Chris Abrahams
Placelessness
'Placelessness' by the trio of Oren Ambarchi on guitar, Chris Abrahams of the Necks on piano, and Robbie Avenaim on drums is a tribute to their seamless chemistry and has a free-flowing flood of sound
Fluid To The Influence
Restock 2023. CD version. Chris Abrahams returns with Fluid To The Influence. Building upon the foundation of his previous three editions for Room40, Abrahams charts out a divergent course through lilting piano flows, distended organ passages, thunderous electronic eruptions, and focused concrète explorations. Fluid To The Influence spans a huge spectrum of sound, each movement calling forward to the next in a flowing motion that demonstrates Abrahams's commitment to and interest in the album as…
Follower
Black Vinyl. For more than three decades now Sydney pianist and composer Chris Abrahams has developed a singularly iconic body of work. Known widely for his work with trio The Necks, Abrahams solo works have carved out an entirely otherworldly realm in sound. His explorations of organ, electronics, and piano capture a restless curiosity and timbral interrogation that only deepens with each of his releases. With Follower, his compositional language further expands. Melodies cascade with a cinemat…
Words Fail
*200 copies edition* The debut release from the trio of Chris Abrahams (piano), Clayton Thomas (bass & preparations), & Miles Thomas (drums & percussion), Words Fail is an intergenerational meeting of the minds. Despite the quintessential trio format, the sound world subverts the instrumentation across four expansive improvisations. Beginning with a lone piano note, repeating like droplets of water on a glassy lake, the interwoven textures of Clayton Thomas’ prepared double-bass & Miles Thomas’ …
Appearance
Australia's Chris Abrahams, widely known for his work with legendary trio The Necks, has amassed an impressive solo discography over the past three decades. With four electro-acoustic editions already published by Room40, the label announces Chris's first piano solo for the label. Appearance is two longform pieces for piano that weave and mesh to create a sense of flow and subtle shifting which unfolds into eternal variation.A note from Lawrence English: "I first met Chris Abrahams sometime in t…
A Thousand Sacred Steps
We owe this session to a touch of happenstance and a measure of forethought. Chris Abrahams was in London with The Necks for a residency at Café Oto, the capital's enterprising and valuable haven for adventurous music. Mark Wastell asked him whether, if he had any spare time whilst in the city, he’d be interested in doing a studio session as a duo.
The two have met a number of times over the years (including once in Berlin when Chris came to hear The Sealed Knot, the trio which Mark inhabits wit…
Sink
It took 15 years since its foundation to release their first album. Sink was formed in Berlin in 2004. Though their music is improvised, Sink play, perform, sound and feel as a band with a distinct band sound. Their sound ranges from typically Berlin Echtzeitmusik related mixed electroacoustic and acoustic soundscapes which can, but need not, result in a minimalistic groove. Sink already appeared on “Echtzeitmusik Berlin” compilation we produced in 2012.
Andrea Ermke is a sound artist from the s…
Peggy
Jon Rose and Chris Abrahams (of The Necks), after four decades of being parts of other projects, finally got around to recording as a duo. Jon uses a number of violins, including the bird - a specially made tenor hardanger fiddle with sympathetic strings; his tunings are non-standard, and create complex microtonal dissonances with the standard keyboard. Abrahams is unfazed and somehow manages to make the conversation coherent; they’re still speaking one language – probably because these are both…
Music In Eight Octaves
A multi-octave delirium at the summit of sonic density. Recorded in 2005 in Melbourne, Chris Abrahams and Anthony Pateras multi-tracked 4 takes in each octave of the piano, superimposing them over each other to create a kaleidoscopic maelstrom pianistic energy in its purest form. Best known as the pianist from The Necks, this is a distinctly different outing for Abrahams, exploring a more maximalist energy and aesthetic than usual. As with all Immediata releases, Anthony Pateras interviews h…
Instead of the Sun
Recorded in Sydney by Chris Abrahams and Burkhard Beins from January 5th to 9th, 2015. “I am quite a fan when it comes to the music on Abrahams, as he brings much energy and vibrancy to the table, and that is no different on this new release.It's quite difficult to dissect what is going on here. Should one not know who made this album, a blind test if you will, then one could easily think this is an album made with a modular synthesizer and perhaps very little something else; it is not easy to d…
A Heart That Responds to Schooling
"A Heart That Responds to Schooling" is the second album recorded by italian composer and performer Alessandro Bosetti and Australian pianist Chris Abrahams. The album is a chest of intimate and oblique sonic explorations that span both improvised fragments and original renditions of compositions like Steve Lacy’s Esteem (with Bosetti’s lyrics) and Milton Nascimento’s Bridges (Travessia) in the english version with Gene lee’s lyrics. It was Recorded in Berlin in November 2013, and is following t…
Raft Of The Meadows
Established in 2007, Roil play their own original style of jazz-inspired improvised music, and have released 3 albums thus far: Meaning (2009) on Australian label, Rufus, Frost Frost (2011) on uk label, Bo'weavil Recordings & Raft Of The Meadows (2014) on Lithuanian label NoBusiness records.Their music draws upon a varied pallet; at times it comes close to free jazz, at other times to experimental improvisation, while also referencing other styles such as minimalism, reductionism and ambient …
Luv / Kopfuberwelle
Sabine Vogel 'luv', and Chris Abrahams + Sabine Vogel 'kopfüberwelle'. Another split disc, presenting two aspects of the music of Berlin-based flautist - composer - improviser Sabine Vogel. The first half of the disc contains a solo composition created from recordings made by Sabine with Landscape Quartet, a group committed to improvisation in and with natural environments. The second half of the disc features an extended improvised performance by Sabine on flutes in duo with The Necks' Chris Ab…
Gardener
"Four hands on one piano" from the duo of pianist Chris Abrahams (The Necks) and Magda Mayas, both improvising in Berlin at the Vivaldi Saal performance space using their piano, harpsichord, and harmonium.
Memory night
Chris Abrahams' Memory Night is his third edition for Room40 - Play Scar and Thrown preceding this album. Widely recognised as the pianist for Australian liminal improvisation trio The Necks, Chris Abrahams' solo work etches out an entirely different universe. It's a place that is entirely his own, unashamedly unique and at times startling - yet always alluring. On Memory Night, Abrahams' expands his sonic palette, building on the uneasy frontiers of the highly regarded Play Scar. Never content …
We Who Had Left
Necks pianist Chris Abrahams teams up with electronic artist and sound artist Alessandro Bosetti for six introspective and mysterious tracks that mix Necks like progress with ambient electronics and curious monologs, and one waltz.The piano recital format number one: a pompous italian tenor, his round belly almost exploding inside his tuxedo, stands beside the gigantic grand piano, holding a hand on it while protruding forwards. Outside the stage, an imaginary oceanic audience is seated on hundr…
None Of Them Would Remember It That Way
Multi-reedist and sruti box player Lucio Capece and Necks keyboarist Chris Abrahams on FM synth recorded these thoughtful and thought-provoking improvised compositions over two years in Berlin. Limited edition of 300 copies
Oceanic Feeling - Like
It’s this musical whisper that is amplified on Oceanic Feeling-Like, as Italian based musician Mike Cooper and Australia’s Chris Abrahams unite for the first time to create what could be described as a picturesque horizon of melodic ocean swell. Stretching out wide, Oceanic Feeling-Like is generously coloured by Cooper’s unique approaches to the guitar and Abrahams' distinctive piano motions. Both bring a wealth of technique and improvised flare, creating a series of island-like compositions tha…
Thrown
Abrahams relentless and steady patterning started to metamorphose the nature of the piano, the upper chords sounding like a distant locomotive hoot, and then an accordion weaving in and out of a shimmering bank of flutes.