It is testament to the arresting intimacy of Ashley Paul's live set that between plucked guitar and a wailing sax there's near silence in the venue. Paul creates and controls an eerily concave space - so inward that with every listen the recording mutates in on itself. Highly emotive and strangely addictive.  Tracklisting: 1. Distance (8.34) 2. I'm in You (4.30) 3. It's the Heat (7.21) 4. Line the Clouds (4.58) --- Ashley Paul / saxophone, guitar, voice --- Recorded by Shaun Crook on Sunday 4th October 2015. Mixed by Ashley Paul. Mastered by Rupert Clervaux. Photo by Dawid Laskowski. 

Konstrukt's return to OTO after their killer show with regular London guest Alexander Hawkins back in 2015. This time around the band invited Alan Wilkinson and Daniel Spicer to join and form a seven piece ensemble who somehow crammed themselves in behind the monitors. Both multi-intrumentalists, Wilkinson and Spicer brought fresh textures and techniques to the group. From drum & bass and funk lines, to straight free jazz bursts and spiritual chantings, the range of sound in each set is incredible - and all given that classic dose of high energy by the Turkish free giants.  --- Korhan Futaci / alto & tenor saxophones, flutes, sipsi, kaba zurna, voiceUmut Çaglar / electric guitar, gralla, bamboo flutes, pocket drum machine, xylophones, percussion, tape echoBarlas Tan Özemek / electric bassEdiz Hafizoglu / drums, cymbals, bells, turkish hang drum+Alexander Hawkins / acoustic pianoAlan Wilkinson / baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, voiceDaniel Spicer / pocket trumpet, bugle, bamboo saxophone, shenai, recorder, pan pipe, whistle, cow bell, kalimba, voice --- Recorded live at Café OTO by Shaun Crook on September 12th, 2016, London. Mixed and mastered by Umut Çaglar in Istanbul, Turkey. Artwork by Oli Barrett. Original Photo by Dawid Laskowski. We wish to thank Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival for inviting Konstrukt to the UK, and to Omlott recordings for their enthusiasm putting out the physical version of the recording, which you can purchase here.

The Apophonics are John Butcher, Gino Robair and John Edwards. With a focus on innovative textual playing, their sound is dizzyingly expansive. Stuttering birdsong meets metallic bass and lilting melodies emerge from guttural tension. Complex and playful, the trio hot-foot around each others interventions with delightful ease.  --- John Butcher / saxophones John Edwards / double bass Gino Robair / energised surfaces --- Recorded by Kate Arnold. Mixed by John Butcher. Mastered by James Dunn. Photo by Günther Gröger.--- Tracklist: 1. Hunting (26.23) 2. Dodging (25.46) 3. Leading (7.24) 

A delight to release the live set from experimental songwriters, Still House Plants. Obscured melodies and minimal song structures are suffused with light, off-kilter rhythms and chords, lolloping cymbals and lilting vocals. The trio are so relaxed with each other you might be drinking tinnies with them in their front room. Romantic without tripping into mushy. God bless Glasgow, thank you GLARC and please come back again soon. --- Finlay Clark / guitar David Kennedy / drums Jessica Hickie-Kallenbach / vocals --- Recorded on Monday 7th November by Shaun Crook. Mixed & mastered by James Dunn.  ─────────────────────────▄▀▄ ─────────────────────────█─█ ─────────────────────────█─█ ─────────────────────────█─█ ─────────────────────────█─█ ─────────────────────────█─█ ─────────────────────────█─▀█▀█▄ ─────────────────────────█──█──█ ─────────────────────────█▄▄█──▀█ ────────────────────────▄█──▄█▄─▀█ ────────────────────────█─▄█─█─█─█ ────────────────────────█──█─█─█─█ ────────────────────────█──█─█─█─█ ────▄█▄──▄█▄────────────█──▀▀█─█─█ ──▄█████████────────────▀█───█─█▄▀ ─▄███████████────────────██──▀▀─█ ▄█████████████────────────█─────█ ██████████───▀▀█▄─────────▀█────█ ████████───▀▀▀──█──────────█────█ ██████───────██─▀█─────────█────█ ████──▄──────────▀█────────█────█ ███──█──────▀▀█───▀█───────█────█ ███─▀─██──────█────▀█──────█────█ ███─────────────────▀█─────█────█ ███──────────────────█─────█────█ ███─────────────▄▀───█─────█────█ ████─────────▄▄██────█▄────█────█ ████────────██████────█────█────█ █████────█──███████▀──█───▄█▄▄▄▄█ ██▀▀██────▀─██▄──▄█───█───█─────█ ██▄──────────██████───█───█─────█ ─██▄────────────▄▄────█───█─────█ ─███████─────────────▄█───█─────█ ──██████─────────────█───█▀─────█ ──▄███████▄─────────▄█──█▀──────█ ─▄█─────▄▀▀▀█───────█───█───────█ ▄█────────█──█────▄███▀▀▀▀──────█ █──▄▀▀────────█──▄▀──█──────────█ █────█─────────█─────█──────────█ █────────▀█────█─────█─────────██ █───────────────█──▄█▀─────────█ █──────────██───█▀▀▀───────────█ █───────────────█──────────────█ █▄─────────────██──────────────█ ─█▄────────────█───────────────█ ──██▄────────▄███▀▀▀▀▀▄────────█ ─█▀─▀█▄────────▀█──────▀▄──────█ ─█────▀▀▀▀▄─────█────────▀─────█ ─█─────────▀▄──▀───────────────

Hells bells! Set fire to your Brompton bike and skip home in the rain -- this one's a heavyweight. Folk-psych hero Simon Finn reunites with David Toop for the first time in 46 years. Joined by frequent collaborators Joolie Wood and Ian Hothersall, Finn's ecstatic / apocalyptic tapestry of hedonism, hypocrisy and shadows asleep on benches will mess up your lunch break until you howl along the lyrics for some much needed catharsis.  --- Simon Finn / vocals, guitar David Toop / steel guitar Joolie Wood / violin, clarinet, vocals Ian Hothersall / percussion --- Tracklisting: Set 1 - (33:08) Eros / Polar Veil / Pass The Distance / Through Stones / White Elephant / What a Day Set 2 - (50:14) The Chauffeur / The Lighter Side of Love / Accidental Life / Courtyard / Golden Golden / Wanted You / Rich Girl With No Trousers / Big White Car / Magic Moments / Cinders Prayer / Jerusalem  --- Recorded at Cafe OTO by Shaun Crook on Monday 14th March 2016. Mixed by James Dunn. Mastered by James Dunn. Photo by Dawid Laskowski. 

Continually assessing his surroundings, Paul Abbott’s solo improvisation is as much a collaboration as it is a solitary process. Caught between the affective and the physical, Abbott’s approach to his kit both moves and contains, whilst honestly documenting the tension in between. Terse, political and ultimately very present.  ---Paul Abbott / drum kit --- Recorded on Monday 1st February 2016 by Shaun Crook. Mixed by Paul Abbott. Mastered by James Dunn.  --- Tracklisting: 1. qno (48.27)www.paulabbott.net/qno

Long-form work of duo James Rushford and crys cole. Thick with the past and an uneasy shuffling about in the present, listening to Ora Clementi is both peaceful and unsettling - sort of like being alone in the cinema. Subliminal narratives speak from just behind the curtain and melodies whistle momentarily through the forgotten pipe organ. Stay till the end credits and you might just cry. --- Tracklisting: 1. 1.16.16  - 33:21 --- Recorded by James Dunn. Mixed by James Dunn. Mastered by James Dunn. Original photo by Bradley Buehrin. 

The back alleys and powerplants that were the setting for 'Ghil' might have been replaced by OTO's candle-lit concrete, but Okkyung Lee's live set is as fierce and compelling as the record dubbed 'the noise album of 2013'. Swap Lasse Mahaug's tape recorder for dynamic microphones and Lee's scrapes and scrawls on the cello crawl right up inside your ear.  ---Okkyung Lee / cello --- Tracklisting:1. all the small grey dots (27.34) ---Recorded by Kate Arnold on Wednesday 14th August, 2013. Mized by John Chantler. Mastered by James Dunn. Photo by Fabio Lugaro. 

Morphogenesis' first show after five years. Live electronics, homemade instruments, vocal samples and environmental elements pique and glisten, happily unzipping forgotten senses and retuning your ears just enough to get you lost somewhere you're sure you once knew.  --- Adam Bohman / prepared violin, objects Clive Graham / vocals, electronics Clive Hall / piano, electronics John Wall / computer Mark Durgan / modular synths, effects Ron Breifel / vocals, electronics N.B Ron played outside of the venue from his car, so is not 'heard' on the recording. --- Recorded on Thursday 10th Septemeber 2015 by Luca Consonni. Mixed by Clive Graham. Mastered by James Dunn. Photo by Clive Graham. 

1.10.16 documents prolific noise master Merzbow's double show here back in October. Rhythm driven and rammed with highly sculpted frequencies, Akita's sound is entirely remorseless. Furious squalls and delicate sine-warps post this one on the more psychedelic end of Akita's output. Truly relentless, it is still hard to believe he created Untitled Knife I on a casual Saturday lunchtime. Be careful with that volume.  --- Masami Akita / electronics --- Tracklisting: Untitled Knife I - 50:06 Untitled Knife II - 54:52 --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO by Shaun Crook on Saturday 1st October, 2016. Mixed and mastered by James Dunn. 

After last summer’s release of the exceptional Skene on Sean McCann’s Recital Program, it’s a pleasure to share Matthew Sullivan’s set from March this year. A percussive motif threads together obscured narratives and Sullivan creates totally new landscapes from his field recordings and their manipulation. Whilst some of the sounds are recognisable, the position you hear them from is frighteningly isolated - a gong becomes as eerie as office lighting static, a demonic football crowd celebrates your exit. One of our standout shows from this year for sure. If you're interested in Michael Pisaro, James Rushford or Mark Vernon this is one for you. --- Tracklisting 1. Untitled - 15:34 --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO on Wednesday 22nd March by Shaun Crook. Mixed and mastered by Shaun Crook. 

Shimmering compositions for solo accordion by Hague-based American composer and instrumentalist Leo Svirsky. Playing somewhere between sound and sense, Svirsky dwells on tonal chromatic harmony but never seeks stability. Tones shift, diffuse, are eaten up by the crowds conversation. Having studied under Antoine Beuger (a principal mover in the Wandelweiser collective) Svirsky continues a departure from Cage or Feldman - embracing Romanticism and affect to make radical and destabalising psychoacoustic sound. Highly recommended.  "With works for piano, orchestra, and ensemble, Svirsky lights corners of hidden musical worlds with a palm sheltering the flame." —Britton Powell, BOMB Magazine (from the introduction from a wonderful conversation betwen Svirsky & Michael Pisaro)  --- Leo Svirsky / accordian --- Tracklisting: 1. Heights in Depths Cafe OTO - 20:40 2. Depths in Heights Cafe OTO - 19:13 --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO on Saturday 25th February by James Dunn. Mixed by James Dunn. Mastered by Shaun Crook. 

Few artists maintain such a fearsome reputation and enigmatic presence as Kevin Drumm.  This recording is from Kevin’s first appearance at Cafe OTO (as part of a PAN event with Thomas Ankersmit and Helm) and doesn’t waste a single second across its short duration. Delivered on the night at devastating volume via a full range quadraphonic d&b audiotechnik system we recommend, where possible, playback on speakers at high volume for maximum impact.

Strikingly sparse and meditative percussive duo from esteemed vocalist Julie Tippetts and Confront boss man, Mark Wastell. Both equipped with a wealth of percussion but perfectly restrained, the pair are near-still, bright and clear at first, until the surface of their glistening sound begins to prickle and rush with an unseen current. Tippett's voice effortlessly matches the bellows of the Wastell’s shruti box, and its gentle drone highlights her natural vocal warmth. Intimate, explorative and intuitive, each note struck or sung is turned over gently, explored, and put back down to rest - like a rare find in a rock pool. We hope to see this duo make a return to OTO soon! --- Julie Tippetts / voice, Sri Lankan hand drums, bells, singing bowls, water bowls, thumb piano, seed pod shaker, Balinese mini xylophone, struck hand drum Mark Wastell / tam tam, cracked ride cymbal, shruti box, chimes, hand drum, Indian temple bells, singing bowls --- Tracklisting: 1. Unraveling the Waterfall - 30:55 --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO by James Dunn on Tuesday 17th of January 2017. Mixed and mastered by James Dunn. 

Jone Takamäki / saxophone, electronics Playing OTO back in 2014, Jone Takamaki explored a more physical approach to improvisation and manipulated the Japanese woodwind techniques he had been studying post Universal Mind. Spacious horizons of bells and electronics shrink away into claustrophobic rhythms of a home printer, and a gasping tenor sax mutates into psychotic murmuring that crawls right up inside of you. Not to be missed.  Recorded Wednesday 4 March 2015 by James Dunn.  Mixed by John Chantler.  Mastered by Andreas [LUPO] Lubich at Calyx, Berlin. Photograph by Dawid Laskowski.

It's a real honour to share this music performed by three of OTO's most treasured musicians - John Tchicai, Tony Marsh and John Edwards. This was the first set of the trio's residency at Cafe OTO in 2010, returning on blistering form after an initial two-day stint in 2009. --- John Tchicai / saxophones, fluteJohn Edwards / double bassTony Marsh / drums --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO on 27 September 2010 by James Dunn. Mastered by Andreas [LUPO] Lubich at Calyx, Berlin. Photograph by Nicholas Lativy. Special thanks to John Coxon for his assistance in making this recording possible.

First duo from these two unique voices in 15 years. Butcher has all the extended technique you like but it’s his subtle delivery that makes this duo so wonderful. He etches melodies across Noble’s imaginative percussion, peels off the sax's lacquer with multiphonic rattling and dances those classic Butcher squeals neatly through Noble’s vocal and rather spiritual bowed textures. The two end on an energetic sort of fanfare - skilled but playful - and you can only hope that it’s not so long before they meet again.   --- John Butcher / saxophone Steve Noble / drums --- Tracklisting:  1. 5.7.16 - 28.50 --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO on Tuesday 5th of July by Simon Holliday. Mixed by John Butcher. Mastered by James Dunn.

Joe McPhee and Chris Corsano have provided some of the absolute stand-out moments at OTO, and this has to be one of the best of them. Playing together for one night only back in August of 2012, the dream duo kick out white hot energy and offer up heart breaking balladry. Corsano's deft hands and a punk rock attitude create haunting textures and huge shadows that allow McPhee to blow lines that make you bleary eyed. When his voice comes through his pocket trumpet it seems to call out from another world. "But when the money's gone", he calls, and it's a sing a long, it's a crooners song - it's free jazz at it's most lively.  --- Joe McPhee / tenor and soprano saxophones Chris Corsano / drums --- Recorded on the 25th August 2012 by John Chantler. Mixed by John Chantler. Mastered by Rupert Clervaux.