Cuneiform Records APRIL 2024 Newsletter

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CUNEIFORM RECORDS APRIL 2024  NEWSLETTER: New Releases & Concerts read this newsletter online   – on laptop/computer:  click menu links & jump   – on mobile: scroll down ~~~~~~   CUNEIFORM RECORDS' APRIL 2024 RELEASE TOMEKA REID QUARTET –  3+3 3rd release by cellist, composer & MacArthur Fellow Tomeka Reid's all-star Quartet with Jason Roebke, Tomas Fujiwara, & fellow MacArthur Fellow Mary Halvorson. [USA] ~~~~~   OUT NOW! RELEASED MARCH 2024  PRESENT  – THIS IS NOT THE END Belgian Chamber Rock/ Post Rock/ Post Classical/ RIO ensemble PRESENT release the album composer/ leader Roger Trigaux was completing at the time of his 2021 death [BELGIUM] ~~~~~ OUT NOW!  RELEASED FEBRUARY 2024 CHEER-ACCIDENT – VACATE Legendary Iconoclastic Chicago experimental rock / post-pop ensemble, CHEER-ACCIDENT, pay heartfelt tribute to their "Easy Listening" inspirations, recorded by Steve Albini  [USA] ~~~~~ A SNEAK PEEK with SOUNDS  COMING OUT MAY 2024 on CD & Digital SOFT MACHINE –  HØVIKKODEN 1971 Limited edition, 4 album box set (LP and CD, w/ photos & liner notes) of two concerts in Norway featuring Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper Michael Ratledge, & Robert Wyatt. [UK]  ~~~~~   MORE SNEAK PEEKS COMING OUT LATER IN 2024 A LENGTHY LIST OF UPCOMING JAZZ, ROCK, ELECTRONIC & CLASSICAL MINIMALIST RELEASES ~~~~~ CUNEIFORM ARTISTS ON TOUR: LIVE CONCERTS & TOURS   ~~~~~ ENJOY A WORLD OF MUSICAL ADVENTURE with  CUNEIFORM RECORDS ONLINE:   • EXPLORE Cuneiform Records'  SOCIAL MEDIA //  BANDCAMP PAGE // YOUTUBE CHANNEL //  SOUNDCLOUD PAGE ~~~~~ • Purchase music from 100s of labels at WAYSIDE MUSIC, our sister store, estab.1980 ~~~~~ • Missed seeing a CUNEIFORM NEWSLETTER? Access prior issues at cuneiformrecord.blogspot.com/   ~~~~~   2024 IS CUNEIFORM RECORDS' 40TH ANNIVERSARY! FOUR DECADES in the biz: this MUST be an avant-music micro-business landmark.    Throughout our anniversary year, we're releasing in both physical and digital formats one album of innovative, genre-defiant music a month by rock, jazz, electronic and contemporary classical musicians from around the world. This month, we're proud to release the Tomeka Reid Quartet's exciting new jazz album on vinyl and CD. In May 2024, Cuneiform Record's 40th Anniversary Month, we'll release a box set – in both LP and CD formats, as well as digital - of previously unreleased archival recordings by jazz-rock pioneers Soft Machine.  We hope that you discover new music to love on Cuneiform throughout our special year, whether by fast-rising stars like Tomeka Reid or longstanding legends like Soft Machine. We thank you for your support; without you, our 40 years of releasing new music into the world would not have been possible.   ~~~~~ read this newsletter online return to top                                                     COMING OUT                          APRIL 26, 2024                                     ON                      CUNEIFORM RECORDS                             – VINYL, CD & DIGITAL –                                    TOMEKA REID QUARTET                              3 + 3                                  Cellist, composer and MacArthur Fellow                                     TOMEKA REID                 explores new improvisational math with                                            3+3,               the third release by her all-star quartet and               her most adventurous project as a leader yet.  Featuring JASON ROEBKE on bass, TOMAS FUJIWARA on drums,         and fellow MacArthur Fellow MARY HALVORSON on guitar. listen/ share a track via SoundCloud: Bio information: TOMEKA REID QUARTET Title: 3+3 (Cuneiform Rune 525) Format: CD  / VINYL / DIGITAL Label: Cuneiform Records FILE UNDER: JAZZ   No artist over the past decade has done more to bring the cello from the margins to the center of the contemporary jazz scene than Tomeka Reid. Nurtured by the creative hothouse of Chicago’s AACM, she’s recorded prolifically since making her debut on flutist Nicole Mitchell’s 2002 Black Earth Ensemble album Afrika Rising. But with 3+3, Reid takes a major step as a composer with a bold and protean approach to designing settings for group improvisation.    Building on the deeply intuitive language explored by the quartet on her acclaimed Cuneiform Records debut, 2019’s Old New, Reid set out to explore extended themes with bassist Jason Roebke, drummer Tomas Fujiwara and guitarist Mary Halvorson. Over the course of three pieces that flow together much like a set the group plays in concert, the album captures the state-of-the-art ensemble moving with unhurried grace, constantly calibrating the evolving conversation.    “I see the whole album as a suite,” says Reid, who moved back to Chicago in 2020 after about four years in New York. “Previously I’d written shorter pieces and felt like I had to write ‘jazz pieces’, and for this album I wanted to write longer forms. I do a lot of free improvisation and wanted to reflect that more on my records. There are tunes on this too, but it’s more open.”   Reid wrote the 3+3 music with the support of a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Commission and she ended up writing the pieces while an artist in residence for the Moers Jazz Festival in 2022. The quartet premiered it during her residency at the Stone in August 2023, an apt setting to navigate the ebb and flow of a freely improvised and tunes-based program. The music gathers momentum over the course of several movements, not so much tracing a narrative arc as circling through a series of loose and limber themes and tempo shifts.    Part of what’s new for Reid is her expanded sonic palette, which can make it difficult to tell where her bow work and Halvorson’s electronics diverge. “As a string player, I used to be anti-electronics,” she says. “I love the acoustic cello sound. But playing with Mary, I really love how it’s part of her voice, not something extra. So, previously, I strived to make electronic sounds acoustically using different preparations as that was something I was earnestly exploring and now I feel ok incorporating electronics.”                                                                                                      photo credit: Lawrence Miner The opening “Turning Inward/Sometimes You Just Have to Run with It” builds to a simmering, cymbal-propelled groove with extended statements by Reid and Halvorson that eventually converge in a gorgeously rough-and-tumble pas de deux. Opening with Reid’s muscular pizzicato solo, “Sauntering with Mr. Brown” captures the quartet’s well-honed practice of eliding the usual delineation of foreground and background. “I think about not having people in specific roles,” Reid says. “There are places where I’m doing an arpeggiated part that normally a guitar would do. I’m always thinking about how to loosen conventions that might limit us.”    Set up by Halvorson and Tomas “Exploring Outward / Funambulist Fever” features some of Reid’s most exquisite playing. The quartet’s arresting use of space, with quiet, abstract passages bleeding into denser group improv and brisk call and response themes, maintain dramatic tension until the dramatically abrupt conclusion. It’s liberatory music that takes these well-traveled musicians into places and spaces where unheard facets of their sounds are revealed.    If Reid’s music seems to draw on a multiplicity of sources, that’s because she’s absorbed a mind-boggling array of influences over the past 15 years via collaborations with veteran visionaries connected to Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Since the mid-aughts she’s performed and recorded with Anthony Braxton, Nicole Mitchell, Roscoe Mitchell (no relation), and the collective he co-founded, the Art Ensemble of Chicago. She’s also worked closely with contemporaries such as drummer Mike Reed, cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, and Angelika Niescier.    In recent years she’s toured with and recorded two acclaimed albums as part of pianist Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet (which also features Halvorson). Reid is a member of the Julius Hemphill Stringtet, a string quartet dedicated to the work of Julius Hemphill, and is also laying plans for presenting her own Stringtet, a 16-piece ensemble made up of string improvisors.    Embracing her role as a champion of creative string players on and off the bandstand, she founded and runs the Chicago Jazz String Summit. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Among the many honors and awards she’s garnered are being voted 2022 String Player of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association and named a 2022 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow.    Currently, an Artist in Residence at Dartmouth College, Reid grew up outside of Washington D.C., and came to the cello relatively late. Concentrating on classical music in her teens and early 20s, she started investigating jazz her senior year at the University of Maryland, College Park when her undergrad mentor encouraged her to start exploring the tradition. “He came up with this book of Rufus Reid bass lines and I would read them and do these little gigs around DC,” she recalls. Moving to Chicago in 2000 to attend a graduate music program at DePaul University she reconnected with flutist/composer Nicole Mitchell, whom she had met in a classical orchestra in the summer of 1998 and a relationship that recalibrated her entire aesthetic orientation. While she was embraced by the improv music scene, Reid learned to make her own way, which was both liberating and extremely challenging.    “After I met Nicole she introduced me to the Velvet Lounge where I encountered members of the AACM and learned about their work and various aesthetics. While attending the Velvet Lounge, I was often the only string player,” Reid says, referring to the South Loop jazz spot that was then owned and run by tenor sax great Fred Anderson.    She found the ideal outfits for evolution as a member of several celebrated Chicago bands, including Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, vocalist Dee Alexander’s Evolution Ensemble, and drummer Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly. “They were really working bands, and I got to play a lot,” Reid says. “With Nicole sometimes I’d play the bass role and sometimes as a lead instrument. I was also doing harmonic stuff, playing melody and I developing a comping style. With Dee, the instrumentation was bass, cello, violin, voice, and percussion, and I often doubled bass lines. And with Mike Reed I was more of a horn player, getting pushed more into soloing.”    When the time came to launch a band to play her original music, she sought out advice from both Nicole Mitchell and Mike Reed, who suggested Halvorson and Fujiwara. Reid was already working with Fujiwara in Mike Reed’s fascinating Sun Ra-inspired ensemble Living By Lanterns (which released the acclaimed 2012 Cuneiform album Old Myth, New Science). Approaching both players made eminent sense. Halvorson and Fujiwara already played together in the collective trio Thumbscrew with bassist Michael Formanek, and power Formanek’s Ensemble Kolossus.    Roebke is similarly expansive. He’s a member of the Jeb Bishop Trio, Jason Adasiewicz’s Rolldown, Jason Stein’s Locksmith Isidore, Mike Reed’s People, Places, and Things, and Jorrit Dijkstra’s Flatlands Collective & Pillow Circles. With his sonic resourcefulness and capacious textural palette he’s an ideal creative catalyst for Reid’s quartet, a group for which she’s profoundly grateful.   “They’re incredible artists and I’m honored to have them as bandmates,” she says. “They’re always open to what I bring to them, and I’m always thinking about how can I best feature them. How can I create settings they can do something magical over? On this album I wanted it to sound like a gig or a show, instead of something for a recording, and they ran with it.”                                                                                         photo credit: Lawrence Miner                         ~~~                                                                                                          photo credit: Lawrence Miner ALBUM CREDITS   Tomeka Reid, cello Jason Roebke, bass Mary Halvorson, guitar Tomas Fujiwara, drums Recorded, mixed and mastered by Nick Lloyd at Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT, August 20-21, 2023. Album art by David Brown. Layout by Chester Hawkins Produced by Tomeka Reid All compositions by Tomeka Reid ~ ~ ~ Listen to / Pre-Order Tomeka Reid Quartet's 3+3 on Bandcamp:                    Standard Resolution / CD/ LP                                               Digital High Definition                ~ ~ ~ OTHER TOMEKA REID QUARTET ALBUMS ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS The 2019 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll 3. Tomeka Reid Quartet Old New (Cuneiform) "The cello, in jazz, has always taken a back seat to the double bass. While Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford and Ron Carter have certainly helped move the instrument forward, Akua Dixon made “jazz cello” a stand-alone category... Now 20 years into the new millennium, with Old New, Tomeka Reid has firmly positioned the cello in its rightful place — out in front. On songs like “Niki’s Bop,” as the D.C. native engenders the vision of AACM,... she relishes a kind of unbridled freedom, perhaps one not fully enjoyed by her predecessors."   —Shannon Effinger return to top                                !!OUT NOW!!                                         ON                      CUNEIFORM RECORDS                   RELEASED MARCH 29, 2024                                   – CD AND DIGITAL FORMATS –                        PRESENT             THIS IS NOT THE END  Bio information: PRESENT Title: THIS IS NOT THE END (Cuneiform Rune 528) Format: CD  / DIGITAL (HD and Standard) Label: Cuneiform Records Release Date: March 29, 2024 FILE UNDER: Avant-Progressive / RIO (Rock In Opposition) / Chamber Rock / Post-Rock/ Post-Classical     Legendary Belgian Avant Garde / Post-Rock / Post-Classical / RIO / Chamber Rock Ensemble – PRESENT –  Release the Album Their Composer/ Leader ROGER TRIGAUX (October 26, 1951–March 10, 2021)  Was Completing at the Time of His Death    Despite it’s title, This is NOT the end, is, indeed, the final release by the legendary Belgian Rock In Opposition (RIO) band Present, as founder and composer Roger Trigaux died during its recording.  Present's music is a striking blend of heavy rock with classical and zeuhl influences. The compositions, all penned by Trigaux, utilize repetition, complex counterpoint, intricate interplay between the instruments, rapidly shifting time signatures, and a strong instrumental attack. The final result is blindingly precise works of syncopated instruments, all seemingly coming from different angles but ultimately working together as a cohesive whole.   Trigaux admits that “I use lengthy repetition and polyrhythmics to push not only the listener but myself to a paroxysm on the intensity.” In this sense, Trigaux’s music can be compared to that of the late Nigerian rock musician Fela Kuti, who gradually built his lengthy songs through repetition and rhythm to generate a visceral experience, and whose live performances were legendary. Also like Fela, Trigaux’ music has an intellectual, thematic subtext, hidden beneath the music’s physical sound.   Those hearing Trigaux's work now for the first time will find it a mesmerizing revelation; Present's music sounds startling, shocking, and alarmingly, cathartically NEW. But Present has been around for a long time – since 1979, when Trigaux left Univers Zero, a Belgian ensemble he'd co-founded, to create a new band whose classical-rock compositions embraced increasing rock ferocity. Over the decades, Present released 10 albums, toured globally, and played at specialty / avant garde music festivals to fiercely devoted international audiences. Today, 45 years after Trigaux founded Present, the band's genre-defiant post-classical / post-rock music is ripe for wider public recognition. Post-genre and other avant garde musical concepts have gradually infiltrated the mainstream. Finally, it is PRESENT time.                    Present is widely acknowledged and celebrated as one of the leading lights of the Rock In Opposition (R.I.O.) / avant-progressive scene, a global music scene emerging from the European avant-garde, and notable for producing genre-transcendent, composition-intensive non-commercial music outside of (“in opposition to”) the mainstream music industry. As part of this movement, during the last quarter of the 20th Century,  Francophone bands like Magma, Art Zoyd, Univers Zero and Present created music that shattered the boundaries of classical, opera, rock and jazz, giving birth to new hybrids which followers called Zeuhl and Chamber Rock. Since its founding 40 years ago, in 1984, Washington DC-based Cuneiform Records has been one of the leading international supporters of Rock in Opposition music and Chamber Rock, both global movements today. Cuneiform's third release, in 1985, was Present's 2nd album, Le Poison Qui Rend Fou, and was soon followed by Cuneiform reissuing Present's debut, Triskaidékaphobie, originally released on Belgium's Atem. Over subsequent years, Cuneiform released numerous Present albums and forged deep friendships with Trigaux and Present's members, who stayed at the Cuneiform founders' Silver Spring home when touring the USA.                      Cuneiform is deeply honored to release Present's final album, and we remain heartbroken by Trigaux's death. Everyone who loved Trigaux thought he was eternal, a hybrid vampire / air plant who survived on music, caffeine and cigarette smoke. He never revealed or discussed the state of his health. A composer and superb guitarist, he defied confinement by illness, adopting new instruments as his physical dexterity decreased. Until the very end, Trigaux prolifically, relentlessly, and vehemently continued to compose. The great composer/musician resolutely refused to let illness prevent him from creating his music. But ultimately, he was unable to defy physical death, and died during the recording of this album. And thus, the title of this album – This is NOT the end - is brutally accurate, on multiple levels. Roger Trigaux, the brilliant, iconoclastic Belgian composer and musician, leader of PRESENT, will live forever through his music.  And as for his music – its time for discovery by wider audiences and for performances by ensembles worldwide has just begun. Dark and tempestuous, the music of Roger Trigaux and Present is THE classical music for our brooding and turbulent 21st Century, our dark New Millenium, the New Dark Age. This album marks a new beginning for Trigaux's compositions.                      listen to/ share on Soundcloud "This Is Not the End, part 1 (excerpt)"                                               ~ ~ ~             Michel Besset, Trigaux’s long-time friend and manager and               Director of the Rock In Opposition (RIO) Festival–France,                                 recalls the making of this release:   Summer 2018. During the summer, my wife Rosine and I decided to head north to visit Jean-Pierre Soares (trumpeter for Art Zoyd) and the Trigaux family in Brussels, Belgium. Indeed, with PRESENT not being scheduled to perform at the 11th Rock in Opposition Festival (which I headed), and having no recent news from Roger Trigaux, I wanted to find out what he envisioned for the continuation of the group, which seemed to have dissolved. If that was the case, it would obviously need to be relaunched. I couldn't bring myself to allow PRESENT to no longer exist, as much because of the long history that linked me to the musicians as because of my close friendship with Roger. In Brussels, we stayed with Martine de Bruyn (Roger's ex-partner and primary support), because with Roger’s ill health, his little apartment could not accommodate us. I have always loved this city, where I had many memories, forged over numerous visits, in contact with the musicians of Univers Zéro [co-founded by Roger with Daniel Denis] and attending the group’s numerous rehearsals in the cellar (which gave its name to “Ceux d’en bas”) of Roger’s house at the time.  Brussels…where I was able to discover and absorb this city’s very special atmosphere. Taste the solar darkness of a Belgian sky, inseparable from the raw and sensitive humanity of this music which is both organic and spiritual. And those harsh, dark and endless nights that never seemed to want to end, because the friendship, the humor and the beer kept us screwed to the seat..                                     .   Roger wasn't expecting us. It was impossible to contact him. He was ignoring email and the phone. He lived almost as a recluse and his only activity was composing the music for what would be PRESENT's last album. He was overjoyed to find us in front of his door. And immediately told us that we absolutely had to listen to his latest work. LOUDLY. PRESENT’s music should be listened to very loudly.                                     My first sensation was it reminded me of the atmosphere of the first Univers Zéro albums [recorded with Roger prior to Present]. This very distinctive spirit of dark, slow and complex music, so réaliste that listening requires an effort and is sometimes difficult - because that is this music’s price. The idea of recording this music immediately came to my mind.  Then it was lunch in this district of Brussels, under a gray and humid sky… Roger was happy in front of his American fries which he wolfed down greedily (which was rare, he ate very little). The humor (Belgian?) was there, the joy of dear friendship found again, the feeling of being in tune with someone with whom one shares the same kind of lucid and disillusioned humanity but also and above all precisely the same humor.                                                                            Out of the blue, I asked Roger if he wanted to record this music. He hadn't thought about it. But also, the musicians were separated and no projects were planned for the future. Without it having been formally said, PRESENT had ceased to exist.   I insisted. For me this music had to come out of the walls of his room, it was not “the end yet”.    Roger ended up saying OK if the musicians wanted to do it.   This project took 5 years.  Roger died in the middle of its gestation, the finalization of which was taken care of by Pierre Chevalier and Udi Koomran.  But the work is done, accomplished, complete.  All of Roger’s friends have not finished talking about Roger the Magnificent, about the Heroic Deeds of the rebellious and die-hard anti-hero that he rightfully was.   Of course, this was the price you paid, Roger, to achieve such a Work. To the point of sacrificing your life.  We always knew – and  we know more since you left us – that you will remain in the hearts (and brains) of all those who love Music.  Rest in peace?, Roger.                                                                                         – Michel Besset / November 20, 2023                                                      photo credit: Stéphane Fougere ALBUM CREDITS Roger Trigaux – keyboard, vocal, composition François Mignot – guitar Pierre Chevalier – piano, keyboards, vocal Dave Kerman – percussion Keith Macksoud – bass Kurt Budé – sax, clarinet, bass clarinet Liesbeth Lambrecht – violin Udi Koomran – sound Recorded by Udi Koomran at Studio Simonnes, Rhode-Saint-Genèse, Belgium. Violins recorded by David Minjauw at Studio Simonnes, Rhode-Saint-Genese, Belgium. Pianos recorded at Raphaël Terlinden's home studio, Brussels, Belgium. Mixed and mastered by Udi Koomran and Pierre Chevalier, at the Pergola, Holon, Israel. ~ ~ ~ Listen to / Pre-Order PRESENT'S This Is Not the End  on Bandcamp:  Standard Resolution                                                               Digital High Resolution       PRESENT performing in 2015 at the Rock In Opposition (RIO) Festival in France Listen to & buy other PRESENT releases on Cuneiform Records “…a neoclassical, odd-metered set of instrumentals whose roots go back to Gentle Giant, Stravinsky…Trigaux’s vision is disturbing on several levels. Partly it’s the abrupt rhythms, non-triadic chords, and multi-dimensional counterpoint; partly it’s the vigorous live ensemble work (with little or no electronic processing), which puts the music right in the room with you; and partly it’s the stark absence of humor and lyricism. Cuneiform continues to astound us with these uncompromising releases.” – Jim Aiken, Keyboard Magazine Triskaidekaphobie                   Le Poison Qui Rend Fou                  “…Present shows that when it came to cross-breeding rock and classical musics, the (continental) Europeans were actually able to make stuff sane people want to hear. …their concept of “classical” didn’t stop at Beethoven but was a continuum that extended up through 20th century heavyweights like Bartok, Babbit, Cage, Stockhausen, Stravinsky, etc…” – Lang Thompson, Sounds Like Live                                    "Dark, Bartok-like arrangements driven by Gothic rock percussion and the tortured guitar of Roger Trigaux. This is classical rock with an industrial vengence..." – DownBeat    Certitudes                                     A Great Inhumane Adventure           .      "..these avatars of an anguished, angular muse have unleashed their ultimate tour de force...this is a turbulent masterpiece." 5 stars [highest rating] – Alternative Press return to top !!OUT NOW!! ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS RELEASED  FEBRUARY 23, 2024 – CD AND DIGITAL FORMATS –   CHEER-ACCIDENT VACATE  Bio information: CHEER-ACCIDENT Title: RELICS (Cuneiform Rune 528) Format: CD  / DIGITAL Label: Cuneiform Records Release Date: February 23, 2024 FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL / ROCK / POST-POP     An Album of Stunningly Beautiful Vocal Tunes Dedicated to Herb Alpert, Burt Bacharach, and CHEER-ACCIDENT's Bandmate & Friend, Phil Bonnet,VACATE Dives Deep into the Wellspring of Melody and Memory at the Core of CHEER-ACCIDENT's Collective Heart. Chicago Post-Pop / Experimental Rock Legends CHEER-ACCIDENT Long Dreamed of an Album Honoring the Music that Sparked their Life-Long Musical Obsessions. Recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio During the Covid Pandemic, That Heartfelt Wish Became Reality, Released by Cuneiform Records. listen to "Range" from CHEER-ACCIDENT's Vacate on Soundcloud Thymme Jones, leader and drummer/ composer/ vocalist of Chicago's iconoclastic ensemble CHEER-ACCIDENT, relays the journey leading to VACATE, the band's most heartfelt project:   When I was five years old (or maybe younger; I know I had not yet made it to kindergarten), my favorite activity was to bop around to Herb Alpert's rendition of "Zorba The Greek." You know the part of the song where everything stops, there's a brief silence, then it starts back up, slowly and quietly? Well, from there, it just builds and builds and builds in volume and intensity, the tempo making its way from slower-than-adagio to faster-than-fast high octane über-polka in the course of sixty seconds... and I would work my five-year-old self into a frenzy, racing around the ottoman in the living room, faster and faster, matching the song's energy, and finally, collapsing into ecstatic oblivion at the song's conclusion (at 4 minutes and 25 seconds). By the time I'd reached that aforementioned age, my parents had acquired five of his albums, all of which I listened to voraciously. Herb was my guy. I was obsessed. He's the reason I started playing trumpet in 6th Grade and drumming (or, rather, cereal boxing) well before that, probably before I'd learned how to walk. When I'd entered junior high, and found myself in the school band, I'd managed to track down almost every one of those thirteen original Tijuana Brass albums that came out in the '60s. Most of these I'd found in the "easy listening" section at the record store, where I'd noticed another familiar name that would consistently pop up: Burt Bacharach. I'd become enamored with him as well, initially by learning that he had written an impressive number of songs that Herb would go on to record, but also because he had achieved ubiquity on the airwaves, via artists such as Carpenters, BJ Thomas, and (most notably and prolifically) Dionne Warwick. Fast forward three decades later to this scenario: Phil Bonnet (our guitarist for the entirety of the '90s) and I are talking at Solid Sound (the studio in Hoffman Estates, IL where he'd become quite beloved, engineering a multitude of local bands from Chicago and its nearby suburbs), as we take a break from recording the basic tracks for "Salad Days" (along with Jeff Libersher and Dylan Posa) on Sunday, January 31st, 1999. Phil is very excited to have recently gotten his hands on the Burt Bacharach box set, and we are listening to it in the control room. As we sit there together, blissing out to the sublime strains of "Our Day Will Come," he looks over at me and says, "I never use this word, but he's a... (pause)... (sheepishly)... genius." But Phil was not merely "our guitarist" or "our engineer" -- he was also a dear, dear friend. He and I lived together (in Streamwood, then Palatine) from the fall of 1990 to the summer of 1992, and we became very close during this time period. Sometimes eerily close. On one summer day in 1991, after we'd been living together for over half a year, I had decided to cut off all of my long hair. Phil came home that night after a lengthy studio session and, as he walked through the front door, we just looked at each other in shocked silence: he, too, had cut off all of his long hair. On another day that same summer, we tooled around Streamwood in his Suzuki Sidekick, cranking my Herb Alpert mixtape. Did that Sidekick have a sun roof, or can I still feel the sun's warmth on my face and arms because that moment unlocked one of my earliest and fondest memories: riding in my mom's Galaxy 500 convertible, listening to "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" on her car's 8-track player? How perfect was it that Phil and I were in a dissonant/abrasive/aggressive rock band together, and yet our strongest convergence was in the area of "easy listening?" Indeed all four members of this '90s incarnation of CHEER-ACCIDENT shared a deep passion for this music, and there were murmurs of dedicating an entire album to this genre, starting in the mid-'90s. These murmurs grew louder and more insistent (accompanied by serious demos being recorded by all involved), and by early '99, there were specific plans being made to record this selection of songs... just in time for Phil's sudden and devastating death on Tuesday, February 2nd, 1999. And now, one year after Burt's death and 25 years after Phil's death, we have unlocked this treasure chest of heartfelt songs (three of which have the latter's stamp on them), and Cuneiform Records has taken on the noble task of availing them to the public. Pandemically recorded by one Steve Albini (whose name is virtually synonymous with "easy listening") at his charmed studio, Electrical Audio in Chicago, this is surely our most severe example of "delayed gratification" to date. I know that "severity" and "easy listening" do not exactly go hand in hand, but we always have had a rather BachAssarach way of doing things. Thank You For (Easily) Listening. -- Thymme Jones / CHEER-ACCIDENT  ~ ~ ~ Listen to / Buy CHEER-ACCIDENT'S VACATE  on Bandcamp:  CREDITS FOR MUSICIANS ON VARIOUS TRACKS (line-up for each track listed on Bandcamp)  Thymme Jones - piano, vocals, trumpet, tambourine, mouth snare, mouth percussion, ambience, handclaps, shaker, moogbass, drums, moog, keyboards Justin Amolsch - French horn, trumpet Scot Ashley - acoustic guitar Nora Barton - cello John Cwiok - bass Andrea Faught - melodica Mike Greenlees - drums Mike Hagedorn - trombone, slide trumpet Billie Jean Howard - violin Maxx Katz - flute Candice Latimer - vocals Jeff Libersher - guitar, acoustic guitar Peter Muschong - guitar, acoustic guitar Julie Pomerleau - violin Gabriel Riccio - organ Bethany DeGaetano Smoker - vocals Sophia Uddin - violin, viola Johanna Wiesbrock - violin Recorded in 2020 at Electrical Audio (by Steve Albini) and CheerAx Basement  Listen to & buy other CHEER-ACCIDENT releases on Cuneiform Records: "Tons of weird rock records have streamed out of Chicago over the past two decades, but none have blended pop smarts and avant-garde impulses as skillfully as this marvelous brainteaser..." – Time Out New York Chicago XX                    Putting Off Death                  No Ifs, Ands or Dogs.               Fear Draws Misfortune            "Cheer-Accident are the quintessential Chicago post-rock band that, sadly, you may have never heard of. Too bad. They've been exploring head-scratching, creatively fucked-up time signatures and sideways guitar shenanigans for 20 [40!] years now, leaving a pronounced influence on the Windy City's art-rock scene. Their playful musical approach is a ripe aesthetic of absurdist humor." – Pitchfork return to top ! SNEAK PEEK WITH SOUNDS ! COMING OUT ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS IN MAY 2024 OUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY MONTH: SOFT MACHINE HØVIKKODEN 1971 A four-album, limited edition boxed set (released in both LP and CDs formats, in addition to digital) of music recorded in 1971 by UK  jazz-rock pioneers Soft Machine.  ~~~ listen to/ share on Soundcloud "VIRTUALLY" from SOFT MACHINE's HØVIKODDEN 1971 CREDITS: Elton Dean : alto sax, saxello, Hohner pianet Hugh Hopper : bass Mike Ratledge : Hohner pianet, Lowrey Holiday Deluxe organ, Fender Rhodes Robert Wyatt : drums, vocals Recorded February 27, 1971 at the Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter in Høvikodden, Norway. pre-order LP boxed set on Bandcamp return to top SNEAK PEEKS OF DISTANT TREASURES   COMING OUT IN 2024 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS (Listed in alphabetical order. Sound samples to come out in future newsletters)   ~~~~~ JAZZ GHOST RHYTHMS – MISSING TIMES  (new studio album by young French avant progressive ensemble [FRANCE] ~~~~~ JANEL LEPPIN / ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH – TO MARCH IS TO LOVE COMING OUT JUNE 2024 (new studio album by composer/cellist Leppin's all-star DC jazz ensemble with guitarist Anthony Pirog / drummer Larry Ferguson / bassist Luke Stewart / saxophonists Brian Settles & Sarah Hughes) [USA] ~~~~~  JANEL & ANTHONY – NEW MOON IN THE EVIL AGE COMING OUT JUNE 2024 (new studio album by reknowned DC/Silver Spring-based cello/guitar/electronics post-rock/ post-jazz / beyond-genre duo, Janel Leppin & Anthony Pirog) [USA] ~~~~~ LUKE STEWART / SILT REMEMBRANCE ENSEMBLE COMING OUT OCTOBER 2024  (new jazz recording by a quintet ensemble featuring Luke Stewart, Chad Taylor, and Brian Settles – the members of Luke Stewart's Silt Trio – with Jamal Moore (sax & percusison) and Daniel Carter (sax & trumpet)) [USA]   ~~~~~ ROCK  JANEL & ANTHONY – NEW MOON IN THE EVIL AGE COMING OUT JUNE 2024 (new studio album by reknowned DC/Silver Spring-based cello/guitar/electronics post-rock/ post-jazz / beyond-genre duo, Janel Leppin & Anthony Pirog) [USA] ~~~~~ SOFT MACHINE – HØVIKODDEN 1971 (4 disc set) COMING OUT MAY 2024 (4-disc set of archival live recordings, half of which are previously unreleased, by British electric jazz/ jazz-rock legends, Soft Machine) [UK] ~~~~~ YANG – REJOICE! COMING OUT JULY 2024 (Yang, the French quartet led by guitarist & composer Frederic L'Epée, release a new disc featuring vocals by guest Carla Kihlstedt (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Tin Hat Trio) [FRANCE]   CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL  /  ELECTRONIC  MOTHER MALLARD'S PORTABLE MASTERPIECE CO. / DAVID BORDEN –  MAKE WAY FOR MOTHER MALLARD COMING OUT AUGUST 2024  (Two discs of previously unreleased music - one from 1970s, one from 2010s - by electronic music pioneer/ classical minimalist composer David Borden and his band, Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.) [USA] ~~~~~   ELECTRONIC – ROCK   ~~~~~~  RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL – GALACTIC FURNACE  (New double album by longstanding prolific UK electronic trio) [UK]   return to top CUNEIFORM ARTISTS ON TOUR 2024 CALENDAR IMPORTANT COVID REMINDER: In an evolving (and now endemic) COVID-19 world, and with adverse weather "events" happening in increasing frequency, these dates are ALL tentative. Please check with venues, close to the concert date, to confirm. We're ecstatic that live concerts are happening worldwide, but we remain aware that emergent variants - as well as severe weather - can unexpectedly affect schedules. See also the Tours Page at Cuneiform Records.   A LIGHT SLEEPER “…not quite rock, not quite jazz, not quite worth labeling, but most certainly worth hearing.” — smilepolitely.com _______________________________ April 27 - Somniloquy Sessions” - Hideout - 1354 W. Wabansia - Chicago IL May 4 - Tritriangle - 1550 N Milwaukee Ave.,  Floor 3 - Chicago, IL. May 17 -  Zhou B Art Center - Chicago, IL   Listen to & Buy:  Equaiverpoise      CHEER–ACCIDENT Cheer-Accident celebrate Vacate, their upcoming Cuneiform Records studio release:                  "...one of the most impressive concerts I saw was the Dragon Drop/Cheer Accident/Free Salamander Exhibit show in Indianapolis. ...Cheer Accident blew me away... The music was innovative and powerful and brave and everything I’d hoped it would be."- Proglodytes "Cheer-Accident are the quintessential Chicago post-rock band... They've been exploring head-scratching, creatively fucked-up time signatures and sideways guitar shenanigans for 20 years now, leaving a pronounced influence on the Windy City's art-rock scene. Their playful musical approach is a ripe aesthetic of absurdist humor." – Pitchfork _______________________________ May 2 - Robert's Westside - Forest Park, IL   Listen to & buy  Chicago XX, Putting Off Death,          No Ifs, Ands or Dogs, Fear Draws Misfortune      "Tons of weird rock records have streamed out of Chicago over the past two decades, but none have blended pop smarts and avant-garde impulses as skillfully as this marvelous brainteaser..." – Time Out New York JANEL & ANTHONY Washington DC's premier music power duo, Janel & Anthony individually are internationally acclaimed master players and composers who lead their own ensembles. In June 2024, they'll release a new studio recording on Cuneiform Records, called New Moon In the Evil Age - their second duo recording for the label.   "Janel & Anthony - guitars and 'cello respectively - play a haunting and humbly virtuosic form of music wherein the elements of electronics, looping, and lo-fi timbres live both in intimacy and in majesty in the same house as acoustic instruments and folk/blues-inspired melodies. As such, it is both timely and timeless..." – Nels Cline   April 10 - Rhizome - Washington, DC [opening for Wendy Eisenberg & Caroline Davis] April 14 - Zebulon - 2478 Fletcher Drive - Los Angeles, CA 90039 June 28 - Record release show! - Rhizome - Washington, DC Listen to & buy: Where Is Home                       "The result is a marvelous surprise at every turn, as the duo...two absolute virtuosos...create atmospheres that at times evoke the music of Steve Tibbetts, Brian Eno, even soundtrack music" – DownBeat HENRY KAISER Grammy winner Henry Kaiser is widely recognized as one of the most creative and innovative guitarists, improvisers, and producers in the fields of rock, jazz, world, and contemporary experimental musics. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– THE HENRY KAISER MONTHLY SOLO SERIES, presented exclusively on the CUNEIFORM RECORDS YouTube Channel  When Covid pandemic lockdowns began in 2020, Henry Kaiser began curating & presenting a weekly series of pre-recorded music videos exclusively on Cuneiform's YouTube Channel for music lovers isolating at home. These "live" concerts are taped beforehand and not streamed - Henry discusses the process in a Guitar Moderne interview, "The New "Live"".  Many videos in the series depict duets and larger bands, despite the program being called the "Henry Kaiser Weekly Solo Series".  While many depict new or recent performances, other videos in this series are vintage footage of performances not available elsewhere (The Valentines' 1994 concert in the Fukuoka Dome). Over time, the series converted to monthly and currently, a quarterly release schedule.  All 52 videos from the Henry Kaiser's Weekly Series, the entire two year Monthly Series and all current quarterly videos are archived & available on Cuneiform's YouTube Channel.  We invite you to visit and follow Cuneiform Record's YouTube Channel to see the videos that Henry regularly presents. A must see: the WINTER 2024 video is HENRY KAISER QUARTERLY #4: BARITONE GUITAR SPECIAL, featuring Henry's awesome guitar work along with Special Guests: Luciana Bass, Jim Clark, Janet Feder, Sandy Ewen, Vanessa Gould, Sandor Nagyszalancy, Anthony Pirog, Gregory Stephen, Sid Stephen, & Carl Weingarten. In addition to his video series, Kaiser occasionally presents special videos:  some focusing on current events and guitar legends, and some providing free guitar lessons, focusing on tunes associated with legendary guitarists. His September 2022 guitar lesson video, focusing on the whole tone scale and Sonny Sharrock, is titled The Whole Tone Scale! Sonny Sharrock’s DICK DOGS lesson with Henry Kaiser. Besides his work as a musician, Kaiser is also a scientific diver and underwater videographer in the U.S. Antarctic program. Several of his Solo Series videos on the Cuneiform channel feature Henry's stunning underwater videography in addition to his guitar playing, as in this stunning video from May 2020:  HENRY KAISER : Cuneiform Weekly Solo #2 : Under The Ice Again . Because all videos are archived on the Cuneiform Records' YouTube Channel, you can watch anything in the series at any time.   Listen to & buy: Albums by Henry Kaiser & Friends  on Cuneiform A Love Supreme Electric [Vinny Golia / John Hanrahan / Henry Kaiser / Wayne Peet / Mike Watt]: A Love Supreme Electric: A Love Supreme and Meditations  Yo Miles!: Henry Kaiser & Wadada Leo Smith: Sky Garden & Upriver     Five Times Surprise [Henry Kaiser / Anthony Pirog / Tracy Silverman / Jeff Sipe / Andy West]:  Five Times Surprise Henry Kaiser & Ray Russell:  The Celestial Squid Henry Kaiser: Lemon Fish Tweezer; Fred Frith & Henry Kaiser: Friends & Enemies     Healing Force [Vinny Golia • Aurora Josephson • Henry Kaiser • Mike Keneally • Joe Morris • Damon Smith • Weasel Walter]: Healing Force:  The Songs of Albert Ayler                       V.A.: 156 Strings: Nineteen Totally Original Acoustic Guitarists   JANEL LEPPIN /  ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH A composer and cellist who’s honed a singular synthesis of composition, orchestration and improvisation, Janel Leppin is one of DC's leading avant-music stars. Besides performing as half of the experimental duo Janel and Anthony, which she co-leads with her husband guitarist Anthony Pirog, she leads the seven-piece chamber-jazz Ensemble Volcanic Ash, as well as performing and recording with other jazz, rock, and experimental  groups.  "An Absolute Virtuoso - 4 Stars" - Downbeat Magazine "Leppin is a rarity..ahhh-vant garde at its finest." - Capital Bop June 8 - IMOO 2024 - Glebe-St. James United Church - Ottowa, Ontario, Canada June 20 - Jazz at SAAM - Smithsonian American Art Museum - Kogood Courtyard - Washington, DC June 28 - Record release show! - Rhizome - Washington, DC See also separate listing for JANEL & ANTHONY concerts   Listen to & buy: Janel Leppin Ensemble Volcanic Ash Janel & Anthony, Where Is Home BEN MILLER Michigan native Ben Miller is a saxophonist and composer. He's featured on three Cuneiform albums: two by the Fourth World Quartet and the other by Miller Twins (Ben and his twin brother Laurence).  BEN MILLER'S 11th HOUR June 24 - Trinosophes - 1464 Gratiot Ave - Detroit MI (parking lot in back) [Ben & company play Terry RIley's 'In C' on Terry's birthday!] BEN MILLER'S  "self-deconstructed multiphonic guitar"  April 7 - Design Collective - 4148 Hamilton Ave - Cincinnati, OH 45223 April 8  Psychic Garden - 736 Exchange St. - Rochester NY @ April 9 - The New Edge WMBR 88.1 FM interview by Ken Field (of Bird Songs of the Mesozoic) April 9 - The Downstairs - 121 West Martin Luther King Jr Street, - Ithaca NY 14850 April 10 - Green Kill, 8:00 pm (tickets for live streaming and in-person event) - 229 Greenkill Ave. - Kingston, NY. April 11 - Saratoga Arts - 320 Broadway - Saratoga Springs, NY April 12  - The Armory: Graphic Score & Found Sound Workshop - 191 Highland Ave. - Somerville MA April 13 - The Millenium: ( Graphic Score & Found Sound Workshop - 167 Wilson Ave - Brooklyn, NY April 14 -  Main Drag Music - sharing the bill w/Norman Westburg (x-Swans) - 50 S 1st St, Brooklyn - NY 11249 April 15  - Abyssinia (an Ethiopian Restaurant) - 229 S 45th St. - Philadelphia, PA April 16 -  Rhizome - 6950 Maple St NW - Washington, DC 20012 April 18 - Graphic Score & Found Sound Workshop [tbc] April 18  - Little Amps Cafe - 1836 Green St. - Harrisburg, PA April 19 - Pittsburg, PA [tbc] April 20  - Water Bottom Stage - 36 Woodlawn Ave - Norwalk OH April 21 - Robinwood Concerthouse -  2564 Robinwood Ave. - Toledo, OH 43610 April 22 - Feed Media Art Center: Concert with live VJ Willow aka Data Wretch - 1307 State Street - Erie PA  Listen to & buy:  The Miller Twins, Early Compositions 1973-1976 "In 1973, the idea of a wind ensemble backed with bass guitar and drums was quite revolutionary, and I can’t think of any other examples outside of jazz — which this clearly isn’t, although there’s a bit of influence." – Expose The Fourth World Quartet 1975  //  Grand Bland Vapid Rapids         ROGER CLARK MILLER Roger Clark Miller is a guitarist, pianist, bassist, composer, singer, percussionist and occasional cornet player. His career officially began in 1979 when he co-founded the influential post-punk band Mission of Burma on guitar and vocals. He formed Birdsongs of the Mesozoic on piano in 1981, and from 1983-1989 he began his Maximum Electric Piano work. Miller joined the Alloy Orchestra in 1998 - "the best [orchestra] in the world at accompanying silent film" says Roger Ebert – which continues today as The Anvil Orchestra. He recently released new solo looping-based music on Cuneiform - Dream Interpretations for Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble.. Boston Globe: "Less a recital than a musical minefield... Miller is a man in constant motion, a one-man symphony."   April 27 - Dream Interpretations for Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble - Town and City Festival -  Lowell, MA May 18 - Dream Interpretations for Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble - Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA [with The Messthetics]   Listen to & buy: Roger Clark Miller, Eight Dream Interpretations for Electric Guitar Ensemble      Birdsongs of the Mesozoic Dawn of the Cycads, The Fossil Record       The Fourth World Quartet, 1975 THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND "Twenty-first century big-band music doesn’t get more exciting and impressive than this." – Jazz Times An astounding 18 piece jazz ensemble of five woodwind players, four trumpeters, three trombonists, two keyboardists, guitar, violin, bass and drums, led by arranger, composer & saxophonist Ed Palermo, one of America's most singular arrangers who draws on jazz, pop and rock tunes for his top-notch band. There are a number of ensembles performing the music of Frank Zappa, one of the greatest American composers of the 20th century, but no one does it with the ease, skill and originality that Ed and his band do! –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Don't miss seeing the ED PALERMO BIG BAND live!  Their shows often sell out, so buy your tickets well in advance. ~~~~ April 27 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 May 20 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner of 51st and Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 June 22 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 July 29 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner of 51st and Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 August 24 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 September 30 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner 51st & Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 October 26 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 November 18 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner of 51st and Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 December 21 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542   Listen to & buy Ed Palermo Big Band albums on Cuneiform: The Adventures of Zoyd Zundgren // The Great Un-American Songbook Vols. 1&2  // One Child Left Behind // Oh No! Not Jazz!!  // Eddy Loves Frank. //  Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance                     ANTHONY PIROG "[Palo Colorado Dream] covers a sprawling musical terrain–avant jazz, atmospheric soundscapes, earthy Americana, math-rock...with an arsenal of effects hardware and studio production techniques..." – JazzTimes "One of jazz’s most reliable conduits to a living, breathing audience is electric-guitar heroism, and Anthony Pirog, from Washington...seems poised to become a hero of the instrument." – The New York Times ________________________________ Pirog in Duos See separate listing for JANEL & ANTHONY concerts   Pirog featured with  The Messthetics &  James Brandon Lewis: May 6 - Club Cafe - Pittsburg, PA May 7 - MOTR Pub - Cincinnati, OH May 9 - Turf Club - St. Paul, MN May 10 - Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI May 11 - Lincoln Hall - Chicago, IL May 12 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI May 13 - Bell's Eccentric Cafe - Kalamazoo, MI May 14 - Velvet Underground - Toronto, On, Canada May 15 - The 27 Club - Ottwawa, On, Canada May 16 - Bar Le Ritz - Montreal, QC, Canada May 17 - The Thing In The Spring - Keene, NH May 18 -  Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville Theatre - Someville, MA [with Roger Miller / Dream Interpretations for Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble] May 19 - Bowery  Ballroom - NYC, NY   Listen to & buy: Anthony Pirog: Pocket Poem; Palo Colorado Dream .       Janel & Anthony, Where Is Home      in other groupings: Five Times Surprise The Spellcasters, Music from the Anacostia Delta   Janel Leppin Ensemble Volcanic Ash   TOMEKA REID QUARTET 2022 MacArthur Award winning cellist Tomeka Reid's all-star Quartet  (Jason Roebke-bass,Tomas Fujiwara-drums, 2019 MacArthur Award recipient Mary Halvorson-guitar, Reid-cello) plays new material while also celebrating Old New, its second release and first on Cuneiform Records. Both accessible and adventurous, Old New became a critically acclaimed 2019 jazz favorite, prolifically reviewed and featured on Best of Year lists worldwide. In 2024, Reid celebrates releasing a new album, 3+3, on Cuneiform in May 2024:   3+3   May 24 - Green Mill  - 4802 N Broadway Ave - Chicago, IL [CD release weekend!]   May 25 - Green Mill  - 4802 N Broadway Ave - Chicago, IL [CD release weekend!]   June - Japanese tour! - dates soon   Listen to & buy: Old New   SCHNELLERTOLLERMEIER ""The Best Music of 2015: A Banner Year for the Bold: …here are a dozen albums released in 2015 that I savored repeatedly for their musicality, clarity of statement and courage. …“X” by Schnellertollermeier marries brutality to avant-garde rock and jazz. A classic power trio from Switzerland, the band plays with punk fury and dazzling technical dexterity to create booming, bone-rattling music that stalks, confronts and astonishes." – The Wall Street Journal Brutal-jazz power trio Schnellertollermeier doesn't compromise. Their fresh and uncompromising mix of jazz, punk, rock, sound and free improvised music, combined with great musicianship, interplay and intense energy, has awed audiences at festivals of jazz, rock, pop and experimental music worldwide.  _____________________________ April 4 - Viel Jazz - im Burgbachkeller - Sankt-Oswalds-Gasse 3 - Zug, Switzerland   Listen to & buy: 5  // Rights //  X           UZ JSME DOMA When Uz Jsme Doma (pronounced "Oozh (rhymes with 'rouge') Smeh Dough-Ma) (in English, “Now I Get It”) were founded in Teplice, Czechoslovakia in 1985, rock was freedom and freedom was illegal. It wasn't until the fall of the Communist government that they were able to record and tour, which they then proceeded to do with a vengence. Their music combines the energy of punk rock while adding more complex structures taken from avant-garde and avant-progressive bands and even from folk music. They are living, fire-breathing, alternative rock legends: one of “the two great Bastions of the Czech alternative scene” said the Prague Post, who ranked them in importance beside the Plastic People of the Universe. "...fierce commitment to the freedom inherent in Western art-damaged music. Uz embody the absolute unpredictability in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention primarily, but also the multi-influence, anti-pop clatter of the Residents, Captain Beefheart, Pere Ubu, 1977 punk, and...prog. You won't know what they're singing about in Czech, but the limitless hyper-energy and collision of styles piling on each other with remarkable precision, always turns ears....It's glorious..."  – Jack Rabid  _____________________________ FALL 2024 USA TOUR [extensive list of tour dates to be announced soon] October 31 - Ottobar - 2549 North Howard St - Baltimore, MD   Listen to & buy: Jesknye / Caves               To set up press and radio interviews with Cuneiform Artists while on tour or at home, please contact: promo@cuneiformrecords.com return to top SPEND 2024 WITH MUSIC & VIDEOS ONLINE !   CUNEIFORM RECORDS has a treasure chest of interesting music to serve as soundtrack, inspiration and solace during these evolving and challenging times. Our mammoth catalogue of over 500 releases by artists from around the world includes many of avant music's most esteemed icons as well as young rising stars, and is available for purchase in digital and physical formats at the CUNEIFORM RECORDS BANDCAMP store, and in physical formats at one of our sister companies, WAYSIDE MUSIC as well as in RECORD SHOPS worldwide (see our DISTRIBUTORS).  Your purchases of our CDs, LPs, and digital downloads supports or indie musicians, indie labels, and small businesses.    • VISIT the official CUNEIFORM RECORDS WEBSITE  for extensive information on the artists and recordings on our label,  upcoming concerts & much more.   • WATCH VIDEOS on Cuneiform Records' YOUTUBE CHANNEL Cuneiform Records has an extremely active YouTube Channel which you should bookmark as a favorite:  free music videos, videos of live shows, & samples from 500+ adventurous releases!   And we began expanding our video content during the pandemic, most notably with an ongoing video series curated  and produced by guitarist Henry Kaiser.  • PURCHASE & LISTEN to releases on CUNEIFORM RECORDS BANDCAMP PAGE  Discover new music on our Bandcamp Page, and support artists & our indie label by purchasing music.   • PURCHASE music from100s of LABELS from around the world at  WAYSIDE MUSIC, our sister store.  At our internet store, WaysideMusic.com (established in 1980!), you can purchase hard-to-find CDs and LPs from ALL your favorite labels!  • ENJOY and SHARE SAMPLES of music by releases of countless Cuneiform artists on the Cuneiform Records' SoundCloud Site. • VISIT, LIKE & FOLLOW  Cuneiform Records' Official FACEBOOK PAGE.  • JOIN the Cuneiform Records FACEBOOK GROUP:  FANS Of Cuneiform Records.  • FOLLOW @CuneiformRecord onTWITTER • LICENSE music from Cuneiform for movies, ads etc via our sister site TheMusicOutpost.com. • SIGN UP for the CUNEIFORM RECORDS NEWSLETTER if you're not already one of our subscribers, and  get BOTH this monthly newsletter in your email box AND receive notices for Cuneiform's weekly "$5 Friday" offers – Cuneiform selects a special album from its archive each weekend,  to be sold in download format via Bandcamp, that weekend only,  for half price. • VISIT our TOURS PAGE for upcoming concerts WORLDWIDE by our artists.   • ACCESS PRIOR ISSUES of the CUNEIFORM RECORDS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER at cuneiformrecord.blogspot.com/     Cuneiform Records' Monthly Newsletter announces and gives in-depth info on ALL of the label's NEW RELEASES - both physical and digital formats - and also provides TOUR / CONCERT info from its artists. return to top CUNEIFORM RECORDS SOCIAL ONLINE Cuneiform YouTube Cuneiform Website Facebook FanGroup Facebook Page Cuneiform Twitter Cuneiform SoundCloud Cuneiform Bandcamp Instagram Email Cuneiform return to top Cuneiform Records' Monthly Newsletter is compiled by Joyce (Joy) [Nalewajk] Feigenbaum, DIRECTOR OF THE MUSIC OUTPOST – PUBLICITY FACEBOOK PAGE: MusicOutpostPublicityAndLicensing TWITTER: @TheMusicOutpost return to top WELCOME 2024! IT'S CUNEIFORM RECORDS' 40th ANNIVERSARY   Since its birth in 1984 in the Washington D.C. DMV, Cuneiform Records' mission has been to spotlight cutting-edge, boundary-defying New Music from around the world: music ignored by major labels and the mainstream music industry. To our founder Steve Feigenbaum, this music was too interesting, too important to ignore. Dynamic and progressive, it held the keys to music's future. Musicians globally were crossing geographic and musical borders, destroying genre borders between rock and classical, electronic and jazz; reexamining and imploding musical traditions and creating new hybrid genres and forms. Steve wanted to open music lovers' eyes and ears to music they'd otherwise have missed, and to give avant garde musicians opportunity for their recordings to be released, distributed and promoted around the world. With offices on DC's border in Silver Spring, Cuneiform Records became an international platform for musicians progressing beyond staid tradition, the visionary musicians paving music's future course.   Steve Feigenbaum   Cuneiform Records released albums by both up and coming stars (Schnellertollermeier, Tomeka Reid Quartet) as well as established icons of the avant garde (Wadada Leo Smith, Soft Machine, Richard Pinhas/Heldon & more). Over 4 decades, we've released and promoted over 540 albums in a variety of formats and galaxy of genres by artists from around the world. Our releases have placed in countless Best of Year lists in multiple musical genres (jazz, rock, electronic, 'beyond') worldwide and, in 2017, one won the DownBeat Jazz Album of the Year Award for Smith's America's National Parks. Cuneiform & Wayside Music staff in 2017 with DownBeat Album of the Year Award A lifetime releasing non-commercial music has not been easy – the road less travelled is inherently bumpy and hazard strewn. In 2018, the evolving digital landscape required us to rigorously streamline operations.  But Cuneiform Records survived that transition, as have our smiles: we've always released music that we believed in, and we look forward to releasing a world of music to come. We gave edgy, creative music the spotlight. And hopefully, once you saw what treasures lay on the tip of every wave, the cutting edge of each musical genre, you now believe in this music, too. Many of the radical musical innovations forged by artists we spotlit generations ago have since been absorbed by the mainstream. We know that more jaw dropping innovations lay ahead, and look forward to bringing them to you. This month, we introduce a young Danish ensemble who create surprising minimalist rock music: ANTISTATIC. We thank each and every one of you for the support, love and encouragement you've given us for nearly a half-century. Onward! – Cuneiform Records   return to top Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* Cuneiform Records, All rights reserved.   Washington, DC // Silver Spring, MD Our mailing address is: Cuneiform Records P.O. Box 8427 Silver Spring, MD 20907 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Was this email forwarded to you from a friend? Subscribe to the Cuneiform Records Newsletter. Read this email online   return to top