An unplugged but very intense set from a hot and summery Wednesday afternoon, recorded in the basement of Sound 323 in London, 2001. “Fell and Bailey goad each other into some of the most impassioned playing I've heard from either artist. The opening is explosive, with sonic shards and fragments flying across the sound stage, the two instruments at times indistinguishable in the sound mass. The later part of the track yields some respite, with arco bass and gentle atonal guitar lines - 'insect music' maybe - but the overall tenor is muscular and intense. The antagonists show no signs of flagging in their search for new instrumental sonorities - at one point I could have sworn there was a dog yelping in there." - Andy Hamilton THE WIRE --- Derek Bailey / acoustic guitar  Simon H. Fell / double bass --- Tracklisting: 1. Pre-Tea 1 - 14:072. Pre-Tea 2 - 12:313. Post-Tea 1 - 20:484. Post-Tea 2 - 12:57 --- Recorded by Tim Fletcher on 15th August, 2001 at Sound 323, London. 

Mark Wastell has been organising larger formations of musicians, collectively known as THE SEEN, for over 10 years. Using predominantly improvised material with occasional instructions or themes distributed to individual musicians just prior to performance. No formation has ever been repeated, THE SEEN never stays static.  Register of previous participants include Tetuzi Akiyama, Mattin, Michael Duch, Graham Halliwell, Andrea Neumann, Rhodri Davies, Paul Hood, Takehiro Nishide, Annette Krebs, Lee Gamble, Matt Davis, Joe Williamson, Wolfgang Fuchs, Burkhard Beins, Tomas Korber, Paul Abbott, Ben Owen, Jonathan McHugh, Jane Dickson, Olie Brice, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, Bertrand Denzler, Angharad Davies, David Toop, Chris Burn, Richard Sanderson, Dominic Lash, Yoni Silver, Graham MacKeachan, John Butcher and Jason Kahn. “With The Seen, everything is up for grabs. Even the act of listening – so sacrosanct in the world of improvisation – becomes problematized, for in such a tapestry of sound and silence how can one process what’s happening at any one moment? Yet this impossibility of total response provides opportunities to form clusters within the whole, that break apart and reform in different configurations as things develop. For listeners, too, there are possibilities for moments of both detailed focus and wider-scale immersion.” (Paul Margree) This product page is only for Volume V, but you can buy the whole set at a reduced price here.  Volume V:THE SEEN // CAFE OTO, LONDON 26.06.2009Mark Wastell : tam tamJohn Butcher : acoustic & feedback saxophoneDominic Lash : double bassMatt Davis : trumpetJane Dickson : piano, electronics Phil Durrant : maschinePhil Julian : electronicsJonathan McHugh : analogue synthesiserPaul Abbott : electronicsBenedict Drew : Roland 101, electronicsBen Owen : shortwave radio

Mark Wastell has been organising larger formations of musicians, collectively known as THE SEEN, for over 10 years. Using predominantly improvised material with occasional instructions or themes distributed to individual musicians just prior to performance. No formation has ever been repeated, THE SEEN never stays static.  Register of previous participants include Tetuzi Akiyama, Mattin, Michael Duch, Graham Halliwell, Andrea Neumann, Rhodri Davies, Paul Hood, Takehiro Nishide, Annette Krebs, Lee Gamble, Matt Davis, Joe Williamson, Wolfgang Fuchs, Burkhard Beins, Tomas Korber, Paul Abbott, Ben Owen, Jonathan McHugh, Jane Dickson, Olie Brice, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, Bertrand Denzler, Angharad Davies, David Toop, Chris Burn, Richard Sanderson, Dominic Lash, Yoni Silver, Graham MacKeachan, John Butcher and Jason Kahn. “With The Seen, everything is up for grabs. Even the act of listening – so sacrosanct in the world of improvisation – becomes problematized, for in such a tapestry of sound and silence how can one process what’s happening at any one moment? Yet this impossibility of total response provides opportunities to form clusters within the whole, that break apart and reform in different configurations as things develop. For listeners, too, there are possibilities for moments of both detailed focus and wider-scale immersion.” (Paul Margree) This product page is only for Volume IV, but you can buy the whole set at a reduced price here.  Volume IV: THE SEEN // CAFE OTO, LONDON 19.02.2009 Mark Wastell : tam tam & shrutti boxMatt Davis : trumpetPhil Durrant : maschineDominic Lash : double bassPhil Julian : analogue electronicsPaul Abbott : electronics

Mark Wastell has been organising larger formations of musicians, collectively known as THE SEEN, for over 10 years. Using predominantly improvised material with occasional instructions or themes distributed to individual musicians just prior to performance. No formation has ever been repeated, THE SEEN never stays static.  Register of previous participants include Tetuzi Akiyama, Mattin, Michael Duch, Graham Halliwell, Andrea Neumann, Rhodri Davies, Paul Hood, Takehiro Nishide, Annette Krebs, Lee Gamble, Matt Davis, Joe Williamson, Wolfgang Fuchs, Burkhard Beins, Tomas Korber, Paul Abbott, Ben Owen, Jonathan McHugh, Jane Dickson, Olie Brice, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, Bertrand Denzler, Angharad Davies, David Toop, Chris Burn, Richard Sanderson, Dominic Lash, Yoni Silver, Graham MacKeachan, John Butcher and Jason Kahn. “With The Seen, everything is up for grabs. Even the act of listening – so sacrosanct in the world of improvisation – becomes problematized, for in such a tapestry of sound and silence how can one process what’s happening at any one moment? Yet this impossibility of total response provides opportunities to form clusters within the whole, that break apart and reform in different configurations as things develop. For listeners, too, there are possibilities for moments of both detailed focus and wider-scale immersion.” (Paul Margree) This product page is only for Volume III, but you can buy the whole set at a reduced price here.  Volume III:THE SEEN // RED ROSE THEATRE, LONDON 15.11.2007 Mark Wastell : double bassDominic Lash : double bassJoe Williamson : double bassMatthew Lovett : double bassAshley John Long : double bassMatt Davis : laptopDavid Toop : laptopLee Gamble : laptopBenedict Drew : laptopPhil Durrant : laptop

Mark Wastell has been organising larger formations of musicians, collectively known as THE SEEN, for over 10 years. Using predominantly improvised material with occasional instructions or themes distributed to individual musicians just prior to performance. No formation has ever been repeated, THE SEEN never stays static.  Register of previous participants include Tetuzi Akiyama, Mattin, Michael Duch, Graham Halliwell, Andrea Neumann, Rhodri Davies, Paul Hood, Takehiro Nishide, Annette Krebs, Lee Gamble, Matt Davis, Joe Williamson, Wolfgang Fuchs, Burkhard Beins, Tomas Korber, Paul Abbott, Ben Owen, Jonathan McHugh, Jane Dickson, Olie Brice, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, Bertrand Denzler, Angharad Davies, David Toop, Chris Burn, Richard Sanderson, Dominic Lash, Yoni Silver, Graham MacKeachan, John Butcher and Jason Kahn. “With The Seen, everything is up for grabs. Even the act of listening – so sacrosanct in the world of improvisation – becomes problematized, for in such a tapestry of sound and silence how can one process what’s happening at any one moment? Yet this impossibility of total response provides opportunities to form clusters within the whole, that break apart and reform in different configurations as things develop. For listeners, too, there are possibilities for moments of both detailed focus and wider-scale immersion.” (Paul Margree) This product page is only for Volume II, but you can buy the whole set at a reduced price here.  Volume II: THE SEEN // TEATERHUSET AVANT GARDEN, TRONDHEIM, NORWAY 12.05.2006Mark Wastell : tam tamWolfgang Fuchs : record playersBertrand Denzler : saxophonesAngharad Davies : violinBurkhard Beins : percussionGraham Halliwell : feedback saxophoneTomas Korber : electronicsBenedict Drew : electronicsDominic Lash : double bass

Mark Wastell has been organising larger formations of musicians, collectively known as THE SEEN, for over 10 years. Using predominantly improvised material with occasional instructions or themes distributed to individual musicians just prior to performance. No formation has ever been repeated, THE SEEN never stays static.  Register of previous participants include Tetuzi Akiyama, Mattin, Michael Duch, Graham Halliwell, Andrea Neumann, Rhodri Davies, Paul Hood, Takehiro Nishide, Annette Krebs, Lee Gamble, Matt Davis, Joe Williamson, Wolfgang Fuchs, Burkhard Beins, Tomas Korber, Paul Abbott, Ben Owen, Jonathan McHugh, Jane Dickson, Olie Brice, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, Bertrand Denzler, Angharad Davies, David Toop, Chris Burn, Richard Sanderson, Dominic Lash, Yoni Silver, Graham MacKeachan, John Butcher and Jason Kahn. “With The Seen, everything is up for grabs. Even the act of listening – so sacrosanct in the world of improvisation – becomes problematized, for in such a tapestry of sound and silence how can one process what’s happening at any one moment? Yet this impossibility of total response provides opportunities to form clusters within the whole, that break apart and reform in different configurations as things develop. For listeners, too, there are possibilities for moments of both detailed focus and wider-scale immersion.” (Paul Margree) Each recording is an entire concert given by THE SEEN spanning the years 2005 to 2009. This product page is only for Volume 1, but you can buy the whoe set at a reduced price here.  Volume I: THE SEEN // JACKSONS LANE, LONDON 04.06.2005 Mark Wastell : double bassRhodri Davies : harpMatt Davis : laptopDavid Toop : laptopLee Gamble : laptopBenedict Drew : laptopPhil Durrant : laptop  

Mark Wastell has been organising larger formations of musicians, collectively known as THE SEEN, for over 10 years. Using predominantly improvised material with occasional instructions or themes distributed to individual musicians just prior to performance. No formation has ever been repeated, THE SEEN never stays static.  Register of previous participants include Tetuzi Akiyama, Mattin, Michael Duch, Graham Halliwell, Andrea Neumann, Rhodri Davies, Paul Hood, Takehiro Nishide, Annette Krebs, Lee Gamble, Matt Davis, Joe Williamson, Wolfgang Fuchs, Burkhard Beins, Tomas Korber, Paul Abbott, Ben Owen, Jonathan McHugh, Jane Dickson, Olie Brice, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, Bertrand Denzler, Angharad Davies, David Toop, Chris Burn, Richard Sanderson, Dominic Lash, Yoni Silver, Graham MacKeachan, John Butcher and Jason Kahn. “With The Seen, everything is up for grabs. Even the act of listening – so sacrosanct in the world of improvisation – becomes problematized, for in such a tapestry of sound and silence how can one process what’s happening at any one moment? Yet this impossibility of total response provides opportunities to form clusters within the whole, that break apart and reform in different configurations as things develop. For listeners, too, there are possibilities for moments of both detailed focus and wider-scale immersion.” (Paul Margree) Each recording is an entire concert given by THE SEEN spanning the years 2005 to 2009. You can buy the whole series for £20, or each individually for £6. If you are a Cafe OTO member, download each volume seperately to receive your usual discounts.  Volume I THE SEEN // JACKSONS LANE, LONDON 04.06.2005Mark Wastell : double bassRhodri Davies : harpMatt Davis : laptopDavid Toop : laptopLee Gamble : laptopBenedict Drew : laptopPhil Durrant : laptop Buy Volume I individually --- Volume IITHE SEEN // TEATERHUSET AVANT GARDEN, TRONDHEIM, NORWAY 12.05.2006Mark Wastell : tam tamWolfgang Fuchs : record playersBertrand Denzler : saxophonesAngharad Davies : violinBurkhard Beins : percussionGraham Halliwell : feedback saxophoneTomas Korber : electronicsBenedict Drew : electronicsDominic Lash : double bass Buy Volume II individually --- Volume IIITHE SEEN // RED ROSE THEATRE, LONDON 15.11.2007Mark Wastell : double bassDominic Lash : double bassJoe Williamson : double bassMatthew Lovett : double bassAshley John Long : double bassMatt Davis : laptopDavid Toop : laptopLee Gamble : laptopBenedict Drew : laptopPhil Durrant : laptop Buy Volume III individually --- Volume IVTHE SEEN // CAFE OTO, LONDON 19.02.2009Mark Wastell : tam tam & shrutti boxMatt Davis : trumpetPhil Durrant : maschineDominic Lash : double bassPhil Julian : analogue electronicsPaul Abbott : electronics Buy Volume IV individually --- Volume VTHE SEEN // CAFE OTO, LONDON 26.06.2009Mark Wastell : tam tamJohn Butcher : acoustic & feedback saxophoneDominic Lash : double bassMatt Davis : trumpetJane Dickson : piano, electronics Phil Durrant : maschinePhil Julian : electronicsJonathan McHugh : analogue synthesiserPaul Abbott : electronicsBenedict Drew : Roland 101, electronicsBen Owen : shortwave radio Buy Volume V individually

Working together since 2004 in a trio with Günter Müller, the duo project of Christian Wolfarth and Jason Kahn signals a return to their collaboration – this time with Jason Kahn singing and not on electronics. Though both musicians use acoustic sound sources, together their music might seem electronic. Wolfarth's cymbal work often resembles a multitude of oscillators buzzing in and out of phase and Kahn's use of the voice could be mistaken for white noise or a failing distortion pedal. The duo is not just about sound but a direct approach to listening, immersive yet also raw and direct, the music unfolding in realtime, structure and flow changing with each breath and stroke of a cymbal. --- Christian Wolfarth / percussion Jason Kahn / voice --- Recorded February 7th 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland by Jason Khan. Mixed and mastered by Jason Kahn. 

“These guys know what they’re doing and so there’s no faffing about. They’re locked in from the first seconds of Membrane 1, setting up a long, ringing sequence of notes, driven by Wastell’s metallic tam-tam murmurs. At first things are slow and sub aqueous, Wastell setting up a liquid sonic field that makes everything like it is taking place at the bottom of a cold, clear ocean. Butcher comes in sensitively at first, his breathy hisses moving through the shimmer like an eel. At around 11 minutes, he casts forth some simple, abstract phrases, before slipping back into the depths. Beins is even more circumspect and, occasionally, it’s tricky to figure out whether the electronic tones and chain-like rattles that occasionally ripple across the surface of this piece are him or one of the other two. There’s definitely something going on, however, something creating that sense of textured depth that seems, on the whole, organic but sometimes humming like a vast, dormant machine." - Paul Magree --- Burkhard Beins / feedback, 28" concert bass drum, analog synth & live-electronics John Butcher / tenor & soprano saxophones, acoustic & amplified feedbacking Mark Wastell / amplified 32" paiste tam-tam & mixer --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO, on 13 April 2014 by James Dunn. Mixed & mastered by John Butcher.

Exclusively released through OTO, 'Priest's House' documents The Seen's Dorset outing, with a line up including Dominic Lash and Seth Cooke alongside local improvisers. Mark Wastell has been organising larger formations of musicians, collectively known as THE SEEN, for over 10 years, and thanks to Stuart Riddle the group were able to travel to Wimbourne Minster to form a new South West iteration. Using predominantly improvised material with occasional instructions or themes distributed to individual musicians just prior to performance. No formation has ever been repeated, THE SEEN never stays static.  Register of previous participants include Tetuzi Akiyama, Mattin, Michael Duch, Graham Halliwell, Andrea Neumann, Rhodri Davies, Paul Hood, Takehiro Nishide, Annette Krebs, Lee Gamble, Matt Davis, Joe Williamson, Wolfgang Fuchs, Burkhard Beins, Tomas Korber, Paul Abbott, Ben Owen, Jonathan McHugh, Jane Dickson, Olie Brice, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, Bertrand Denzler, Angharad Davies, David Toop, Chris Burn, Richard Sanderson, Dominic Lash, Yoni Silver, Graham MacKeachan, John Butcher and Jason Kahn. “With The Seen, everything is up for grabs. Even the act of listening – so sacrosanct in the world of improvisation – becomes problematized, for in such a tapestry of sound and silence how can one process what’s happening at any one moment? Yet this impossibility of total response provides opportunities to form clusters within the whole, that break apart and reform in different configurations as things develop. For listeners, too, there are possibilities for moments of both detailed focus and wider-scale immersion.” (Paul Margree) --- Adrian Newton / electronicsTom Cleverly / guitar, trumpetPaul Allen / drums, percussionStuart Riddle / soprano saxophone, electronicsSeth Cooke / resonatorDominic Lash / double bassMark Wastell / tam tam --- Recorded at the Priest's House, Wimbourne Minster, 21.09,2018 by Adrian Newton. Mixed by Adrian Newton. Thanks to volunteers at The Priest’s House Museum.

IST went to New York in April 2001 to participate in Derek Bailey's Company Week at Tonic. Before Company proper started however, the two UK groups (the other being the Derek Bailey / Will Gaines duo) took part in a preview concert playing in their habitual groupings. The resulting trio recordings have never been previously released; as a special bonus the album also includes an unreleased quartet of IST + John Zorn, which took place during the Company event itself.  --- Rhodri Davies / harp Mark Wastell / violoncello Simon H. Fell / double bass John Zorn / alto sax [track 6]  --- Recorded at Tonic, Norfolk St., New York, 17 & 19 April 2001

"The Sealed Knot are one of the great free improvisation groups, comparable to the classic 1980s SME line-up of John Stevens, Nigel Coombes and Roger Smith for edge-of-your-seat attentiveness and sheer inter-group telepathy. Rhodri Davies, Mark Wastell and Burkhard Beins have been a unit since 2000, a melding of London and Berlin. Recent sightings have been rare, but they played in Berlin this May, and now Wastell's revived Confront label is releasing this live album from January 2009. The purpose of the 2009 show was to celebrate Another Timbre's release of And We Disappear, recorded live in Switzerland at a 2007 festival titled Ear We Are. That album was about the yawning gulf between Davies's high, piercing ebow work and Wastell's glacial double bass. Whereas the new record has Wastell switching to tam tam, and all three musicians employing electronics - but lo-fi mechanical electronics, rather than digital processing. So there's a pleasing, subdued industrial fury lurking beneath the music. Filigrees of rapid clicking make way for subterranean pulsing, and Beins adds the super-pure tones of bowed cymbals, to blur the electric/acoustic distinction further. Around 18 minutes the group contemplate silence, before launching into a further 13 minutes of patient exploration and metallic mystery. Wastell has grumbled that critics are "always 12 months behind the flow" when it comes to describing what musicians are up to, and here he is, helping us along by releasing a four year old recording. Never mind that the trend-buzz around Lower Case Improv, New London Silence & co has worn off; with music of this quality we're dealing with simple excellence, and any opportunity to see this group at work should be seized." (Clive Bell, The Wire) --- Burkhard Beins / percussion, electronicsRhodri Davies / harp, electronicsMark Wastell / tam-tam, electronics --- Recorded live at the 'Another Timbre' Festival, Cafe OTO, London on January 21st, 2009.

Originally released in a tiny edition of 50 copies in 2000, this recording officially marks the beginning of The Sealed Knot as a regular group. Interestingly, the liner notes that accompanied that release make mention, for the first time in print, of the terms 'the new silence' and 'Berlin reductionism' ......... although listening now, all these years later, the music sounds far from silent and/or little reduced."The music on this cd was recorded live at All Angels, West London and documents the exciting ongoing collaboration between young musicians working in London and Berlin. Although all three performers have travelled between the two capital cities since the early 1990's playing in various combinations, this is their first concerts as a trio. Beins co-runs the 2.13 Berlin improvisation club, with guitarist Michael Renkel, in conjunction with it's sister organisations in London and Athens. All three clubs are named after a stopped clock at the original London venue. Critics have dubbed Wastell and Davies' music 'the new silence' and Beins' German counterpart 'new Berlin reductionism'. Categories aside, this is improvised music concerned with space, texture and time, emphasised by the gently ticking clock at the back of All Angels as sounds fade into silence." (Original liner notes) --- Burkhard Beins / percussionRhodri Davies / harp Mark Wastell / violoncello ---Recorded live in concert by Tim Fletcher at St. Michael & All Angels Church, West London on 14 April 2000.

"...Overall, they give the impression of a gradual ebb and flow of layered soundfields over a bedrock of silence. Confronted with the trio's intricately plaited tones, sometimes it's hard to tell the provenance of a particular sound - like many musicians exploring extended techniques, they're at war with their instruments...Gradual shifts and the kind of communication that develops within longstanding musical relationships are central to the group aesthetic. The slow, deliberate movement of The Sealed Knot's music often sounds semi-composed, a testament to the close bond that they have developed over the years..." - The Wire --- Burkhard Beins / percussionRhodri Davies / harpMark Wastell / double bass --- Recorded live in concert at the Red Hedgehog, Archway, London, 29 October 2006. 

Berlin is truly the spiritual home of The Sealed Knot - with the trio having played there numerous times since it's debut in the city at Ramschift Zitrone in 2002. In more recent times we've been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to perform at regular yearly intervals, the most recent of which is the concert captured on this recording from Exploratorium in March 2015. Many thanks to Matthias Schwabe for the invitation. --- Burkhard Beins / percussionRhodri Davies / harpMark Wastell / double bass --- Recorded live at Exploratorium, Berlin on 19 March 2015 by Johannes von Wrochem.

Although the group was formed in 2000, its members have been playing together in different groupings and settings throughout Europe since 1997. There is a special connection between the London and Berlin scenes, which The Sealed Knot exemplifies. Although the musical form is composed in the moment, the structures are open. Nothing is forced – all three lock into a specific area of exploration in a subtle way. The group uses no pre-prepared material and they don’t eschew repetition and definite pitches. Listed as one of The Wire's Top 10 Improvised Music Records 2003. --- Burkhard Beins / percussionRhodri Davies / harpMark Wastell / double bass --- Surface recorded live in concert at St. Michael & All Angels Church, West London on 28 September 2001. Plane recorded live in concert at St.Pauls Hall, Huddersfield, on 27 September 2001. Re-issue of Meniscus MNSCS 012, originally released in 2003.

"In the eight years leading to this concert performance at London's Freedom of the City Festival in 2003, IST had matured into one of contemporary music's most formidable units. Hundreds of gigs and rehearsals had hardened the group's collective language into a tongue none other was speaking at the time. External influences had been battered into an altogether different mode of operation, unique only to the three members of IST. Spectacularly authentic and innovative. The music captured on that May afternoon and presented here for the first time in its complete form, showcases aptly how far sonically IST had travelled since it's inception in 1995. Forging ahead with a true-self representation of art is never an easy task but IST were never ones to comply to expected form." "This Conway Hall appearance was the last performance undertaken by IST. Not through design, just a series of events. No small part was my decision soon after this concert to stop playing cello publicly. During the same period Simon was hatching plans to move to France, something he achieved in 2005." --- Rhodri Davies / harp Simon H. Fell / double bass Mark Wastell / violoncello --- Dedicated to Martin Davidson, Evan Parker & Eddie Prévost. Recorded Live at Freedom of the City festival Conway Hall, London, 5th May 2003.

IST's 1997 album, recorded at the Natural Music Club in Stockwell, London. Representing epsode 2 in the development of this group, the music sits interestingly between 'Anagrams To Avoid' and 'Ghost Notes'. The music is often still quite active, but with the first signs of the distilled nature heard in later work. The recording quality is surprisingly good, with just a few typical digital artefacts to remind us that this was captured on a 1990s portable digital recorder, plus a little occasional traffic noise to remind that this was London, after all. "Imagine three sailors improvising a route over a mythic sea . . . . . intricate music, resonant with folk memories. Davies, Fell and Wastell conjure a magic from the complex shuffle of plink-plonk, squeal and scrape." Gus Garside RUBBERNECK  --- Rhodri Davies / harp  Mark Wastell / violoncello Simon H. Fell / double bass --- Recorded live at the Natural Music Club, Stockwell, United Kingdom, 1997-04-09.