Second Edition. Pauline Oliveros's much sought-after 1984 publication Software For People: Collected Writings 1963–80 is back in print. Originally published in 1984, it’s an anthology of essays that covers a broad range of the US composer, philosopher and accordionist’s interests. “I am publishing this collection of twenty-six articles partly to show the growth and change in my attitudes, interests and perceptions over the seventeen year period presented,” explains Oliveros in her introduction. “Software For People,” she continues, “is an attempt to make a contribution not only to music theory and technique but also to contemporary musical issues and thought.” Her selections range from the technical focus of pieces such as “Karl Kohn: Concerto Mutabile” and “Tape Delay Technique For Electronic Music Composition”, to philosophical essays like “The Noetics Of Music” and “On Sonic Meditations”; from the poetic musings of “Sonic Images” and “Dialogue With Basho”, to discussions about gender and education in “The Contributions Of Women Composers” and “Modes Of Attention And Awareness In The Teaching Of Musicianship”.

Roberto Cacciapaglia is an Italian composer and pianist who started out in the fertile Milan avant-garde scene of the 1970s, which included Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio, Lino Capra Vaccina, Francesco Messina, among others. After studying at the conservatory, he worked at RAI's Studio of Musical Phonology – an electronic music laboratory similar to NDR/WDR in Germany, GRM/IRCAM in France or BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Sonanze (Sonatas) is Cacciapaglia's debut album, a monumental work that was recorded over a two-year period and released in 1975 via seminal German label Die Kosmischen Kuriere (Ohr). While a "sonata" is traditionally performed by easily distinguishable instrumentalists (often soloist and accompaniment) and with repeated structural themes, Cacciapaglia flips this hierarchical form on its head – blending harpsichord, strings, brass and analog synths to create ambient mini-soundtracks. As the composer writes in the original sleeve notes, "I am aware, unfortunately, that I am a few millennia late in how I would like music to be understood, which today I find diluted in its primary powers, in an era that is destructive of essential values. Precisely for this reason, I want to search for it in depth and not on the surface, perhaps alternating the knob of a synthesizer with a marranzano (mouth harp)." Mixed in quadrophonic surround-sound under the auspices of Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser (celebrated producer of Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel), Sonanze remains on the fringe of Kosmische realms. Each movement explores hypnotic rhythms, intuitive arrangements, musique concrète techniques and a pure psychedelic awakening.

At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It’s Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of… Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson’s label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement and Funny Funky Rib Crib. “Funny Funky Rib Crib” is an unforgettable recording (made up of several sessions dating from the middle of 1974) of creative jazz overwhelmed by funk and soul. If Lancaster had already made successful albums in the same genre – notably New Horizons, under the name Sounds Of Liberation which he co-led with Khan Jamal –, this one is an homage to James Brown and Sammy Davis enjoying the company of a host of guests including François Tusques (electric piano), Clint Jackson III (trumpet), François Nyombo (guitar), Joseph Traindl (trombone)… Funny Funky Rib Crib’s cover is a three-quarter profile portrait of the saxophonist (who can also be heard on flute, piano and even vocals), however, on the record, it is the whole group, inspired and frenetic, that tests the melodies of “Just Test”, “Dogtown” or “Rib Crib” – the two versions of which display leader Lancaster’s art of nuance. On both sides of the album, the group also moves into a calmer groove, infused by blues and soul, “Work And Pray” and “Loving Kindness” are meditative tracks where listeners can lay back and relax before asking for more: Funny Funky Rib Crib!!!   

Wind Tide is a multidisciplinary art presence inhabiting the sonic, visual, and conceptual realms of Gretchen Korsmo and Andrew Weathers. Wind Tide also functions as their recording space in Texas, while extending to off-site locations in the field, as both artists have a relationship with nature and landscapes. “Blue Breaking Brown” is both sprawling and focused, with mysterious drifting vocals emerging and receding along swathes of resonant guitar drones. Room tone, bells, synthesizer, lap steel, and percussion elements drift over one another like transparent textiles, or variants of light and shadow on distant surfaces. Gretchen and Andrew are both involved in the Full Spectrum Records collective, whose supportive energy is present here: sounds exist as singular entities, yet coalesce to create two beautiful, intense, and engaging side-long documents of performance. Andrew Weathers / synthesizer, lap steel, recorder, electronicsGretchen Korsmo / voice, electric piano, synthesizer, percussion Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Wind Tide, Littlefield TXSome components recorded live at Chapter, Denver CO

Camilo Ángeles and Joanna Mattrey present a striking set of pieces culled from an improvised live set at Museo Ex Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, recorded and filmed February 2022, with a dual recording and video release presented here as “Hailstone Temple”. Both musicians have fascinated Notice Recordings for quite a while, and both exhibit deep relationships with their instruments: flute and viola, respectively. Ángeles originally caught our attention via the TVL REC label, which he co-directs with Violeta García and Carlos Quebrada. Originally from Peru and now based in Mexico City, his non-traditional approach to flute involves extended techniques, electronic alterations, and microtonal textures. Working also as composer and producer for film, dance, and theatre, curator of music festivals, playing in various ensembles, and collaborating with such artists as Ka Baird, Anaïs Maviel, and Mabe Fratti, it is truly rewarding to hear a such a raw and cathartic set with NYC's Joanna Mattrey, a Notice Recordings alum, having been involved in two past releases (her third solo album, "Soulcaster", was released earlier this year). We’ve been following Mattrey’s viola explorations for years now, and her honest, playful, intense, unpretentious, and dedicated solo and collaborative performances have consistently floored us. A 2021 ISSUE Project Room and 2022 Roulette resident, and graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Mattrey continues to exist in both established music worlds and also on the very fringes of outsider art, with her heart clearly in the avant-garde. This recording exemplifies that: Ángeles and Mattrey perform in the former Santa Teresa la Antigua church and monastery complex which is now home to the Ex Teresa Arte Actual contemporary art space, a venue dedicated to contemporary performance and installation. The contrast of their unconventional, strange, and often cutting playing reverberating throughout the towering 17th century building is indeed poignant. 

"4CD homage to 4 drummers who have been a constant inspiration since the day I bought my first drum set back in 1972 - they are H = Han Bennink, E = Ed Blackwell, M = Milford Graves, P = Phil Seamen. It is a series of solos and duos with Alex Ward, Gabriel Wonck, Alan Wilkinson and James Allsopp." "My homage to the four drummers I came across on the day I bought my first drum kit and who have remained a constant source of inspiration to this day.  I am not trying to be them - just trying to convey what they have inspired in me over the last five decades. For each I have put together a specific drum and cymbal set up, attempting to get close to the sound I associate with each of them, and likewise chose the musicians for the duets accordingly.  The photgraphs are the first images I saw of them - hearing them came later.  I saw Blackwell and Graves live a couple of times, Bennink many times (and played with him on four occasions). Seamen? Not live - he passed away on Friday 13th October 1972 - but one of the first concerts I attended in London was the Phil Seamen Tribute concert at 100 Club on 31st May 1976 (when I saw John Stevens, Ginger Baker and Brian Spring for the first time).  Thanks to Alan, Alex, Gabriel and James and to all at OTO for their support in helping me realise this project. And especially to Shaun Crook who recorded, mixed and mastered all the material."