Unreleased material composed by Bernard Parmegiani in 1992.Lac Noir - La Serpente is part of Emmanuel Raquin-Lorenzi's Lac Noir, a composite work inspired by a serpentine female creature or 'snake woman' that he saw in Transylvania in 1976, with a total of 33 pieces using various media, 24 by himself and 9 by other artists. All the materials used in Lac Noir were gathered on the land of the snake-woman between 1990 and 1992. The first coordinated broadcast ran from June to October 2019, like a theatrical display of media.At the end of May 1992, in Provence, in his Summer studio not far from the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, Bernard Parmegiani played me the first musical moments he had worked on from the sounds he and Christian Zanési had collected in Negreni in October 1990. A few days after this listening session, on 4th June, I wrote him a letter. I didn't mean to take control of what was to become the ninth movement of his composition, but to share with him some of the resonances I had heard in what he had composed, which mingled with my dreams and memories of the Transylvanian snake-woman, and outlined possible concordances with the other pieces underway for Lac Noir.In the midst of the garish chaos of the fair and its spectacular stunts, there could spread out - still, silent eye of the cyclone - the long waters of a lake. Calm waters. Patches cool but sensitive as skin. Between the waters there flows and ripples, there shows up and dives again a snake-woman born of the still waters. A sweet, good serpent whose song - strange and melodious, sensual, yet already tinged, as if bitten by the black depths, with bitterness; that of prescience, shading it with melancholy - is her very undulation, the rings of which appear, together or in turn, the way translucent veins overlap, slither over one another in a moving braid of metamorphoses.(extracts from notes by E. Raquin-Lorenzi)

The first release to document the solo cello work of musician and composer Lucy Railton, the 40-minute composition Blue Veil recorded at Église du Saint-Esprit in Paris invites listeners into the realm of precision-tuned states of resonance: states made manifest through Railton’s careful traversal of her cello's most subtle acoustic characteristics as they harmonically interlock with mind’s embodied modalities of attention and imagination. Blue Veil arises out of, is sustained in and finally dissolves back into Railton’s momentary presence with her intimate connection to the cello, a way of hearing that allows for a deeper engagement with harmonic resonance, one that opens a space for immediate encounters of mind and sound. Railton’s exploratory practice of harmonic perception emerges from a focus on the physical qualities of intervallic and chordal sounds, their textural qualities, degrees of friction, and inner pulsations. Composing in the moment guided by resonances within the cello’s body, her own, and their shared vibrational space, Railton moves through Blue Veil by giving sounds what they ask for: sounds of pure texture manifesting as a move through temporal transparency, sounds of rough texture marking regions of dimensionally dense space. Railton’s creative and highly refined use of just intonation harmony deforms sound's inner movements in ways that suggest a mode of listening that actively supplies imagery of sounds implied or completely absent rather than merely savouring those fully present. This active mode of “listening-with”, playfully and semi-metaphorically referred to by Railton as “sing-along music”, allows listening to reflexively participate in the music’s movement as it gradually passes through richly saturated domains of harmonic imagination. And just as the precision-tuned tones of Blue Veil lose their individuality when fusing multifaceted uniformity, listening’s structures of reference and recognition dissolve into nameless waves of intensity, continuously unfolding themselves upon and merging with the listener. Blue Veil is the result of a deep exploration of the inner worlds of tuning, an undertaking in turn informed by and emerging out of Railton’s realisations of the music of Catherine Lamb and Ellen Arkbro, her collaborative work with Kali Malone and Stephen O’Malley as well as her interpretive practice in performing the work of Maryanne Amacher, Morton Feldman and others.

Ston Elaióna is John Also Bennett’s first album for Shelter Press since his 2019 solo debut Erg Herbe. The American born, Athens, Greece, based flautist, synthesist, and composer weaves a strikingly singular electroacoustic excursion for bass flute and Yamaha DX7ii, largely recorded in the golden haze of the early morning hours - bending time at the otherworldly juncture of consciousness and place. Translating from Greek as “in the olive grove”, Ston Elaióna is permeated with the ambiences of the ancient and present world, guided into form by a playfully rigorous approach to sound.Initially emerging during the mid 2000s as part of Columbus, Ohio’s noise scene, before relocating to NYC around 2010, Bennett’s diverse activities picked up an increasing sense of pace over the following decade - performing and recording as a solo artist (JAB), with the trio Forma and with CV & JAB, his prolific duo with his partner Christina Vantzou, as well as playing in Jon Gibson’s ensemble among many other multifaceted collaborations. However, since 2020 the flautist and electroacoustic composer has existed in a semi nomadic state: drifting between Brooklyn, Brussels, extensive tours, and Greece, where he finally came to rest in Athens last year. Drawing upon a carefully honed attentiveness to the environments and experiences of everyday life, Ston Elaióna is a suite of nine pieces (with an additional track exclusive to physical formats), many of them composed and played live as the early morning sun touched the Parthenon, in full view from Bennett’s studio window in Athens. Bennett’s refinement and restraint, honed over his years adrift, led him to adopt a limited palette focused on his primary instrument, the bass flute, and a Yamaha DX7ii synthesizer tuned to just intonation scales. Alongside a handful of other keyboards, digital oscillators triggered by his flute, and occasional field recordings, this simple palette is reflected by the deeply emotive sense of minimalism that permeates the album’s two sides.Following two solo albums defined by outward facing temperaments - 2022’s Out there in the middle of nowhere (Poole Music), which used a lap steel guitar and generative oscillators to evoke the surreal landscapes of the South Dakota badlands, and the largely synthetic atmospheres of the 2024 anthology Music For Save Rooms 1 & 2 (Editions Basilic) - the shift in Bennett’s worldly circumstances offered an intuitive return to the calm, inward states of creative exploration that have historically defined JAB’s sound. In parallel, context provided clear sources of inspiration for many of the album’s themes, as well as sources for some of its sounds. The aura of Greece, from the ancient to the present, from its stones and olive groves to its traffic, figures heavily across Στον Ελαιώνα (Ston Elaióna)’s two sides.The album’s title track and opener “Ston Elaiona” is but one key to opening the album’s multilayered worlds: swells of intertwining of bass flute, oscillators, and DX7ii channel feelings of playful contentment felt by Bennett when “in the olive grove” or in his apartment, reflecting quiet moments spent among the ancient hills of the noisy city that he now calls home. Drawing upon chance encounters within daily life, the flowing synthesizer tones of “Gecko Pads” dance in motions that seem to mimic the movements of a house gecko that appeared on a wall of Bennett’s studio - a quick dash, and then stillness - while “Hailstorm” expands this vision of domestic intimacy, playing the rise and fall of bass flute melodies against the captured sounds of an intense storm outside: a potent sonic metaphor for his intra and extra worlds. As the sharpness and depth of Ston Elaióna comes into focus, playfully threaded amongst its seductive tonal interplay, we encounter Bennett moving across dimensions of time, topical experience, and layers of cultural conjunction. Like “Hailstorm”, “Easter Daydream” incorporates field recording, but here his flute tones are joined by urban ambience and subtle punctuations of melody and rhythm, captured from a day long bell procession at the small church across the street from his apartment during Orthodox Holy Week, seeding the composition with a deep sense of immediacy and place that draw consciousness well beyond the limits of sound.Moving the narrative possibilities further out into the landscape, “A Handful of Olives” utilizes Bennett’s technique of triggering long synthesizer tones with another instrument - in this case, fluctuating modular synth drones underscoring the glacial melodies of his bass flute. Immersive and meditative, the piece’s title nods to the resilience of a character from a Nikos Kazantzakis novel, who begins a long journey across the countryside with nothing but some wine, a piece of cheese, and a handful of olives. “First Lament” is the oldest work on Ston Elaióna, having been performed live by Bennett, in evolving states, for the past three or four years. A strongly affecting exercise in deep listening, meditation, and sometimes emotional catharsis, like “A Handful of Olives” it utilizes his technique of triggering long synthesizer tones with the flute, extending and overlapping resonances to create tone clusters that hang in the air with an otherworldly effect, echoing Bennett’s heartfelt yet restrained melodies of lament.Tapping a sense of dualism endemic to Greece, where the ancient world continues to occupy the present day, both “Sacred House” and “Oracle” refer to the building that housed the Oracle of Ancient Dodoni in Epirus, where people have continued to seek guidance or assistance from the gods for thousands of years, in modern times by hanging small notes on the tree within its grounds. Unaccompanied pieces composed and played on Bennett’s just intoned synths, each positions haunting, slow paced melodies - imbued with metaphysical and spiritual weight - as bridges that span the millennia and diverse states of the conscious and unconscious mind. With “Seikilos Epitaph”, Bennett takes his immersion into the subcutaneous depths of Ancient Greece one step further. The piece is a version of the oldest known surviving complete musical composition, found notated in Greek on a stone pillar / stele on the site of an ancient village. Played on his DX7ii, and subtly permeated with field recordings of environmental sounds, his brilliant rendering builds bridges between the present and the distant time Bennett calls forth: another key, equal to the title track, to unlocking the album’s lingering depths.John Also Bennett’s Ston Elaióna forms an elegantly rigorous world of electroacoustic sonority, bridging the expanse of time with the immediacies of environment and happening in the here and now: a profound sonic mediation on the countless dimensions unlocked by life in Greece.

From beloved composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, a revelatory new album of piano pieces, unreleased or virtually inaccessible until now! Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru is a true original – an Ethiopian nun whose recordings have funded orphanages back home since the early ’60s. Her compositions and unique playing style live somewhere between Erik Satie, Debussy, liturgical music of the Coptic Ethiopian Church, and Ethiopian traditional music. It is some of the most moving piano music you will ever hear. This is the first archival release of the great composer’s recordings since the Éthiopiques series reintroduced her music to the world in 2006. Drawn from original master tapes and a nearly impossible-to-find vinyl release, Jerusalem unveils profound new facets of Emahoy Gebru’s performance and compositions. The record picks up where the last two Mississippi releases left off, with tracks from her 1972 album Hymn of Jerusalem, of which only a handful of copies are known to exist. These include “Home of Beethoven,” “Aurora,” and a true masterpiece that stands amongst her greatest compositions, the moving “Jerusalem.” “Quand La Mer Furieuse” is the first release featuring Emahoy’s singing voice, forshadowing a vocal album planned for fall 2023. The B-Side brings us the artist’s home recordings - tracks like “Farewell Eve,” “Woigaye Don’t Cry Anymore,” and “Famine Disaster 1974” mark a bridge from liturgical work to dark and intense classical material, a new mode. This album is released in celebration of Emahoy Gebru’s 99th birthday on December 12, 2022. Mississippi is honored to work with the Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Publisher to continue to introduce this visionary composer to the world. Newly remastered recordings pressed on 160gm black vinyl, heavy jacket with reproduction of 1972 artwork, song notes by the artist.

HOME RECORDINGS (2018-2021) “Who is Yara Asmar and how does she make music so strangely beautiful? The 25-year-old instrumentalist-puppeteer lives in Beirut with her cat, Mushroom, and presumably that’s the feline’s shadow next to the artist’s on the album’s back cover. The warm light of that photograph and the quiet beach scene of an abandoned lifeguard’s station and an empty net tells you all you need to know. Home Recordings 2018-2021 is an assured debut album that builds an eerie tension out of dreamlike layers of isolation” Spectrum Culture "Tiny worlds expand and contract in the palm of Yara Asmar’s hand. These recordings are remarkable in their ability to command attention in the gentlest terms. There are stories to find on this album and new worlds to discover." Foxy Digitalis SYNTH WALTZES & ACCORDION LAMENTS “Melancholic drifts sound through the overcast skies of synth waltzes and accordion laments, infusing ageless melodies with a sense of falling backward through time. History is stitched through gilded aural silhouettes and elegiac drones. Asmar’s music is visceral. While electronics beckon beyond the sunrise stretched through a metallic shimmer, synth waltzes and accordion laments sticks with us while we remain lost in the hazy doldrums, always crawling forward tethered to our past lives. Highest recommendation.” The Capsule Garden “ …these tracks are a cushion against reality. Asmar creates music that unfurls in evanescent bliss, an invitation to a safe space both isolated and welcoming.” The Quietus “…a set that transmutes the instrument’s droning tones into a sweep of introspective, breath-catching moments of beauty“ Pitchfork, 30 Best Jazz & Experimental Albums of 2024

Raw, deep and spiritual Gnawa music from Morocco to carry you through the night... Recorded in a single late night session in a house in Casablanca, using a Tascam field recorder and 2 microphones, Dead of Night is the incredible new solo album from Maalem Houssam Guinia, the son of Maalem Mahmoud Guinia, and one of Morocco's most exciting young Gnawa masters. The album was recorded live on the night of 3rd January 2022 in a relaxed session that lasted into the early hours of the next morning, and it captures Houssam at his most natural, singing and playing the Gnawa songs that have been with him since his birth, completely solo and free without percussion or backing vocals. Houssam described the album as containing the songs he knows best as these were the pieces his father would play and sing late into the night in their home when he was an infant. What you'll hear on Dead of Night is raw, deep Gnawa music in its purest form played by a young Maalem who has been immersed in the culture his whole life and is a master of his craft. The whole performance has been beautifully and sympathetically captured by bassist and producer Karl-Erik Enkelman.

Blue Lake reveals his most ambitious album yet, which finds its visionary creator Jason Dungan harnessing the collective alchemy of his band, with ten spirited tracks that resonate with a powerful directness, evoking an ecological connection to the wider world. ‘The Animal’ at its core vividly celebrates human collaboration and is deeply rooted in a sense of community and non-hierarchical connectivity. The group's creative alchemy transcends outwards and beyond the musicians performing together, to summon an inclusive, existential and ecological connection to the wider world and its inhabited spaces. The album contemplates the idea of the human as an animal as Dungan explains: “I’m quite fascinated in thinking about humans more as part of the animal environment and not as something that’s so separated into a “human” realm, or sitting on top of a hierarchical pyramid. So the Animal is also me, or us - that we are just living, existing, in the same way as a piece of moss or a sparrow or a cow. Dungan welcomed an entirely open dialogue, a process that started from early band rehearsals, which saw his demos quickly evolve and amass weight from double bass, cello, clarinet, viola and drums to become refined and audibly decorated. Jason focused on capturing more wide ranging depth in the recording process, dissecting detailed nuances in instruments to convey the intricate, ever changing balance and dynamics that play out in the natural and urban world as the theme too circulates around the idea of The city as an animal or urban being. Speaking of his Copenhagen home town, with its industrial past but close proximity to areas of semi-wilderness, as well as the sea, he explains the overlapping scenario: “I don’t think it’s possible now to think about nature as a pure or isolated thing. Being around animals in this setting, I think about how they communicate with each other, forge relationships, and navigate the city, but all without language. It’s not an experience of nature which is bucolic and uncomplicated - it’s an experience of nature and the animal world which is bound up in human activity.” On ‘The Animal’, Dungan introduces the use of voice as an instrument, as a way of unlocking song-like characteristics as heard on the gracious album opener ‘Circles’, which sees the group embrace in choral unison, like in birdsong, their voices echo as a part of the surrounding sonic environment. The band are foregrounded and formidable in their delivery, forming a rich, acoustic accompaniment to Dungan’s zither strokes, earthy guitars and percussive patterns. The soundworld is noticeably bolder and livelier as evidenced on ‘Cut Paper’, with now regular mixing collaborator Jeff Zeigler capturing the fullness of the new band sound. Jason also enlisted the help of Danish producer Aske Zidore who encouraged him toward new working strategies, a liberating intervention which allowed the element of surprise and discovery. The centre ground is never fully consumed by Dungan as we find him consciously orchestrating from a respectful distance, giving generous space for the musician's spontaneous performance and improvisation, allowing their musical intuition to give rise to beguiling, holistic synchronicity. Dungan wrote the cinematic ‘Berlin’ whilst on a tour stop in the German capital, with its lush zither flurries and long reverb decays painting an expansive late night ode to the rolling hill country of Texas. The poignance of Jason’s intimate, evocative writing is heard on ‘Flowers for David’, a heartfelt folk-leaning tribute with lofted fingerpicking guitar, signalling a fond farewell to a friend's passing. The album gains forward momentum on ‘Yarrow’ as the group move in melodic tandem, before the kaleidoscopic ‘Strand’, with its soaring solos and earthy undercurrents propelling toward a euphoric komische crescendo. The title track ‘The Animal’ is a brief melancholic foray into ballad-esque territory, with a drum machine charting a dotted path for emotive horns and a second gathering of wordless, healing atmospheric vocals. As we reach ‘To Read’ Dungan’s quest is encapsulated with wondrous clarity as the group lands entirely together on a resounding chord, a precious moment for Dungan who reels in the existence of the moment as they remain interlocked in sound and space. He concludes: “I’m interested in moments that are fleeting, with a powerful sense of togetherness, shared in the music.” ‘The Animal’ is a form of musical metamorphosis, still acoustic, yet more amplified, elevating it to new dimensions. The Blue Lake project takes on a new lease of life to encompass collaboration with Jason Dungan bound in a universal connectivity

Water Damage don’t play songs. They invoke states. It’s not rock and roll, it’s ritual repetition therapy, like if Glenn Branca got stuck in a feedback loop with La Monte Young and they both forgot what year it was—Texas 2025 or Berlin 1972 or maybe just eternity’s parking lot. This isn’t music for driving—unless you’re driving into the sun with your eyes rolled back and the gas pedal held down with a cinderblock of intent. Captured in Utrecht, Netherlands at the almighty Le Guess Who? Festival, where churches tremble and strobes reflect off every holy surface, Live at Le Guess Who? is a document of sustained sonic immolation. Eight members. Two drummers. Multiple stringed instruments. One saxophone. All hammering away at "Reel 25," captured live here shortly after the recorded version which would end up becoming the lead track on their most recent double LP Instruments. A single idea drilling into the molten center of your skull with the grace of a jackhammer ballet. It’s not a show. It’s a slow-motion landslide with amps. And for this particular descent into the drone abyss, Water Damage were joined by two very special fellow travelers & honorary members: Ajay Saggar (Bhajan Bhoy, University Challenged) adding six-string sorcery and smolder, and Patrick Shiroishi, the free-reed exorcist himself who is a guest on Instruments and just happened to be at Le Guess Who? as well, channeling ghosts through saxophones like he’s trying to crack the sky. As if Water Damage weren’t already enough of a wall, these two brought the ceiling and the floor. Water Damage, the Austin psych-drone monolith with the un-Googleable name and the wall-of-amplifiers ethos, doesn’t just flirt with chaos—they drag it behind the van and mic up the gravel. Their motto? “Maximal Repetition Minimal Deviation.” Which sounds like the world’s most menacing yoga class or a commandment from some amp-fried cult, and maybe it is. This ain’t no avant-noise chin-stroke either. It’s hot and dense and loud like a steel mill hallucination, and if you find yourself dissociating mid-set, that just means it’s working. This is music that doesn’t “build”—it grinds. It gnaws. And then it blooms. If you're lucky, it leaves you somewhere softer. Le Guess Who? handed them the altar. Water Damage, Saggar, and Shiroishi set it on fire.

On Fathom, we hear the sound of the world mirrored back to us. An improvisational collaboration from legendary British multi-instrumentalist John Butcher, Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on Double Bass, and Steve Noble on Drums, the four artists play generously together. Fathom is an impressive work of avant-garde jazz that’s reminiscent of the non-musical world: squeaky wheels, growing tension, a babbling brook, all winding into lush harmonies. This marks Butcher’s debut for 577 Records.

Derek Bailey - guitar Simon H. Fell - double bass Originally released by Confront in 2013 on compact disc as The Complete August 15th 2001. Now freshly remixed and remastered in 2023 for release on a delux double 180g white vinyl LP set and digital. Recorded at Sound 323, London by Tim Fletcher on 15 August 2001 Remastered by Rupert Clervaux, September 2023 Cover design by Matthew Brandi Photograph by Mark Wastell Produced by Mark Wastell "Radical Yorkshiremen Derek Bailey & Simon H. Fell duke it out on guitar and double bass in this 2001 recording, newly remixed and remastered for posthumous release by Rupert Clervaux and Confront’s Mark Wastell ‘At Sound 323’ showcases high grade, improvised fraggle tackle by mutant jazz-bluesman Derek Bailey (*Sheffield, 1930, † London, 2005) and jazz bassist and post-serialist composer, Simon H. Fell (*Dewsbury, 1959, † 2020), two legends of the English free music movement with shared roots in Yorkshire’s extraordinarily fertile experimental music scene. The recording captures them playing in that there London at Sound 323, a (now-defunct) record shop, distributor, and hub for avant-garde music established by Confront’s Mark Wastell in 2002, and which ran ’til 2013. This performance was the shop and label’s first release and a sort of mission statement, paying witness to the pair pre-, and post-tea (Yorkshire brew with a dash of Henderson’s, obvs) shredding t’ fuck out of their chosen strings. It’s a room recording - no fancy desk involved - and renders them in full flow, h’angry and grouching in the first half as they turn paradigms inside-out with a ravishing flourish, turning to extreme, dissonant shred and finger flay by end of the first half. Post tea they feel reenergised and more aggressive, before snapping into relatively conventional free jazz form (if that’s not an oxymoron), even dipping out to moments of beauty and bleating like wounded sheep, then letting it all collapse in gloriously nimble scree." (Boomkat)

After years of exploring classical and popular music on the violoncello, as well as delving into contemporary composition and improvisation, Garcia presents IN / OUT, an album that pushes the boundaries of musical convention. Recorded in an underground reservoir in Geneva, this unique project transforms the site’s natural acoustics into an integral part of the compositions.Through nine meticulously crafted pieces, Garcia blends minimalist contemporary music, dark ambient, and experimental noise. By using expanded cello techniques, microtonality, and alternative tunings, she creates sonic landscapes that evoke the depth and complexity of a multi-cello ensemble. The resonance and reverberation of the cavernous space infuse the album with a haunting, immersive quality, where each sound interacts organically with its environment.Drawing inspiration from composers like La Monte Young, Eliane Radigue, Jürg Frey, and Arvo Pärt, Garcia integrates elements of sacral minimalism and acoustic experimentation into her work. The result is a project that bridges improvisation and composition, showcasing the cello’s versatility while challenging traditional notions of recording and performance.Produced in collaboration with Bongo Joe, IN / OUT stands as a testament to Garcia’s innovative vision and her ability to transform unconventional ideas into deeply evocative musical experiences. This album invites listeners to step into an auditory world where instrument, space, and artistry converge in profound harmony.

An orchestra that played for Nazis. A silence that lasted for generations. A work that lets this silence speak, sing, and scream. Motvind Records presents John Andrew Wilhite’s monumental piece, Bristol Silence, written for the Motvind Festival and premiered at Hotel Bristol in Oslo in the summer of 2023. In this work Bristol Silence, the double bassist and composer brings to light a chapter of Norwegian music history that has remained in the shadows. Wilhite writes:Having known that Nazi officers lived in and around Oslo’s Hotel Bristol during occupation of Norway, and that the house band “Bristolorkestret” later became the Norwegian Radio Orchestra– an central organ for Norway’s national musical identity still today– I was walking down Rosenkrantz’ gate and suddenly wondered if there was a connection between the two facts. There was.But the piece became something much more than a work “about” the Bristol Orchestra and the silence surrounding their past; a kind of vertigo coming over me as soon as I started to see all the negative spaces spun out around this central nerve. The silence of the complicit and the “apolitical”, the silence of the repressed and the imprisoned, the silence of the absent and the murdered, the silence of the conspirator and of resistance, of refusal.Known to Motvind Records listeners as the bassist in Andreas Røysum Ensemble and for a fine duo album with Katt Hernandez, as well as collaborations with brilliant musicians such as Derek Baron and Elliott Sharp, Wilhite is also one of the most exciting and interesting young composers in Scandinavia today. His works have been performed everywhere from big stages like The Norwegian National Opera to experimental jazz venues like Café Oto. This is Wilhite’s first album as a bandleader - and what a debut it is! Bristol Silence has already been nominated for multiple awards and we are proud to present this work of intricate layers, tightly interwoven. The music is performed with great energy and a profound sense of meaning.The piece is written for an ensemble with the same instrumentation as the original Bristol Orchestra. And it’s a brilliant ensemble. Vocalists Sofia Jernberg and Robin Steitz, regularsboth on huge opera stages and in experimental music venues, complement each other masterfully here. The horn section - Erik Kimestad Pedersen, Klaus Ellerhusen Holm, Andreas Røysum, and Torben Snekkestad - handles material that shifts between grotesque big-band swing, structure-based noise sequences, and intricate melodic lines. String players Hans P. Kjorstad, Ferdinand Bergstrøm, and composer (and director!) John Andrew Wilhite pluck, bow, and carve. The stellar pianist Ayumi Tanaka, as always, dazzles with an exquisitely subtle touch— and at one point opens up the abyss with one of the wildest solos we’ve ever heard. And the multifaceted nature of this record calls for two very different drummers: Andreas Winther on drum kit, time-keeping, and texture, and Ane Marthe Sørlien Holen on grand percussive gestures and sophisticated colorations.The album opens with the music of the Bristol Orchestra itself, but it is “the silence behind the music” that remains the focus. Derek Baron articulates this well in his accompanying essay, where the nuance of the work’s meaning comes through: The question is not only “why has no one spoken about the fact that the first conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra toured with German ensembles for German soldiers?” but also about all that cannot be said or shown. Was there not also a resistance fighter within the ensemble? In this first movement, the music from the old Bristol records is gradually stripped away until only the surface noise remains. Finally, the ensemble plays this silence, harmonizing and amplifying it.The second track, Vår kveld, is inspired by the poem Vårkveld (Spring Evening) by Gunvor Hofmo A depiction of deep sorrow, Hofmo wrote it in the spring of 1943, only months after her closest friend and lover, the Austrian-Jewish writer and refugee Ruth Maier, was arrested by Norwegian police and deported to Auschwitz. This movement conveys not only the silence surrounding Norwegian collaboration with the occupying forces but also the terrible loneliness of losing the one you love. The duet between the vocalists underscores this pain, ending with a voice crying out - without receiving an answer.Stumpiano is inspired by the story of the “stumpiano” —a piano without strings, only the hammer mechanism— given to the renowned pianist Robert Riefling while he was imprisoned for helping Jews escape to Sweden. This represents another kind of silence: strike, refusal, secret resistance. Riefling’s quiet defiance beyond the concert stage makes the irony of the stumpiano even sharper. Here, it becomes a symbol of resistance through mute action.The movement As Many Sighs focuses on the performer. The text comes from Tosca, staged by the Deutsches Theater in Oslo in October 1942, just a month before Ruth Maier was deported. An entertaining song here suddenly opens up to a horrific realization: “These golden lamps are killing me!” Standing on stage, staring straight into the spotlights, the performers question if they are entertainers or prisoners. How fine could that line really be?In Every Morning, Brecht’s ironic poem from Hollywood Elegies is set in tribute to Henry Gleditsch, the theater director at Trøndelag Teater, where Bristol Silence was also performed. Gleditsch wrote a play satirizing Norwegian businessmen who grew rich by collaborating with the Nazis. He was executed in the forest outside Trondheim - also in October 1942.But Your Eyes Said is inspired by “Your mouth says no no (but your eyes say yes)” by Joseph Santly, sung during the war by Arne Sveen – the Bristol Orchestra’s vocalist– who was also a member of the Norwegian resistance. The song Sveen sang might, in another context, have sounded like a lewd, even creepy, Tin Pan Alley cliché, but here it is turned on its head: while he sang for the dinner guests, he was memorizing plans to sabotage the railway. In this movement, the phrase “Your mouth said… But your eyes said… But your hands said…” repeats, but the answers never come. The voice rises by a half step, only to be interrupted by the ensemble’s vague, toneless noise. Sometimes, what is left unsaid means the most.The final movement, Every Last Breath, is built around a poem by Fred Moten: Every last breath / We want to breathe somebody / So beautiful in refusing. Here, at last, a kind of statement emerges from the silence - an agitation, a disturbance. It is not an answer, far less an absolution, but a wounded attempt at articulated intent. This is the power of art - it does not simplify but allows great questions to remain in all their complexity. Yet it demands that we act and take responsibility.Bristol Silence, the concert work, is now released as an album, with music accompanied by an essay by Derek Baron and visual material by Gregory Blake, who has reworked historical images of Hotel Bristol to remove all human figures - an echo of the musical concept. The album also includes the libretto, delving into the layers of meaning and reference within the work.It is a great pleasure to present a work that speaks to what a society is. This is not a piece about the past - but about the silent lines that stretch from it, all the way into our own time.   Ensemble:Sofia Jernberg, sopranoRobin Steitz, sopranoErik Kimestad Pedersen, trumpetKlaus Ellerhusen Holm, alto saxophone & clarinetAndreas Røysum, clarinet & fluteTorben Snekkestad, tenor saxophoneHans P. Kjorstad, violinFerdinand Bergstrøm, guitarAyumi Tanaka, pianoAndreas Skår Winther, drumsAne Marthe Sørlien Holen, percussionJohn Andrew Wilhite, conducting & double bassTexts assembled by John Andrew Wilhite with Finn Iunker, with a contribution from Fred Moten

Cop Tears recorded selections from Theodor Adorno's piano works in Derek's apartment in New York during the winter of 2018. Cop Tears is John Andrew Wilhite-Hannisdal (double bass), Derek Baron (flute), Cameron Kapoor (guitar), and John Welsh (guitar). --- Side ADrei Klavierstücke (1927, 1945), 3. ValsetteKlavierstück (1921)Drei Klavierstücke (1927, 1945), 3. ValsetteP.K.B. Eine kleine Kindersuite (1933) 3. Beiß dem Ted sein Öhrchen ab (Basso ostinato)Drei kurze Klavierstücke (1934, 1945), 1Drei Klavierstücke (1927, 1945), 2. Die böhmischen TerzenDrei Klavierstücke (1927, 1945), 1. Adagietto. Hommage à BizetSide BP.K.B. Eine kleine Kindersuite (1933):1. Klein-Gavlin kann nur “Ich auch” sagen2. Ich bin das hüpfende Kleinpferd, ich bin das Hottepferd mit Knopf im Ohr4. Klein-Gitty und Klein-Gavlin (Variationen aus ihrem Leben),var. 1 (…und auf dem Bauch)var. 2 (Ländler)var. 3 (Gitty und Gavlin als Tristan und Isolde)var. 4 (Auch Brahms besucht das P.K.B.)var. 5 Molto vivace e capricioso (quasi Presto) (Bewegte Gruppenszene)3. Beiß dem Ted sein Öhrchen ab (Basso ostinato)var. 6 Kleines Feuerwerk zu Ehren Debussysvar. 7 Herztönevar. 8 Etwas feuerlich (Kanon des Friedens im P.K.B.)  --- Mastered by Matt Bachmann.Liner notes on the vinyl LP by Kylie and Coop.Published by Reading Group in 2020. RG18.

Al Karpenter expands on their Post-Genre Punk approach reaching a new level of maturity. In fact, we can say that “Greatest Heads” is Al Karpenter’s “Remain in Light” from Talking Heads in the sense that it is also their fourth record, heavily based on production and is influenced by Afrobeat in distorted ways. This record contains elaborated liner notes by Eoin Anderson and features very special guests: “ “ [sic] Goldie, Lisa Rosendahl, and Mikel Xedh — a deeply important musician from the Basque Country who collaborated with Al for over a decade and who recently passed away. This record is dedicated to him.If Adorno wrote “To Write Poetry after Auschwitz is Barbaric” in 1949, Al attempts to answer the difficult question today; what kind of music can be done in the face of a genocide? Al Karpenter invites Brigitte Fontaine, Brecht & Artaud to improvise a protest song in a dark cellar in Berlin shouting against the current silencing in Germany of people who are pro-Palestine The audience gets sucked by the layers of histories while hearing ethereal ethnic sounds, music from Saturn, beat poetry, spectralism, tones reminiscent of Robert Ashley, infinite melancholy and lamentations with echoes of 70s free jazz re-imagined as revolutionary potentials for a future to come. Álvaro Matilla, Marta Sainz, Enrique Zaccagnini & Mattin play with restrained intensity mixing electronics, noise, abstract beats and garage rock with a conceptual approach and desperate anger; African Head Charge meets Akauzazte. A deeply emotional conglomerate of a thousandmusics, claiming a profound truth; we are all karpenters of life. Or as Jérôme Noetinger said after seeing the band live at the Ears We Are Festival in Biel/Bienne this year: “All Karpenters = all Joseph = all father of God = all God = no more God then. Freedom in the expression of one chord.”A giant leap.“There's a dub housing / new picnic time era Pere Ubu vibe (gone wrong) all over that I absolutely adore.” Hicham Chadly from Nashazphone Records

Lovely new one from the always amazing Hegoa: For fans of: John Tchicai (with strings), Steve Reich, Arv & Miljö (Discreet) Hekura are a Barcelona-based duo that create expansive soundscapes anchored in ritual minimalism. With influences ranging from the ethereal mysticism of Alice Coltrane to the hypnotic pulse of Steve Reich, their music explores the boundary between introspection and bold sonic exploration.Inspired by ethnographic traditions and the raw energy of Julius Eastman, their compositions fuse scattered percussion, shimmering textures, and hypnotic saxophone rhythms for moments of solitude and profound reflection. Hekura's work invites listeners to immerse themselves into a spectral world where tradition meets the avant-garde, offering a uniqueand evocative listening experience.Ernest and Edu met during their jazz studies at Taller de Musics in Barcelona. Their first conversation was about Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra's "free jazz" version of the South African anthem, NkosiSikelele. That bond quickly translated into a shared world of listening, respect, experimentation, and sound that crystallized in Hekura.Edu Pons is a saxophonist and a music teacher at Taller de Mùsics in Barcelona. His music ranges from jazz to folk or from classical to free improvisation yet with his own distinctive voice.Ernest Pipó is a guitarist and composer from a small town in La Garrotxa.Currently based in Barcelona, he primarily focuses on music production and soundtrack composition. His influences range from jazz, electronica, noise, pop, and, although he dares to admit it, also ambient.

Rüstəm Quliyev was born in 1969 in the village of Kosalar, Nagorno Karabakh. At the age of seven he had already mastered the tar before moving on to play the saz. He first encountered guitar during his military service for the USSR in Russia and quickly made a name for himself as a guitarist after returning to Azerbaijan. During the early 1990s, after years of intense fighting, he had to flee his home due to the conflict in Karabakh and settled in the capital city Baku. There his guitar playing took on a new character. He played at weddings, made TV appearances, and recorded numerous cassettes with small local labels. Rüstəm’s guitar playing not only drew on the rich traditional music of Azerbaijan but his thirst and passion for music also meant that he incorporated styles from across the globe into his repertoire: from Bollywood disco tunes and Afghan pop songs to Iranian street melodies and Spanish flamenco. He crafted a unique sound within an already idiosyncratic subculture of Azerbaijani electric guitar music. Sadly, his career was brought to a sudden end in 2005 after a short battle with lung cancer. His music, however, lives on remaining popular throughout the country. This release of archival recordings, produced in collaboration with Rüstəm Quliyev’s family and Moutains of Tongues, marks the first international release of this guitar legend's music.

Resolve acts in dialogue with the minimalist inspirations of the first Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings release, 1982’s Nodal Excitation – in effect, looking beneath the hood of several decades of progression to review and renew the revolutionary intent of their microntonal foundation credo. This new Orchestra – Oren Ambarchi, Konrad Sprenger and Joachim Schütz – combine effortlessly to explore new scalar dimensions. PLAY LOUD.

“Putting an overdue spotlight on the genre’s trailblazing icons and essential releases from the 1960s and ’70s” Bandcamp Album of the Day “These songs are marvels of accelerated interlocking, creating a party sound of unnerving complexity” Songlines (UK) “A rousing compilation of exuberant accordion-rich merengue” Sounds & Colours (UK) Merengue Típico: Nueva Generación! delves into the heart of Dominican merengue, a genre whose significance often eludes the spotlight. Bongo Joe's venture into unexplored terrain takes us to the Caribbean, specifically the Dominican Republic, shedding light on its musical tapestry. Curated by Xavier Daive, aka Funky Bompa, the compilation unveils rare '60s and '70s gems, providing a glimpse into a transformative period following the fall of the Trujillo regime. With over 20 years in the Dominican Republic, Xavier Daive meticulously sources original 45s, offering a snapshot of merengue's evolution during a creatively charged era post-Trujillo. The genre's roots, dating back to the 19th-century Dominican Republic, predate salsa, establishing its unique identity with the introduction of accordions via German trade ships. The genre's classic típico configuration emerged in the mid-'60s, leaving a lasting impact on its evolution. Focused on the explosive '60s and '70s merengue típico scene, influenced by genre pioneers like “Tatico” Henríquez and Trio Reynoso, the compilation showcases technical finesse and high-speed rhythms. Tracks like Rafaelito Román’s "Que Mala Suerte" embody the genre's infectious energy. Aristides Ramírez’s "Los Lanbones" adds a touch of humor, cautioning against pub freeloaders. Merengue Típico: Nueva Generación transcends the realms of a typical reissue; it's an immersive journey into the roots of Dominican merengue, expanding its narrative beyond borders to enrich the global musical landscape. This compilation goes beyond individual tracks, providing a historical and cultural context, enriching our understanding of the genre's evolution in the Dominican Republic during a crucial period. Designed for both connoisseurs and wild dancefloors, this compilation is not only a historical and cultural exploration but also a treasure trove for DJs seeking to infuse their sets with the vibrant rhythms of merengue típico.