Pleased to see Kawaguchi's blistering solo set surface from the archives. The bleak, lonesome root of enka runs through maxed out psychedelic guitar in surely one of the loudest sets ever played at the venue. Surprisingly delicate in parts, but it's obvious his work with Haino has had an ear splitting effect. “Kawaguchi Masami's machine gun guitar, which stutters in a polyglot tongue drawing equally from Rory Gallagher, Jerry Garcia and Lou Reed.” – The Wire "One of the greats of modern Japanese psychedelic rock, Masami Kawaguchi has been an influential figure in the Japanese underground scene for two decades. Known for bands such Miminokoto, LSD-March, Broomdusters, Los Doroncos and more recently with his New Rock Syndicate. Heʼs also a regular Keiji Haino collaborator in Aihiyo and more recently in Hardy Soul. Masami's voice is the true updating of the enka tradition: not the rehash or nostalgia, just the bleak lonesome heart which runs through enka core." --- Masami Kawaguchi / vocals, guitar --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO on Tuesday 13th March 2018 by Shaun Crook. Mixed and mastered by James Dunn. Artwork by Oli Barrett.

Prior to Body/Head’s Matador release ‘Coming Apart’, Bill Nace quietly put out a limited 12” of the duo’s material on his own label, Open Mouth. Largely instrumental, with lattices of interwoven sustained guitar, “Where Did You Go?” is as much of a ‘song’ as the record holds, with Gordon ditching lyrics in favour of channelling improvising vocalists like Alice Coltrane. Long sold out in print, it’s a pleasure to share this one as a digital release. --- Bill Nace / electric guitar  Kim Gordon / electric guitar, vocals --- Tracklisting: 1. Turn Me On - 4.44 2. Be There Soon - 5.24 3. Take It Down - 0.524. Where Did You Go? - 8.22 --- Recorded at Brief Crossing Studio. Mastered by Mark Miller. 

In Tom Mudd's work, the conceptual and technological processes are paramount. For this particular release, both are embedded in the Gutter Synthesis algorithm and software which was created for and used in all six tracks. An inevitable consequence of this way of working is that masses of material can be created, which then requires both selection and editing. Once these decisions havetaken place a strange, apparently contradictory, perceptual shift takes place towards the material. The listener is confronted with complex, intense and emotionally charged musical events. This was not Tom Mudd’s intention as he’s not overtly concerned with personal expression. A deep interest in algorithmic computer processes is his guiding principal. Yet from this apparently cold approach to making music comes vivid, dramatic, sound art, packed with rich emotional layers that never operate at the level of the trite and illustrative. There is also a strong formal and structural quality to his pieces that allows, in the best possible sense, the listener to ‘immerse’ themselves in this challenging sound world. John Wall, London, December 2017Gutter Synthesis software Gutter synthesis is a purely digital synthesis process that creates very physical, acoustic-like sounds using a network of resonant Duffing oscillators. The software was created specifically for this project, and is included with the release as an equal part of the creative output. The downloadable version uses an interrelatedset of eight Duffing oscillators and associated filter banks.

"When I first listened to Terrain (Confront), we were in the midst of an unexpected second snow in North Carolina. There was something alien and unpredictable about this circumstance, and it seemed to suit this lovely recording from Graham Halliwell and Lee Patterson. Halliwell’s stunning saxophone feedback seems perfectly apposite here, a presence in motion beneath and amidst the distinct environments that Patterson (field recordings and amplified devices) generates. The disc is quite simply one of the richest things I’ve heard this year. Throughout much of this recording there’s a lovely rubbed glass effect which, to my ears at least, partially recalls Bernhard Günter’s contributions to +Minus. These are frosty, icy laminations, amidst which Halliwell seems to be working in an almost imperceptibly intervallic fashion. Occasionally there are slow pulses – almost like homing beacons – that seem to well up. This is especially effective on the opening track, where it ushers in a series of suggestive changes, from a passage of relative density to a distant rumble at the margins and some soft watery drips – it’s almost like being in some cocoon and floated downriver, with everything outside only barely audible. Some similar effect is achieved on the fourth and final selection here, which plumbs the depths in what sounds like a contact-miked bathysphere (or some reverberant frame drum). Yet elsewhere the music sounds somewhat more direct in its articulation. The second piece deals openly with stark contrast in both tonality and dynamic – an emphatic low buzz here, and there a distant feedback whine of crystals singing together, with midrange hum slowly snaking throughout. The third track reveals a beatific glow from within a gentle gauze covering, but there’s no Fenneszian slumber here; rather, the piece delivers some intriguing dissonances and even a few arch harmonic moves. I suppose it’s in the distance between amorphous sound and definite gesture that Halliwell’s and Patterson’s music takes shape. Unpredictable in its beauty, it seems to come and go, almost like the ripples left by rocks skipping over the surface of a pond. (Jason Bivins, Bagatellen) --- Lee Patterson / field recordings and amplified devices Graham Halliwell / saxophone feedback and processing --- Recorded July 2006. 

Phil Minton / vocals Roger Turner / drums & percussion --- Tracklisting: 1. The Narrow Sign - 24.38 2. Dismantling Tomorrow - 26.18 --- Audience recording by J from a concert in Hanover, Germany 23 January 2016

Dom Lash / double bassAxel Dorner / trumpetRoger Turner / drums --- Tracklisting: 1. Pit Stop - 5:242. Brunswick Square - 16:233. The View Of The Far Hills - 5:434. The Local - 3:435. Squall - 11:526. Bzzz - 3:46 --- Tracks 2 & 5 recorded live at Cafe OTO on 21st April 2015 by Tom Mudd. Track 4 recorded live by Simon Reynell at Portland Works, Sheffield. Tracks 1, 3 & 6 recorded live by Simon Reynell at St James’ Church, Midhopestopes, on 24th April. Edited, mixed and mastered by Axel Dorner.