Experimental / Free Improvisation

Masayuki Takayanagi was one of the truly iconoclastic musicians to emerge from Japan, or anywhere else, in the 20th Century. Though he won acclaim in the 1950s and '60s as a master of the electric guitar and jazz improvisation, Takayanagi was a restless spirit, deeply engaged with the era's new movements in contemporary art, music, literature, and philosophy. His work, beginning in the late 1960s placed him on the leading edge of these developments; he began expanding on the most radical element…

Bill Orcutt is back with what might be the most beautiful record in his 21st-century guitar quartet series. Music in Continuous Motion (Palilalia, LP/CD) pointedly steps away from the cut-and-paste constructivism of Music for Four Guitars into a sonic stratum that's - as Tom Carter writes - "yearningly melodic, resolutely human, and built for performance." Four guitars, twelve tracks, most hovering around two-and-a-half minutes each. No waste. No fat. Pure music. Where Music for Four Guitars ope…

Tip! The heavyweight trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi return with their 12th and most epic release to date, the triple LP With pats on the head, just one too few is evil one too many is good that's all it is. Documenting the entirety of their final performance at the dearly departed Roppongi home of Tokyo underground institution SuperDeluxe in November 2018, the music spread across these six sides splits the difference between the guitar-bass-drums power trio moves and experim…

*2026 stock* "Emerging from the vibrant atmosphere of a Parisian summer during the 2024 Olympics, this eclectic ensemble came together spontaneously after a serendipitous home jam session on August 15. Featuring the diverse talents of Liza Parshina, Nikita Chepurnoy, Alisa Gvozdeva, and Anton Glebov, their debut album is a captivating blend of free jazz, folk traditions, and dub influences. With an array of instruments from various cultures, their sound is both intricate and improvisational, ref…

'Weather Eye' marks the first recorded collaboration between Italian guitarist Francesca Naibo and American cellist Theresa Wong. This collection of improvisations reveals a dialogue of care as the duo uncovers delicate and unexpected sonorities of the electric guitar, cello and two voices. Francesca Naibo is an Italian guitarist who moves fluently across all the different conjugations of the guitar, from the classic, the electric, to the fretless and the pedal steel. Involved in the research fo…

*30 copies limited edition*  Ted Byrnes: PercussionWebb Crawford: Electric GuitarMichael Foster: Saxophones Grant Richardson: Mastering

Tip! *30 copies limited edition* Tim Olive: magnetic pickups, metal plates, springs, radios.

*200 copies limited edition* Eight pieces of free vocal improvisation by the duo of Jason Kahn and Alice Hui-Sheng Chang, who have been working together since 2015. "I Smile When the Sound Is Singing Through the Space" is their second release and was recorded during Jason Kahn's one-month artist residency in September 2023 at Ting Shuo Hear Say in Tainan, Taiwan.

A Few We Remember is the new album by Jonah Parzen-Johnson and Lau Nau. The recording debut for the new duo of Finnish composer Lau Nau, aka Laura Naukkarinen, and American baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson, it cycles between moments of knotty ambience, whispered melody, and innocent tinkering, as the duo improvises over 8 narrative scores composed by Parzen-Johnson. Jonah Parzen-Johnson says: “For me, telling a story is about more than sharing a set of facts. A well told story is the pr…

Legendary saxophonist Don Dietrich and his powerhouse cellist daughter Camille Dietrich collide in Live Bahdu, a fierce musical union that music critic Byron Coley hails as “sheer wailing sonic pleasure.” Don, an untamed force who has spent over forty years shaping the explosive core of Borbetomagus, unleashes a volatile, lung-shaking roar, an unyielding take no prisoners wall of sound. Camille answers with her own ferocity, channeling raw, electric intensity through the disciplined edge of her …

“Keep Telling Yourself That” is the debut album of the New York City-based experimental bass-violin duo of Jennifer Gersten and Maggie Cox. It is a collection of improvised songs testifying to a frisky, impish, no-holds-barred imagination for acoustic string playing. Bassist Maggie Cox exploits her titanic expressive and dynamic range on an instrument outfitted with gut strings, and violinist Jennifer Gersten transforms a beater violin through object preparations into an engine of ghastly twangs…

The (improvised) music is inspired (and structured) by the iconic book of Georges Perec from 1974 titled Espèces d’espaces. We designed a musical story following the chronology and the emotional evolution of the book. Music, too, generally needs a ‘void’ to move. It demands openness and, as such, is an invitation.

LDL brings together soprano saxophone, amplified spinet and analog synthesizer in a finely balanced exchange of precision and volatility. Drawing from deep roots in European free improvisation and contemporary music, their music unfolds as a dense, hyper-attentive dialogue where structure and spontaneity are in constant negotiation

The music of this trio is an ongoing conversation between three women about life as it unfolds between artistic practice and daily routines. Compassioned conversations about being someone’s mother, someone’s daughter, someone’s partner, someone’s friend seamlessly float into the musical sphere, where words and emotions are transformed into pitches, harmonies, rhythms and artistic gestures. Three strong artists from the creative music scene of northern Europe has formed a trio that feeds from the…

I am fascinated by the coordination and elegance of a flock of birds flying, forming beautiful murmurations, constantly changing, seemingly without effort. This communal act provides protection through the sheer number of birds and their changing position; it is an exchange of information amongst them and it has a clear collective ending when the flock decides to fly back to the ground. In Murmur, I want to explore how a large ensemble can make use of these instincts of communal movement, coordi…

This solo release captures Hannah Marshall at her most immediate and expressive, presenting improvisations that pulse with presence and physicality. Her playing radiates warmth and curiosity, offering thoughtfully shaped improvisations that feel both spontaneous and deeply grounded.

A shimmering meeting of three fearless voices, this new recording invites cellist Isidora Edwards, violinist Biliana Voutchkova and Hardanger-d’amore virtuoso Zosha Warpeha into a luminous space of spontaneous creation. Intuitive improvisation and rare timbres intertwine to explore liminal sound-worlds where silence breathes and time suspends. The result: an immersive sonic journey that defies genre, yet feels deeply human and unbound.

Birgit Ulher and Nicolas Collins are pleased to announce the release of Spark Gap, the first record of their ongoing duo project. Two trumpets, two different approaches: one electronic, the other acoustic. While Collins programmed a computer to imitate hacked circuits and wired to a speaker inside the instrument, Ulher uses metal sheets, radios, milk frothers and other everyday objects to extend her sound palette from brass to silicon. The opposed approaches yield oddly similar sonic results.

"Over 40 years of sustained performance and publishing, English saxophonist, improvisor and composer John Butcher has shaped much of what the soprano and tenor saxophone can do, and what their roles and vocabulary in improvised music might be. There’s a situated purposefulness to Butcher’s music. It is always concerned with its context, flexibility, space and company: how group playing works and flows; how aspects of improvisation fit into a living musical world; how and what the saxophone can b…

Peter Evans and Mike Pride push the outer limits of improvisation. Combining Evans’ explosive trumpet virtuosity with Pride’s kaleidoscopic drumming and percussion work, this collaboration is equal parts high-wire intensity and deep listening. With sharp turns, dense sound clusters, unexpected silences, and moments of raw, unfiltered expression, this is improvised music at its most daring and unpredictable. Whether erupting into chaos or threading through intricate interplay, Evans and Pride pro…

*2026 repress* Recorded on February 28, 1971, at the Henie Onstad Art Centre in Høvikodden, Norway, this remarkable document captures Soft Machine at the height of their creative powers—performing two continuous sets that blur the boundaries between composition and improvisation.   On this evening, the British avant-garde ensemble unleashed an unbroken flow of sound—dynamic, exploratory, and charged with the band’s signature blend of jazz, rock, and experimental electronics. All instruments—exce…

Tip! *245 copies limited edition* Overjoyed to announce the release of this monumental record featuring two very different sides of the free-improv coin, pressed on heavyweight 180 gram mixed color vinyl. This intergenerational, wide-minded split LP blurs the hedges of national borders and the traditions of composition, marking a niche interzone inhabited solely by the uncles of punk and their experimental stepchildren.  Canadian noise pioneers, Nihilist Spasm Band, deliver a ripping side-long o…

2000 release ** Limited edition of 500 hand numbered copies. Packaged in mini-LP sleeve. "In all six tracks of this CD, Murayama uses a cymbal, a snare drum and small objects (as well as his voice on track 6). Four of the pieces (2-5), recorded in Tokyo, were composed by Murayama based on collaborations with Soundworm (Shoji). Several clusters of two or three mikes were deployed in different areas of the studio, with one of the mikes of one cluster placed outdoors. (In addition, there were two c…

*400 copies limited edition* An exhibition of paintings by artist sasakure. was held at Ftarri, Tokyo, from September 3rd to 30th, 2023. During that period, three concerts with live painting by sasakure. were held at Ftarri. The first concert, on September 9, was a duo performance by sasakure. and pianist Fumi Endo. (A painting by sasakure. graces the cover of Endo's solo album "Cold Light in Warm Blue," released on the Hitorri label in 2023.) This duo CD includes two pieces from that September …

*200 copies limited edition* British harpist and composer Rhodri Davies (born in 1971) is one of the leading musicians on the international improvised/experimental music scene today. Among his numerous CD releases are several from Ftarri labels, including two duo albums on Ftarri with John Butcher: "Carliol"(2010) and "Routing Lynn" (2014). Pierre Gerard (born in 1966) is a Belgian improviser and composer. Gerard plays a variety of instruments (guitar, piano, cello, electronics and more), select…

*200 copies limited edition* Sax player Katsura Yamauchi (born in 1954) is based in Oita, Japan. He began performing in earnest in the early 2000s, and since then has toured in Japan, Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and Taiwan and continued to expand his distinctive musical activities. Jason Kahn (percussion, voice, electronics, guitar) was born in New York in 1960 and lives in Zurich. He has performed throughout the world and been a prominent figure on the improvised/experimental music sc…

*300 copies limited edition* Sponge mites swarm a black map / Overrun then cut by mayflies / Void / switch /part to Moth wings beating air incised / a graver / lined and block / partial to upper frequencies / Scordatura / its flowers / Vespertine / delirious A night shade / falling into / cardiac arrhythmia / Sharp stop / intaglio Stabbed by silence / The ink was invisible / Dust sprinkled by a pollinator heard as low ground hum / Bare scented wave / faint as rumour Bird beak incision / Hole pun…

Paris-based musician Seijiro Murayama (percussion, voice) and French alto sax and organ player Jean-Luc Guionnet have performed together on a regular basis for many years and released numerous recording of their collaborations. Their duo CDs "Mishima, Day & Night" (2015) and "Idiophonic" (2018) were released on the Ftarri label, and the CD "Blue Mistake, Red Mistake" (with Yan Jun, Guionnet, Matija Schellander and Murayama) came out on on Ftarri’s sister label Meenna in 2020. "Balcony Inside"’s …

"If you think that the constellation of Nicholas Bussmann, Sven-Åke Johansson and Yan Jun is a sort of dream lineup, you are not far off the mark. The joint improvisations that you hear on tea time capture a sound that once came to Bussmann in a dream and that he made a reality with the help of his fellow musicians. The trio recorded the five pieces across two days at Johansson’s SÅJ studio with engineer Andrew Levine, working with Bussmann’s curious piano robot while Johansson was on percussion…

For almost ten years, Ruben Machtelinckx has followed an extraordinary path in Belgian and European improvised music. As a guitarist, but equally as a composer. It began in 2013, when the quartet Machtelinckx/Badenhorst/Jensson/Wouters released their debut, ‘Faerge’. The album was praised by international press and was listed ‘Best Belgian jazz release’ by Knack magazine. In 2020 he won the Klara Award for Best Belgian Jazz release for his latest record: Porous Structures (Aspen 009). In between…

Tip!  *200 copies limited edition* In 2019, ‘porous structures’ was released, the first album by the quartet Machtelinckx/Badenhorst/Cools/Gouband. The album won the Klara for ‘Best Belgian Jazz CD’. In September 2024, ‘porous structures II’ will be released, a new album by a quartet led by Ruben Machtelinckx, this time in the company of Fredrik Rasten, Frederik Leroux and again Toma Gouband. What remains is the choice for acoustic and fragile sounds, comprehensible to the listener but with an u…

Tip! *2026 stock* The klingt.collective is a viennese music group founded in 2022. it’s nine members are an essential part of Vienna’s experimental music scene and have been collaborating in various groups for many years. Previous collaborating projects include: the klingt.orgestra, Radian, sonic luz, TWIXT, The Vegetable Orchestra... The internet platform klingt.org has been a home for the musicians and many of those projects since the early 2000s – thus the name of the ensemble. The nine music…

'rustlings' is an album of two pieces written by Stockholm-based violinist and composer Maya Bennardo. One of the pieces, 'dormant gardens i' (2022), was written for and performed by andPlay, a duo of Bennardo on violin and Hannah Levinson on viola. The other, 'summer rustlings' (2024), is a solo violin piece performed by Bennardo. Both pieces were inspired by Bennardo's move to Sweden from New York City, where she developed a new relationship with nature through walking. Her solo and compositio…

Tip! Autonomie Minérale is the apex of a triptych that sprang up in less than three years, with a feeling of urgency. There is nothing fortuitous about this name, “Tachycardie.” Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy, is a musician and a composer (Pneu, I N S T I T U T R I C E, La Colonie de vacances) as well as a plastic artist (InfraOrdinaire), and in this project he continues his very singular exploration of the depths of sonic matter. After Probables (2019) and Sommé-e (2020), his previous intuitions have d…

A meeting of generations! The mighty Johansson paired with British artist Phillips for a collection of songs from... elsewhere. Johansson's unmistakable sensibility filtered through collaboration. Another essential chapter in an unparalleled discography

Originally released by Confront in 2013 on compact disc as The Complete August 15th 2001. Now freshly remixed and remastered in 2023 for release on a delux double 180g white vinyl LP set and digital. Recorded at Sound 323, London by Tim Fletcher on 15 August 2001

On Wunderkammer, Jan Bang, Michael Francis Duch, Erik Honoré, David Toop and Mark Wastell assemble a single 38‑minute live trance of electroacoustic chamber‑drift, where Moe‑Repstad’s disembodied voice moves through gongs, bass and quietly uncanny objects like a ghost cataloguing its own reliquary.

On Live at ISSUE Project Room, Loren Connors and Alessandra Novaga turn the guitar into a nearly weightless medium, tracing an improvised, slow‑burn dialogue of tremors, silences and ghost‑melodies that feels less like a concert than a séance for two.

Polyvalent Creativity is a new CD release on Confront Recordings featuring free improvisation by bassist Dominic Lash on electric guitar and percussionist Mark Wastell on drums and percussion. The album comprises four tracks: "Potential," "Commitment," "Activation," and "Fulfilment," blending jazz improvisation with rich, textural soundscapes. Reviews highlight its unconventional approach, starting with tuning-like sounds that evolve into emotionally resonant free jazz. Critics praise the duo's …

**17 CDs, 1 DVD and 250 pages of histories, chronology, testimony and commentaries by the band, sundry contemporary documents, and rare photographs – in a sturdy box.** This collection brings together in an inexpensive and definitive edition the full contents of all earlier releases, with the addition of a further 60pp booklet of newly unearthed, or commissioned, band commentaries, pictures and other documents prepared specifically for this box - as well as re-mastered versions of all the studio…