Kindred spirits Passepartout Duo and Inoyama Land embody the essence of play – charting a new chapter and reinvigorating the environmental music and electronic landscape.Passepartout Duo is formed of Nicoletta Favari (IT) and Christopher Salvito (IT/US), who since 2015 have been on a continuous journey travelling the world’s corners, engaged in a creative process they term “slow music”. Having been guests of many notable artist residencies and with live performances in cultural spaces and institutions, their evocative music escapes categorisation. With no fixed abode their musical pilgrimage brought them to Japan first in 2019, which prompted a deep connection to Kankyō Ongaku ‘environmental music’, a genre in which Inoyama Land is often associated with, soundtracking the duo’s first immersive experience. In 2023 the duo revisited Japan and set out to reconnect in particular with the music of Inoyama Land, performed by Makoto Inoue and Yasushi Yamashita. The highly revered album ‘Danzindan-Pojidon’ (1983) produced by Haruomi Hosono amongst other well publicized and acclaimed reissues (Light in The Attic Records’ Grammy-nominated compilation ‘Kankyō Ongaku’), produced a global resurgence and admiration of the environmental music movement. Nicoletta took the lead to seek out Inoyama Land and in making contact successfully their intrigue and eagerness to meet was warmly reciprocated, and the group scheduled to meet in the form of a spontaneous improvisation session.“We’re deeply concerned with what it means to be a duo, and what it means for people to connect through music.”'Radio Yugawara' was recorded in 2023 in Makoto Inoue’s hometown of Yugawara where his family runs a kindergarten, whose space has doubled as a Sunday recording studio. Upon arriving a circle of four tables was set up in the school’s auditorium - the tables were carefully populated with children’s instruments: a full set of handbells, a glockenspiel, a xylophone, recorders, melodicas, and harmonicas. Surrounding the tables were racks hanging all sorts of bells and wind chimes and within this environment each performer set up their own electronic instruments. Dialling into each other, a simple set of playground ‘game rules’ was devised where time was divided into three separate sessions (1) ‘only electronic instruments’, ‘only acoustic’, and ‘a mix of both’, (2) ‘revolving duets’ each taking turns to play through a cycle of ‘four duos’ and (3) ‘anything permitted’, accumulating to more than three hours of material which was then carefully distilled into succinct tracks. The alluring album opener ‘Strange Clouds’ oscillates into view, setting a lush scenery built from a bed of synthesisers and the first glimpse of the chromaplane, the hand-built analogue instrument designed by Passepartout Duo, featuring a touchless interface and endless organic sounds that underpin the album’s 11-track inlets. Percussive pulses act as the heartbeat to ‘Abstract Pets’ before earthy sub-swells open the pathway to glistening glockenspiels and wind chimes. The atmosphere shapeshifts with ‘Simoom’ and ‘Tangerine Fields’ with swirling synth lines and subliminal beats resembling changes in weather patterns. At the centre points the idyllic ‘Observatory’ and ‘Mosaic’ could illuminate the deepest oceans before the hypnotic, arpeggiating synth lines in the otherworldly ‘Xiloteca’ propel the album towards ‘Solivago’, with its gentle lullaby of playful ambience. The reflective closer ‘Axolotl Dreams’ resolves their somewhat chance meeting with elegant pastoral chord strokes and uplifting synth swells, sending final signals upwards into the ether. 'Radio Yugawara' is a unique one-off transmission from a specific place and point in time, unlikely to ever occur again. The respective duo’s approach can really be described as “tuning in”, a tuning into each other, to themselves, and to the surrounding nature of Yugawara. Like waves that travel off-world, sounds travel through the universe and can be lost forever if we don’t seek them out. In finding a harmonic affinity within their instruments and a spiritual kinship in their interwoven performance, Radio Yugawara at its core is an interpretation of feeling, of close human interaction and the true essence of discovery. “The album is both a transmission from a location, but also a tuning into the surroundings and to each other. Music in this kind of ephemeral moment is much less about active creation and more about discovering something which is already there in the air.”  

Brilliant Experimental album by the Merzbow co-founder, recorded in 1989 - with sticker and insert

Originally named „Merz“, this album should have been Merzbow's first vinyl release, but never came out on vinyl. So actually "Yantra Material Action" is „Material Action 1“, recorded in 1981 - with sticker and insert

After two and a half years out of print, Corsano/Orcutt's most popular album, Made Out of Sound, returns in a limited edition pressing. Best of 2021 — The Guardian, Pitchfork, Wire, Aquarium Drunkard, Stereogum, Magnet & Raven Sings the Blues.Pitchfork : "It’s a joyful noise. This is one of the more uplifting records of experimental music in recent memory. There’s something about how Orcutt and Corsano push each other that leads to work that pulses with the life force—these pieces bring to mind sunlight hitting a maple leaf, cells dividing under a microscope, a deep thirst quenched. Mark Richardson"Wire : "When you listen to Made Out Of Sound, you feel encouraged to immerse yourself in every note, cherishing the beauty of this otherworldly space. Joshua Minsoo Kim"

Finally on CD!!!  In a trajectory full of about-faces, Music for Four Guitars splices the formal innovations of Bill Orcutt's software-based music into the lobe-frying, blown-out Fender hyperdrive of his most frenetic workouts with Corsano or Hoyos. And while the guitar tone here is resolutely treble-kicked — or, as Orcutt puts it, "a bridge pickup rather than a neck pickup record" — it still wades the same melodic streams as his previous LPs (yet, as Heraclitus taught us, that stream is utterly different the second time around). Although it's a true left-field listen, Music for Four Guitars is bizarrely meditative, a Bill Orcutt Buddha Machine, a glimpse of the world of icy beauty haunting the latitudes high above the Delta (down where the climate suits your clothes). I've written before of the immediate misapprehension that greeted Harry Pussy on their first tour with my band Charalambides — that this was a trio of crazed freaks spontaneously spewing sound from wherever their fingers or drumsticks happened to land — but I'll grant the casual listener a certain amount of confusion based on the early recorded evidence (and the fact that the band COULD be a trio of crazed freaks letting fly, as we learned from later tours). But to my ears, the precision and composition of their tracks were immediately apparent, as if the band was some sort of 5-D music box with its handle cranked into oblivion by a calculating organ grinder, running through musical maps as pre-ordained as the road to a Calvinist's grave. That organ grinder, it turns out, was Bill Orcutt, whose solo guitar output until 2022 has tilted decidedly towards improvisation, while his fetish for relentless, gridlike composition has animated his electronic music (c.f. Live in LA, A Mechanical Joey). Music for Four Guitars, apparently percolating since 2015 as a loosely-conceived score for an actual meatspace guitar quartet, is the culmination of years ruminating on classical music, Magic Band miniatures, and (perhaps) The League of Crafty Guitarists, although when the Reich-isms got tossed in the brew is anyone's guess. And Reichian (Steve, not Wilhelm) it is. The album's form is startlingly minimalist — four guitars, each consigned to a chattering melody in counterpoint, repeated in cells throughout the course of the track, selectively pulled in and out of the mix to build fugue-like drama over the course of 11 brief tracks. It's tempting to compare them to chamber music, but these pieces reflect little of the delicacy of Satie's Gymnopedies or Bach's Cantatas. Instead, they bulldoze their way through melodic content with a touch of the motorik romanticism of New Order or Bailter Space ("At a Distance"), but more often ("A Different View," "On the Horizon") with the gonad-crushing drive of Discipline-era Crimson, full of squared corners, coldly angled like Beefheart-via-Beat-Detective. Just to nail down the classical fetishism, the album features a download of an 80-page PDF score transcribed by guitarist Shane Parish. And while it'd be just as reproducible as a bit of code or a player piano roll, I can easily close my eyes and imagine folks with brows higher than mine squeezing into their difficult-listening-hour folding chairs at Issue Project Room to soak up these sounds being played by real people reading a printed score 50 years from now. And as much as I want to bomb anyone's academy, that feels like a warm fuzzy future to sink into.. — TOM CARTER 

Originally released and sold on their fall 2009 US tour, Flower-Corsano Duo’s “The Chocolate Cities” stands as one of the group's most spirited releases. Recorded live in Cambridge, England and Geneva, Switzerland these recordings capture the power and energy being harnessed by the duo at a time of frequent touring, just after the release of their monumental double-LP “The Four Aims.”Michael Flower is perhaps best known for his work in Vibracathedral Orchestra, along with a slew of other bands, collaborations, and solo work. Meanwhile, Chris Corsano is well known as one of the premier drummers of modern times, and a frequent collaborator of Joe McPhee, Bill Orcutt, Bill Nace, Paul Flaherty, and many more. As a duo Flower and Corsano present an endlessly shifting and transforming sound, meshing elements of free jazz, drone, and ecstatic psychedelia into something all its own. While Corsano guides with his nimble and dynamic drumming, Flower plays amplified Japan Banjo (also known as a Shahi Baaja) providing melody, lead, and drone, often simultaneously. Gripping even in its quietest passages, thoughtful even in its most unrestrained crescendos, “The Chocolate Cities” documents a duo at the height of their collective prowess.Saved from the obscurity of its original CDr format and presented for the first time on vinyl with stunning new artwork by Chris Corsano, “The Chocolate Cities” stands as testament to the power of two magnificent players even 15 years on.

After a successful tour supporting The Hour of the Star, the group's remarkable 2011 debut for Leo Records, Perelman decided to explore his relationship with each member of the unit in more intimate settings. Having worked with Matt Shipp and Gerald Cleaver on Family Ties (LR 630) Ivo Perelman continues to explore his relationship with each member of his quartet in a slightly different setting.  "This is more free than the previous album; yes, I agree with that. I think because Matthew is such a wonderful musician, and he has this antenna; and because Gerald can go any way the music goes...Since the piano is a harmonic instrument you would think it would limit the choices, but with Matthew it does not. And when I do venture out of tonal Western music, into noises and microtones, this doesn't scare him; he takes it as an opportunity to expand the music." - Ivo Perelman "The Foreign Legion is Perelman's eighth record named in honor of one of Clarice Lispector's novels. Emboldened by the stellar contributions of his empathetic sidemen, the leader's cathartic performances transpose the Brazilian author's emotionally charged narratives into pure sonic expression, continuing his fertile exploration of a vibrant new tradition." All About Jazz --- Ivo Perelman / tenor sax Matt Shipp / piano Gerald Cleaver / drums --- Recorded, mixed and mastered at Park West studios, Brooklyn, NY, December 2011.

Rothenberg’s solo work on alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet and shakuhachi has been internationally acclaimed with over a thousand performances on 4 continents since 1980. His musical voice is built on a timbral palette which integrates ‘extended’ and standard instrumental technique into a seamless whole. The Crux, in Rothenberg's own words, is "a re-assertion of solo work as a primary expression of [his] creative voice." "I've found myself gradually less concerned with 'stylistic purity' as I've gained confidence that I can play in any kind of idiom where I have enough fluency to assert my musical identity. So I indulge these omniverous interests. They, together with the input of my various co-conspiritous over the the years, are my primary source of musical energy." - Ned Rothenberg. --- Ned Rothenberg - alto saxophone, bass clarinet --- Recorded December 19, 1991, June 18 & August 9, 1992 at Acoustic Recording and Park Place Studios, Brooklyn. Edited and sequenced at Studio PASS. Mastered at NY Digital Recording. All pieces recorded direct to 2-track digital, no overdubbing is involved.

"Poco a Poco, the first Ganelin CD released by Leo back in 1988, was reissued late last year in a limited edition of 500 copies. If you missed it the first time around, don’t make the same mistake twice; this is not only one of the group’s finest documents, but one of the most distinctive visions of post-’60s avant-garde jazz available. The disc presents a concert recorded in Novosibirsk in February 1978. The recording quality, as might be expected, is brittle and thin; these are, after all, “officially” unauthorized recordings. Still, it takes little effort to get used to the sound, and the quality of the performance far outweighs such a caveat.Ganelin’s music does not prove so very foreign to those with an affinity for the A.A.C.M., especially in its members’ multi-instrumentalism and theatricality, and the Dutch avant-garde, with which the Trio shares a particularly European brand of whimsy and an informed thumbing of the nose at tradition. Tarasov’s barreling drum assaults are reminiscent of Han Bennink’s similar outbursts, but, like Bennink, Tarasov is capable of delicacy and can also swing mightily. Ganelin conflates stride, boogie, modern classical pianism and post-Taylor tumult into an impressive arsenal perfectly suited to the band’s compression of decades of jazz history-and on occasion, native folk music-into the span of a show or even a single piece. And Chekasin, inscrutable and often seemingly detached, mines a vein not far removed from Roland Kirk or the Art Ensemble’s reedmen Poco a Poco captures a vivid suite (the pieces are titled “Poco 1” through “Poco 11”) that displays the band at its best, and if the element of visual theatricality is absent, it is scarcely missed. - Steve Smith" "The Ganelin Trio in live performance must have been an impossibly seductive occasion. Most jazz life in the former Soviet Union centred around festivals which no doubt provided the usual opportunities for predictable caravans of musicians to practise their scales. The most important was the Autumn Rhythms Festival in Leningrad (present day St. Petersburg) where no band was invited to play two years in a row. The exception to the rule was always the Ganelin Trio. They played every year." - Steve Kulak "Maybe not since the first Ornette Coleman records appeared has Western European jazz experienced quite such a shock of the totally unexpected as the Ganelin Trio produced." - The Wire --- Vladimir Tarasov / drums, percussionVyacheslav Ganelin / piano, keyboards, dulcimer, guitarVladimir Chekasin / reeds, flute, ocarina, voice --- Recorded live in Novosibirsk, February 1978. Remastered by Alan Mosley

"This is the first gig that Eugene Chadbourne and Toshinori Kondo played with the veteran of the new music scene - Han Bennink - who recorded with Eric Dolphy almost twenty years earlier. Apart from playing their usual instruments, this CD is a unique opportunity to hear Han Bennink on tenor and soprano saxophones as well as trombone and piano. Eugene Chadbourne tries his hand on piano aswell. Powerful, crazy, hilarious! They even hit the be-bop once or twice." --- Tracklisting: 1. Jazz Bunker - 47:11 2. Jazz Bunker - 46:47 --- Recorded live at the Jazz Bunker, Rotterdam, Holland, February, 1980.  Engineered by Stan Wijnans at LMC Sound, London. 

"Kuryokhin's reputation as the enfant terrible of the Russian avantgarde may have deterred some listeners from checking his work. This release should change that. Behind its ungainly title lurks his most accessible music to date, a frothy concoction of wit, whimsy and flashing virtuoso power delivered at time with madcap elan." Graham Lock. --- Recorded 4 June, 1991 in London

Seven original compositions plus two bonus tracks previously unissued. "36 minutes of the Man from Saturn and his Arkestra - the length of a good LP in the old days. Plus, how can any Saturnian resist the lure of a Ra disc recorded in the shadow of the Sphinx herself, right in Cairo? Top it off with 33 more minutes of Salah Ragab and the Cairo Jazz Band, and you've got a real treat. This is Ra in 1983 and 1984, sounding surprisingly close to the tight Ra band of the Fifties, rather than to the later, looser ensembles. To be sure, there isn't a lot of intricate ensemble work on these three Ra tracks, but the heads do have a bit of a throwback bop feel. Plus, "Egypt Strut" and "Dawn" both feature John Gilmore solos of terrific architectonic coherence and passion, and Marshall Allen chimes in on flute just as mellifluously. The Sun himself contributes a keyboard solo of ringing power on "Egypt Strut." "Watusa," meanwhile, is a feast of percussion in the grand Ra fashion. The Cairo jazz ensembles, which range from 21 members ("Ramadan") to five ("Oriental Mood,") hold up their end of the disc wonderfully. This is energetic and deeply sincere jazz with a marvelous Middle Eastern feel, complete with chanting on "Ramadan." All the instrumentalists are first-rate, especially pianist Khamis El Khouly, especially on "A Farewell Theme." A great one. A feast. Don't miss it." All About Jazz

This is a fascinating context for Parker, an improvisation duo with a Chopin-specialised classical pianist, Patrick Scheyder. Scheyder's background brings a powerful undercurrent to the music: though he clearly relishes the openness of the situation, he's disinclined to tiptoe around his partner's desires, and imposes strong thematic directions to the music. One of Parker's best-recorded solo-soprano investigations of recent times bursts from the track Dancing with Dr Dee, while Scheyder's shimmering, trilling unaccompanied piano piece has both eloquent energy and patient use of space and the sonics of the piano. Skrying In Mortlake - after a toe-in-the-water start - showcases the fragility of Parker's tenor- sax nuances today in a manner unthinkable in earlier stages of his uncompromising career. - John Fordham --- Evan Parker / saxophones Patrick Scheyder / piano --- Tracklisting: 1. Skrying In Mortlake - 30:222. Dancing With Dr. Dee - 13:473. Piano-Forte - 5:404. Other (As It Were) Optical Science, For J.Z. - 4:245 . Polyphonics - 10:36 --- Recorded November 4, 2000 at Gateway Studio, London. Painting by Vladislav Makarov.

Vocalist and pianist Amina Claudine Myers pays tribute to one of her biggest influences, Bessie Smith. Myers has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1966 and has been composing for voice and instruments ever since. Gorgeous record.  --- Amina Claudine Myers / voice, piano, organ Cecil McBee / bass Jimmy Lovelace / drums, bells --- Recorded and mixed by Roddy Hoi at Big Apple Studio, New York, 19 & 22 June, 1980. Mastered by David Crawford. Front cover photography by Spencer A Richards.

A live recording by two great bass players at the "Sons d'Hiver" festival on January 9, 1998.  "Though the basses often soar and sing here, the notion of fundamentals, of the deepest pitches, remains at the core of this music, bending our ears to the subtler vibrations, training them in the messages of a profound human history. This concert is a ceremony and seminar, roots and branches, essential human song welling through and out of fundament" - Stuart Broomer  --- Joelle Leandre / bass, voice  William Parker / bass --- Recorded at the festival "Sons d'Hiver", 9 January, 1996, at the Theatre A. Vitez, Ivry sur Seine by Jean-Marc Foussat. Illustration by LS Popova. 

Recorded in London in 1985. Includes the whole of LP LR 127 "Nicols 'n' Nu" and half of LR 145 "Don't assume." DOWN BEAT wrote of Maggie Nicols: "She is more than the best singer since Rita Reys; she is truly on par with Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan, and Jeanne Lee, the best of the American post-modernists." "... she is terrific enough to make up for England's having inflicted Cleo Lane on us." --- Peter Nu / piano Maggie Nicols / voice --- Artwork by Lora Denis. Recorded by Chris Lewis. Produced by Leo Feigin. Remastered for CD by Alan Mosley.

A world premier performance by the Arizona State University Percussion Ensemble directed by Dr. J. B. Smith. Recorded Feb 6, 1994 in the Music Theatre at the Arizona State University School of Music, Temple, Arizona. For ten percussionists, slide projections, constructed environment and tape.  --- Recorded February 6th, 1994 in the Music Theatre at Arizona State University School of Music, Temple, Arizona by Clarke Rigsby.