***“Amirtha Kidambi and Lea Bertucci have fast become pillars of the avant-garde landscape, wunderkinds carving out an indelible mark by pulling from jazz, free-improv and electroacoustic sounds. Considering both performers have navigated New York’s experimental music underground with creative aplomb, it’s fitting they’d join forces for Phase Eclipse. Kidambi’s magical, off-the-cuff vocals fed through Bertucci’s tape and electronic gizmos results in a Technicolor slab of squeals, howls, grunts and whispers that dizzies the senses. And while the recording’s completely free-form, there’s a scientific precision to the four exploratory studio improvisations and the 24-minute live track that make up the program. A sound artist of the highest order, Bertucci’s blender-like treatment of the human voice provides moments of cathartic beauty that quickly can transform into earsplitting dissonance, the quiet/loud dynamic in full effect on “Smoldering, Seething” and “Brood.” Both pieces begin with calm, séance-like chanting before flying off the rails with jolting, playful intensity. Phase Eclipse is a clinic in psychedelic shapeshifting from two of today’s premier improvisers, so let’s hope it’s not a one-off.”—Brad Cohan, Downbeat
LP $19.95
06/25/2021
***BACK IN STOCK!!! The first record as CHICAGO UNDERGROUND QUARTET in 19 years, since the self titled record on Thrill Jockey in 2001! Features original Chicago Underground Quartet members ROB MAZUREK, JEFF PARKER & CHAD TAYLOR with JOSH JOHNSON (of Parker's NEW BREED band) as the new fourth member.
LP $19.95
08/07/2020
CD $11.00
04/10/2020
MP3 $7.92
08/07/2020
FLAC $8.99
03/27/2020
***Sophomore release from this Chicago supergroup with master drummer HAMID DRAKE!
LP $19.95
06/19/2020
MP3 $7.99
06/19/2020
FLAC $8.99
04/17/2020
***BACK IN STOCK!!! The first vinyl release (and third album) from the CHARLES RUMBACK piano trio! You may know Charles from his work with Ryley Walker, Colorlist, and more—this is one of the most beautiful piano trios you'll hear in a long times. Shades of Vince Guaraldi and more.
LP $19.95
06/19/2020
MP3 $7.99
06/19/2020
FLAC $8.99
04/10/2020
***The debut release from this electro-acoustic trio comprised of CHRIS COGBURN, IGNAZ SCHICK and JUAN GARCIA. Recorded by Schick at Anahuac 33 in Mexico City, May 22, 2016.
CD $11.00
02/14/2020
MP3 $7.99
02/14/2020
FLAC $8.99
02/14/2020
MP3 $7.99
02/14/2020
FLAC $8.99
02/14/2020
***First release from this EU/Japan based trio of TETUZI AKIYAMA, NICOLAS FIELD & GREGOR VIDIC.
CD $11.00
11/15/2019
***Debut release from the long running Chicago trio of QUIN KIRCHNER (drums), DANIEL VAN DUERM (keyboards) and MATTHEW LUX (bass). Features super special guest JAIMIE BRANCH (trumpet) on one track as well!
LP $17.75
11/15/2019
MP3 $7.99
11/15/2019
FLAC $8.99
11/15/2019
***Recordings taken from the trio's European tour of 2018. Initially planed as a Euro tour for the JOSH BERMAN TRIO—JOSH BERMAN, JASON ROEBKE and FRANK ROSALY. Unfortunately, Rosaly became unavailable, but luckily for everyone the incredible PAUL LYTTON was able to sub and create an entirely different and incredible trio.
LP $17.75
11/01/2019
***Toronto based multi-instrumentalist COLIN FISHER leads a quartet featuring DANIEL CARTER, BRANDON LOPEZ and MARC EDWARDS.
CD $11.00
11/01/2019
***BACK IN STOCK!!! "Absolutely thrilled to unveil the first release from the first time trio of legends SUSAN ALCORN, JOE McPHEE & KEN VANDERMARK. Invitation To A Dream is not only the first recorded statement, it is also a document of the very first meeting of the trio. Back in 2016 we asked Alcorn & McPhee to play a duo set at our favorite festival Cropped Out in Louisville, KY, and after getting our minds blown we knew we had to get the duo into a studio to record an album. After a few failed attempts due to schedules and bad timing, the stars finally aligned a year later to bring them to the Sonic Transmissions Festival in Austin, TX. In the time between Cropped Out and Sonic Transmissions I had this idea in the back of my head that Ken Vandermark's clarinet playing would really sit nicely between McPhee's tenor and Alcorn's pedal steel—and once again the stars (and schedules) aligned to create the trio you hear on this record. This is an absolutely beautiful record that I think will even surprise folks who are familiar with the three musicians—all we can hope is that this isn't the last we'll hear from the trio."
LP $17.75
08/16/2019
MP3 $9.90
08/23/2019
FLAC $11.99
08/23/2019
***RODRIGO AMADO (tenor saxophone), CHRIS CORSANO (drums). Recorded by JOACHIM MONTE at Manouche Sudios, Lisbon, July 14th, 2014.
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $7.99
08/16/2019
FLAC $8.99
08/16/2019
***BURTON GREENE (piano), DAMON SMITH (double bass), RA KALAM BOB MOSES (drums, percussion). Recorded by ERIC ZINMAN, October 7th, 2017 at the Lily Pad in Cambridge, MA. Mixed & mastered by WEASEL WALTER.
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $7.99
08/16/2019
FLAC $8.99
08/16/2019
***Outrageous. Rabid. Explosive. #WTF? Whatever words you throw at BORBETOMAGUZ saxophonist JIM SAUTER and ONEIDA / MAN FOREVER drummer KID MILLIONS, they’ll chomp ‘em up and respond with a gargantuan roar to expunge all notions of what a horn and skins can do. The duo’s prior albums were built of tightly, clustered bursts and barbed assaults. On Safe & Sane, Sauter and Millions eschew brevity for ultra-endurance. The opening “Chrysanthemum,” clocks in at 32 minutes and continues on Side B before a final 12-minute avalanche that is “Falling Spiders.” Sauter’s blowhole is jacked straight into a battery of electronics and amplification. He summons the reedy, shifting drones of the hurdy-gurdy or Hendrix’s scree, and spits forth monstrous overtones. Those sheets-of-sound Coltrane chased after—it’s here. Millions doesn’t even attempt to nail down the flow. He’s egging it on with rapid rolls and polyrhythmic propulsion that smears the line of fire/energy music—think classics like Black Beings—and primitive punk fury. At times, it’s as if Millions is outrunning Sauter’s tornado of multi-channel horns but he never gets sucked in. Rather, he pounds holes and slices cracks across the landscape for the reed streams to slip inside.
LP $17.75
08/16/2019
***Desert Encrypts Volume 1, is a two-part suite based on observations from the desert in and around Marfa, TX. It also explores ROB MAZUREK's ongoing fascination with social, psychological, and physiological structures, both terrestrial and extra-terrestrial. The composition includes written music and graphic scores for improvisation. For Desert Encrypts Vol. 1 Mazurek has put together an awe-inspiring new ensemble featuring KRIS DAVIS on piano, INGEBRIGT HAKER FLATEN on bass & CHAD TAYLOR on drums. Recorded live at the Crowley Theater in Marfa, TX during Mazurek's inaugural Desert Encrypts Festival in August 2018, Desert Encrypts Vol. 1 captures the quartet burning through Mazurek's newest compositions like they've been playing together for years (to be fair some of them have been playing together for years).
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $9.90
08/16/2019
FLAC $11.99
08/16/2019
***Love Waves Ecstatic Charge uses visual material to construct sonic architecture. The visuals are one hundred and six still images taken from an experimental video which was initially shot when ROB MAZUREK was in residency at Abbaye Royal de Fontevraud, France, 2005. Upon his return from the residency he discovered the camera broken and barely operational other than the fact of being able to extract frame by frame 106 distorted still images and fragmented skipping sound that would on occasion burst through. This material sat untouched for numerous years until recently, whereupon a reinvestigation of the material had such a depth of feeling to it that he used these images and sound to start to construct sonic pieces based on color shifts, granulation, bursts, shape, distortion, texture and finally text. The text is an affirmation of Life and Breathing, Love and Ecstatic Charge, the constant shifts that occur in daily life creating Waves of Joy and Sorrow and everything in between. Other Sound was eventually collected from various sources, specifically in and around Mies van der Rohe's iconic Farnsworth house in Plano, IL and processed through modular synth and computer. Some of this sound can be heard inside the film he made in collaboration with filmmaker Lee Ann Schmitt titled: The Farnsworth Scores.
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $9.90
08/16/2019
FLAC $11.99
08/16/2019
***In Spring of 2017, Experimental Sound Studio (ess.org) presented Psychotropic Electric Eel Dream IV, a four-channel sound composition for the ESS Florasonic sound installation series at Lincoln Park Conservatory Chicago. The installation was in conjunction with ROB MAZUREK's solo exhibition "The Shaping Light" (ess.org/esscalendar/2017/3/12/opening-the-shaping-light) at ESS's Audible Gallery. What you hear in the Fern Room is Psychotropic Electric Eel Dream IV by composer, musician, and visual artist, Rob Mazurek. The sounds in this composition were generated by electric eels at the National Institute of Research and Technology in Manaus, Brazil. Mazurek recorded them between 2000 and 2008, and has since used them in several music compositions, recordings, and installations. In this iteration of the work, he combines them with analog/digital synthesis to create an undulating and radiant sonic texture. By placing the sounds in loudspeakers overhead, our typical relationship to the eels is reversed: they are above us, not underwater, and we can imagine ourselves submerged.
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $9.90
08/16/2019
FLAC $11.99
08/16/2019
***At the behest of two close musician friends, Chicago guitarist Steve Marquette and New Orleans trombonist Jeff Albert, a seed was planted to pair JAMES SINGLETON (bass) in a “first meeting” with CHARLES RUMBACK's working trio with saxophone titan GREG WARD and intrepid piano player JIM BAKER at the 2017 edition of the Instigation Festival—a sort of Chicago/NOLA free (jazz?) trade agreement founded by Marquette celebrating the century-plus cross-pollination of the two storied jazz cities. What transpires on Cadillac Turns are off-the-cuff, live versions of some of Rumback’s finest compositions rendered anew by the Crescent City bounce that SIngleton is known far and wide for. The inherent X factor that James brings to the date is only heightened by the fact that he was reading Rumback’s charts for the first time on the bandstand, bringing new blooms to seeds planted so long ago.
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $7.99
08/16/2019
FLAC $8.99
08/16/2019
***PATRICK SHIROISHI (saxophones), VINNY GOLIA (saxophones), DYLAN FUJIOKA (drums), ALEX CLINE (drums & percussion). Recorded on the 7th of October, 2018 by SAMUR KHOUJA at Seahorse Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA. Mixed and Mastered by FELIX SALAZAR.
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $7.99
08/16/2019
FLAC $8.99
08/16/2019
***PAT THOMAS (Moog Theramin / electronics), JOHN BUTCHER (saxophones), STALE LIAVIK SOLBERG (drums / percussion). Recorded in concert at Iklectik, "Old People's Yard," London, July 19, 2017.
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $7.99
08/16/2019
FLAC $8.99
08/16/2019
***"On June 11, 2017, JEB, TONY and Imet on a warm June afternoon at the home of the Pioneer Valley Jazzshares presenters, Glenn Siegel and Priscilla Page, in Northampton, MA. Playing a Jazzshares concert always has a really lovely vibe, super warm and community-centric. The ticket model is such that the audience buys a season of shows in advance and, as a result, the room is full. Before the gig and after, collegial conversation, delicious food and drink are the norm. It’s one of my very favorite gigs in North America for sure. The music on this recording crackles with that alive-ness and warmth."
CD $11.00
08/16/2019
MP3 $7.92
08/16/2019
FLAC $8.99
08/16/2019
Astral Spirits is proud to present the debut release from the new duo Crazy Bread, which is Ryley Walker (yes, that Ryley Walker) and Max Allison (Mukqs, Good Willsmith, Hausu Mountain). Vocoder Divorce was recorded in one day without any overdubs and entirely from guitar & a cassette deck. Max Allison describes the process and end results of said session, "All of the sessions on this tape were recorded live and are presented as is without overdubs. For this recording, Ryley plays guitar and pedals, and I'm playing a cassette deck from which I play back and distort the output of many synths and drum machines - processed through a multi-track looping station. We tried to play through many different styles within the context of this one release - styles including skronking free-jazz electronics + guitar mangling, hushed drone ambience, "krautrock," abstracted barely musical guitar scrape a la Derek Bailey, and one track (Zero Sympathy for Satanists) where Ryley solos over my spastic foundation of looped classic rock samples. All these styles are tied together by the basic live improv presentation - and by our general interests as musicians and listeners." It's hard to truly describe whats happening on this record, as soon as you get comfortable in one track it ends and you're catapulted into an entirely different direction. It's a beautiful racket that defies categorization and some would say is almost a modern day take on something akin to Alterations (Beresford/Toop/Cusack/Day). Free improv without expectations and with...
MP3 $7.99
09/21/2018
FLAC $8.99
09/21/2018
***KUZU is a hard-charging but patient trio that came together in the fall of 2017, after saxophonist DAVE REMPIS, a stalwart of the Chicago improvised music scene, worked with both TASHI DORJI (guitar) and TYLER DAMON (drums) individually as part of a lengthy solo tour of the U.S. that he undertook in the spring of that year. Dorji and Damon’s work as a guitar/percussion duo has become well-known, a highly refined and specific language developed through relentless touring and recording over the last few years, with a sound that straddles improvised music, rock, and any number of as-yet-undefined territories. These two provide an incredibly fresh take on the possibilities inherent to spontaneous composition. Superimposing Rempis into this mix was a logical next step after the relationships they’d forged individually. The trio’s debut record Hiljaisuus (“silence” in Finnish…) is a highly focused and bold debut statement. Featuring spacious & light gestures that build and give way to an unstoppable tsunami of energy. Those waves are never impulsive or impetuous though, they ebb and flow logically and patiently out of simple and clearly defined sources. This trio pursues every gesture with tenacity, passing them back and forth until they’ve explored every facet of an idea. Through it all, Kuzu emerges as a unit and not as a meeting of individuals. We can't wait to hear where these guys go next! Look for Kuzu to hit the road this fall in support of Hiljaisuus with a Texas tour in August 2018 as well...
LP $17.75
09/14/2018
MP3 $7.99
09/14/2018
FLAC $8.99
09/14/2018
***“A few years ago I had this crazy idea…why not ask OBNOX aka LAMONT "BIM" THOMAS to make a free jazz record? After seeing him on tour playing drums with Cleveland out-rock legends X_X, I just had to try and make it happen… Bim, who is no stranger to making out-there genre-defying records, surprised me a bit by happily agreeing. It seems a bit of a cliche these days to try and get rock people to make jazz records, or jazz people to make rock records, but what the hell? Of all people, Obnox seemed like a pretty solid candidate. Although it may not directly sound like it, to these ears it’s an updated take on some of the late '70s free jazz LPs that, at the time, were panned by critics but now are being rediscovered… think Albert Ayler’s New Grass (and come on let’s acknowledge the deep Cleveland connection here), Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues, Larry Young’s Fuel, even reminds me of Tony Williams Lifetime at times. Bim has infused Templo del Sonido with that same sense of urgency and protest. Like the '70s, we are once again in a time of protest and discontent with the world around us—as Bim so elegantly states in the first lyrics of the album, ;wake up…wake up…America…wake your punk ass up.' Templo del Sonido will surprise you, from the opening upright bass hymn, 'Stagger Lee Cain' to the intense groove of 'Names' with an amazing spoken word performance from KISHA NICOLE FOSTER,...
LP $17.75
08/17/2018
MP3 $9.90
08/17/2018
FLAC $11.99
08/17/2018
***"It’s hard to believe that this is indeed the debut album as a leader for MATTHEW LUX. If you don’t recognize his name don’t worry, chances are good you have heard his playing with groups such as ISOTOPE 217, EXPLODING STAR ORCHESTRA and other various Rob Mazurek ensembles, or as sideman/bassist extraordinaire for IRON & WINE, AZITA, PLUSH, SMOG, DIVERSE, TRANQUILITY BASS and so much more. Peter Margasak of the Chicago Reader recently dubbed Lux the 'Kevin Back on Chicago music, connected to just about every important living player in the city.' Lux has built a career from staying out of the spotlight and we are quite excited to help push Lux deservedly out into the light. Contra/Fact finds Lux surrounding himself with some of Chicago’s best & brightest including BEN LAMAR GAY on cornet, electronics & percussion (BOTTLE TREE, EL IS A SOUND OF JOY), MIKEL PATRICK AVERY on drums, percussion, mellotron and more, and JAYVE MONTGOMERY on various woodwinds, samples & percussion. Conta/Fact is incredibly eclectic but is still singularly focused throughout. All forays into percussion led grooves, electronic abstractions, modal explorations and more are mixed with a spiritual-tinged jazz resulting in what could well be a modern day Phil Cohran album (and I say that without hyperbole). Matthew Lux has given us a modern day jazz masterpiece."
LP $17.75
08/03/2018
MP3 $7.92
08/03/2018
FLAC $8.99
08/03/2018
***The long-awaited follow-up to 2008's Brotzmann/Lonberg-Holm duo album The Brain of the Dog in Section (Atavistic).... in fact Ourorboros was recorded during a 2011 European tour in support of said album. Although these recordings date from 7 years ago, they find both Brotzmann & Lonberg-Holm in top form. "The Figure Eight" is the highlight of the record featuring a rare turn of Brotzmann on Bass Clarinet, which isn't often heard these days. The duo recording also may be of particular interest in comparison with Fred Lonberg-Holm & Ken Vandermark's 2015 duo LP Resistance (Bocian). Lonberg-Holm plays counterpoint to two very strong and individual players in surprising and unique ways on both albums.
LP $17.75
04/06/2018
MP3 $7.99
04/20/2018
FLAC $8.99
04/20/2018
***"This recording is a document of the third and fourth occasion of Dave Rempis, Tim Daisy, and yours truly convening to improvise together. (In Chicago at Elastic Arts and Hungry Brain, respectively.) Our first two meetings were captured and released on Cure for the Quotidian (Amalgam) and Hit the Ground Running (Aerophonic). Each time I play with Tim and Dave is a revelatory experience. A year ago, during the set at the Elastic Arts Foundation in Chicago that yielded Hit the Ground Running, I had a playing experience at least a decade in the making. In a manner like that which I described experiencing in live theatre, at once I felt entirely tethered to my own playing, the trio’s group dynamic, and the sense of a silent but rapt audience. I have played fearlessly, and with a profound sense of ease, ever since."
CD $11.00
04/13/2018
MP3 $7.99
03/30/2018
FLAC $8.99
03/30/2018
***BACK IN STOCK!!! Astral Spirits is quite excited to finally unleash the debut double LP from QUIN KIRCHNER! The Other Side of Time finds Kirchner leads his powerful Chicago quintet—JASON STEIN, NATE LEPINE, NICK BROSTE, MATTULERY and guest BEN BOYE—through nearly 90 minutes of originals that stand side by side with covers of songs from Andrew Hill, Paul Motian, Kelan Phil Cohran, Sun Ra and more. Kirchner has been a staple of the diverse Chicago music scene, playing in groups led by Ryley Walker, Jeb Bishop, Greg Ward, Paul Giallorenzo, Bill MacKay, Nick Mazzarella, Nate Lepine, Dave McDonnell, Keefe Jackson. As well as playing in bands such as HEALTH&BEAUTY, WILD BELLE, NOMO and IN TALL BUILDINGS. The Other Side of Time already garnered rave reviews from The Wire, Downbeat, Tiny Mix Tapes and The Chicago Reader!
2XLP $24.50
02/23/2018
MP3 $9.90
02/23/2018
FLAC $11.99
01/26/2018
***An electric guitar duet album from THURSTON MOORE and Istanbul's UMUT CAGLAR. Recorded at Hayyam Studyolari by SINAN SAKIZLI & CAN AYKAL in Istanbul, Turkey on June 6th, 2016. One time pressing of 500 copies with download.
LP $17.75
09/29/2017
MP3 $7.99
10/27/2017
FLAC $8.99
10/27/2017
***Chimeric Stoned Horn is the official follow-up to Mazurek's Vortice of the Faun cassette we released back in 2015. Chimeric Stoned Horn is also released in conjunction with Mazurek's art opening Constellation Scores at URDLA in France, September 16th. This is Mazurek's first recording featuring Piccolo Trumpet, acoustic and processed with his modular synths, with modules by Make Noise, Industrial Music Electronics and Doepfer, alongside voice incantations and mystic bell projections. It is also one of the first Mazurek albums recorded entirely in his new home in Marfa, Texas. Chimeric Stoned Horn picks up where Vortice left off, but goes much deeper and in different nuanced ways throughout the 40 minute run time.
CD $11.00
09/29/2017
MP3 $9.90
09/29/2017
FLAC $10.99
09/29/2017
MP3 $9.90
09/22/2017
FLAC $11.99
09/22/2017
MP3 $9.90
09/22/2017
FLAC $11.99
09/22/2017
MP3 $9.90
09/22/2017
FLAC $11.99
09/22/2017
Majkowski returns to Astral Spirits, after his brilliant "Neighbouring Objects" tape that came out in 2015! "Days and Other Days' is Majkowski's 7th proper solo release following on the heels of the equally magnificent releases "Bright Astonishment of the Night" on Bocian Records and "Swimming in Light" on Entr'acte Records. Quite possibly the most astounding and darkest (in a good way) album we've heard from Majkowski yet! He continues to explore the intersection between acoustic instruments and electronic sounds. Diving deeper into repetitive structures and their mutations, as well as resonant frequencies of acoustic instruments. Once again this album was recorded & mixed entirely by Majkowski over the course of a few months in 2016 and beautifully mastered by the one and only Lawrence English.
MP3 $7.99
05/26/2017
FLAC $8.99
05/26/2017
Astral Spirits is proud to present the powerful UK meets Amsterdam trio of David Birchall (guitar), Rogier Smal (drums) & Colin Webster (alto sax).Webster has been a force on the UK scene for some years, having recently celebrated the 5 year anniversary of his incredible Raw Tonk Records label. Check out this brilliant piece on Bandcamp “New Directions in Sax” for a more in-depth read on the man. David Birchall has worked with Webster as a duo, in multiple groups and adhoc improv dates for some time now. Birchall is a fixture of the thriving Manchester UK improv scene (alongside Sam Andreae, Otto Willberg, Andrew Cheetham and many more) as well as playing with folks like Marshall Allen, Phil Minton, Rhys Chatham, Mark Sanders & more. Rogier Smal is based in Amsterdam and has released countless tapes, LP’s and CD’s (including duo recordings with Birchall), he’s played with a pretty heavy list of folks over the years – Dylan Carlson, Eugene Chadbourne, Asuna Arashi, Colin Webster, Pascal Nichols, Cathy Heyden, Ryoko Ono, Lori Goldston, John Dikeman and more!“Drop Out” is the first release from this trio and they waste no time jumping off on side A. Think Borbetomagus meets The Blue Humans (with a hint of Flying Luttenbachers in there too?). It’s nervy and skronky but doesn’t fall into any “free rock” or “noise jazz” cliches. To these ears, the trio sounds more in line with Brotzmann/Bailey/Bennink meetings on record (Brotzmann’s “Nipples”/ICP’s “Groupcomposing”) than a lot of modern sax/guitar/drums groups....
MP3 $7.99
03/17/2017
FLAC $8.99
03/17/2017
We’re just beyond thrilled to present brand new material from the incredible Jerman • Barnes duo! “Karst” features all new music from the duo recorded in Arizona & Louisville, each side showcases the duo’s incredibly unique sound.Jerman • Barnes have been on quite the tear lately, starting with the stunning “Matterings” for Erstwhile in 2015 before moving onto the two amazing 2016 releases “Goethe” on Confront the “Versatile Ambiance” LP on Idea Intermedia where they introduce additional musicians such as Ken Vandermark, Bret Berry and more. “Karst” is the first (and probably not last) recording from the duo released in 2017. These recordings were made just prior to their performances at the 2016 No Idea Festival here in Austin, TX. Originally this release was going to consist of some live recordings (also incredibly stunning) but much to my delight, Jerman & Barnes, feeling productive & inspired gave us the two sides that make up “Karst”There is little I can say to add to what so many folks already have. Jeph & Tim are amazing people and amazing musicians and I’m so proud to be able to add to their discography with this release. If you have enjoyed their previous outings you will not be disappointed. This is more of the same incredible electro-acoustic recordings that we have come to expect from these two.
MP3 $7.99
03/17/2017
FLAC $8.99
03/17/2017
Astral Spirits is proud to present the debut release from Monas! Monas is Colin Fisher (saxophone, guitar), Johnny DeBlase (electric bass) & Kid Millions (drums). “Freedom” features two side-long improvisations — one with Fisher on guitar and the other with Fisher on saxophone, both equally ecstatic.Happy to have Kid Millions back on Astral Spirits (following up 2015’s duo with Jim Sauter, “Bloom”) as his playing just gets better and better every time I hear him. Johnny DeBlase is a NY-based bassist & composer that plays in the groups Many Arms, Zevious, Needle Driver, Sabbath Assembly and more. Colin Fisher is an incredible Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist that has played with a who’s who of both improv and rock worlds including Anthony Braxton, William Parker, Dominic Duval, Sabir Mateen, Many Arms, Neil Hagerty, Joe Mcphee, Paul Hession, Eric Chenaux, The Constantines, Caribou, Born Ruffians and more!“Freedom” is a one-off recording from this power trio and let’s hope it’s not the last. “Visible Spirit” finds Fisher on guitar starting off adding drones and feedback in layers, building up patiently before going full bore into shredding that’s somewhere between Sonny Sharrock, Mick Barr & Robert Fripp. However, Fisher’s guitar playing is not just shredding for the sake of shredding, there is a harmonic logic to it all that comes across horn-like at times, somewhat eschewing traditional guitar technique, sometimes not. DeBlase and Millions keep things in perpetual motion while maintaining a balance of sound that comes across as an updated version of Last Exit. And...
MP3 $7.99
03/17/2017
FLAC $8.99
03/17/2017
Astral Spirits is proud to present a split tape from Austin-based More Eaze & San Diego-based duo A.F. Jones & Steve Flato. Each side presenting a fresh take on modern electronics and composition.More Eaze (aka Marcus Rubio) has been on a rampage of mind boggling releases — this will be the 8th release under the More Eaze moniker since 2015! He’s had releases on labels such as Never Anything, Kendra Steiner Editions, Already Dead Tapes, Full Spectrum and more. “D00P4M1N3” is a side long piece that starts off with angelic chimes and keyboard loops enveloping each other, sounding something like an unheard Popol Vuh soundtrack, before building into a full-on drone section that eventually gives way to the completely unexpected and completely ace ending (think Bernard Fevre meets Shit & Shine). Every time I get to the 15 minute mark, I want the track to keep going…enough to keep me coming back again and again.A.F. Jones & Steve Flato have both been making amazing electronic music on their own for some time now. You may know A.F. Jones from his incredible tape label Laminal Audio, as well as recordings with Derek Rogers, Bruno Duplant, Cristian Alvear, etc on labels such as Glistening Examples, Rhizome-s and more. Steve Flato may be recognizable from his recent string of amazing releases on Lengua de Lava, Tape Drift, Kendra Steiner Editions, Copy for Your Records and more. Jones & Flato come together here and give us an absolutely beautiful 19 minute electronic piece that...
MP3 $7.99
03/17/2017
FLAC $8.99
03/17/2017
“Sometimes it’s dumb fun to think up impossible supergrouops. Maybe they help you imagine a sound you’ve never considered, a combination of histories and vectors that contradicts those that might be steered by normal forces, such as geography or genre or circle of colleagues. A parlor game designed to transcend time and place.Here’s one: John Carter, Bernard Parmegiani, Mike Ratledge and Tony Williams. Think of the possibilities, Ratledge offers fudgy bass keyboards, circa 1970, Soft Machine’s Third, while Williams alternately takes to the breeze with a swift swinging ride or breaks things up restructurally, a wooden metronome or one-man marching band. On clarinet, Carter gulps and whorls his way into an appealing alternate temporal-spatial framework, the one occupied and charted by Parmegiani, who, from the INA-GRM soundboard dubs the proceedings into electroacoustic ladyland. I’d love to hear it: free-prog-jazz-concrete.In this case, the dream group’s inspiration came the other direction, rather than imagining something fictional, from listening to Hearts and Minds. Not to suggest that they sound like an additive experiment in mix-and-matchery, quite the contrary, they’re a singularly original unit. But unusual forces are at play, unique combinatorics, suggesting a confluence of ideas, newly directed teleologies, a turbulent eddy in the natural flow of creative music’s waterway.The collective’s eponymous debut emanates from an eight year incubation, sporadic and occasionally intensive gigging resulting in the accretion of a songbook, featuring tunes and structures divided about equally between the bass-clarinetist Jason Stein and keyboardist and synthesizer player Paul Giallorenzo. Stein and Giallorenzo...
MP3 $8.91
10/07/2016
FLAC $9.90
10/07/2016
Ben Bennett has been on our radar for a while now and we couldn’t be more excited to present his latest effort “Trap.” Bennett has proven himself an incredible improviser, from his work with saxophonist Jack Wright over the past few years, as well as his more recent collaborations with Michael Foster, but it’s his solo work that really does it for us.“Trap” presents twelve tracks of solo percussion pieces using all sorts of drum like devices..they veer all over the map from intense Chris Corsano-esque workouts on the drum kit, to frame drums, to saxophone-esque sqeauling via membranes and tubes. What makes “Trap” even more fascinating is the timbral qualities of the recording via extreme close mic-ing everything to the point that you’re not sure what exactly is making said sound (and even hearing outdoor background sounds). Bennett’s “Trap” is so intense and mesmerizing that BOOMKAT lists this album under “EXTREME/NOISE/COMPUTER MUSIC”!!! Yes it may be extreme but this is the work of an incredibly talented and forward thinking improviser by himself with an army of percussion (sans computer). Bennett has once again outdone himself (we didn’t think he’d be able to top his “Spoilage” LP on Experimedia) and created one of the most intense and mesmerizing listening experiences we’ve had at the AS office in some time.
MP3 $7.99
09/02/2016
FLAC $8.99
09/02/2016