★Bead Records
Aspects Of Memory
Aspects of Memory is the first meeting between Lawrence Casserley (signal-processing instrument) and Emil Karlsen (percussion). Casserley has devoted his professional career to the creation and performance of real-time electroacoustic music, culminating in the development of his own unique device—The Signal Processing Instrument. This instrument allows him to use physical gestures to control the processing and to direct the morphology of the sounds.
Casserley writes: “A key element of the Signal…
Eyre
For their fourth album, and second release on Bead, light.box augments the duo of Alex Bonney (trumpet, electronics) and Pierre Alexandre Tremblay (bass guitar, electronics) with a special guest, Tom Challenger on tenor saxophone.The album explores a vast range of textures and dynamics from cinematic ambient drones to delicate timbral and microtonal explorations, from fast-paced dialogues to invasive waves of distortion. The rapport between the musicians has developed over years of playing toget…
Quartetics
"Quartetics" captures a unique encounter between four seasoned improvisers, who first came together in this quartet formation on May 15, 2019. Although new in this configuration, these musicians share extensive collaborative histories: Lash has longstanding collaborations with Reuben and Hanslip, while Hession, Reuben, and Hanslip had already performed and recorded as a trio. The album explores the idea of "The Quartet"—specifically, this configuration of tenor saxophone, laptop, double bass, an…
Marsh Gas (LP)
Original 1977 edition on Bead of the first Brighton album basically featuring the Balance group (with Radu Malfatti and Philipp Wachsmann) plus Marcio Mattos and Roger Smith, a narrative strange mix of improvisation and composition.
After Being In Holland For Two Years (LP)
Origianl edition on Bead of Cusack's debut from 1977, a wonderful solo album of guitar and environmental sounds.
Shadow Figures
The trio of Neil Metcalfe, Philipp Wachsmann and Emil Karlsen has been working together as Spaces Unfolding since 2021. Created initially as a vehicle for acoustic exploration, the trio’s debut album ‘The Way We Speak’ was recorded in the acoustics of London’s St Mary’s Old Church. This time the trio is joined by Pierre Alexandre Tremblay (electronics), a practitioner offering multiple dialogues between instruments and electronics. Expanding on the initial idea of acoustic influence, the trio is…
Live / Studio
Recorded partly at London’s Cafe Oto and Cable Street Studios, 'Live / Studio' represents the debut by established British improvisers Phil Durrant and Daniel Thompson. Moving within and between close textural territories, the duo explores shifting sonic patterns and a dynamic interplay resulting in an intimate listening experience
The Beholder's Share
"The narrative has many faces, twisted, oneiric, mysterious and expressive."- Andrzej Nowak (Spontaneous Music Tribune)
Especially For You
“Repeated listening discovers more and more nuances in the subtle interplay and the clever and endless sonic games of these pioneers of European improvised music.” - Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts
Here And How
"Three musicians who seem like impressionist painters, building, stroke by stroke, on small scale, finally creating a strong statement for the fresh catalogue of the label." - Fotis Nikolakopoulos, Freejazzblog
Muted Language
“Brilliant drumming by two fearless artisans; hearing, resounding the real world around us. Truth is in our ears.” - Chris Searle, The Morningstar
The Undanced Dance
"Fractured grooves blend into dark, cinematic ambient drones and morph into spontaneous improvisations, colored by epic electronica and ornamented with raw noises." - Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts
The Way We Speak
"It is one of the finest documents of how improvisation is made that this listener has heard, on par with the two astounding The Life of a Trio albums (by Paul Bley, Jimmy Giuffre and Steve Swallow)" - George Grella, New York City Jazz Records
In Air
“Excellent testimony to the quirky and detailed improvisation of the British where the emphasis is on dynamics, the sporadic use of silence and restricted playing with a multiplicity of playful options (…)” – Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg