The Squid's Ear started its life as a combination of reviews, articles, and opinion pieces. Over the years we've changed the focus to mostly review material, but the idea of explaining more about Squidco and elucidating our schedule has always been in the back of our minds. That leads us to this blog, an attempt to give a weekly update to our activities. We'd love to hear from our readers, to know if this is interesting to them, or if there's other information that you would like to know-please use the comment area below to let us know what you think. With that said, welcome to our first entry in The Squidco Blog!
This week we added a number of catalog copies to our used section. Catalog copies are new items that were opened to create audio samples, and are then sold as used at our cost. These are not review copies, they are new product that have been very lightly used. You'll see a number of other new used items, the start of an acquisition of Leo titles that we picked up from another distributor. The Leos are unsealed, but otherwise brand new. Most of them have only 1 or 2 copies, so if you see something of interest you might want to pick it up now, as it's unlikely that we'll get additional copies.
Patient customers from our Hat Hut sale, this week we have completed all the orders that were pending restocks from Switzerland. This is not the way we typically process orders, and the delay between the sale and the restocks was much longer than we had hoped. In the future we'll find better ways to process these orders, which we're doing as a favor for Hat Hut records.
Good news, The UK's Recommended Records (RéR) has announced an upcoming box set from The Necks, presenting 8 CDs that they recognize as their finest releases. It will probably be a couple of months before US distribution of the box comes available, and we'll have it in stock as soon as it's available.
Also good news, RéR also announced the reprinting of Peter Blegvad, John Greaves and Lisa Herman's Kew Rhone, an amazingly intelligent "pop" record using illustrations to guide each piece.
Not content, RéR is also repressing the 3 Henry Cow boxes, which will be available when Kew Rhone is released. We'll keep you posted as we know more about their available in the US. The official release date is April 8 for all 3, hopefully we'll have them shortly after that.
Matchless has announced what looks to be an exciting new release, 3 nights at Cafe Oto as a 3-CD/DVD package of the May 2013 residency of Evan Parker, John Edwards, Alex v. Schlippenbach, Christof Thewes and Eddie Prévost. We expect to order that in the next 2-3 weeks as soon as we have pricing information. You can sign up on our Upcoming Releases section to be notified by email when it's available to order.
Three new Emanem titles and 1 psi have been ordered:
MARCIO MATTOS "SOL[os]" (c1998-2010) Emanem 5035
Marcio Mattos has been an important member of the free improvisation and free jazz scenes since moving to London in the early 1970s. This, however, is his first solo album. There are six short solos on cello, three of which also use electronics, and three brief double bass solos, followed by an extended concert performance on bass with electronic enhancement. An overdue chance to hear this consistently fine musician in the foreground. 59 minutes. (Bar code 5030243503520).
JOHN RUSSELL / PHIL DURRANT / JOHN BUTCHER "Conceits" (1987/1992) Emanem 5036
A reissue of the first LP by the exceptionally fine improvising trio of John Russell (guitar), Phil Durrant (violin and trombone) and John Butcher (saxophones). This group came into being in 1984 after Russell and Durrant had spent the previous two years performing in private with another saxophonist. For this debut LP, made in 1987, they performed eleven short pieces. This CD has been expanded by the inclusion of a previously unissued extended concert performance made a few years later. The strong beginnings of one of the best improvising groups of the 1980s and 1990s. Reissue of Acta LP 1 with extra material. 54 minutes.
(Bar code 5030243503629).
MILO FINE FREE JAZZ ENSEMBLE "Earlier Outbreaks of Iconoclasm" (1976-8) Emanem 5206 2-CD set
Three early recordings by the long lasting duo of Milo Fine (clarinet, percussion and piano) and Steve Gnitka (electric guitar). The first two sessions, HAH! from 1976 and THE CONSTANT EXTENSION OF INESCAPABLE TRADITION from 1977, were issued on two hat Hut LPs (with two tracks missing). The third, WHEN I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD, I PREDICTED YOUR WHOLE LIFE from 1978, was scheduled to appear on Horo, but that label went bust before it happened, so this material is now making a very belated first appearance. Even at this early stage, these two musicians show themselves to be excellent improvisers, with a few original compositions thrown into the varied mix. Reissue of hat Hut LPs E & H with much extra material. 154 minutes. (Bar code 5030243520626).
There's also notice that psi intends to repress 2 Evan Parker titles--The Snake Decides and Six of One later in 2015 or early 2016.
EVAN PARKER 'Monoceros' (1978) - psi 15.01
Soprano saxophone solos originally recorded direct-to-disc in 1978 at Nimbus Studios, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth by Michael & Gerald Reynolds. Originally issued as Incus LP 19 and previously reissued as Chronoscope CPE 2002-2. 40 minutes. (Bar code 5030243150120)
Here are some recently restocked items:
Derek: Bailey Concert In Milwaukee (Incus)
Fred Frith / Zorn, John: The Art of Memory (Incus)
Derek: Bailey Lot 74 - Solo Improvisations (Incus)
Matthew Shipp Trio: To Duke (RogueArt)
John: Zorn Six Litanies for Heliogabalus (Tzadik)
Fred: Frith Eye to Ear II (Tzadik)
Deveykus: Pillar Without Mercy (Tzadik)
John: Zorn Filmworks II: Music for an untitled film by Walter Hill (Tzadik)
Wadada Smith Leo: Kabell Years 1971-1979 (Tzadik)
Death Ambient (Kato / Mori / Frith): Death Ambient (Tzadik)
John: Zorn Psychomagia (Tzadik)
Ground Zero: Null and Void (Tzadik)
John: Zorn Filmworks VI: 1996 (Tzadik)
David: Sylvian Amplified Gesture (expanded) [DVD] (Samadhi Sound)
John: Zorn The Hermetic Organ (Tzadik)
Earle: Brown Folio and Four Systems (Tzadik)
Otomo: Yoshihide Cathode (Tzadik)
John: Zorn In Lambeth - Visions From the Walled Garden of William Blake (Tzadik)
Death Ambient: Drunken Forest (Tzadik)
Jamie: Saft Borscht Belt Studies (Tzadik)
John: Zorn Archery (Tzadik)
John: Zorn Filmworks III: 1990-1995 (Tzadik)
John: Zorn Filmworks V: Tears of Ecstasy (Tzadik)
Hasidic New Wave: The Complete Recordings (Tzadik)
Sao Paulo Underground (Featuring Rob Mazurek): Tres Cabecas Loucuras (Cuneiform )
Rob Mazurek Octet: Skull Sessions (Cuneiform)
Univers Zero: Uzed (Cuneiform)
Univers Zero: The Hard Quest (Cuneiform)
Blast: A Sophisticated Face (Cuneiform)
Brotherhood of Breath : Bremen to Bridgwater (Cuneiform)
Steve Lacy / Rudd, Roswell Quartet: Early and Late (Cuneiform)
Microscopic Septet, The: History of the Micros, Volume 2: Surrealistic Swing (Cuneiform)
Tyshawn: Sorey Oblique-I (Pi Recordings)
Harry: Partch 17 Lyrics of Li Po (Tzadik)
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