Jazz /
Mobilis In Mobili
**Edition of 285 silk-screened wooden slipcase with inserts and a 6 postcards set. Liner notes by Michel Henritzi. An'archives presents three documents, three vinyl records carved by the illuminations of Masayoshi Urabe, six performances engraved like epitaphs in the stone that covers the Living World. These are recordings made in small suburban venues in Japan where Urabe would play in front of a meagre audience: the Bitches Brew in Yokohama, the Groove in Okinawa and the Gari Gari in Tokyo. …
Heart Of Darkness
After "Divertimento for tenor saxophone and small ensemble" (Alien Transistor) and "The Anatomy Of Melancholy" (Disko B) the two members of the Tied & Tickled Trio, Johannes Enders and Carl Oesterhelt, now publish their third collaboration Heart Of Darkness (Themes and Variations). 16 compositions, variations / improvisations for duo or chamber music ensemble;
"Extremely interesting blend of jazz and non-jazz; Great ad hoc jazz improvisations on jazz-informed patterns " - Thomas Meinecke
Actions
LP version. Original score by Krzysztof Penderecki. New reading and conduction by Mats Gustafsson. The first (and until now only?) recorded interpretation of Krzysztof Penderecki's Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra took place in 1971 at Donaueschingen and featured the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, assembled by Don Cherry for the occasion and conducted by the great Polish composer. That orchestra also consisted of 14 musicians, including international jazz heavyweights such as Kenny Wheeler, Peter …
Close | Quarters
**300 copies** "Close | Quarters is a seven-track slice of often compacted and angular improv for viola and prepared chamber. The two players here are Benedict Taylor and Anton Mobin. Taylor is a British improviser / avant musician who has been active in the scene since the early 2000s releasing a good body of work, as well as becoming a respected name, and Frenchman Mobin has once again been active since the early 2000’s making a name for himself as both an improviser and sound artists.The albu…
Dead Leaves Drop
**300 copies** The term ‘supergroup’ often comes with tacky connotations, but this is the real deal. Through hard work and a tirelessly inquisitive spirit, Nate Wooley, Dave Rempis, Pascal Niggenkemper and Chris Corsano have become some of the most versatile improvisers of their generation. As From Wolves To Whales, they turn their imposing collective strength into a relentless new whole. Relentless, not just because of the energy levels or the generous amount of freedom, but because of the cons…
End of a Cable
**100 copies** Improvising duo Ed Lucas and Graham Dunning explore texture, timbre, dynamics and drones.Ed Lucas plays trombone, sometimes augmented with controlled feedback, and has had many associations with improvising musicians in London and beyond.Graham Dunning uses turntable with field recordings pressed to dublate, along with snare drum and objects, focusing on tactile soundmaking.End of a Cable is their first album together. Graham Dunning: turntable, snare drum and objectsEdward Lucas:…
New American Songbooks Volume 2
After the stunning success of last year's New American Songbooks, Volume 1,
Sound American is proud to present another chapter in their attempt to
find new points of view on the concept of the American Songbook. Last year's release found three distinctive voices--Mary Halvorson, Ron
Miles, and Greg Saunier--working together to arrange works from mass
media. Their collaboration, only a few days in total, culminated in a
recording that felt equal parts wild and warm; intimate and
revolutiona…
Holography
**2006 release, long out of print, very few copies available** One of the rarest albums ever from the mighty Masahiko Satoh, a composer and arranger,as well as a key figure in the avantgarde music from Japan. Originally issued on Japan Columbia in 1970, the two sides of very free piano show a sensitivity that's really amazing – still moments of freedom that reflect Satoh's connection to the avant garde of the time, interwoven with his own sense of cosmic creation, in ways that are similar to his…
Leave No Trace: Live In St. Louis
As live albums go, Tashi Dorji and Tyler Damon nail it down. No matter the crowd -- head thrashers, Instagram zombies, shaken jazzniks -- the shadow lines of feedback and bombastic percussive bombs are always at peak intensity. Through telepathic engagement the Bhutanese-born guitarist Dorji and Midwestern drummer Damon act with one-mind destruction as Leave No Trace: Live In St. Louis perfectly captures. It’s a pure sound for these disruptive, politically tumultuous times. Or Marc Master…
Plays Standards
Just when you thought it would be safe... Ground Zero are back with a CD of extraordinary covers, some are massive, others strange, all add something to their originals and were selected because of their importance to founder Otomo Yoshihide's personal musical biography - all explained in his excellent accompanying notes. Just the version of Shed a Little Tear is worth the whole CD.
Burj Al Imam
140-gram LP in gatefold sleeve with a special drawing by Mazen Kerbaj. Mastered for vinyl by Harris Newman. Edition of 500. Entirely recorded at Tunefork Studios on the outskirts of Beirut, Burj al Imam's five tracks include three largely improvised numbers, a loose reworking of Sun City Girls track "The Imam," and a cover of traditional Americana song "Gently Johnny" (a highlight of Alan Bishop's live Alvarius B. shows). True to their habits, the Lebanese trio of trumpeter Mazen Kerbaj, guitari…
Nohome
Double LP version. After the internationally and heavily praised Caspar Brötzmann Massaker in the early '90s, not much was heard from the German "Modern Primitive" guitar player Caspar Brötzmann, aside from some collaborations for theater. Now he is back with a new band -- extreme, heavy, intense. In summer 2012 he was invited by the A L'arme Festival for a special gig with Swiss musicians Michael Wertmüller(drums) and Marino Pliakas (ebass) (those two form the group Full Blast with Caspar's fat…
Jems
The extraordinary improvising duo of John Edwards and Mark Sanders have recorded together in countless groups, but only once as a duo [Nisus Duets Emanem 2002]. For this recording, Mark uses an unorthodox kit setup with horizontal orchestral bass drum. John's huge bass sound is captured in full by the old RCA ribbon microphone used in this recording. Constantly imaginative, thrilling playing.
You Can Be Mine
* 200 copies. Black vinyl * Paal Nilssen-Love is at his powerful best on most of this record – showing that amazing command of the kit that's made him one of the most important drummers in free jazz over the past decade or so! And Fred Lonberg-Holm does plenty himself to keep up on both cello and electronics – working with an intensity that's quite a change from some of his more contemplative performances – surprisingly searing as Paal moves along like a nonstop locomotive!
Spontaneous combustion
A 2 CD issue of the 2013 LP with 78 additional minutes, from the two day residency at UK's Cafe Oto of Decoy with special guest Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto sax.
Thread
'We all met in Berlin at different times. Anthea and I had been playing as a duo since about 2006. Anthea also developed a performance/installation project with Annette I think around 2008. About a year later, I organised a house concert and we decided to play as a trio, which seemed very organic and easy immediately. We recorded parts of the album shortly after that. [] There was not much editing involved in either of the recordings, just minor changes. As for the general style - we act…
Stone/Water
Featuring Ken Vandermark & Mats Gustafsson. Recorded live at Victoriaville in May of 1999. Fantastic live material from a very unique group – the instantly-legendary meeting of reedman Peter Brotzmann with the leading lights of the Chicago avant jazz scene in the 90s – brought together into a tremendous tentet that's maybe even better than the sum of its parts! The group features Brotzmann on tenor and clarinet, Ken Vandermark on tenor and bass clarinet, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Fred Lomberg-Holm…
Phantom Note
Trumpeter Itaru Oki's third album from 1975 reissued, a flamed out free jazz masterpiece. Itaru Oki (trumpet), Yoshiaki Fujikawa (alto sax), Keiki Midorikawa (cello, bass, piano), Gozo Yoshimasu (poetry reading on 5). We are very glad to inform that a long time out of printed OffBeat label LP is reprinted on CD. Itaru Oki visited Paris, France in the 70s and when he came back to Japan temporarily in 75, he organized a elite free jazz troop and recorded in studio. 'Phantom Note' is his 3rd album,…