Manop Nakornchai – นวล อัลบั้ม (Naul)

I was listening to the Swiss industrial music band The Young Gods perform their interpretation of Terry Riley’s “In C” when I decided to put on this album. Since it comes from Australia’s most interesting guitar improvisation label, Ramble Records, I expected it to be good, but I didn’t anticipate Continue Reading

Amirhossein Nazemzade , Ehsan Shayanfard – Mourners Project

Here are two new names from the improvisational music scene in Tehran, Iran, worth keeping an eye on – Amirhossein Nazemzade and Ehsan Shayanfard.  From their Bandcamp site: “Winter 2025 On a melancholic evening in a house in central Tehran, we performed an hour and fifteen minutes of improvisation with Continue Reading

eardrops – nightfall over concrete

Listening to some of the early masters of electroacoustic music and musique-concrète, it seemed that the goal of the music was to imitate the real world, and certainly, the masters like Pierre Henry, Pierre Schaeffer and François Bayle did so elegantly.  Now, in 2025, we have incredibly good digital recording Continue Reading

Jane in Ether – Oneiric

Jane In Ether is a trio composed of Miako Klein on recorders, Magda Mayas on piano, and Biliana Voutchkova on violin, who also utilizes her voice as an instrument. Their improvisational skills are remarkable, reminiscent at times of a more contemporary AMM or MEV. The sounds they create have an organic quality that swells and recedes Continue Reading

Sarah Hopkins & Alan Lamb – Sky Song

Until a few days ago, I was unaware of Sarah Hopkins and her remarkable work. She is regarded as a master in improvising with the cello and overtone singing, creating incredible soundscapes with her voice and instruments. In her recent album, she collaborated with the late Alan Lamb, known for Continue Reading

Helena Espvall / Ernesto Diaz-Infante / Marjorie Sturm – A Shadowed Fulguration

Thanks ever so much to Ernesto Diaz-Infante for alerting me to his latest release with percussionist and Nepalese flute player Marjorie Sturm (his spouse, if I am not mistaken) and cellist Helena Espvall. Musically, there is a gritty, lo-fi feel to the recordings, with the guitar sounding more like a Continue Reading

Hervé Perez and John Garner – Bell of Evening Skies

This has to be one of the first albums where the Shakuhachi plays a large role in improvised music that I’ve come across.  From the duo’s Bandcamp site: “This album is the first encounter between improvisers John Garner and Hervé Perez. We came across each other’s work through the jazz Continue Reading

Jeff Gburek – Madhuwanti

Madhuwanti is a collection of guitar instrumentals played sublimely by Jeff Gburek.  The title name itself comes from Hindustani music and can read about further here. The playing is as honey-like as the title implies.  How, you ask? Let the good man explain further at his Bandcamp site: “Madhu means Continue Reading

Barre Phillips – Ahoy!

The world of improvisational music lost one of its biggest icons a couple of days ago.  Barre Phillips, a bassist known for his being adaptable to any style, passed away on December 28.  He worked with legends like Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Bley, Archie Shepp, Peter Brötzmann (whom we also lost Continue Reading