Emerging from the ethereal realms of sonic mastery, New Zealand’s most audacious experimental outfit, The Dead C, presents ‘DEUX NUITS A PARIS’, two complete live sets that ensnares and exemplifies their ever-evolving sonic journey. From the pulsating metaphysical city of Dunedin, the band - Bruce Russell, Michael Morley, and Robbie Yeats - became a testament to the country’s under ground music scene, stirring the waters with their unorthodox sound landscapes since the late ‘80s. Profoundly philosophical and unapologetically experimental, The Dead C gracefully brush strokes onto the canvas of sound that are those recordings. This double live album is not merely a recollection of a time and place but an exhibition of raw energy, spontaneous creativity, and the irreplaceable reverberations of improvisation and somehow, songs. The Dead C. places the listener at the center of a spiraling vortex of fractured guitar notes, sprawling feedback, cathartic drums manipulations and enigmatic, submerged lyrics -- a complete immersion into their aural architecture. Each night is a journey towards the unknown, challenging the listener to embrace the implicit tension between the familiar and the strange. Experiencing this double live recording which happened in Paris at the iconic venue LES INSTANTS CHAVIRES, is wading through streams of consciousness, where every moment springs forth a new sensory revelation, the echoes of sonic experimentation ricocheting off the walls of reality. The atmosphere thickens and lightens, enveloped in the three-piece’s enthralling ability to balance raw chaotic dissonance with a overwhelming overall flow of unfiltered expression. Decimation Sociale, 2024

On the occasion of improvisor and composer Wadada Leo Smith's exhibition Ankhrasmation: The Language Scores, 1967-2015 at Chicago's Renaissance Society, Corbett vs. Dempsey is pleased to present Red Chrysanthemums, a previously unreleased live recording of solo performances by Smith, documented in Los Angeles in December, 1977. Three adventurous, spacious tracks feature Smith's unique and innovative trumpet, as well as percussion, tuned percussion, and flute, all captured as Smith was in the process of confirming his place in the pantheon of AACM greats. A candid snapshot of one of the most vital musicians to extend the jazz tradition, testing his craft and artistry with a bright, pure toned sensibility and deeply soulful melodic imagination. Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet, flugelhorn, flute, steelophone, percussion, gongs

Discussing this impending studio date, the indefatigable saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and intrepid vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz decided to compose new pieces for one another. The resulting tracks – which also include a hallucinogenic arrangement of “Timeless,” dedicated to its composer, the recently deceased guitarist John Abercrombie – show a markedly different side of both musicians. Quiet, at times tender, this meeting-of-like-minds evoked a new kind of tension, not one birthed out of screams and wallops, but instead one marshaling the power of restraint. Gustafsson’s work with groups like the Thing and Fire! Orchestra have made him one of the most renowned figures in contemporary energy music, and Adasiewicz’s joyous noise in his own bands and with Peter Brötzmann, Rob Mazurek, and many others have likewise earned him top status in the pantheon of today’s free musicians. On Timeless, they explore low dynamics, static soundscape, and melodic lyricism, infused with passion and intellect. One track features the wooden-keyed African balafon, coaxing a buoyant response on alto from Gustafsson, while their mutual boyhood love of highly select fusion records provided an unforeseen jumping off point for the whole record. On the cover, a painting by Charline von Heyl; across the interior, a photo portrait of the musicians. Mats Gustafsson – alto, tenor and baritone saxophones Jason Adasiewicz – vibraphone and balafon Thanks to all at CvsD Thanks to Ken Vandermark for the excellent saxophones Thanks to John Corbett for an unusual alto saxophone Thanks to Clark Coolidge for the inspiration for titles Thanks John Abercrombie for all the music!Recorded October 1, 2017, by Alex Inglizian at Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago.

Long known as Cecil Taylor's most reliable and loyal colleague, alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons has a select discography as a leader, and among its best entries is Push Pull, originally issued by Hat Hut as a massive 3-LP set. Recorded during a single marathon performance at the Collective for Living Cinema in New York in 1978, Push Pull features five extended pieces, all by Lyons, with his working quintet that included his wife Karen Borca on bassoon, Hayes Burnett on bass, Munner Bernard Fennell on cello, and Roger Blank on drums. Jolting, quicksilver free jazz with terse themes and brilliant interplay, the music is quintessential Lyons – searching, pliant, and sincere. Remastered from the original tapes, this first reissue of Push Pull compiles the original tracks – two of which were split to accommodate the 20-minute limit of LP – into their original full length, fitting the whole program onto two CDs, lovingly repackaged featuring the original Klaus Baumgärtner cover. 1. Mary Mary (32:50) 2. After You Left A (15:55) 3. After You Left B (6:55) 4. Tortuga (17:40) 5. Push Pull (14:30) 6. Breakout (21:30) Jimmy Lyons, alto saxophone Karen Borca, bassoon Hayes Burnett, bass Munner Bernard Fennell, cello Roger Blank, drums Compositions by Jimmy Lyons. Recorded by Karen Borca, May 6, 1978 at the Collective for Living Cinema, New York.

Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson might have a separate discography for his solo records. He's investigated the possibilities of unaccompanied reed music from almost every angle. Presented with the opportunity to make a new solo record under the isolation of the pandemic, Gustafsson returned to a project he'd conceptualized but never realized: the playing-card pieces of Peter Brötzmann. Although these Fluxus-like prompts are better known through the two card sets the German saxophonist created in the 1990s, which resulted in two CDs with his Chicago Tentet, Images and Signs (both released on Okka Disk), Brötzmann had in fact been using cards since the 1970s. Recording in his home studio in Nickelsdorf, Austria, Gustafsson used two of these sets of compositional prompts, one designed for the ICP Tentet and another intended as a spur for Brötzmann's own solo work. The instrumentation on Naja includes the entire saxophone family from sopranino to bass, as well as a piece for mouthpieces; this is also a rare opportunity to hear Gustafsson play more than one horn at the same time, a Roland Kirk move that he'd long ago sworn off but was prompted to do by the cards. In addition to nine pieces using the cards, Gustafsson played one non-card composition from Brötzmann's solo FMP LP 14 Love Poems. Stunningly mixed and mastered by Martin Siewert, with liner notes by Gustafsson, photos of the card boxes and the first photograph of Gustafsson and Brötzmann. Cover art, as on all Black Cross Solo Sessions CDs, by Christopher Wool.Two boxes and a composition1. Box 1 part 1 bass sax [5:43]2. Box 1 part 2 bass sax [5:31]3. Box 1 part 3 sopranino and soprano sax, 4 sax mouthpieces [3:24]4. Box 1 part 4 baritone sax [8:05]5. Box 1 part 5 baritone sax [5:22]6. Alto sax nr 3 alto sax [4:49]7. Box 2 part 1 baritone sax [0:35]8. Box 2 part 2 soprano, alto, baritone and bass sax [9:58]9. Box 2 part 3 bass sax [6:01]10. Box 2 part 4 baritone sax [3:54]Mats Gustafsson – sopranino, soprano, alto, baritone, and bass saxophones; saxophone mouthpieces Track 6 by Peter Brötzmann (FMP – publishing/GEMA); tracks 1-5 and 7-10 by Mats Gustafsson (STIM/NcB). Recorded Dec 14-16, 2020, by Olof Madsen at Discaholic Studios, Nickelsdorf. Mixed and mastered December 17 and 18, 2020, by Martin Siewert, Vienna. Cover design and artwork by Christopher Wool. CD design by David Khan-Giordano. Produced by John Corbett and Christopher Wool. Thanx to Connor Bennett for creating a masterful alto sax mouthpiece. Special thanx to Peter Brötzmann. Special thanx to Christopher Wool. CvsDCD087

A classic mid-1970s outing from the Schlippenbach Quartett. Partially released on CD (tracks 2 & 3 only) as part of the massive FMP retrospective box, this is the only in-print edition of this crucial LP. "On all 3 'live' pieces, one experiences the unrelenting intensity (even during quiet sections) that this quartet exudes. Schlippenbach is in sublime form, his two-fisted attacks pushing the pianos to their limits. Parker rips, tears and growls. His feature piece, 'Black Holes,' being an early example of his circular breathing techniques on soprano sax, which he uses to create piercing split tone walls. And Kowald and Lovens thrust and push, laying down textures as well rhythms." - Milo Fine, Sweet Potato --- Evan Parker / soprano & tenor saxophoneAlexander von Schlippenbach / pianoPeter Kowald / double bassPaul Lovens / percussion --- Side A (track 1) recorded live by Michael Krause on June 2nd, 1974, at the 3rd New Jazz Festival Moers. Side B (tracks 2 & 3) recorded live by Jost Gebers on February 2nd, 1975, at the Quartier Latin in Berlin.

The untold early history of Amsterdam's seminal collective. Founded in 1967 by three of European free music's leading lights – pianist Misha Mengelberg, drummer Han Bennink, and saxophonist and clarinetist Willem Breuker – the Instant Composers Pool (ICP) was simply one of the most important vehicles for experimentation and improvisation in the history of creative music. Culling ideas and materials from jazz, modern and contemporary classical music, Fluxus, traditional music from the Balkans and elsewhere, as well as avant-garde theater, ICP was ahead of the pack in numerous ways, presenting a kind of irony-tinged, amalgamated version of free and structured improvisation – or instant composition – that would be a hallmark of subsequent movements in New York's downtown scene and elsewhere in Europe in decades to follow. Based on twenty years of deep research, Incipient ICP (1966-71) picks up the story just before the group's foundation, with previously unreleased recordings of groups led by Mengelberg in 1966, among them a performance of their notorious piece "Viet Cong," with Breuker joining the Mengelberg Quartet. The only tracks in this 2-disc set that have been commercially released – and only on the enormous 53-disc box set – come from studio sessions in 1967, featuring a mid-sized band with German trumpeter Manfred Schoof as special guest. These beautifully recorded tracks suggest the dichotomy between projects led by Mengelberg (two pieces) and those led by Breuker (four pieces), a schism that would grow until Breuker left the band in the mid 1970s to found his own group, the Willem Breuker Kollektief. Three more tracks led by Mengelberg in 1969 feature American keyboardist and composer Frederic Rzewski, as well as an incredible spotlight on Frans Brüggen's unusual amplified double-bass recorder. The final suite comes from a 1971 date led by Breuker, sans Mengelberg and Bennink. Moving more toward his Kolletief concept, Breuker leads a drumless quintet through his own cabaret-inflected pieces – featuring Lodewijk de Boer's hardcore electric viola and brother Peter Bennink's alto and soprano saxophone – as well as Albert Ayler's "Angels." The deluxe package sports contemporaneous photos of the players by Pieter Boersma. CD 1 1. Session No. 1 (Mengelberg/10:31) Eddie Engels, trumpet; Alfred Smit, trombone; Theo Loevendie, soprano saxophone; Piet Noordijk, alto saxophone; Willem Brekuer, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Misha Mengelberg, piano; Rob Langereis, bass; Han Bennink, drums. Recorded 1966, pre-ICP. 2. Viet Cong (Mengelberg/11:32) Willem Breuker, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute; Piet Noordijk, alto saxophone; Misha Mengelberg, piano; Victor Kaihatu, bass; Han Bennink, drums, percussion, swanee whistle. Recorded December 13, 1966, at Misha Mengelberg’s Wessel Ilcken Prize ceremony. 3. Die Berge Schützen die Heimat (Mengelberg/9:06) 4. Jump Italiano (Mengelberg/5:43) Instant Composers Pool; Manfred Schoof, cornet and flugelhorn; Gilius van Bergeijk, oboe; Theo Loevendie, soprano saxophone; Willem Breuker, bass clarinet, clarinet; Maarten van Regteren Altena, bass; Misha Mengelberg, piano; Han Bennink, drums. Recorded June 19, 1967. 5. Adebar der Geheimnisvolle (Breuker/8:18) 6. Piano Distance (Breuker/5:27) 7. Before Og 15 Kir (Breuker/9:56) 8. September Song (Loevendie/13:12) Instant Composers Pool; Manfred Schoof, trumpet; Willem Breuker, bass clarinet; Lodewijk de Boer, viola; Hasso van der Westen, viola; Henry Ronde, steel drum; Maarten van Regteren Altena, bass; Arjen Gorter, bass, accordion; Misha Mengelberg, piano, toy instruments; Han Bennink, drums. Recorded July 19 and August 25, 1967. CD 2 1. HRRG II (Mengelberg/3:38) 2. STCH Shuffle (Mengelberg/3:20) 3. ICP 4 14 Write Your Own Part (Mengelberg/4:52) Instant Composers Pool; Misha Mengelberg, piano; Frederic Rzewski, electronics, mini tape recorder into megaphone, piano, organ; Willem Breuker, bass clarinet; Peter Bennink, alto & tenor saxophone; Frans Brüggen, amplified double-bass recorder; Willem van Manen, trombone; Bert Koppelaar, trombone; Erik van Lier, bass trombone; Arjen Gorter, bass; Han Bennink, drums, tap dance. Recorded April 14, 1969. 4. Four Tempi Match (Brekuer/4:57) 5. Siep (Sybren Polet) (Brekuer/13:52) 6. New Alto (Breuker/7:07) 7. Angels (Albert Ayler/4:52) 8. Langlauf Song (Breuker/3:06) 9. Trammermusik (Breuker/15:10) Instant Composers Pool; Willem van Manen, trombone; Peter Bennink, alto and soprano saxophone; Willem Breuker, soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone, clarinet; Lodewijk de Boer, electric viola; Maarten van Regteren Altena, bass. Recorded July 4, 1971, at Theater Hot, Den Haag, Netherlands. Photos by Pieter Boersma. Design by David Khan-Giordano. Under license from the Instant Composers Pool and Olga Zuiderhoek. Tracks 3-8 on CD 1 first issued as ICP 000 in the 54-disc box set Instant Composers Pool (ICP 1275-1, 2012); tracks 1-3 on CD 2 first issued on The Dutch Jazz Scene (promotional 7-LP box, Radio Nederland, 1969). Remaining tracks previously unissued. Special thanks to Susanna von Canon. Prepared for release by Alex Inglizian, Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago. Design by David Khan-Giordano. Under license from the Instant Composers Pool and Olga Zuiderhoek. Produced by John Corbett.

Second LP in the catalog of German guitarist and instrument inventor Hans Reichel (1949-2011), a program of microtonal string investigations that is still beguiling and fresh four decades later. Originally released by FMP in 1976, with a hilarious cover by Reichel himself. Never before available on CD, remastered from original tapes, packaged with gatefold and tip-on cover reprinting the original design. Like Reichel's debut, a super-rare slice of musical otherness.

Subtitled “some more guitar solos,” Bonobo Beach was German guitarist and instrument inventor Hans Reichel’s fourth and final record of solo guitar works. After this record, Reichel would turn much of his attention to the bowed wooden-tongued instrument he created called the daxophone. Reichel recorded the six tracks at his home in Wuppertal in April, 1981, and in the process made what might be his masterpiece. These are not just some more guitar solos. Concentrating largely on acoustic guitar with no frets as well as his electric pick-behind-the-bridge guitar, he transforms tones into crystalline formations – patience with resonances, attention to silence, formation of symmetries around a common sonic point, jetting notes that arc and spread and then hover. One might look for other references to describe what Reichel is up to – the magic of Terje Rypdal, the aura of early William Ackerman, the eccentric multiple pickups of Fred Frith – but really this is unique in guitar repertoire.Reichel built his instruments as tools for improvised exploration, and then he dove deep into them, never so far as on tracks like “Could Be Nice” or the quivering “Southern Monologue,” or the two brilliant versions of the title track, “Bonobo Beach.” On “Two small pieces announced by a cigar-box,” the titular box is bowed in a vocal manner that portends Reichel’s development of the daxophone. This CD reissue, licensed directly from FMP, restores Reichel’s original artwork and design for the LP, as well as an amusing insert tracking the development of his guitars from 1972-1981. A beautiful, essential document from one of the great outsider guitarists of all time. Limited edition of 500 copies. Southern Monoluge (6:00 minutes) Bonobo Beach II (4:30 minutes) Could Be Nice (9:20 minutes) Two Small Pieces Announced by Cigar-box a) (3:00 minutes) b) (3:45 minutes) Bonobo Beach I (7:45 minutes) Could Be Nice Too (5:30 minutes)Fretless Spanish guitar on piece 1; 6-string guitar with extra frets on the covering board on piece 4; 12-string guitar with extra frets on the covering board on pieces 2 and 5; electric pick-behind-the-bridge-guitar on pieces 3 and 6; everything taped as played. Recorded April 1981 in Wupperlal.Compositions, recording, pictures and design by Hans Reichel.CvsDCD094

Originally released on FMP in 1973, this is the debut LP by legendary German guitar improvisor and instrument inventor Hans Reichel (1949-2011), a resonant and hilarious document of the nascent genius, recording his peculiar and wondrous music alone in a studio. Acoustic and unfiltered electric guitars turned back into the supremely malleable instruments they were before they'd been firmly encoded as tools for rock or pop or jazz. Reichel is like an improvising Harry Partch, investigating the genesis of lute music. Never before available on CD, remastered from original tapes, packaged lovingly with a gatefold and tip-on cover, reprinting the original design, which was by Reichel. 1. Wenn das Rohr Dommeit (4:04) 2. Lupi (0:27) 3. Wichlinghauser Blues (6:40) 4. Krampfhandlungen 1st Version (5:45) 5. Allegro (3:20) 6. Krampfhandlungen 2nd Version (7:08) 7. Abendlied (4:17) 8. Alfons “Al” Piepenbrink & his Lonely Wah-Wah Pedal (1:38) 9. Shaved Guitar (3:26) 10. Schlafflied (3:41) Hans Reichel, guitar All compositions by Hans Reichel. Remark: All tunes have been taped as played (indeed). A homemade 11-string guitar (3 pickups) has been used for all tunes except the first one. LP originally released on FMP (FMP 0150, 1973). Recorded by Joachim Ehrig between April and June 1973, at home, at Youth-Center Hagen-Haspe, and at EROC-Studios in Hagen. LP produced by Jost Gebers. LP design by Hans Reichel. Photographs by Ulf Wolf and Dagmar Gebers. CD mastering by Olaf Rupp. CD design by David Giordano. Publication editor, Corbett vs. Dempsey, Emily Letourneau. CD produced by John Corbett.

In his upstate NY secret laboratory, home-based in Poughkeepsie, Joe McPhee diligently documented his activities throughout the '70s, with the help of Craig Johnson, the producer who started CjR as an outlet for McPhee's music. Among the unreleased tapes waxed in that span, Alone Together is unique and especially beautiful. Like Sound on Sound (released by Corbett vs. Dempsey in 2010), these recordings make use of multitrack recording, overdubbing McPhee upon McPhee, however where those earlier recordings had an experimental tendency, the Alone Together tracks were more compositional in nature, allowing the multi-instrumentalist to build and sculpt each piece, creating complete wind ensembles one track at a time. In 1974 and then again in a longer session in 1979, McPhee recorded in concise solo, duo, and trio contexts, and in more extensive brass and reed quartets – all McPhee, all the time. Going head-to-head with the best of the saxophone foursomes of the era, McPhee is a one-man-WSQ, his probing investigations and lyrical statements as incisive and insightful as those of his best-known recordings. McPhee's own enthusiasm for these never-before-heard recordings betrays their significance in his large and ever-mounting discography. Corbett vs. Dempsey is honored, after so long, to finally make them available.

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGA SideUnmounted / Muted Noun, 2019for organ AND 4 pre-recorded tracks Commissioned by Musica Festival Strasbourg for Hampus Lindwall B SIDENagro (aka - Organ), 2007for organ and tape Tape material was recorded May 1, 2007 at the Joseph Gatto Organ (1787) in Sankt Kirchberg am Wagram, Austria by Emanuel Schmelzer-ZirHAMPUS LINDWALL, ORGANRecorded in presence of the composer by Frédéric Alstadt September 23, 2019 at the Manufacture d’orgues Thomas & Orgelbau Klais organ in the Collégiale Sainte-Waudru, Mons, Belgium.

Of all the never-issued-on-CD items in history’s dustbin, A Well-Kept Secret is perhaps the most egregious. The beautiful studio recording, made under the watchful ear of über- producer Hal Willner, was first issued on LP in 1985 on Willner’s own Shemp label. With its unconventional lineup featuring steel drums, Latin percussion, and French horns, along with the co-leaders’ drum-kit and piano, it is among the most wonderful outings of its decade. Pullen was in top form, his inside-outside approach to the keyboard perhaps optimally heard on the exuberant “Double Arc Jake,” where the bright melody suddenly breaks into pieces, snapping back into miraculous shape. The band includes Hamiet Bluiett on baritone saxophone and Ricky Ford on tenor saxophone, along with Buster Williams on bass, Francis Hayes on steel pans, and a special brass section led by Sharon Freeman on the 17-minute “Goree.” All compositions by Harris and Pullen. With the original cover design by Ralph Steadman reproduced in all its glory, the CD was remastered from unplayed vinyl, as the tapes were destroyed in a fire. This is one of the classic records of creative music in the ‘80s, available for the first time in any digital form. Beaver Harris, drums Don Pullen, piano Hamiet Bluiett, baritone saxophone Ricky Ford, tenor saxophone Buster Williams, bass Francis Haynes, steel drums Candido, percussion (1) Sharon Freeman, Willie Ruff, Bill Warnick, Greg Williams, french horn

The long out-of-print first solo record by American violinist Billy Bang (1947-2011), recorded in 1979 and first released on Hat Hut Records, featuring his own compositions, extrapolated at length in the intimate live concert, as well as traditional and improvised material. Remastered from original tapes and augmented by newly discovered recordings from the same concert. Part of the large cache of historical Hat Hut records that Corbett vs. Dempsey continues to release. Original cover, reprinted in all its glory with a tip-on gatefold. Classic American creative music on CD for the first time!

From David GrubbsThis recording documents Manuel Mota’s and my first public performance as a duo. We had played together previously for a recording session—a relaxed afternoon at Lisbon’s ZDB, where I recall zoning out, guitar in my hands, watching the endless throng of people Sunday-strolling past the plate glass window next to the stage. That deeply pleasurable afternoon session felt like a live accompaniment to a film.This recording also documents, for the both of us, a first indoor collaborative performance since the beginning of the pandemic. It felt familiar—I do remember how to do these things—and yet upped in its intensity of focus, and afterward that much more imprinted in memory, even prior to sitting down with this recording. It seemed I could have narrated it after the fact, its various twists and turns, which is not often the case for me with improvised concerts, details of which often vanish—to return who knows when—or transform into a series of disconnected impressions.One of the things that I love about Manuel’s playing is that as a listener I quickly abandon my search for the logics of continuity that apply to most performers. With Manuel I rarely feel that I anticipate the shape of a given phrase in the time of its unfolding—as a duo we’re definitely not finishing one another’s sentences—nor do I sense that I’m tracking larger structures in the making to serve as signposts for the performance as a whole. The two of us first met more than a decade ago, but throughout many conversations we haven’t spent much time speaking analytically about playing, never really compared notes from inside. It’s not that we’ve chosen not to talk about music, or that there’s a barrier or unspoken ideology to doing so. There’s always something else to talk about.This concert took place in the Biblioteca Municipal of Barreiro, a smaller city to the southeast of Lisbon across the Tejo River estuary. “Na margem sul” means “on the south bank,” and is commonly used to refer to the area south of the Tejo. For a first time returning in many months to playing in an indoor setting, the library seemed an especially welcoming location.

Acclaimed NYC experimental musician Lea Bertucci explores dissonance, drone and dynamics with two new longform compositions for strings, electronics, harp and percussion on "Of Shadow and Substance". “More so than any of my other music, I don’t feel that these works belong to me,” Bertucci writes. “There is something about them that is beyond myself as an individual and provides, if anything, a brief glimpse into what it is to be human in what feels like these waning days of the Anthropocene.” Working with instrumentation in the ancient “just intonation” tuning structure (in which notes are spaced exclusively at whole-number ratios of frequencies) and a textural approach to composition, even commonly-heard timbres such as cello, harp and double bass in Of Shadow and Substance are afforded a sense of deep, ancestral knowing. The record opens with “Vapours”, whose contemplative, semi-improvisational, interflowing lines of acoustic instrumentation swell and expand like the passage of time, as if revealing an ancient, eternal memory, old as humanity itself. Its spacious, mutable open strings and droning harmonies do not favour a soloist or even any single melody, but instead blur and coalesce into one entity, drifting from consonance to discordance in harmonic clusters. A dizzying middle section gives rise to a sense of panic, pulling the strands of languid, drifting vapours into a volatile tumult before resettling into a misty, atmospheric trance-state. Bertucci writes: “A “vapor” is a molecule that exists on the verge between a liquid, gaseous or solid state, and the archaic term “vapours” was a pseudo-scientific term to diagnose types of hysteria in women.” The piece was commissioned and performed by Italy’s Quartetto Maurice, who were prompted to visualize vapours in air and to meditate on hysteric fits as they play, while Bertucci controls the sonic space with subtle processing and spatial mixing. The latter half of the album - just as moving and evocative - comprises the composition “Of Shadow and Substance” for double bass, cello, harp, percussion and electronics commissioned by the Philadelphia creative foundation ARS Nova Workshop and performed by Henry Fraser, Lester St. Louis, Lucia Stravros and Matt Evans. “This piece measures the accumulation of events over glacial periods of time as a metaphor for social and environmental shifts,” Bertucci tells us. “It is a meditation on time travel, asking the listener to consider the way events from the past propel themselves into the future.” Its construction reflects the strange concertina of time we find in recorded history, suspended densely in the moveable center of an empty space. Using experimental mixing techniques, Bertucci loops and layers fragments of the performance in real-time, resulting in a diffuse, swirling, self-referential mass of experience, both familiar and metamorphic. Lea Bertucci is a New York-based artist, composer and performer whose work describes relationships between acoustic phenomena and biological resonance. In addition to her longstanding practice with woodwind instruments, her work incorporates multichannel speaker arrays, radical methods of free improvisation and creative misuses of audio technology applied to field recording and sampling/collage techniques. Her discography spans over a decade, with eight full-length solo albums and a number of collaborative projects. In 2021 she founded her own imprint, Cibachrome Editions, to focus on releasing her own music. The title "Of Shadow and Substance" is a reference to an episode of cult TV favourite The Twilight Zone. Available in limited edition of 500 vinyl, CD and digital download. A special edition of 25 will include hand bound prints of graphic scores to both pieces.