Limited edition 10" vinylSum Variations is an e.p featuring two long form studies of Josephine’s song ‘The Sum Of Us All’ from 2013. These were recorded in Spain and Morocco, respectively, in collaboration with two different ensembles.These two variations offer a glimpse into the early exploration of the song, which Foster laterembedded in her electronic album song cycle, ‘Godmother’ (Fire Records, 2021).Side AThe Sum Of Us All (Joujouka)song written by Josephine Foster; instrumental coda theme by Victor HerreroRecorded live in the village of Joujouka, Ahl-Srif mountains, Morocco, 2012Mastered by Brian SulpizioJosephine Foster - guitar/voiceAbdellah Ziyat - liraAbdeslam Boukhzar - oud/voiceAbdeslam Rrtoubi - liraAhmed El Attar - farad/zowakKamanja - oud/voiceMichael Zerang – percussionMohamed El Attar -liraMustapha El Attar - farad/zowakPaz Lenchantin – violin/voiceShiekh Ahmed Talha - oud/voiceVictor Herrero – guitarSide BThe Sum Of Us All (Vejer)song written by Josephine FosterRecorded and mixed by Gyda ValtysdottirVejer de la Frontera, Spain, 2012Mastered by Brian SulpizioJosephine Foster – voice/guitar/harpGyda Valtysdottir – cello/voiceShahzad Ismaily – percussionVictor Herrero – Portuguese guitarand incorporating some sound samples from the Joujouka session.Artwork - Josephine Foster

“If stained glass windows could sing they would sound like Josephine Foster, and her interpretations of the songs of Víctor Herrero are as artful and finely detailed as motes of dust falling through shafts of light in the libraries of your childhood, engrossing in their restraint. Josephine's naked voice an echoing truth in repose against the existential question mark of Víctor’s guitar. In a world that can feel bewildering and relentless, this music is shelter. Adormidera is the sound of a hypnotised mind; the shadow-dance of old souls.”~ Alex NeilsonJosephine Foster is a Colorado-born singer, composer, and lyric poet. A former opera student turned visionary folk experimentalist, she breathes new life into archaic forms. Her music channels the spectral glow of the cultural archaeology of Harry Smith's old weird America while simultaneously conjuring a scrambled past that exists only in her vision. Across 25 years of singular work, Foster plays at the boundaries of psych-folk hymnody, country blues, lieder and avant-song, lending her characteristic mezzo-soprano and interpretive wit to collaborations with fellow underground musicians around the globe.As homage to her longtime collaborator, Josephine invited Spanish composer Víctor Herrero to curate a selection of his own songs for her voice. Herrero's classical guitar accompanies Josephine's gossamer singing, in compositions that reanimate the lineage of Amancio Prada and Victor Jara.

"A long desire of extraordinaire saxophone player Peter Brötzmann was a studio recording of some of his favorite jazz tunes and his own music -- a grand bridge over the music important for his life and his musical career in the past and present. Trost invited him to Martin Siewert's studio in Vienna to do so in summer 2018. The result is intense, beautiful and touching. Features compositions by Harry Barris/Gordon Clifford, Sigmund Romberg/Oscar Hammerstein II, Herbie Nichols, Dizzy Gillespie, George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin, and Sonny Rollins. Personnel: Peter Brötzmann - tenor saxophone. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Martin Siewert. Liner notes and artwork by Peter Brötzmann."

This week we’re pleased to be sharing a solo set from composer, improviser, performer and creative polymath, Alex Ward. Predominantly a guitar and clarinet player, Ward is regarded as one of the most technically accomplished performers of both free and composed music, and has recently played shows in the UK and US as part of the phenomenal This is Not This Heat. Having had his debut record put out on Derek Bailey's Incus, Ward has continued to play at an astonishing level ever since. His current work ranges from his formidably knotty guitar playing in avant-rock two piece Dead Days Beyond Help to his compositions-for-improvisers including Forebrace, the Alex Ward Quintet/Sextet, and his new ITEM series which returns to OTO in September.  After releasing his solo clarinet album in 2017 on the Weekertoft label, Ward's solo performances strive to bring acoustic and amplified playing into closer integration. '15.2.18' is a reminder of what a singular player he is, pulling open the full range of the instrument - from warm trills and woody overtones to overblown, amped up blowouts. --- Alex Ward / clarinet, amplifier --- Tracklisting:1. 21:04 2. 5:08 --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO on 15.2.2018 by Martyn Larcombe. Mixed by Alex Ward and mastered by James Dunn.

Co-written, performed (synths, drum machine, sampler), arranged, produced & mixed by Pouya Ehsaei Co-written and performed:Koroleko Moussa (Balafon, Djembe)Sam Warner (Trumpet)Hammadi Valdes (Drums, Congas, Bongos)Tamar Osborn (Bariton Sax, Clarinet)Parham Bahadoran (Duduk)Kareem Dayes (Cello)Yelfris Valdes (Trumpet) Spoken Word:Tara FatehiMA.MOYOMaureen OnwunaliNomakhwezi BeckerTim EtchellsOluwaseun OlayiwolaNisha RamayyaTasneim Zyada Cover Artwork by Farhad QashqaiDesign and Layout by Nahal MarzbanMastered and cut by Frank Merritt at The CarverySound Enginner: Dave HolmesRecorded by Dave Holmes at Lightship 95 StudioArt direction by Pouya Ehsaei & Tara FatehiCreated in Peckham, LondonThe exact number of times one needs to walk on an untrodden mountain for a path to start to appear. All the vibrations that remain from the first time a word is uttered. A flood from another planet, approaching Earth. When you look at a tree and all the ones who looked at the same tree appear for a blink of an eye. A thing you can only fully see from the moon: so scattered, so fluid, and always shifting. Created by London-based Iranian duo Pouya Ehsaei and Tara Fatehi, From the Lips to the Moon brings together a cast of London’s fierce, current, and transcultural voices, fusing live electronics, performative poetry, unearthly melodies, noise, and twisted beats. Their debut album delves into four years of live encounters, remembered as much for their spontaneity as for their unity. This is a record defined by its contrasts: gritty, sharp-edged electronics, raw vocalizations, and organic instrumental textures give way seamlessly to moments of soft, profound tenderness.

Available as 320kbp MP3 or 24bit FLAC  "Pickelhaube is the solo album of one of the most active improvisers and music activists of today. This is the result of an unique and completely analogue recording and reproduction, and brings to you the very full body of a wooden battle ship of an instrument, the contrabass, and the breath of a musical mind." “This is a solo in duet with the current era of silent repression of every mind that’s not in line for the mental pawnshop. In these times, most shallow behaviors are presented as if the deepest of engagements and beliefs. We are dressed up in a fictional all-in-one hat, the helmet and the warhead: Die Pickelhaube. Blow yourself out of your own mind or simply step out of your helmet. And listen.”