New Arrivals
One night in Burmantofts
A long overdue meeting of two of the titans of the saxophone. Alan Wilkinson (alto, Baritone & Voice) and Peter Brotzmann (clarinet, tarogato & tenor) together with Willi Kellers (drums) and Simon H. Fell (bass) blow up one hell of a storm. The individuals on this recording consciously commit, putting themselves 'out there', over the edge. The energy, the electricity, generated by saxophonists Wilkinson and Brötzmann, is a result of their fearless approach to the precipice and their willingness …
Filmworks XXIII: El General
Eleven cues recorded for a striking documentary focusing on the life of controversial Mexican dictator Plutarco Elias Calles who was called everything from a nun-burner to the father of modern Mexico. Beautiful and dramatic, the music is scored for guitar, marimba, accordion/piano and bass and subtly draws upon Mexican, Spanish, minimalist and soundtrack traditions. Zorn's fifth film score in as many months is a pure delight. Moody and exotic music for a creative and revealing film dealing with …
Wedding ceremony
In May 2007 the sextet of Lucio Capece, Julia Eckhardt, Christian Kesten, Radu Malfatti, Toshimaru Nakamura and Taku Sugimoto convened in Belgium to work together and play two concerts, one in Gent and one in Brussels. During their time together the group played a mixture of improvisation and their own compositions. A number of exciting tensions were present. The contrast between loud and quiet, activity and inactivity and indeed improvisation and composition. Wedding Ceremony ties together many…
Nuojuva halava
The Preservation label presents Nuojuva Halava, the debut album from Helsinki, Finland’s Ous Mal. Ous Mal is the recording project for 22-year old Olli Aarni. With previous CD-R releases for both Finland’s 267-Lattajjaa and the UK’s Under The Spire, Ous Mal has already gained fine notice for his expansive sound, further developed in widescreen ways on Nuojuva Halava, his first full-length. Finding common ground between the dusty tenor of old-school hip hop cassettes and the fog of deep ambience …
Courant.Air
It is the continuation of a body of work intertwining instrumental and electronic music following the acclaimed 2004-2008 work les arbres (Mention, Prix Ars Electronica 2009). The mixture this time is more edgy : a rich and complex electronic sound composition alongside the folk inspired guitar played by Simon Trottier (member of the extraordinary haunted blues band Timber Timbre). After 2 albums of improvised folktronica with Simon Trottier, Nicolas Bernier decided to explore that singu…
12k Promo Sampler 002
The second 12k sampler CD features 12 songs chronologically looking forward to early 2012 and back to the recent releases and clocks in at over 60 minutes. It offers a sneak-peak at upcoming music plus a re-cap of the past year. The CD is being sold for only $4/$6 (USA/INT'L respectively) and that includes shipping. It's an inexpensive way to familiarize yourself with the latest on 12k. 12k welcomes two new artists to the roster: The Boats (UK) bring their electro-acoustics into song-stru…
Dark Places
Certain places are more horrifying than others, closer to the source of primordial terror, be it the netherworld, the glacial outerspace of Lovecraftian ancient evil or simply the subconscious. Such places are sources of myth and awe. For their second album, Owwl tapped into these sources. Dark Places channels the world's sinister sites. The results are minimally shifting walls of drone, oppressive and entrancing like stars in a forlorn place or the historic pitfall of ground drenched with…
Vom Klang Des Lebens/Of The Sound of Life
Solo piano, performed by Roger Woodward. "A co-production between Celestial Harmonies and Bayerischer Rundfunk, Vom Klang Des Lebens/Of The Sound of Life features pianist Roger Woodward on a Steinway model D, playing Peter Michael Hamel's cycle of works composed for and dedicated to his wife and new son. The producer/engineer for the recording sessions in January 2006 was Ulrich Kraus. Long before he discerns the light of the world, still in the womb, nascent man begins to sense the sounds of li…
What A Beautiful Place
CD edition, lavishly packaged: In the last couple of years there's been no shortage of lost folk albums re-appearing for the world to enjoy once more, and the wonderful Numero Group label (which is fast becoming one of our most loved imprints...) has managed to find another. Hailing from the bleak northern city of Halifax, Catherine Howe was initially trained at drama school, gaining a brief stint in Doctor Who ('The Underwater Menace' for all you Whovians out there, wink wink) among othe…
Ready\'n
Seijiro Murayama: snare drum, cymbal, sticks, brushes. Masafumi Ezaki: trumpet. Kazushige Kinoshita: violin. Recorded live by Taku Unami at Kobe Art Village Center, Kobe, April 12, 2008. Mastered by Taku Unami. Photo by Nobuhiro Sasaki. Includes liner notes by Seijiro Murayama in Japanese and English.
Crookt, Crackt Or Fly
Crookt Crackt Or Fly is a 1994 album by Gastr del Sol released on Drag City. The album was written and performed by David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke, with John McEntire (percussion), Steve Butters (percussion) and Gene Coleman (Bass Clarinet) also contributing. All tracks were recorded by Brian Paulson in October 1993 at King Size studios.
Spielt Noise Boys
This is one of the most essential minimal synth wave projects, originally issued in 1980. After that, Stephan Eicher would form the band Grauzone. As a child, particularly with his little brother Martin, Stephan used a multi-track ("made in Eicher" by connecting several cassette machines together) to record little audio theater pieces. He would later organize Dada happenings and concerts, together with a small group of friends who called themselves the Noise Boys. In addition to Stephan on …
Garage Music
Bruce Russell has an MA in Political Studies, and works as an information designer. He has previously worked in the field of archives management, during which time he ran the National Radio sound archive. As a sound artist Russell is known mainly for his involvement in New Zealand's longest-running improvisational 'post-rock' group, the Dead C., although he also works in the field of radiophonic composition, and records as a solo artist and with the trio A Handful of Dust. He performs wit…
The 4th world
"The 4th World is The Work's long-lost, never before issued, very last album, from 1994. Succeeding See by some two years, it shares that album's aesthetics and approach - an economy of means, and superior song-writing/ playing - even when compared to their earlier albums. One wouldn't guess it was recorded live at a gig in Breisgau, because the sound is, quite honestly, superlative, and is even better than any of their studio albums. The original, mono recordings (by Volkmar Miedtke) were metic…
Tenor
Bertrand Denzler tenor saxophone. Recorded by Christophe Hauser on february 21st, 2010. 'As well as being part of such improvisation ensembles as Hubbub, Trio Sowari and Propagations Sax Quartet, Bertrand Denzler, who plays the tenor saxophone, also records solo music. Each of the three lengthy pieces on Tenor use a single note which are subsequently layered. Not by repeating them on the computer, like say Phill Niblock would do this, but by adding small variations in how he plays them. In Filte…
Invisible ear
Two decades ago, saxophonist John Butcher abandoned his doctoral pursuits in theoretical physics to pursue a life in improvised music and has since become one of the genre’s leading instrumental and structural innovators. Butcher’s pursuit of extended techniques has yielded and continues to yield, as indicated by this most recent solo outing, a treasure trove of unfathomable timbral and dynamic possibilities for an instrument whose role in experimental music seems to consistently teeter o…
Emotional Planet
Chris Rose's Robust Worlds has impressed us since first glimpse. He was actually barefoot, if you can believe that, and his set had the feel of a way more lysergic Kevin Ayers. It was freezing fucking cold and I'm pretty sure he wore a Hawaiian shirt. His debut LP is called Emotional Planet, and it's deceptively simple. Voice, guitar, some noisy shit, whatever. His playing is sick: fluid, unforced, warm, soothed and soothing. It's a bath you don't want to exit. Seriously, if yr going to play gui…
Hunting the Snake
2012 repress, originally issued pre-9/11. "Astounding 1975 Radio Bremen session from Germany -- never before released, by one of the greatest working bands in the history of European improvised music is offered for your consideration on Hunting The Snake. How can you lose? This all-star ensemble features Alexander von Schlippenbach on piano, Evan Parker on saxophones, Peter Kowald on bass, and Paul Lovens on drums and singing saw. A brilliant, previously unreleased 77 minute program fr…
Nature Unveiled
Nature Unveiled is Current 93's seminal first album. It's been returned to its original format of two tracks, and has been beautifully re-mastered by Denis Blackham. This reissue comes with a booklet with early photographs of the group members-- who included David Tibet, Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound), John Balance (Coil), and Little Annie-- and original insert materials.