Joe McPhee – pocket trumpet, alto sax and voice
Daunik Lazro – baritone and tenor sax
Music for Legendary Heroes
Record May 21st 2016 at Cerkno Jazz Festival, Slovenia
Live recording and mastering by Iztok Zupan (Klopotec studio)
Album art by Nicola Guazzaloca
All tunes are improvised, except Voices, composed by Joe McPhee
“The follow-up to Majaap, this duo’s first album, came out in Kontrans’ Electronic Music Series, which gives a first pointer as to how different it is. Post-Human Identities sounds closer to Fe-M@il, Maja Ratkje’s noise duo with Hild Sofie Tafjord, especially in the opening 18-minute piece, “Rotary Torso Extension.” The Scandinavian vocalist uses samplers, effects, and her trusty dictaphone. Jaap Blonk brings to the table his computer, samplers, and effects. The result is a joyously cacophonous blend of heavily processed shouts and gargles. Pitch bending, speed variation, and looping are heavily featured. The naked voices of Ratkje and Blonk still appear here and there, mostly as beacons signaling a shift in direction within a piece. Blonk has considerably developed his electronic vocabulary since Averschuw, the solo album on which he unveiled his interest in electronic treatments. This post-human meeting is actually as fruitful and well balanced as Ratkje and Blonk’s earlier acoustic effort. They obviously share the same kind of slapstick humor, no matter the medium. “Rotary Torso Excursion” is the most demanding track, its harsh textures and sharp turns seemingly designed specifically to lose the listener. “Of Strange Abductors” and “No Ecliptical Strainers” take a softer approach, letting the naked voice through, building bridges between the acoustic and the electronic. “The Abominable Crunch” comes back to a more densely treated form of improvisation, strongly reminiscent of the material found on Ratkje’s solo album Voice. Post-Human Identities was recorded live in May 2004 at three consecutive concerts.” -François Couture, All Music
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Maja Ratkje and Jaap Blonk have been performing and recording together since 2001. their first release was a cd of acoustic voice duets (majaap, Kontrans 850).
Voice, Computer [Powerbook], Sampler, Effects – Jaap Blonk
Voice, Sampler, Effects, Tape [Dictaphone] – Maja S. K. Ratkje
Queasy Chin Dip recorded 27 May 2004 in Oslo, Norway.
Rotary torso extension, Of strange abductors, No ecliptical strainers recorded 28 May 2004 in Aarhus, Denmark.
The abominable crunch recorded 29 May 2004 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Design by Daniel Gross
Recorded oct. 11th and 12th 2014 at the KUBUS, Hannover
Limited edition of 214 copies, each numbered,
Each cover is a unique one with “rubber stamp art” by Günter Christmann.
Many thanks to Stiftung Niedersachsen and Kulturbüro der Landeshauptstadt Hannover for their support
Cover, Liner Notes – Günter Christmann
Mixed By Günter Christmann, Joachim Zoepf
Photography By Ulrike Schöller
Producer – edition explico
Recorded By Jörg Hufschmidt
Recorded at Feedback Studio, Vienna Nd, Assume 1999
All compositions by Dafeldecker / Kurzmann
Bass – Uli Fussenegger
Clarinet – Ernesto Molinari
Computer – Peter Boehm*
Drums – Paul Skrepek
Electronics – Christian Fennesz* (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 9)
Guitar – Burkhard Stangl (tracks: 9)
Guitar, Bass, Piano – Werner Dafeldecker
Noises [Sounds] – Reinhard Buchta
Synthesizer [Analogue] – Thomas Lehn (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8)
Vocals – Christof Kurzmann
Recorded by Reinhard Buchta
Mixed by Buchta / Dafeldecker / Kurzmann
Mastered by Christoph Amann (Amann Studios / Vienna), Reinhard Buchta (Feedback Studio / Vienna) Patrick Pulsinger (Cheap Studio / Vienna)
Produced by Shabotinski / Plag Dich Nicht 1999
“Young bassist Brandon Lopez has become a force on New York’s improvised-music scene these past few years, in large part due to his formidable power. The recent self-released solo album Smoked Sunshine Vitriol Spits is a testament to his strength—his oversize instrument can sound like a toy in his hands, and the way he wields and manhandles it in a live setting (e.g., his performance here last fall as a member of Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones) makes it look like one too.” – Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
Solo contrabass conceived in 2016 for 2017
Recorded at Mexican Summer by Blaze Mckenzie. Mixed and mastered by the Jaimie Branch. Album art “Shaitan’s Teeth” is by Alexandra Despiris.
“Recorded on the cusp of our voyage into isolation, Wordless Voices sings songs from the collective unwinding at the heart of improvised music. The 4 tracks traverse, intertwine and disentangle myriad territories of microtonality, pulse, melody, and noise and present an incorruptible expression of group improvisation and, just as significant, a remembrance of collective listening shared by audience and performer.
The disc documents Moberg’s 4th formal release on his KAMO label — pairing the young, pioneering accordionist with microtonal maestro Mat Maneri and fellow Norwegian and double bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. Recorded February 2020 at No Idea Festival in Austin, Texas, Wordless Voices captures two distinct sets: a Friday night trio performance (Track 4) in a roadside church-turned-event-space (Ana Lark Center) and an intimate Saturday afternoon duo concert (Tracks 1-3) inside a corrugated metal quonset hut on Austin’s East Side (Cloud Tree Studios & Gallery).
Both sets share a music animated by the tensions of a first meeting in the live concert setting met with the urgency of sympathetic practices put into dialogue with one another. The Friday concert’s exceptional amalgam of microtonality and pulse results in 30 minutes of freely improvised trio music refracting through a fortuitous unity to create a seemingly endless spectrum of colors and forms. Maneri and Kalle continued their work together the following afternoon, diving deep into a vulnerable, melancholic playing rare in the field of improvised music. The duo’s bending microtonality seamlessly shifts between the complementary and course to produce fluent, voice-like qualities; the integrity of their individual artistic practices are revealed to open limitless paths of collective enunciation.
How did this music come to be?… I met Kalle in Mexico City in September 2019 while he was on tour with Paal Nilssen-Love’s Large Unit. It was the Saturday afternoon concert at Casa del Lago – where the Unit had broken into smaller ensembles to perform as duos, trios and quartets – where I first heard Kalle’s reconceptualization of the acoustic accordion. It’s more and more rare to hear sonic innovations on acoustic instruments and hearing Kalle’s all-embracing palette of microtonality, noise, and timbral intelligence grounded in a profound musicality and a barrage of novel techniques (without implements!) left the audience and myself awestruck.
The Large Unit’s week-long residency in Mexico allowed me to get to know Kalle a little. His inquisitive, kind nature was the icing on the cake—he had to come to No Idea! When curating the festival I aim to assemble artists whose work activates a full-spectrum of the music while, just as important, also embody a generous spirit and an openness to collaboration. Kalle was the first invited and confirmed artist for No Idea 2020 and, in many ways, set the tone and direction of the festival that year.
With origins from Kalle’s trip to Mexico City, it is fitting that Wordless Voices’ cover art is by the fantastic Mexican artist Lucía Aragón. Unbeknownst to Kalle, Lucía (whom Kalle also collaborates with in live performance in Oslo) is old friends with Danae Silva, one of the organizers of elnicho—the organization that presented Paal’s Large Unit in Mexico City back in 2019. Entitled Su Persona, the artwork’s fragmented fluidity is an eloquent expression of the merging of personalities, creative energies and community responsible for bringing this important work to life—a series of intersecting moments affirming the friendships, trust and camaraderie continually guiding us towards our chaotic, lucid utopia.”
-Chris Cogburn – Founder & Executive/Artistic Director, No Idea Festival.
May, 2021.
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Mat Maneri – viola
Kalle Moberg – accordion
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – double bass
the beautiful people of Austin – life and atmosphere.
Recorded and mixed by Max Lorenzen.
Mastered by Christian Obermayer at “Strype Audio”.
Cover art – Su Persona – and design by Lucía Aragón.
“The five improvisations on Throw Down Your Hammer and Sing still retain their attachment to the tools at the players’ disposal; split-tones and cagey muted brass are clearly the trumpeter’s task, while cutting tenor projection and string bulwarks belong to cello and bass, respectively.” -Clifford Allen, All About Jazz
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Nate Wooley – trumpet
Fred Lonberg-holm – cello
Jason Roebke – bass
“I’d say expect great things, but they’re already happening. Magic brother shit has arrived.” – Tom Burris, Free Jazz Blog
“Both Will Escape is the debut full-length between electric guitarist Tashi Dorji and percussionist Tyler Damon. In the long tradition of string/drum duets — from Bailey & Bennink to Haino & Yoshida — these two cleave out their own unmapped continent of sound. Across four pieces they connect lashes of ecstatic intensity and outer reaches of texture and timbre. At times Dorji’s brutal electric torrents meld into Damon’s metal and tonal abstractions.
These two developed in parallel for years before forging an ongoing duo in 2015. Dorji has released a string of startling acoustic albums that’ve rescrambled six-string notions of jazz/improv/Flamenco. Damon’s rethink of overtone and rhythm is enraptured as it’s stupefying in solo exhibitions or with Mars Williams, Darin Gray and Thee Open Sex.”
Improvisations recorded at Patrick Kukucka’s home, Asheville, NC, July 8th, 2015. Mixed at Magnetic South, Bloomington, IN.
Tashi thanks Tyler, Patrick Kukucka, Eric Weddle & Family Vineyard.
Tyler thanks Rachel Maudlin, Patrick, Eric, John, Tashi & Meredith.
© & ℗ Family Vineyard 2016
Drums/Percussion – Tyler Damon
Electric Guitar – Tashi Dorji
Recorded by Patrick Kukucka, Hi Z lo z
Mixed by John Dawson, Magnetic South
Vinyl mastered by Jason Ward, Chicago Mastering
Layout by Eric Weddle
Front cover photo by Tyler Damon
Back cover drawing by Jim Holyoak
Mastered by Taylor Deupree, 12K
“CC … blew the ‘free’ into free music again, threw an energy molotov cocktail over western massachussets, and has a non-academic and unlimited interest in sounds far behind any traditional free music school! This LP is a collection of most of his different techniques that blew you away when you saw him play live.” -Ultra Eczema
Recorded mostly in March 2008. Edingburgh, Scotland.
Recorded and mixed by Chris Corsano
Artwork by Dennis Tyfus
Layout by Rosse Kevin
Originally released on vinyl:
Ultra Eczema 71
Side 1
1. Another Dull Dawn – drum set + toy percussion
2. Kittenish Gnawing, Part 1 – baritone sax mouthpiece on a 2 foot metal pipe + drum set, played simultaneously
3. The Threshing Machine – violin strings-banjo and violin bridges-contact mics-snare drum + effects pedal
4. The Mistaken Reaction – claw bell + violin string-banjo bridge-metal strips from windshield wipers and street cleaners bristles-snare drum
5. The Drunken Doctor’s Blunder Shrugged Away – toy comb + snare drum
6. The Anger of Kings – baritone sax mouthpiece on a clarinet
7. Kittenish Gnawing, Part 2 – toy gamelan
8. The Frayed Elevator Cable – guitar cable + effects pedal, multi-tracked
9. The Quick Collapse of Ice – drum set + gongs
10. The Opaque Gasp – baritone sax mouthpiece on a recorder with a 3 foot plastic pipe extension
11. The Misread Altimeter – clarinet mouthpiece on a tin whistle with a 1 foot plastic pipe extension
12. The Wreck – drum set + metal
13. The Hurried Adze – triangle + nylon guitar string-violin bridge-contact mic-snare drum + effects pedal + amp
14. The Knotted Silk Cord – melodica + violin strings-banjo and violin bridges-snare drum
15. The Chair Dustless in the Tiled Room – drum set + gongs + pot lids
Mars Williams: soprano, sopranino, alto & tenor saxophones, kalimba, percussion
Tim Daisy: drums, percussion
Music by Mars Williams – Music From Mars (BMI) and Tim Daisy – Split the Music (ASCAP)
Recorded live on March 6th, 2012 at the Blue Tomato Vienna, AT
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mars Williams
Artwork by Federico Peñalva
Special thanks to Günter Werner, Lisi Schwiteitzer, Doris Bauer, Christof Kurzmann, and the staff at the Blue Tomato.
This is Relay Recordings 029
“Having left New York earlier this year, violinist Mark Feldman is a significant new Chicago transplant. He debuted at Elastic with a solo concert, but this time he was joined by drummer Tim Daisy for a spirited performance. At his most whimsical, Daisy can build a frenzy of percussion instruments. He adroitly used his ride cymbal to spur his partner and provide momentum. When in call-and-response mode, the violinist displayed some relentless inquisitiveness. Both musicians undoubtedly delivered one of the most uplifting performances of the festival, Feldman delving into dance territory often betraying klezmer roots, whose jauntiness kept popping up. A highlight occurred when the violinist got into a high-pitched serenade while Daisy provided a minimalist backdrop with an assortment of cymbals and gongs. Feldman resorted for the first and only time to pizzicato when the duo brought their collaborative effort to a stark close.” -Alain Drouout // Downbeat Magazine
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Relay Records is proud to present this spirited live document featuring two veterans from the international improvised music scene: violinist and composer Mark Feldman, and percussionist Tim Daisy. Recorded live at the 2021 Catalytic Sound Festival in Chicago.
Opening the third night of the festival, Tim and Mark set a high bar, presenting the audience with a focused set of duo explorations, utilizing a deep well of vocabulary, from concentrated melodic gestures to dissonant swirls of abstraction. Fierce moments of engaged interaction contrast with delicate periods of texture and reflection. The broad range of creative ideas on display was a highlight of a festival that had already showcased a wide array of innovative and original ideas.
Recorded live on October 17th, 2021 at the Catalytic Sound Festival; Elastic Arts Foundation, Chicago, IL
Recorded by Bill Harris
Mixed by Mark Feldman
Mastered by Alex Inglizian at Experimental Sound Studio
Design/layout by Fede Penalva
This is Relay Recordings 032
Mark Feldman: violin
Tim Daisy: drums
Special thanks to Ken Vandermark, Steve Marquette, Sam Clapp, Brock Stuessi, Dave Rempis and the staff at the Elastic Arts Foundation
“it’s a breathless and beautiful tapestry of multiphonic jazz art. Legend Street Two is further evidence why Joe McPhee is the real guy to watch in the 21st century; it feels like he’s just getting warmed up”. -Thom Jurek
Recorded at The Spirit Room, Rossie, NY, June 1 & 2, 1996.
Joe McPhee: Trumpet, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone
Frank Lowe: Tenor Saxophone
David Prentice: Violin
Charles Moffett: Drums
“romanian george d wanted to know more about the viola and so became ig h’s viola friend. she heard the catalan pau s play a cello solo set and invited him to play duo improvisations. he suggested to do a string trio session another time. a date was set with d s and h. the neighbor upstairs ab b was invited to join on shakuhachi for the last hour. the absolute joy of improvising on wooden instruments… a quartet was born. in the summer of 2019 george and pau spontaneously organized a recording session in the bernard haitink hall of the amsterdam university of the arts. this culminated in the album aforismen aforisme aforismes. all track titles are named after the various soil types from the countries we are born in: holland romania spain. ” -Ig Henneman
Ab Baars: shakuhachi, clarinet
George Dumitriu:
viola, violin
Ig Henneman: viola
Pau Sola Masafrets: cello
Design: Lysander le Coultre (strangelove creatives)
Photography: Monique Besten
Recorded by George Dumitriu, June 30, 2019 at Bernard Haitink Hall of the conservatory of Amsterdam
Mixed by george dumitriu
Mastered by Alistair Payne, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
All compositions by Baars/ Dumitriu/ Henneman/ Sola, © BUMA/STEMRA
“Orchester 33 1/3’s Maschine Brennt is a distinctly post-modern free recording, built on a foundation of extensive improvisation, but with an electronics section headed by Christian Fennesz (courtesy of Mego Recordings) and Christoff Kurzmann, among others. The hour-long album ranges far and wide across jazz and avant-garde; in fact, the 40 minute title track (an homage to Max Brand) veers from absurdist free-jazz bleatings by horns and reeds to slinky, paranoid lounge-jazz to a series of vocal features pitched halfway between Paul Robeson and Tom Waits. Needless to say, Maschine Brennt is a challenging, innovative work, though it will take adventurous listeners to enjoy this as much as they respect it.” -John Bush, All Music
Rec. live at Musikprotokoll/Graz 1998 (1 & 2), Festival Transmitter/Hohenems 1998 (3).
Mixed At – Amann Studios, Wien
Acoustic Bass – Michael Krupica
Drums – Mex Wolfsteiner
Electric Bass – Michael Moser (2), Wolfgang Ritt
Electronics – Christian Fennesz*
Guitar – Franz Reisecker
Percussion [Electronic Percussion] – Günther Castanetti
Saxophone, Clarinet, Electronics – Christof Kurzmann
Saxophone, Electronics – Klaus Filip
Sounds [Sound] – Dieter Hauptmann (2), Michael Danner (4)
Trombone – Gerhard Birschitzky
Trumpet – Richard Klammer, Thomas Berghammer
Voice – Didi Bruckmayr
Mastered by Christoph Amann
Mixed by Christof Kurzmann (tracks: 1 to 3)
Mixed and Recorded by Franz Reisecker (tracks: 4), Klaus Filip (tracks: 5), Rupert Huber (tracks: 6)
Recorded by Michael Danner (4) (tracks: 1 to 3)
“Cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and percussionist Michael Zerang have collaboratively joined forces before, but the addition of Dutch vocalist Jaap Blonk is a wonderful complement to the Chicago duo. Blonk, of course, is much more than your usual “singer, ” as the sounds he caresses from his vocal chords are utterly unconventional and strikingly unique. He is literally a one-man band, reaching into a bag of bizarre blips and pops, wonderfully complementing his colleagues. Lonberg-Holm and Zerang have mastered their crafts so well that they almost sound as one. Transforming the cello into a wildly, freestyle machine, Lonberg-Holm creates a unique blend of noise and scratches into which Zerang holds on and digs. The results are totally satisfying, and each of the ten tracks glows with highlights.” ~ Steven A. Loewy
Cello – Fred Lonberg-Holm
Percussion, Tuba [Tubaphone] – Michael Zerang
Voice – Jaap Blonk
Recorded at Airwave Recording Studios, Chicago, November 19, 1996
Mixed by Fred Lonberg-Holm and Michael Zerang
Mastered by Michael Zerang and Jason Rau
Art Direction / Design by Dolphin Design
A&R Angelo Verploegen
“Paradoxical is one part of my multi-part musical work Instantiation; each part is unique, composed with specific notated and operational components. Due to the way the parts are configured it is impossible to perform any of them the same way twice.
Paradoxical mixes disparate materials – some are composed and some are improvised, some are melodic and an emotional color or narrative flow and some are the opposite. There is attention to the value and control of expression, sustain, pitch, sounds, duration, pulse, density, interaction and form as well as to the disregard for a particular employment of any of these properties. Three versions of the pieces are here, sequenced in the order in which we performed them in the studio.
My goal with Instantiation is to create unique and rewarding experiences for listeners by synthesizing the meta-properties of Free music in new and creative ways. I rely on the attention to the material and the individual and collective artistry of the ensemble of players to realize a unique result with each performance.”-Joe Morris, June 2019
Joe Morris: Guitar
Brad Barrett: Bass
Elinor Speirs: Violin
Dan O’Brien: Clarinet, bass clarinet
Recorded at Dimension Sound Studios, in Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts, on March 21st, 2019
Two like-minded musicians with a history in compositional and improvised music, pianist and prepared pianist Elisabeth Harnik and double bassist and vocalist Joelle Leandre met at WIST, in Graz, Austria in 2016 to perform and record this live album of insightful and compelling dialog between two masterful musicians full of creativity and virtuosic skill.
Elisabeth Harnik – piano
Joelle Leandre – bass
Mastered – Jean Marc Foussat
Artwork – Lasse Marhaug
Liner notes – Ken Vandermark
“This beautiful set is full of a unique tenderness, and comes out as a very personal statement that should not be missed.” -Alain Drouot, All Music
Recorded in Marseille on 14 and 15 April 1991 at studio Cactus
Joe McPhee – soprano saxophone, valve trombone
André Jaume – bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Raymond Boni – guitar
“The energy swells and recesses, popping circuits off the listeners receptors even in the quietest moments.” -Mark Corroto, All About Jazz
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Mats Gustafsson: Tenor, Baritone Sax, Fluteophone
Barry Guy: Bass
Raymond Strid: Percussion
Recorded Oct 3rd 2006 at Nya Perspektiv, Västeras
Recording produced by Swedish Broadcasting Company, SR/P2.
Mastered at Oakland Recording, Winterthur, CH.
Thanks to Conny Charles Lindström for the car, Lars-Göran Ulander for support, Lennart Nilsson & Gunnel for great food and wine!
Artwork by Paul Kanitzer
Design by Jonas Schoder
Mastered by Walter Schmid
Photography by Gudrun Edel-Rösnes
Producer: Barry Guy, Mats Gustafsson
Recorded by Maurice Mogaard
Recording Supervisor – Lars-Göran Ulander
Maya Recordings 801
“”A fascinating duo collaboration inspired by the work of Ornette Coleman and by many of those -Dewey Redman, Don Cherry, Scott LaFaro- who have played in the great saxophonist’s groups…The music is stately, sometimes grave; there is no attempt to pastiche Ornette; and there is a rigorous equality between the two voices.” -Richard Cook & Brian Morton, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
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Recorded August 27, 1998, The Knitting Factory, NYC, NY
Joe McPhee: Alto Saxophone, Pocket Trumpet
Dominic Duval: Bass
“The first solo electronics and percussion by the radical European improvisor in over thirty years, “?””!” is the culmination of decades of research into and experience of new modes of communication.
Lytton, a central figure in the British free improvisation movement of the 1960s and 70s which included Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, and Paul Rutherford, was instrumental in reshaping the way drums and percussion were viewed in free music. He is one of a handful of percussionists from that time whose work allowed the drum kit to become even more free from the timekeeping constraints of jazz up to that point; the instrument becoming less a set of drums and more a series of membranes on which to create an atmosphere.
His earliest experiments in homemade instruments and electronics with Evan Parker have spurred generations on to look outside systems with names such as “jazz” and “improv” and to explore new modes of communication in the moment. ?! marks the first solo recording of Lytton since 1979’s The Inclined Stick on PoTorch. The recording, as expected, is more structural or stratified, than linear or narrative. It allows the listener multiple levels and multiple views into the ever- changing language of one of the 21st century’s master musicians.” -Pleasure of the Text
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Paul Lytton – Computer [Trobiander Laptop], Percussion [Miscellaneous Percussion Instruments], Performer [Objects], Performer [Implements], Electronics [Electro-Mechanical Devices], Electronics [Frame Plus CnC Elektronics]
credits
released December 7, 2016
Recorded at KHM Studios 2014 Cologne, Germany
Design – Federico Peñalva
Producer – Nate Wooley, Paul Lytton
Recorded, Mixed, Mastered by Gerald Schauder
“The ten untitled improvisations radiate a kind of almost spiritual refining of Lonberg-Holm’s deep, personal relationship with the instrument. He channels and distills his extensive experience to the most essential, in an honest, sober and unpretentious manner that still sparks with the initial innocence and passion to discover new, fascinating sounds.” – Salt Peanuts
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Recorded live, this album presents Lonberg-Holm in an intimate relationship with his cello, beautifully recorded by Joaquim Montes at Studio Namouche in Lisbon. Using a variety of extended techniques, he conjures a barrage of multiphonics, interwoven timbral excursions, and minuscule textural knots lined along the peripheral architecture of these pieces. Lonberg-Holm alludes to his music having a non-denominational devotional presence in his life, and this relationship is evident in these deeply personal improvisations. This is visceral playing: heavy, dry, honest, and unpretentious. Lonberg-Holm has performed in an exceptional number of free jazz and free improvised ensembles, not to mention with a variety of indie rock bands; one can hear this experience permeating the seasoned playing in these recordings.
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Artist’s statement:
“Over the years, I have made a number of solo recordings, some in studios such as the now demolished Airwaves in Chicago and the first ESS location (now gone as well), some in concert halls (e.g., Mills College), some outdoors (my father’s farm in central NY as well as the Florida Everglades), and a few at various homes I have lived in. Location has an obvious impact and my long and affectionate relationship with Lisbon inspired me to want to make a solo document there. I have recorded with a variety of projects at Studio Namouche in the Benfica neighborhood of Lisbon and love it. That was where I wanted to make this solo recording.
Anyone who has been to Namouche knows it is a magical place. A faded version of its once probably grand self, Namouche is a sort of small RCA studio A that somehow survived the tumults of the recording industry; it still has the right proportions and materials on the walls, floor and ceiling. Add in good mics, a mixing desk, and the very capable ears of head engineer Joaquim Montes and it’s about perfect.
I’ve described the cello as a “four string busy box” for many years but only recently did I realize it also acts as a “safe space” for me. Although the outcome of pressing the various levers is more unpredictible on a cello than a busy box, I still feel that if I follow the material where it wants to go, nothing can go wrong. It is an act of faith.
For many years, “religious” music has been a source of entertainment and inspiration for me. In spite (or because?) of my lack of religious identity I find beauty in many types of music for worship. Over the years, at different times, I have been obsessed with Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Buddhist musics, sermons and chants. While I sometimes fantasize about making a record of religious music, the only faith I can claim to have any real relationship with is Christianity and a recording of Christian music might be misunderstood so . . . I refrain. Instead, I like to think that my solo cello improvisations are a kind of non-denominational devotional music.
During the period when this was recorded, I was listening a lot to Alfred Reed. He seems to favor a very low A (almost A flat) and I experimented with tuning my cello down as a result. Some of the tracks are at that lower pitch and others are closer to A440.
Namouche has a very fine grand piano and a number of other excellent keyboards. They also have some derelict pianos. Most noticeable are the two in the front vestibule and the one in the live room. The short piano pieces were recorded using only the piano in the live room. Because such wrecks aren’t found in most good studios, I couldn’t resist playing it. The juxtaposition of a derelict instrument and an incompetent pianist in a great room with excellent equipment was simply too good to pass up.”
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Fred Lonberg-Holm – cello, unprepared piano
Recorded March 21, 2019 by Joaquim Montes at Namouche Studios, Lisbon
Mastered by Branic Howard
Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery
Photograph by Fred Lonberg-Holm
Letterpress printed by Small Fires Press, New Orleans, LA
Piano, Voice, Producer – Elisabeth Harnik
Recorded: Tracks 1/34/6 at Florentiner Saal and tracks 2/5/7/9/10 at E23, Kunstuniversität Graz, December 7, 2004. / Tracks 8/11 at Klavierhaus Fiedler, Graz, November 15, 2004. / Track 12 recorded in concert at “Hörfest 2004” by ORF Steiermark.
Note: for tracks 2, 5, 7, 9 and 10 piano tuning as used for microtonal piano nr.1 in Georg Friedrich Haas opera “Die Schöne Wunde” based on the spectrum of f#, 2 1/2 octave below middle c.
Artwork, Design by Eva Murauer
Recorded By Florian Hollerweger (tracks: 1 to 11), Gerhard Hüttl (tracks: 12)
Mastered by Florian Hollerweger
“While Astral Spirits releases remarkable music on a near-weekly basis, this album has truly held its place as one of the best releases of the year.” – Daniel Palmer, PostGenre
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Liner notes:
“Back in 2018, I was invited by Dave Rempis to participate in the Exposure Series at Elastic Arts in Chicago. The Series was for me a shining example of artist-lead organizing of different yet connected communities around the Music. From my standpoint, it is yet another in the continuum of such actions, specifically in Chicago, and has been a major inspiration for my work as an artist and for the material on this recording.
The ensemble was assembled by Mr. Rempis, and was the first time the group had ever played together. The experience was immensely moving and was a major event in my own musical development, having the chance to lead a collective ensemble of true pillars in Creative Music.
Later that year, I was invited back to Chicago by Ken Vandermark for the Option Series at Experimental Sound Studio. It was then when I was able to schedule a recording and subsequent concert with the group, revisiting the material conceived by the ensemble earlier that year. As for the actual composition, I wanted to showcase the collectivism of the sounds produced in that first meeting. With that in mind I listened back to the first recording and transcribed different movements, motifs, and themes, plus added a few original composition ideas. We then recorded these collective compositions, first in a private recording session, second in front of an audience at Elastic Arts, where the Quintet first met.
What is presented here on this double album is a collection of both sessions. I want to convey again the collectivity of the Quintet. The concept of being a (C)omposer is a result of centuries of musical hierarchy, regarded and celebrated as the ultimate form of a musical artist. The example set out by the journeys of many in Improvised Music, including the gentlemen on this recording, allows for exploration of “composition” in true collective non-hierarchical form. There are no single series of notes, timbres, and dynamics conceived previously by an individual that was then imposed. Rather the Music was allowed to be presented with equal representation from each individual. The “Composer” here, is merely the organizer of the spirit energy of the ensemble. This is the nature of the beautiful offering that This Music provides.”
-Luke Stewart, July 2020.
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Luke Stewart – Bass, Compositions
Edward Wilkerson, Jr. – Reeds
Ken Vandermark – Reeds
Jim Baker – Piano
Avreeayl Ra – Drums
Recorded by David Zuchowski
Mastered by Mikey Young
Artwork & Layout by Jaime Zuverza
Thanks to Dave Rempis for instigating.
