"It's not easy living on the avant-garde edge of any art, let alone the always-changing world of jazz. But for nearly 50 years, the sound of Ornette Coleman has proven to be one of the most unorthodox -- and most influential -- in modern jazz.
Coleman's recordings -- like the just-released Sound Grammar -- still earn praise and challenge listeners. Yes, his music can sound raw and under-rehearsed. Yet generations of jazz fans have come to appreciate its peculiar and spontaneous beauty." Listen here
The Wire: "On this double CD containing two separate but related works, sound artist Gintas Kraptavicius organises dry moments into neat sets. Lengvai is a sequence of four tight compositions that allow complexity to emerge from small things but in a precise order. Working with a simple rangle of clicks, sinewaves, silences and repeated effects, Kraptavicius shows a remarkable facility for arranging the largest number of changes over the shortest periods of time. The accompanying work, composed entirely of a single 2kHz tone changing its time once every 60 seconds for an hour, follows a similar behavioural line. Even when hidden by the dirtiest hues, the time retains a luxurious gleam. You can only imagine how tidy this guy's bathroom looks."
The Wire: "Another strong release from a label dedicated to bringing out limited edition CD-Rs of high quality music packaged in uniform grey sleeves. Biotron Shelf are Murray Fisher and Wil Bolton, a UK based duo who are unafraid to explore the finely grained sensuality of sound. Over ten tracks neatly sequenced together, keyboards unfurl and sequencers swell; voices lifted off the TV and radio sputter and fade while big floating melodies rise over them. There's an abstract emotional roughness at work here, especially on darker offerings such as "Broken Transmission" and "Displacement", which is onlly enhanced by the clear and dramatic use of levels and fades throughout this bold production."
allmusic.com: "Usually a trio of drummer Eddie Prévost, saxophonist Lou Gare and guitarist Keith Rowe, AMM has explored the minimalist fringe of avant-garde chance operations and improvisational jazz since its inception in 1965. The group debuted with AMMMusic in 1967, and released two additional albums during the late '60s. Much more quiet during the following decade, AMM became jazz-oriented for a brief period when only Prévost and Gare remained. The addition of composer Cornelius Cardew, and frequent classical musicians (cellist Rohan de Saram, pianist John Tilbury), tilted the balance back towards classical minimalism." More
The new album from the Charalambides, now pared down to the original core duo of Christina Carter and Tom Carter.
The WIRE: "Here is a truly 21st century experimental ethnic music that explores quietness and stasis... in the same way that musicians in the second half of the 20th century discovered amplification, noise and speed." More
wikipedia.org: "An original member of New York's new-school pioneers the Ultramagnetic MCs, Thornton is best known as a solo rapper. His signature style is stream-of-consciousness lyrical flow and complex vocals, two skills that earn him a perennial nod from the underground hip-hop community. The average Kool Keith album is peppered with bizarre, disjointed, even delusional or disassociated themes, concepts, and references. Nearly all of his albums incorporate a satirical dislike for more commercialized strains of hip-hop, as well as major record labels." More
LISTEN to a track from Hiphop's premier streetwise scatologist, Dr Octagon. DOWNLOAD five exclusive tracks illustrating the history of British free music institution AMM. DOWNLOAD a track from New York's style-mashing Excepter's new album. VIEW a video clip of Ira Cohen's 1968 masterpiece Invasion Of Thunderbolt Pagoda.
The new album from the Charalambides, now pared down to the original core duo of Christina Carter and Tom Carter.