New Arrivals
Smolders / Delaere / Nijs
*300 copies limited release* In 2021 Nijs and Smolders started a series of free improvisations. Each came from a different background and wanted to explore musical horizons that they were not used to. As a next step they decided to record an album of composed tracks. The experimental platform shifted from long improv sessions to composition and structure, with the work of Delaere as a source of inspiration. The material of his work, the unevenness, the detail of pigments clashing, superimposing …
Cornos
A more upfront and streamlined proposition than last year's 'Dias da Aranha' on Souk, 'Cornos' is a reflection of Serpente's solo live apparitions throughout this last year. A cycle tainted by tragedies and a maze-like feeling of loss, 'Cornos' mirrors both the urge of overcoming and its ghostly remnants through five digressions that pulsate with crippled rhythmic symmetries and loner harmonic motifs. Maybe just the sound of moving on with broken legs.
Between Darkness & White Snow
Written, recorded and produced by Matti Bye in Fårö, Sweden 2022 The recordings were made on a 1926 Steinway Grand Piano through the EMS Synthi A, recorded onto tape with Nagra IV S. Photography by Matti Bye Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci at EnissLab, Rome“The prolific Swedish pianist and composer Matti Bye has long been associated with Northern Electronics, appearing on well-enumerated compilations and collaboration-rich works. This is the first time he presents his own full-length recording wit…
Spuren & Gegenworte
“Spuren & Gegenworte” began with a quasi-telepathic collaboration between KM and RW. Both recorded a track on May 3, 2021, from 8:00 PM to 8:10 PM. These recordings were subsequently transformed, combined, juxtaposed, and further modified over the course of several months, resulting in the completion of the four pieces on the CD. “Spuren & Gegenworte” can be translated as “traces & antonyms”, opening up a wide range of interpretations. “Traces” may refer to the remnants of the original sounds th…
Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Capricorn is the second album by Lawrence English and Werner Dafeldecker. Based on field recordings made by the prolific Room40 owner that were subtly but decisively altered with electroacoustic techniques through the German improv legend, these two long-form pieces blur the lines between acoustic ecology and aesthetic interventions, concrete local sound worlds and boundary-defying art. They put a focus on our relationship with nature as listeners as much as they call into question whe…
Jodo
*2023 stock* Takehiro Honda joins forces with Reggie Workman on bass and Motohiko Hino on drums in this outstanding trio session. The album showcases a freer side of Honda, exploring open and lyrical modes that were gaining prominence in Japan during that period. Despite the freedom, a strong rhythmic sense prevails. While one track features Honda on electric piano, the acoustic numbers stand out with a proud and righteous energy.
Straight Ahead
*Limited Edition* Immerse yourself in a delightful offering of Japanese jazz from the 70s, featuring a straight-ahead approach complemented by captivating fusion elements, courtesy of keyboardist Mikio Masuda, whose electrifying presence enhances most tracks. Tenor saxophonist Takao Uematsu leads the ensemble, with the added brilliance of trumpeter Hitoshi Okano, whose bold lines infuse the record with a touch reminiscent of Freddie Hubbard's CTI-era sensibility. While certain tracks exude a fun…
Shudan Seikatsu
*Limited Edition* Shoyuki Akedagawa is not only a pianist, but also an ocarina player, guitarist, and eventually a vocalist. Comical yet emotional. Melancholy in his humor. This is a masterpiece that explodes with Akutagawa's talent. Nakamura Masco gradually reveals his true nature, Umezu Kazutoki bursts out with his unique phrases without pause, and Miyasaka Takashi and Saito Makoto create dynamism like a big wave. All blend together to form a vortex that opens the door to the incomparable worl…
Aketa's Erotical Piano Solo & Grotesque Piano Trio
*Limited Edition* Pianist Shoji Aketagawa, the creative force behind the consistently unconventional Aketa's Disc label, presents an album with an unusual title that aligns with the label's distinctiveness. The material, while not explicitly erotic or grotesque, showcases Shoji's beautiful and robust notes on several solo tracks. The album takes a unique turn as Shoji collaborates with the trio on the final tune, offering a quality unlike any other artist we can think of. The piano, possessing t…
Tryangle
*2023 stock* From 1960 era, Hiroshi Yamazaki played with Masayuki Takayanagi, Kaoru Abe, Masabumi Kikuchi, and so on. He plays from standard Jazz to Freeform Improvisation by his original drum sounds and now he put the focus on this unit called Tryangle. Also bassist Nobuyoshi Ino played with Masayuki Takayanagi and Yamazaki from 60 era. Tryangle is the unsettled unit that drummer Yamazaki and bassist Ino invite unique guest musician. For example, Takayuki Kato (g), Masayo Koketsu (as), Sachi Ha…
Root
*2023 stock* Japanese prog. irregular time signature drum master, Tatsuya Yoshida and crazy beautiful jazz pianist, Dairo Suga met and improvised first time at the venue “7th Floor”, Tokyo on 2021. This CD is the all recorded memorable live performance then. The duo playing has a passion, a sense of speed, number of voices and mugginess ! Yoshida uses brushes ( unbelievable ! ) and singing by falsetto voice, and Suga send out a prog-rock-like phrase. They are getting closer to each other but don…
The Water Of Life
*75 copies limited edition* "The Water of Life" is something I started a long time ago, originally as part of a 2015 series that John Flannelly put together called "Mellow Monday" where artists performed long form sets right in Monument Circle, Indianapolis. People were invited to collaborate, although only one curious child actually did (as is often the case).
It was initially supposed to be, and still is, a Dune concept album. Although once they announced the new version of Dune, I mentally sh…
Yarrow Canon
*150 copies limited edition* "Most of the music I am attracted to represents some kind of undoing. Sun Ra's undoing of the big band, or of the jazz solo. Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern's undoing of the classical music concert. The A.A.C.M.'s undoing of the jazz combo and the club date. Pauline Oliveros' undoing of the musical score. Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry, and Cornelius Cardew's various undoings of the profession. What's more, none of these undoings are antagonistic or destructive. The thing u…
Glacial Anatomy / Cementation Anxiety Split
*50 copies limited edition* All Glacial Anatomy tracks produced, recorded, and mastered by Glacial Anatomy. All Cementation Anxiety material recorded between August and December 2022. Mixed and mastered by Kyle Nelson
Flying To The Sky
*2023 stock* Collaboration between Japanese pianist Takehiro Honda and German saxophonist Gerd Dudek. Recorded March 1, 1971
The Impossible Dream
Delve into the groovy sounds of a Japanese harp jazz trio led by Tadao Hayashi. Similar to Dorothy Ashby's small combo records, the trio, with Takao Kusagaya on bass and Koichi Suzaki on drums, maintains a lean approach. Hayashi's harp work, given ample space, weaves mesmerizing note combinations with a gentle groove, especially enhanced by skillful bass. Familiar tunes take on a fresh perspective, resonating strongly in this recording.
East Plants
*2023 stock* "A genuine ‘under the radar’ album known only to a handful of Japanese jazz collectors, ‘East Plants’ is now available once more, reissued as CD and digital formats. Originally released in 1983 on the Japanese VAP label, ‘East Plants’ is an essential album in the J Jazz canon. It’s an album that distils several key characteristics of Moriyama’s music: clearly articulated and inventive rhythms, open yet orderly arrangements, and an accessible groove balanced with a graceful control. …
Love Is An Excessive Thing
*100 copies limited edition* "Love is an excessive thing. Love is a sword which cuts both ways, in degrees that can’t be fully understood in the moment. nd is a project that celebrates, embodies, and wishes to spread light on the full extremity of love. This means understanding that sometimes what feels like love can hurt, can harm. We made this recording on a day that embodies that duality for us, Mother’s Day – in 2022, a year that stretched our limits and definitions of love.
Love is an exces…
a page is turned, a mountain collapses, a guy goes
*300 copies limited edition* Hailing from a jazz background and each collaborating in a variety of projects, Stefano Calderano, Francesco Panconesi and Nicholas Remondino have been teasing the boundaries of genres three years now under their trio act McCorman (formerly known for a while as Below-Fi). Stemming from the groundwork laid over the course of multiple creative residencies the trio held between 2019 and 2021, at their very debut full-length release McCorman carve a path drifting from fr…
The Depth of Rain
"My first day in China after two years away, I noticed a strange round object on the table - not only in appearance, but because it emitted musical notes, and my girlfriend literally doesn't listen to music. Ever. Further inquiry revealed it was a handmade version of a steel tongue drum, made by her uncle for her niece, in the hopes that she would not only learn about music, but learn to love it. Neither of those came to pass. But what remained was an object whose sounds I couldn't stop listenin…