"One day, I hope, the story will be written. The story of the group IST and its relationship to the birth of the music that subsequently became variously known as 'New London Silence' or 'Lower Case Improv' (and yes, I use those upper case letters intentionally). Perhaps the learned critics (who seem very rarely to actually ask the musicians) will tell us just what our place is in this history. Certainly we were not the first - Rhodri and Mark were much influenced by Radu Malfatti and Phil Durrant (among others) at this time (or so it seemed to me), but we were among the first. From my own personal point of view, playing this new kind of provocatively distilled music seemed like a coherently radical response to the expansive intensity of groups such as Hession/Wilkinson/Fell and Descension. I have always had a certain sinful pride in the breadth of my discography at this time, and looking back I'm still impressed by the fact that at one period I was simultaneously playing with Descension and IST. These two groups have more in common than their radical diversity, however. Perhaps more than any other groups in which I've participated, each performance by these ensembles seemed to represent a kind of manifesto - a real challenging of the ways a certain number of our audience might have of thinking about music, and what it should be. But whilst Descension's discography amounts to one appallingly-recorded and long out-of-print CD, we are fortunate that IST was much better documented on numerous occasions. It's only fair to point out that IST didn't begin with the purity it later developed. The very early recordings released on the 'Anagrams To Avoid' LP show a group still wedded to the music of free, unrestrained activity. But the chemical processes resulting from the combining of Rhodri and Mark didn't take long to come to fruition (my act of introducing Rhodri to Mark and vice versa might one day merit me a footnote in someone's thesis). One such 'manifesto' performance was our appearance at Berlin's Total Music Meeting in 2001. Perhaps it is difficult for some people now to understand the significance of a group such as ours playing at the Total Music Meeting at that time. I don't intend to write this history now either, but from a free/improvised music point of view Berlin in 2001 was far from the place it is now - a chapter in the history of free music was drawing to a close, but for the moment the old ways of doing things still reigned supreme. We played the music you will hear on this recording - and not for the first time caused quite a stir. In particular, a younger generation of Berlin musicians seemed to feel the musical permafrost cracking. The response of the audience at the end of our set - those who had stayed - gives some flavour of the impact of this performance. Of course, this is all somewhat of a storm in a teacup. We didn't change the world, perhaps we didn't even change the Berlin musical world. But we did play a short but exceptional set; the music is here to hear, the rest you can decide for yourself." Simon H. Fell (May 2013) --- Rhodri Davies / harpSimon H. Fell / double bassMark Wastell / violoncello ---  Recorded at Total Music Meeting, Podewil, Berlin in 2001.

Originally rejected by the record company it was commissioned by, hence the title, Unwanted Object was released on Confront in 2005. It eventually headed up many end of year polls and critics choices lists including a place in The Wire's Top 50 Records of 2005. "The peculiar mixture between [these] tense, low-whisper nods and the sense of primal telepathy that these men transmit is the very strength of the CD; during almost 40 minutes, the thin link between "subliminal" and "sublime" makes itself visible in several unbelievable sections, where the instruments morph beautifully: percussion breathes hard, the harp is feedback-wrapped, the bass puts a scarf around its own power to stare seriously amidst the throbbing sound waves. The skeleton born from all these processes is hard-boned and with a mind of his own, already" (massimo ricci, touching extremes) "Impulses seem crucial to the trio's ideas in their limited environment, and their music materializes so freely. The air is filled with deceptively organized patterns and it becomes a nagging wonder that these performances weren't preconceived at all. It is a brilliant work." (Alan Jones, Bagatellen) --- Burkhard Beins / percussionRhodri Davies / harpMark Wastell / double bass --- Recorded by Graham Halliwell at The Old School, Bracon Ash, Norfolk 2004.

"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. 

Superb extended live recording made at the Jazzfest Trondheim - incredible reed technique and concept from Butcher, anchored by Duch's flexible bass work. "I first heard John Butcher in 2001 playing duos with Rhodri Davies and Derek Bailey on the CD Vortices and Angels. I was completely mesmerized, particularly by the two tracks in the end with John and Rhodri playing together. Vortices and Angels is still among my favourite albums. Trinity, AMM with John Butcher, being another one. Needless to say, playing with John at Trondelag Senter for Samtidskunst in my hometown Trondheim in May 2015 during Jazzfest, was a special occasion for me. This is a recording from that concert and apart from omitting some noises in the beginning, it is unedited."- Michael Duch --- John Butcher / saxophones Michael Duch / contrabass --- Recorded live at the Jazzfest Trondheim, Trondelag Senter for Samtidskunst Jonas Krossli on May 9th, 2015. 

Having been re-issued and now sold out again, we're pleased to make this duo from Keith Rowe and Mark Wastell available on digital for the first time. The duo had formed the previous year for ErstQuake in NYC and this was to be their second and, as yet, only other performance together. "The breadth and depth of [the] music is totally inspiring, I absolutely love this piece of music. Total unity in sound to make a perfect piece in the moment. It doesn't get better than this!" (Gordon W. Smith) "Keith Rowe and Mark Wastell. This last performance balanced the evening well. Louder, more gestural, bringing the evening to a climax in two ways – the temporal one and also by taking the audience on a long journey to the satisfactory end of the piece – more musically referential towards the end especially as Rowe dropped in a distinct seesawing 6/4 rhythm. Theme and statement and variations... all here but not under the figure of traditional moves. But the strategies are very much the same. They just require a shift in the mode of listening. The audience were prepared to do that, consequently enjoyed the music and gave them warm applause. Deservedly." (Rod Warner) --- Keith Rowe / guitar, electronics  Mark Wastell / amplified textures, electronics --- Recorded by David Reid at i-and-e, Dublin 2006.

“Valentines” documents the first duo meeting between Kahn and Julian, recorded during Kahn's tour of the UK in 2012. The initial idea was to meet and hopefully generate audio material that could then be used later as the basis for a composition. It seemed apparent that the three improvised pieces that makes up “Valentines” stood up well on their own merits without the need for further embellishment. The session was recorded by John Macedo, who also conducted an interview with the pair about their approaches to recording and performing. No overdubs, edited for length only. --- Jason Kahn / analogue modular synthesiser, mixing board, radio Phil Julian / analogue modular synthesiser, computer --- Recorded at Goldsmiths University of London by John Macedo, 14th February 2012.

Playing The Schoolhouse, a new composition by David Sylvian recorded in Norway, 2015. Based on an improvisation by Jan Bang and Sylvian it also features contributions from Otomo Yoshihide and Toshimaru Nakamura.  "Confront is a small bespoke label, that specialise in small run editions. David has been a long time admirer of what we do and the way we do it - and a loyal customer too - as well as a contemporary of a number of the artists on our roster. I asked David to write a ‘single’ for the label and he presented me with the 15min ‘playing the schoolhouse’." - Mark Wastell "Mark’s approach to running his label is one I admire. along with numerous other labels i could mention, this is a one man operation and a labour of love. he brings to light work which might otherwise never be heard. others do the same and, in my opinion, deserve support. It’s wonderful that so many have shown an interest in this piece that lies so far from the songwriting most seem to hunger for. I’m grateful for that." - David Sylvian ---  David Sylvian / found objects, samples, additional field recordings.
 Jan Bang / found objects, dictaphone. --- Tracklisting: 1. Playing the Schoolhouse - 15:05 --- Composed and produced by David Sylvian.

London-based improvisors Jonathan McHugh and Mark Wastell fuse analogue synthesizer, mixing desk and 32” tam-tam into static, feedback, noise and drone. Hydriotaphia is a document of their first meeting as a duo. "A combination of ARP 2600, mixing desk and 32” Paiste tam tam, recorded in 2009 at the Electronic Music Studios of London’s Goldsmiths College. The name of the synthesizer might justify the snoopy inquirer’s thinking to a certain French lady working with the same brand of wave generator. However, in spite of the fact that the 45 minutes are – as expected – dominated by low frequencies, there’s not too much inHydriotaphia associable to Madame Radigue. The governing sonority is that born from the gong, which Wastell caresses and strokes following what should be done with a feline who responds purring, closing the eyes and looking harmoniously collaborative until you rub him the wrong way. The alternance between a sense of concentrated study and a prologue to a hypothetical awesome experience is mildly contrasted by the synthesizer’s subtle hisses and small fizzy noises keeping the listener’s feet partially planted in the ground, which is needed to observe the spectral gradations without getting lost in a cloudy bliss and losing focus. Occasionally, the muscle of the synthetic emissions defines the global texture’s shape a little more; those are the moments in which McHugh and Wastell ride their creature’s power, letting some weight grow in the music’s otherwise unearthly emergence. At any rate this is classy stuff, definitely recommended to cultists of serious static droning." - Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes --- Jonathan McHugh / arp synthesizer, mixing desk Mark Wastell / 32" paiste tam-tam --- Tracklisting: 1. Hydriotaphia - 45:04 --- Recorded by Jonathan McHugh at the Electronic Music Studios, Goldsmiths College, London 2009.  

Two solo concert improvisations for unamplified voice recorded in Canberra, Australia at the SoundOut Festival in 2015 and in Tokyo, Japan at the Kid Ailack Art Hall in 2014. "Employing extended vocal techniques, I use the voice to activate the concert hall, probing both room acoustics and the social space between myself and the audience. I've been working with voice for several years now. “For Voice” is the first release to document this work in a live context. These recordings are unedited." - Jason Kahn  --- Jason Kahn / voice  ---Track 1 recorded by Jason Kahn May 9, 2014 at the Kid Ailack Art Hall, Tokyo, Japan. Track 2 recorded by Kimmo Vennonen January 31, 2015 at the SoundOut Festival, Canberra, Australia. Many thanks to Seiji Hayakawa and Richard Johnson for making these concerts possible. 

Field recording artist Jeph Jerman and percussionist and sound designer Tim Barnes offer powerful, minimal music rooted in a shared dedication to the creative act of listening. Recorded live during their 2015 visit to Non-Event in Boston, MA, Goethe is an impossibly detailed and displaced inventory of sounds composed and structured in the sonic territory of Graham Lambkin or Taku Unami.  From the Confront press release: "Across a dozen years, the duo of Jerman and Barnes has offered powerful, minimal music rooted in a shared dedication to the creative act of listening. Jerman is a veteran of the creative music scenes in Denver and Seattle, and in more recent years has been thoroughly investigating the sonic possibilities of the desert Southwest where he lives and works. Tim Barnes's resume as a percussionist, engineer, and curator is studded with all-star collaborators including Tony Conrad, Sonic Youth, Ken Vandermark, Royal Trux, and Tower Recordings. With two acclaimed releases under their belt, Matterings (erstwhile) and Versatile Ambience (idea intermedia), Jeph and Tim feel that they are in the most productive period in the duo's history. Goethe is a live performance from their 2015 visit to Non-Event in Boston, MA." -Confront --- Jeph Jerman / tapes, objects, harmolinTim Barnes / tapes, objects, sampler --- Recorded by Ernst Karel live at Goethe Institute, Boston, MA on Matterings Tour 2015. Mastered by Chris Kincaid. With thanks to Mark Wastell. 

Dark and commanding double bass exploreations by two of the best. Having performed as a duo live in at nyMusikk in Oslo, they then recorded this album of freely improvised bass interactions the next day in the studio at Gråmølna in Trondheim.  The bassists first met at the Molde Jazzfestival in 2011, where Duch played a solo recital and a concert with Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, while Léandre had a guest spot with improv quartet SPUNK. After hearing Duch's solo album Edges from 2010, the two got to know each other and planned a collaboration. "The music will be freely improvised and bass's sound possibilities will be explored to the fullest" they planned, and so it is.  --- Joëlle Léandre / double bass Michael Duch / double bass --- Tracklisting:  1. The Gramolna Duo 1 - 7:01 2. The Gramolna Duo 2 - 9:13 3. The Gramolna Solo (JL) - 8:31 4. The Gramolna Duo 3 - 7:37 5. The Gramolna Solo (MD) - 6:59 6. The Gramolna Duo 4 - 9:03 --- Recorded by Oscar Gronberg at Gramolna, Trondheim, Norway on November 1st, 2013.

Three of the most important figures in Japan's improv scene combine with multi-instrumentalist Mark Wastell for this remarkable album on Confront. Foldings was awarded an honourary mention at 2003's Prix Ars Electronica, also scooping a top ten place in The Wire magazine's improvised recordings of the year list. Londoner Mark Wastell visited Tokyo's legendary Offsite venue with guitarist Taku Sugimoto, no-input mixing board maestro Toshimaru Nakamura and Tetuzi Akiyama, who on this release takes up residence behind a turntable. As with so much of the output from these musicians (certainly from around the time this performance was recorded) much of the music is tiny gestures, played with a strange logic, which barely punctuats a gauze of near-silence throughout. It's beautifully restrained though, and ranks as one of the most radical and involving documents within the electroacoustic, super-silent 'onkyo' canon. If you've got the patience for it, this is marvellous stuff. --- Tetuzi Akiyama / turntable, air duster Toshimaru Nakamura / no-input mixing board Taku Sugimoto / acoustic guitar, preparations Mark Wastell / violoncello, preparations, contact mic, amplifier --- Recorded live in concert at Offsite, Yoyogi, Tokyo on January 19th, 2002 by Taku Sugimoto. 

".... it was October 2013 ... Radu, Klaus and Nikos came to Japan. The last day of their tour, Ftarri was booked but it was uncertain what would be done there ... so we decided to invite all our friends to join just a few days before."- Taku Unami "In the fall of 2013, Radu Malfatti (trombone), Nikos Veliotis (cello), and Klaus Filip (ppooll), were on a tour of Japan where they performed in various combinations, including a number of collaborations with local musicians. For the last day of their tour, the three were invited to play at Ftarri, a music store and performance venue in Tokyo. They were joined by a stellar cast of musicians, most of whom they had long-standing relationships with (Taku Sugimoto, electric guitar; Tetuzi Akiyama, acoustic guitar; Taku Unami, electric bass; Moé Kamura, voice; Kazushige Kinoshita, violin; Masahiko Okura, tube; and Toshihiro Koike, trombone). The recording and mastering by Unami captures the proceedings in intimate detail, placing the muted shadings and open structure of the piece in natural contrast to the room sound." – Michael Rosenstein, Point of Departure  --- Tetuzi Akiyama / acoustic guitar Moé Kamura / voice Radu Malfatti / trombone Kazushige Kinoshita / violin Masahiko Okura / tube Nikos Veliotis / cello Taku Unami / electric bass Toshihiro Koike / trombone Klaus Filip / ppooll Taku Sugimoto / electric guitar --- Recorded live at Ftarri on 16th October 2013 by Taku Unami. Mastered by Taku Unami. With thanks to Mark Wastell.