Back in stock
Arrival
Double LP version. Black Vinyl. Their first two albums, Exit and Enter, were presented with sizable and ambitious line-ups of 28 musicians. Ritual saw it reduced to 21 and with Arrival it's been trimmed down to a "mere" 14, with the core trio of Fire! (Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling, and Andreas Werliin) and the two singers Mariam Wallentin and Sofia Jernberg being the only constant members since the beginning. Apart from this reduction, the main line-up difference is the introduction of a str…
Testament
* Black Vinyl edition * Fire! have always been about finding the essence by getting to the core of the music. Their 8th album sees the trio - for the first time on record - stripped down to the bare-bones essentials; with no flutes, no electronics, no guests and no extras, recorded live in the studio to analogue tape - the Steve Albini way - with the master himself at the controls in Electrical Audio in Chicago. Thus, this album stands as a true testament to the group´s expressive power and glow…
She Sleeps, She Sleeps
LP version that includes bonus CD, edition of 500. Fire! is a Swedish trio comprising Mats Gustafsson (The Thing), Johan Berthling (Tape), and Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums), which came together with the idea of a fresh approach to improvised music drawing upon a number of influences from free jazz, psychedelic rock, and noise. Fire! is also these musicians' vehicle for rekindling their instrumental skills, playing outside their comfort zones, and collaborating with such prestigio…
Requies
A monstrous blast of jazz noise energy by the combustible trio with Sunn 0)))’s Stephen O’Malley and David Sandström of hardcore punks, Refused, on the mighty Rune Grammofon.
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 …
Defeat
Fire! tracking new paths and reaching new levels of excellence, still honoring their 12-year-old vow of presenting a fresh approach to improvised music. Their debut album, You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago, was released in 2009 to wide international acclaim. "The basic strategy of pairing the expressive energy of free jazz with a sturdy sense of groove has yielded something potent and self-contained" --New York Times. Between this and Defeat there´s been five albums, including collaborations with Ji…
Sushi. Roti. Reibekuchen
The collaboration between Brian Eno, one of the main figure in ambient music, Holger Czukay, a pioneer of krautrock from the band Can, and J. Peter Schwalm, a German composer, resulted in the creation of a musical project called Sushi. Roti. Reibeckuchen - a unique live collaboration. The impromptu performance was documented in 1998 in Bonn, Germany, but it has recently been released to the global audience.
The Epidemics
The Epidemics is an album by Indian violinist L. Shankar and British vocalist, keyboardist and composer Caroline recorded in February 1985 and released on ECM the following year.Elsewhere's Graham Reid included the album in his list of "10 Unusual ECM Albums of the Eighties I Own," and remarked: "This is a kind of post-punk electro-pop outing... Synth pop with very little catchy pop, emotionally flat vocals by Caroline, widdly rock guitar by Vai and bassist Jones probably wondering why he was do…
Skala
*2024 stock* Mathias Eick’s intensely melodic trumpet occupies the centre-stage in this album of self-penned tunes which will appeal to an audience beyond “jazz”. Against the powerful backdrops offered by his sleek, modern band, driven by two drummers, he delivers richly lyrical soliloquies.
Midwest
*2024 stock* Mathias Eick reflects on distances travelled in this intensely melodic set of original compositions, which makes an imaginative journey from Hem, the tiny Norwegian village where the trumpeter grew up, to the vast plains of Dakota in the American Midwest. It was to the Midwest that hundreds of thousands of Norwegians travelled by sea in the 19th and early 20th centuries – and naturally they took their music with them. In similar spirit Eick, a Norwegian improviser-composer strongly…
Friday Night
Livy Ekemezie’s Friday Night is widely recognised by DJs and afro-funk aficionados as a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) grail record. It is one of those rare dance music albums that sounds like a record of its’ time but also has a timeless quality that makes each listen an immensely rewarding experience. Fueled by teen spirit, every track slaps leaving little or no opportunity to skip. The song concepts circle around sweaty, afropolitan nightly excursions into the nightclubs of Aba, Port Harcou…
Peter der Große / Gudbrandsdal
Two of Henning Christiansen’s tape works from the 1980’s, Peter der Große op. 174 (1986) and Gudbrandsdal op. 178 (1987), are now released for the first time by the Institute for Danish Sound Archaeology.
25 Years Minimum R&B
2017 release ** "25 years of activity, an original artist, sincere and inspired. A Nordic-inspired poetry that finds its soundness in search of sound, in the company of many musicians / companions Simon, tells us, in this volume, a unique artistic journey that varies between Rock, Contemporary, Jazz, Chamberlain . Becoming an icon of the RIO movement between the 90s and 2000s, Simon Steensland proposes two discs, one that collects a collection of pieces of his first period on CD, which has long …
Entendre
A fascinating solo album from the Swiss pianist, composer and conceptualist best known as leader of the bands Ronin and Mobile, Entendre offers deeper insight into Nik Bärtch’s musical thinking. As the album title implies Entendre is about hearing as a creative process, referencing the patient unfolding of Bärtch’s modular polymetric pieces, with alertness to the dynamics of touch, finding freedom in aesthetic restriction, serving the flow of each piece’s development while also taking the music …
Ghost Notes
1998 release ** "This CD represents the pinnacle of IST's achievements so far. Phil Durrant's Sowari For Ist, concentrates upon texture and timbre as opposed to pitch and rhythm. The resulting music is detailed, fragile, abstract and beautiful, pushing acoustic instruments further into a sound-world more often associated with acousmatic forms. In Mark Wastell's Ritmico the emphasis is upon rhythm and the particular sonorities produced by the percussive possibilities of the wooden parts of each i…
crows of the world vol 1
2007 release ** "First entry in an on-going 'annual report' style compilation, programmed with the same sensibilities as 2005's Invisible Pyramid compilation by label guru Chris Moon. This entries' line-up includes: Keijo's Free Players, Brad Rose's North Sea, Western Automatic, the Ilya Monosov / Preston Swrinoff duo, Andrea Belfi (previously heard on the Invisible Pyramid comp), Paper Wings (Antony Milton + Anthony Guerra), Northern Cross (new Geoff Mullen + Kris Lapke duo), Brasil & the Gallo…
The New Quartet
As well as being the great vibraphone innovator of the era, Gary Burton is known for his unparalleled intuition as a talent scout. In 1973, The New Quartet introduced Abraham Laboriel: this was the first recording of the bassist who would soon become one of the most in-demand session players across all genres. “It must be emphasised that Laboriel sounds like a major artist in the making with his astonishing bass work,” wrote Melody Maker. Guitarist Mick Goodrick also emerged as a player to watc…
Discotheque Bruitisme
2000 release ** Exclusive tracks by German Electronica acts from Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne incl. Mouse on Mars (Sonig), Christoph de Babalon (Digital Hardcore), Hematic Sunsets (Asmus Tietchens), Groenland Orchester (Staubgold), Wrag Naroda, Ostinato, Stick, The Messenger vs. El Stick, Cybermouse, TBC, Reznicek, Flash Gordon Blues Band, Jetzmann/Liquidski.
Life Goes On
*2024 stock* A striking album of new music from pianist/composer Carla Bley, whose trio with Andy Sheppard and Steve Swallow is now in its 25th year. Individual associations among the players go back much further: bassist Swallow first recorded music by Carla in 1961. So when Bley says “Life Goes On”, a lot of life is alluded to. The album, realized in the Auditorio Stelio Molo Studio in Lugano in May 2019, with Manfred Eicher producing, takes the form of three suites. The title piece begins as …
Andando El Tiempo
*2024 stock* Andando el Tiempo features new music of wide emotional compass by Carla Bley, and underlines her originality and resourcefulness as a jazz composer. “Saints Alive!” sets up animated conversations between the three musical participants with striking statements from Steve Swallow’s bass guitar and Andy Sheppard’s soprano sax. The stately “Naked Bridges/Diving Brides” draws inspiration from Mendelssohn and the poetry of Paul Haines. And the powerful three part title composition – wh…