Dual
*In process of stocking* VAxBY is Albert van Abbe & Byetone. Dutch sound artist Albert van Abbe now joins the Raster family, with an unexpected collaboration with founder Olaf Bender aka Byetone title »Dual«. The result of their collaboration is both smooth and haptic, rounding out as an expressive camaraderie between the two veteran producers. Jovial and innocent, »Dual« alludes to the experimental research process of finding common ground. Fully embracing the haphazard richness of live recordi…
None Corsa
Debut vinyl outing for Valentina Magaletti and Pino Montecalvo’s Avvitagalli project couretesy of London's Horn of Plenty label. Variegated percussion + WTF jams inspired by a visit to an abandoned, torched palazzo somewhere in southern Europe. Its charred, decaying splendour casts a fitting backdrop to the surreal push-pull of Valentina & Pino’s aural capers. None Corsa explores presence and absence, purpose and chance, and the tension between serenity and disquiet. Composing and decomposing, g…
Merzbeat
*20th anniversary reissue!* Merzbow's Merzbeat is one the most unique and legendary titles in the artist's vast archive. This 20th anniversary reissue is being issued at the same time as CD reissue of his 1983 album Material Action 2 and a brand new collaboration with Arcane Device, all on Important Records. Originally released in 2002, Merzbeat contains over 50 minutes of aggressive, psychedelic, organic, analog beat oriented Merzbow compositions. Drummed rhythms, massive looping samples, a pun…
Elders
Tip! Elders is the debut release from Ensemble Nist-Nah, a nine-piece percussion group led by Nantes-based Australian drummer and percussionist Will Guthrie. The diverse group of French musicians that make up Ensemble Nist-Nah – whose collective experience encompasses traditional Gamelan performance, contemporary composition, noise, jazz, and everything in between – perform on drum kits, traditional and junk percussion, and a complete set of Javanese Gamelan instruments. Though building on the f…
Hiking The Trails Of Mount Muzak
No time to waste: nine months after Tim Vanhamel released 'Dubs Pour Oh La La', his debut album under the moniker Comité Hypnotisé, the Millionaire frontman presents already the second album 'Hiking The Trails Of Mount Muzak'. Hardly leaving any traces of the dubbed out vibe which marked the first record, Tim expands his Comité Hypnotisé universe to a surprising next level on this second album: exploring a place where James Last, Wu-Tang Clan and Dj Shadow are cooking up a Thai meal in a Peruvia…
Probables
On his first solo LP, Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy (the spectacular drummer of Pneu, Binidu, la Colonie de vacances among many other projects) explores a feild between contemporary music, minimalism and sound art.
Sommé-e
Many superb records by drummers exist already, but JB Geoffroy has no interest in simply following in the footsteps of Chris Corsano, Man Forever or Will Guthrie, all of whom he cites as touchstones,but in this case a drum record without drums is a a step into expanded percussion and wild sonic experimentation.
White Smoke
Unusual instrumentation and interaction from the trio of percussionist Mike Goyvaerts (Canaries on the Pole), saxophonist Jeffey Morgan (releases on Headlight, Konnex) and EMS synthesist Willy Van Buggenhout. Buggenhout and Goyvaerts are known for their electroacoustic duo Hotzeniebotsze, while Goyvaerts is also a long-term member of Fred Van Hove's W.I.M. (Workshop of Improvising Music). The trio use great technical skills and a unique approach to playing that mixes conventional and alien sound…
People Pleaser Pt.II / Electric Rag (2LP in bundle)
This special bundle collects the two recently issued albums by acclaimed experimental percussionist Will Guthrie, including his latest collaboration with Jean-Luc Guionnet:Will Guthrie "People Pleaser - Pt. II" LPWill Guthrie / Jean-Luc Guionnet "Electric Rag" LPWill Guthrie "People Pleaser - Pt. II" LPA singular exercise in Will Guthrie's discography, “People Pleaser”, a series initiated in 2017, sees the Australian partially put down his drumsticks and wear a producer cap for a result offerin…
Yüen Shan
Michael Ranta is one of those rare composers able to organically melt his wide artistic span into a singular but yet diverse universe morphing his rich vocabulary as a percussionist with the Oriental esoteric tradition, the psychedelic underground and the realm of electronic minimalism.Yuen Shan (Round Mountain in chinese) was conceived in 1972 and finalised in 2014. It’s a major work in Ranta’s oeuvre (his first solo release in almost 25 years), highly personal and spiritual. A musical cosmogon…
People Pleaser Pt.II
Tip!! A singular exercise in Will Guthrie's discography, “People Pleaser”, a series initiated in 2017, sees the Australian partially put down his drumsticks and wear a producer cap for a result offering a resolutely singular perspective of / on his work with a very personal dimension. On the first volume, with a cover signed Stephen O'Malley sets the tone by diverting the chamaré Warhol influenced visual of the album “Unit Structures” by Cecil Taylor. The portrait of the free jazz pianist has be…
Electric Rag
* Edition of 300 * Maxed out and burning hot nasty, Electric Rag brings together the electric organs, electronics and alto sax of Jean-Luc Guionnet, with the closely amplified drums and percussion of Will Guthrie.After years of playing together in the minimalist pointillist free jazz noise core trio ‘The Ames Room’ (with Clayton Thomas on bass) Electric Rag offers up another point of view on a musical history of nearly 15 years of playing together.The 8 titles of Electric Rag draw on their vari…
Dubs Pour Oh La La
Not a lockdown record here: With 'Comité Hypnotisé' Tim Vanhamel (Millionaire, Evil Superstars...) tumbles into a subsonic wormhole where smoked out dub glues with boogie funk and off-kiltered early hip hop vibes. Transcending frequencies from an unknown galaxy channeled through a broken 70’s echo deck. Shortly after Evil Superstars played a one off concert for ‘An Evening With Laika’ in the Ancienne Belgique in 2013 Tim started to create the music which was the entering point of ‘Dubs Pour Oh …
Strange and Sacred Noise
** 2021 Stock ** John Luther Adams is an Alaskan composer. For Adams, Alaska is not a catalogue of ideas and sounds, instead, Alaska is a provocation. For all of its enormity, Alaska leans inward towards essential qualities and purified forces, and in Adams’ music we find this same sense of space and the same tendency inward towards the purified. His is an intimate and focused music that reverberates in a large place. Strange and Sacred Noise is a monumental work for percussion quartet in 9 move…
On No On
A CD of duo improvisations by two of Montreal’s great improvisors: bass clarinettist Lori Freedman and drummer/percussionist John Heward. The two have performed together in various ensembles over the years. Both have produced significant discographies. These unedited studio improvisations were recorded in Montreal in 2011. It is the third set of duos featuring John Heward on Mode/Avant. Cover art by John Heward. Liner note by Eric Lewis. Photos by Sylvia Safdie.Lori Freedman, b-flat & bass-clari…
Dented Time
Jazz drummer Per Oddvar Johansen was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1968. He has earned six Spellemannsprisen, Norway's equivalent to Grammy Awards. One of Norway's leading drummers, he has participated in over 80 albums. In May 2018, Johansen came to Japan with his own trio. Paris-based drummer/percussionist Seijiro Murayama is familiar to Ftarri listeners for his many releases of solo and collaborative performances on the Ftarri, Hitorri and Meenna labels. The eight tracks on this CD (each 5 to 10 …
Où
** 2021 Stock ** For some, applying the structures of electronic music to folkloristic samples may seem de-contextualizing. Yet when considering the similarity between dancefloor compositions and the minimalism of Steve Reich and Terry Riley, the gap to traditional music begins to fade away. They remain distinct mostly by aesthetic characteristics of sound. Nicolas Sheikholeslami’s premiere solo record as Çaykh is named after the French conjunction "Où" - meaning “where” - as this was the linkin…
Fahon
**Edition of 80** New live recordings, oriented with only two instruments, viola and frame drums. The album was recorded during a period of many live sessions between 2019 and 2020 with just a Rode nt4 stereo microphone and one of the very first Sony mz md. The sessions were amplified. Frédéric Charlot - Viola. Olivier Charlot - Frame drums.
Cymbalom Solos
There are constellations within the grooves of Cymbalom Solos. Innumerable points of light, rendered audible in glowing, radiant sound. There are entire worlds too - undiscovered, yet familiar -- both terrestrial and celestial. There are moments of quiet comfort and exultant discovery. And all of it conjured by one man with a handful of ancient and invented instruments, recorded mostly-live, with precious few overdubs. Michael Masley has been a fixture of Berkley, California, since he arrived fr…
Drumming in the Dark
Neuma presents Drumming in the Dark by Steven Schick. Engineer, Josef Kucera. Production assistance: Roger Reynolds and Terry Longshore. "In 1938 when John Cage formulated his famous dictum, "Percussion is revolution," I doubt that he had my mother in mind..." - Steven Schick