental noise guitarist Nina Garcia and danish trombone virtuoso Maria Bertel have teamed up to create a heavy-hitting, collaborative record that pushes the boundaries between extreme improvisation and harsh noise. Both renowned in their respective fields, Garcia and Bertel bring their unique styles and influences to create a masterpiece of collaborative improvisation.
Knækket Smil (meaning „broken smile“) is a living, breathing, moving e…
Gowanus
*50 copies limited edition* Extremely limited edition purple transparent cassette made for 2023 California tour. Hand numbered edition in printed 0-card hand painted with glitter spray.
Recorded on April 1st, 2022 in Gowanus Brooklyn, Gowanus is the first release from Andrew Lafkas, Todd Capp, and Bryan Eubanks since 2019's eponymous LP on Sacred Realism. They are here augmented by the modular synthesis of Xavier Lopez, who often plays with the trio in Berlin. The music on these recordings sp…
Series (E/A)
*50 copies limited edition* An extremely limited numbered and stamped edition of 50 glass-mastered CDs with individual covers painted by artist and philosopher Tim Bradley. Packaged in a beautiful painting on paper and polyvinyl sleeve.
Three live recordings of an electro-acoustic work developed and performed in 2013. A mesmerizing fusion of sine tones, open-circuit electronics/feedback, samples, and tuned noise, these structuralist compositions navigate the intersection of compositional rigo…
Mirror Mountain
50 copies limited edition. Mirror Mountain is the first release by Many Chants a Trapped Secret, the new solo project by Jef Mertens, evoking textural sounds for imaginary films. The concept/story/idea for Mirror Mountain was inspired by old drawings I made in the late nineties. Each track was recorded chronological, imposing a new direction in the story. Sounds leading to titles and titles leading to sounds.
Wall on the Floor
50 copies limited edition. Jef Mertens: Guitar & Objects. Jean D.L.: Guitar. Recorded at Taping Policies, Geel / 2022Artwork: Hannelore Van Dijck
Solo Music for Too Much Hum
50 copies limited edition. Guitar recorded and mixed by Jef Mertens - June 2022. A take on the guitar noise by Bill Nace, recorded with a similar guitar, a squier Jagmaster.Mastered by Jürgen de Blonde.Artwork by Wouter Vanhaelemeesch.