Cuneiform Records DECEMBER 2024 Newsletter

CUNEIFORM RECORDS DECEMBER 2024 NEWSLETTER:  New Releases & Concerts      read this newsletter online – on laptop/computer:  navigate via colored links,  or scroll down – on mobile: scroll down, or read online if images don't open ~~~~~~     “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” ―William E. Gladstone   ~~~~~~ DECEMBER 2024 NOTES:  REFLECTING ON CUNEIFORM'S 40TH YEAR  – Cuneiform's Albums of 2024: an Overview  ~~~~~~ OUT NOW!  RELEASED NOVEMBER 22, 2024 FOUR GENRE-DEFIANT RELEASES FROM AROUND THE WORLD ANGLING – WAS IT 1984 OR 1985? Sole recordings made by the Downtown NY quartet of Zeena Parkins, George Cartwright, Chris Cochrane, & Fred Chalenor [USA] ~~~~~~ DIRK BRUINSMA – LOW RELIEFS Solo music by Dirk Bruinsma, Dutch composer and multi-instrumentalist  (saxophones, bass guitar, electronics, percussion), and the co-leader of Blast  [THE NETHERLANDS] ~~~~~~ DENMAN MARONEY – NITS MUSICA Pianist Denman Maroney's unique mastery of prepared piano results in a compelling new album of his Hyperpiano music [USA] ~~~~~~ VOLAPUK – WHERE IS TAMASHII? Reissue of the final album by Volapük, the art rock/ post-rock / Rock In Opposition quartet led by drummer/composer/ Guigou Chenevier (Etron Fou Le Loublan alumnus) [FRANCE] – Additional releases by Volapük and Guigou Chenevier on Cuneiform Records ~~~~~ OUT NOW!  RELEASED OCTOBER 25, 2024 ELECTRONIC / AMBIENT / ROCK RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL – GALACTIC FURNACE New double album of epic electronic improvisations by space music legends, the longstanding British electronic trio Radio Massacre International [UK] – Additional releases by Radio Massacre International on Cuneiform Records ~~~~~ A SNEAK PEEK with SOUNDS COMING OUT JANUARY 2025 JAZZ JOHN SURMAN – FLASHPOINTS AND CROSSCURRENTS Double CD release of jazz recordings from April 18,1969 in Germany by British saxophonist John Surman's large ensemble with Kenny Wheeler, Alan Skidmore, Mike Osborne, Harry Miller, Alan Jackson, Ronnie Scott, Fritz Pauer, Malcolm Griffiths & Erich Kleinschuster  [UK] ~~~~~   SNEAK PEEKS OF WHAT'S COMING OUT IN 2025 A LIST OF UPCOMING JAZZ , ROCK, & EXPERIMENTAL/ ELECTRONIC 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/     "All we are saying is give peace a chance." - John Lennon  ~~~~~                                                                    read this newsletter online return to top 2024 IS CUNEIFORM RECORDS' 40TH  ANNIVERSARY! "Truly this is one of the most challenging yet rewarding catalogs ever known. Long live Cuneiform."– QoBuz    "The Cuneiform catalog is rich: a long string of revelatory releases..."                            – Jim Allan, Rock & Roll Globe FOUR DECADES in the biz: this IS an avant-music micro-business landmark. DECEMBER 2024 NOTES: Reflections on Our Anniversary Year   2024 has been a momentous year for Cuneiform Records: our 40th Anniversary as an independent record label internationally devoted to innovative music. Since our founding in 1984 in Washington DC's DMV – downtown Silver Spring, MD – Cuneiform has released well over 500 high quality recordings by both avant garde icons and young rising stars, and premiered both new recordings and previously unreleased archival gems. Our label name came obliquely from the earliest known form of writing, because Cuneiform was a distinctive and radically innovative form of recording / recorded information. Our goal was to release New Music: innovative recorded sound. And thus, for the past near-half century, Cuneiform Records released and promoted cutting edge recordings that charted the course of music to come, championing groundbreaking artists from around the world, new boundary-defying musical genres, and revolutionary new music. The wide-ranging impact of some discs we've been honored to release, by artists we've been honored to work with, was made clear this anniversary year by two 2024 articles spotlighting Wadada Leo Smith's Ten Freedom Summers. Cuneiform released Ten Freedom Summers, Wadada Leo Smith's epic masterwork, a 4-CD tribute to the American Civil Rights Movement, in 2012. In 2013, Ten Freedom Summers was named one of the 3 Pulitzer Prize in Music Finalists. In 2024, news platform Stacker named Ten Freedom Summers THE #1 'Best Album of the Century' thus far in an article "50 Best Albums of the 21st Century, According to Critics," reprinted October 6, 2024 on MSN (screen shot below) and Good Men Project.                                                      Stacker noted that: "...it's easy to pick out groundbreaking art in hindsight, but it can be more difficult to recognize them in the moment.  ...Stacker set out to find the best albums of the 21st century, compiling data from Metacritic ... an aggregation of critic reviews."  Review aggregator Metacritic listsTen Freedom Summers'  is as #1 in its All-Time Scores (screen shot below).                                                            Also in 2024, in a May 27th article by Andrew Miller, online lifestyle magazine Best Life citedTen Freedom Summers as one of "The 30 Best Albums Ever Recorded."  Miller notes in "The 30 Most Critically Acclaimed Music Albums of All Time" that: "Good music is in the ear of the beholder, but even though opinions differ on what makes a great album, those inarguable classics exist that are recognized as among the best of all time—at least according to professional critics."  What's most revealing is the company that Wadada Leo Smith's Ten Freedom Summers keeps in this "best records ever" list: it's shoulder-to-shoulder alongside The Beatles' Abbey Road (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition); Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (35 Anniversary Deluxe Edition), Prince's Sign of the Times (Deluxe Edition), Bob Dylan's The Basement Tapes Compete: The Bootleg Series, Miles Davis' Live in Europe 1967: Best of Bootleg, Johnny Cash's The Complete Columbia Album Collection, The Smith's The Queen Is Dead (Deluxe Edition) – and dozens of other works by major-name, mainstream pop/rock/country/jazz stars.  Wadada Leo Smith is a major avant-music icon, and hisTen Freedom Summers is a masterwork of creative music. Critics have long recognized that avant garde music is worth serious consideration. Articles and lists like these – which rank avant music masterworks alongside mainstream music masterworks – help make the general public aware of the importance of music beyond the mainstream.                                             What's also revealing is the company that Cuneiform Records keeps on this list: we are the ONLY completely independent/ non-mainstream label to have released one of Best Life's – and Metacritic's –  Best 30 Albums of All Times. Other labels on this list include such well-funded corporate endeavors as Columbia, Warner Bros, Rough Trade, Apple, Matador, Univeted Artists, Sire, Elektra and more. While Ten Freedom Summers is distinguished by scoring in the top 30 albums of ALL TIMES and across ALL GENRES, scores of other avant-music releases on Cuneiform have vied against works on larger labels and appeared annually with high rankings in Best of Year Lists in jazz, rock, electronic and progressive music magazines and on both national and specialty radio shows around the world.                                      Cuneiform's high-powered run as a small business releasing and promoting works that vied with larger and/or major label output met a brief bump in 2018, when the financial realities of professionally running an avant music, indie record label in the digital age prompted founder Steve Feigenbaum to reorganize Cuneiform. The label-funded Publicity & Promotion Department was cut and the label put on hold. After a brief (3-month) hiatus, Steve transformed what once was the Little Engine That Could into a modern streamlined train, and continued to release high-quality recordings that rank highly in Best of Year lists by some of the world's most visionary and artistically progressive avant musicians. Which brings us to now – the last month of 2024, the year of our 40th Anniversary.  We've met challenges over the decades. But we've persisted in our dream to serve as a platform for music that's beyond the mainstream and deserves to be heard – because that music is what paves the way for the future. We invite you to listen to each of the releases we've released in celebration of our anniversary this year, by clicking on the images below.  And, to learn more about our label (historical notes appear in each newsletter Index/Into) and the recordings we released in 2024, we invite you to read any of the monthly newsletters that you may have missed. Cuneiform's monthly newsletters are archived in our CuneiformRecords BlogSpot. Cuneiform Records is proud of the fact that, for 40-years-and-counting, we've continued to release high-quality, genre-defying, boundary-pushing music, while remaining an artist friendly, independent business that pays artist royalties and office/warehouse rent. We could not have done any of this without all of YOU: our ARTISTS, our FANS who purchase music, and the MUSIC PRESS and RADIO professionals who support our artists' music.   THANK YOU ALL for your support of Cuneiform Records.  Since the beginning, we've wanted our label to be an international platform for interesting, progressively cutting-edge and often challenging music ignored by the mainstream music industry.  Thanks to YOU, this dream – and Cuneiform Records' 40th anniversary – became reality. ~~~~~   A special thanks to the journalists who've published articles on Cuneiform Records' 40th Anniversary thus far, including: – Jeff Laughlin, QoBuz Magazine, "40 Years of Cuneiform Records" – Jim Allan, Rock and Roll Globe, "Steve Feigenbaum on 40 Years of Cuneiform Records. An American institution of unconventional music has a big birthday" – Mike Borella, Avant Music News, "Cuneiform Records Overview" – Mario Calvitti, All About Jazz, "Una Gemma Soft Machine per il Quarantennale Cuneiform" /  "A Soft Machine Gem for the Forty-Year Anniversary of Cuneiform" return to top CUNEIFORM RECORDS' RELEASES OF 2024: OUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR (click image to hear)  JAZZ & BEYOND                                                 ELECTRONIC ELECTRONIC / CLASSICAL +  ELECTRONIC / ROCK         ROCK & BEYOND                                   return to top !! OUT NOW !! RELEASED NOVEMBER 22, 2024 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS:                        VOLAPUK WHERE IS TAMASHII?            Bio information: VOLAPÜK Title: WHERE IS TAMASHII ?  (Cuneiform Rune 3384) Format: DIGITAL Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS www.cuneiformrecords.com File under: AVANT PROGRESSIVE / ROCK IN OPPOSITION / POST ROCK /  CHAMBER ROCK ~ ~ ~ ~                           "The band specializes in an expert fusion of folk, circus music, gypsy dances and sounding like something that would go very well over a silent film about murderous clowns.  Fukushuma's occasional vocals also bring a few of the songs into a realm similar to Czech vocalist Iva Bittova's eccentric avant-pop. All...without the slightest hint of "Art," though the fact that Chenevier had to pull his musicians from classical conservatories should tell you something. There aren't many bands playing this kind of music, but I can say without hyperbole that Volapük is by some measure the best.  ...music at once as joyous, strange and accomplished is few and far between... Chenevier's projects can always stand more exposure, and Where Is Tamashii? is on par with the best of them." – Dominique Leone, Pitchfork listen to / share "Impro Cloche" from Volapük's Where Is Tamashii? CREDITS: Guigou Chenevier : batterie, percussions Takumi Fukushima : violin, voix Michel Mandel : clarinette, clarinette basse, taragot Guillaume Saurel : violoncelle, basse électrique   ~~~~~ Where Is Tamashii? is a reissue of the final album by Volapük, the genre-defiant, avant rock French ensemble led by drummer and composer Guigou Chenevier, an alumnus of the legendary Rock In Opposition (R.I.O.) / art rock quartet Etron Fou Le Loublan. One of rock's great unsung drummers, Chenevier  founded Volapük in 1993 as a trio with classical musicians Michel Mandel and Guillaume Saurel. He named his group Volapük after a unversal language that pre-dated Esperanto by 50 years. It was a fitting name for a group that ignored musical barriers, liberally sharing elements of rock, classical, folk music and even jazz in the pursuit of composition and melodic essence. Cuneiform Records began working with Chenevier and Volapük in the 1990s, releasing three Volapük studio albums. It also released a big-band project organized by Chenevier, called Les Rumeurs de la Ville. Recently, as part of its digital release series, Cuneiform reissued a live Volapük recording, Pükapök. Cuneiform is honored to now reissue Where Is Tamashii?, Volapük's last release before disbanding in 2010. We asked Guigou Chenevier to tell us about Where Is Tamashii?  Here's what he said: "In my opinion, Where is Tamashii? is the best realized album that Volapük ever recorded and released during the 12 or 13  years of our existence.   Unfortunately, for non-musical reasons, this album was not really well distributed when it was first released in 2003 and was not able to find the audience it should have.   This digital release that Cuneiform offers us today is a real chance for this album to finally exist again, and for more people to discover the very nice music it contains amongst its eleven pieces.   Listening back to this album today, something I had not done for many years, I am suddenty struck by the fact it constitutes a perfect bridge or link between the earlier period of the group and later projects which have ermerged from the Volapük nebula of musicians.   The song, "Where is Tamashii?" (I really LOVE Takumi’s singing on this song!), sounds quite like some pieces by Rêve Général, the ‘super-méga-group’ that we founded in 2016-2017 with a meeting of musicians coming from the Austro-Czech-Turkish band Metamorphosis and Volapük.   Guillaume cello's and my drums on Impro Cloche very strongly remind me a bit of the song Dunaj by Rêve Géneral. Takumi's violin in Chantage  is reminiscent of some parts of the album by Les Mutants Maha, a trio I created with Takumi on violin and vocals and Lionel Malric playing low tech keyboards in 2015.   I could easily list other examples, but in brief, my impressions in listening again to this album today; twenty one years after it was first released, is that its music is still fresh, organic and very real!  A good surprise for me. – Guigou Chenevier,  Avignon, France, September 16th 2024 click on image to Buy / Hear Volapük's Where Is Tamashii? on Bandcamp:       ~ ~ ~ ~ return to top Click on Image to Buy / Listen to Album on Bandcamp  OTHER VOLAPUK RECORDINGS ON CUNEIFORM  "A wonderful [group whose] compositions are highly rhythmic and playful, full of both surprises and logical thematic development." – C.M.J.   POLYGLOT "Volapük sounds like a cutting-edge gypsy band throughout much of Polyglöt, drawing heavily from Eastern European folk styles and simultaneously carrying forward the progressive sensibilities of the 1970s "Rock in Opposition" movement. The band also moves toward modern classical music of the minimalist school, while always retaining a folkish warmth and accessibility. Volapük's core trio are joined...by Takumi Fukushima, a violinist previously in the alternative pop band After Dinner.  ...Swedish accordionist and composer Lars Hollmer of Accordion Tribe, Looping Home Orchestra, and Samla Mammas Manna contributes "Voila pük..." –All Music CREDITS: Michel Mandel - clarinets, tárogató Guillaume Saurel - cello, flute Guigou Chenevier - drums, keyboards, marimba, sanza, vocals with: Takumi Fukushima - violin, vocals Lars Hollmer - accordion, melodica, harmonium & machines (3)   SLANG! "This French trio, led by the founder of the progressive rock group Etron Fou Leloublan, plays compositions that are succinct and well orchestrated. Utilizing percussion, bass clarinet, and cello, Volapuk's chamber-like music is multi-textural and colorful, dancing along a tightrope between simplicity and complexity. At times the music conjures images of a Middle Eastern bazaar or a gypsy caravan. Other times it would be appropriate as the soundtrack to a suspenseful whodunit. With Slang, Volapuk makes avant-garde music that can be challenging as well as listener-friendly. " – AllMusic  CREDITS: Michel Mandel - bass clarinet, synthesizer Guillaume Saurel - cello Guigou Chenevier - drums, vocals.            LE FEU DU TIGRE  "This first release by the Volapuk trio finds the group in top form. ... These guys are pros...with drummer and leader Guigou Chenevier already a Rock in Opposition veteran with numerous recordings as a member of Etron Fou Leloublan, and the two other group members...both with substantial classical training and performance experience.  ...Just as Volapuk (the language) draws from English, German, Latin, French, and Italian sources, Volapuk (the group) integrates popular and folk music of various European cultures. However, this CD ...displays a strong art rock and classical influence at times, as well as a substantial jazz element... " – AllMusic CREDITS: Guigou Chenevier : Drums, Saxophone, Vocals, Electronics Michel Mandel : Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tárogató Guillaume Saurel : Cello        P​UKAPOK Reissue of a 1999 limited edition release of live recordings made on Volapuk's 1998 tour of Poland, with performances at Pod Jaszczurami [Krakow], Manhattan Gallery [Lodz], Cultural Centre [Lutain], Centre for Contemporary Art - Zamek Ujazdowsk [Warsaw], Pinokio [Szczecin], Chemik [Gorzów Wielkopolski], Kameralna [Pila], Swiatowit [Eibiag], FRGS Mozg [Bydgoszcz], Katakumby [Wroctaw], Radio Lodz Studio [Lodi], St. John’s Church [Gdansk]. CREDITS: Guigou Chenevier : drums, sax, vocals, electronicis Michel Mandel : bass clarinet, clarinets, taragot, vocals Guillaume Saurel : cello, vocal Click on Image to Buy / Listen to Album on Bandcamp  GUIGOU CHENEVIER RECORDINGS ON CUNEIFORM LES RUMEURS DE LA VILLE Guigou Chenevier is one of rock's great unsung drummers, performing with Volapük and Etron Fou for many years. This album grew out of a workshop Guigou held in his home of Avignon. Great compositions – a mixture of compositions for septet plus taped fragments of "amateurs", great playing & a beautiful cover; basically this is a Guigou-led, big-band Volapük record. A brilliant & unique presentation. CREDITS: Laurence Bigot : saxophone, samplers, sound materials Guigou Chenevier : drums Olivier Gaudino : bass Fred Giuliani : keyboards Laurent Luci : guitar on 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 Michel Mandel : bass clarinet, clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophone Guillaume Saurel : cello The "Amateurs" Olivier Cadart : trombone Bruno Fache : guitar, voice Roland Delrue : accordion Eliane Charasse : voice Louis Vincent : trumpet Bernard Tieberghen : guitar Maurice Millet : keyboards Julie Mayen : violin return to top                                  !! OUT NOW !!                RELEASED NOVEMBER 22, 2024                                       ON                     CUNEIFORM RECORDS:                                                 ANGLING                 WAS IT 1984 OR 1985?                       Bio information: ANGLING Title: WAS IT 1984 OR 1985?  (Cuneiform Rune 3369) Format: DIGITAL Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: ROCK / AVANT ROCK / NEW MUSIC / POST-GENRE                                             ~ ~ ~ ~            listen to/ share on SoundCloud "Who Wrote What" from Angling's Was It 1984 or 1985?       CREDITS: Zeena Parkins – accordion and acoustic harp George Cartwright – soprano saxophone Chris Cochrane – electric guitar and tapes Fred Chalenor - bass   New York's Lower East Side in the mid-late 1980s was a boiling cauldron of explosively creative, genre-defiant music. Countless bands emerged to then sustain or devolve as musicians drawn to the scene experimented and evolved their signature sounds. Angling, formed 1984 / 1985 by four musicians who would soon become pillars of the NY Downtown scene, individually and in other ensembles – saxophonist George Cartwright, bassist Fred Chalenor, guitarist Chris Cochrane, accordionist & harpist Zeena Parkins – was one of the most interesting of these brief-lived, early groups. Angling played two live shows and one studio recording session before its members moved on to other endeavors. In 2023, George Cartwright, longtime leader of the Downtown NY band Curlew, unearthed those recordings, resulting in this Angling release. Cuneiform has previously released numerous albums from NYC's remarkably dynamic Downtown scene. These include the extensive studio and live catalogue of Curlew, one of the Scene's most acclaimed ensembles; reissues of three albums by the post-Angling group No Safety, which included two Angling members; and two post-Curlew albums by George Cartwright.    We asked Angling's members about the band:   Angling was a band either in 1984 or 1985.   Zeena was in between News from Babel recording projects, and was about to join Skeleton Crew.   George was in between the first and second Curlew recordings.   Fred had just come east with his band with Myles Boisen, Face Ditch.   Chris was improvising with a range of “downtown musicians” and curating shows as the Director of NYC'S Improvisor's Network.   The band No Safety [with Chris and Zeena] wasn’t even in the planning stages yet.   Fred wrote many of the compositions, with some additional tunes from Chris and Zeena and a Uruguayan folk song to showcase Zeena’s acoustic harp playing.   We rehearsed in Chris’s small apartment on Ludlow Street, once a week or so.   There were 3 names for the band that we never could come to consensus on: CCCP, Her Hat and Angling.   We did two gigs and one recording session, which is what this recording is a composite of.   George unearthed these recordings in in 2023.                                                                                ~ ~ ~ ~ ~                                           click on image to                       Buy / Hear ANGLING's               Was It 1984 or 1985? on Bandcamp:                                           return to top  !! OUT NOW !!  RELEASED NOVEMBER 22, 2024 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS:                        DIRK BRUINSMA LOW RELIEFS            Bio information: DIRK BRUINSMA Title: LOW RELIEFS  (Cuneiform Rune 3395) Format: DIGITAL Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL / ROCK / AVANT ROCK                                         ~ ~ ~ ~                            listen to / share on SoundCloud "Bassconstruct2" from Dirk Bruinsma's Low Reliefs CREDITS: Dirk Bruinsma  [saxophones, bass guitar, electronics, percussion and composition]      "I recently realized that working with a more electric/ electronic approach gives these pieces an additional quality. And so I made it a solo work. ...Recent technical means give me the wonderful chance to act as a musician, producer and technician simultaneously.” – Dirk Bruinsma Dirk Bruinsma is a musician and composer who has been active in the Dutch and international avant music circuit for about 35 years. Apart from some composition and piano lessons, Dirk is self taught on all of the instruments [saxophones, bass guitar, electronics, percussion and composition] he plays.   Since 1987 onwards he has been active both playing and writing for, and also recording with, groups such as Blast, Sumbur, Otolithen, N-collective (groups: Office-R, DBO and N-ensemble), Brown vs Brown, the Tetzepi bigtet, and Pumporgan.  Bruinsma has produced more than twenty CD titles on labels including Recommended Records, Cuneiform Records, Lampse, and Organic records. Bruinsma has performed at jazz, experimental and New Music venues and festivals worldwide. Some of the international festivals he has performed at include November Music, The North Sea Jazz Festival, Gaudeamus, MIMI France, FIMAV Victoriaville, The Kitchen New York, Yokohama Jazz, Batie Genève, Borealis Norway, Transmediale Berlin and others.   He has made works with and for theatre groups, dancers, and multi-media projects in several countries. As a improvising musician, he has worked in projects with musicians such as Fred Frith, Barry Guy, Louis Sclavis, Elliott Sharp and Jaap Blonk.   He is currently active with his group Pumporgan, the composers collective Monotak from Amsterdam and in a duo with video artist/VJ Marit Shalem. With Shalem and percussionist Christian Smith, Bruinsma realized the project 'Tribolumina' for self-built percussion instruments, electronics and live video in 2023.   Dirk Bruinsma describes the genesis of Low Reliefs: “The works on this record were initially intended for collaborations with other musicians over the course of 2015-2019. The "Bassconstructs 1-5" were written for an open line up of low pitched instruments and has been performed several times in different constellations.  I recently realized that working with a more electric/ electronic approach gives these pieces an additional quality. And so I made it a solo work for bass guitar, synthesizer and midi generated sounds. In 2015 I wrote the piece "Scala Vertigini" for the ensemble Modelo62 from The Hague, The Netherlands. Due to a very short preparation period for the live performances, I was unsatisfied with the performances. Therefore I decided on treating the material in a similar way as the "Bassconstruct" pieces, using in addition to the bass guitar, midi generated sounds to replace some of the acoustic instruments of flute, clarinet, strings and guitar. The piece "Frozt" has been written for a band that after two live performances saw the COVID crisis cut its life short. Hence treating it in a similar way as the rest of this record. Recent technical means give me the wonderful chance to act as a musician, producer and technician simultaneously.”  – Dirk Bruinsma, 2024 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ click on image to Buy / Hear Dirk Bruinsma on Bandcamp:     ~ ~ ~ ~   BUY / LISTEN TO OTHER RECORDINGS ON CUNEIFORM FEATURING DIRK BRUINSMA WITH GROUPS  BLAST, BROWN VS BROWN and OTOLITHEN BLAST ON CUNEIFORM A SOPHISTICATED FACE                                                                        On this CD Blast are essentially a miniature orchestra, employing guitar, trumpet, soprano, alto & baritone sax, alto clarinet, violin, cello, cymbalom, bass & percussion. This is gloriously orchestrated, sophisticated, intriguing music, performed by one of the best "complex music" bands on the planet. "If one can appreciate the extremes of precision and complexity, then this is the real thing...some of the most amazing & completely insane chamber rock of the day." - Exposé "The most ambitious and fully realized of Blast's recordings on the Cuneiform label, A Sophisticated Face arguably stands as one of the best contemporary music releases of 1999." – Franois Couture, AllMusic  STRINGY RUGS "...tricky and complex compositions, in which scored themes and improvised ideas are presented in rapid succession or even simultaneously. Recorded in New York, the Netherlands, and France, the album balances progressive rock, creative improvisation, and even contemporary classical elements in convincing fashion. ...Stringy Rugs is challenging, uncompromising, and often wonderful; repeated listenings are needed to absorb its many facets and reap its full rewards." – Dave Lynch, AllMusic WIRE STITCHED EARS    "...tight, complex, angular, polyrhythmic, verging-on-brilliant Dadist chamber rock...indescribably powerful & compelling...this is a must." –Alternative Press BROWN VS BROWN ON CUNEIFORM ODDS AND UNEVENS "Rock vs. jazz; punk vs. art; complex compositions vs. raw improvisation. Brown vs. Brown encompasses all of this and much more, turning in seven long tracks of blistering raw energy... This is at once audacious and inviting, brimming with energy throughout every measure." – Expose "No category fits them perfectly, whether punk, jazz, free, avant-garde...open to any influences and with a large affinity to the free improvised jazz scene, Brown vs Brown is a artistically refreshing breeze from the country of windmills.” – Concerto     OTOLITHEN ON CUNEIFORM  S.O.D. Bruinsma and Conca describe their goals in Otolithen as "trying to go for the extremes of what you can do with just a duo." As part of their attempt to push the format's boundaries, their compositions explore the possibilities of playing simultaneously with both hands and feet [triggering percussion samples]. Difficult, composed, sophisticated music that is reminiscent of Skeleton Crew [due to the line-up] performing the songbooks of Tim Hodgkinson or U Totem [due to the complexity of ideas presented here.] return to top  !! OUT NOW !!   RELEASED NOVEMBER 22, 2024 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS:                        DENMAN MARONEY NITS MUSICA            Bio information: DENMAN MARONEY Title: NITS MUSICA (Cuneiform Rune 3393) Format: DIGITAL Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: NEW MUSIC / IMPROVISATION / CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITION / POST CLASSICAL           “Pianists have been tinkering with the guts of their instruments for nearly a century now, but it’s altogether likely that no one has explored the art of prepared piano as diligently or creatively as hyperpianist Denman Maroney.” – Time Out New York listen to / share on SoundCloud "Nits Musica 1" from Denman Maroney's Nits Musica CREDITS: Denman Maroney – hyperpiano  ~ ~ ~ ~   The music of "hyperpianist" Denman Maroney is inspired by nature and the music of John Cage, Ornette Coleman, Henry Cowell, Duke Ellington, Charles Ives, Scott Joplin, Olivier Messiaen, Thelonious Monk, Conlon Nancarrow and Karheinz Stockhausen among others. Maroney plays what he calls hyperpiano, which involves bowing and sliding the strings with bars, cylinders, bowls, blocks, and cases and gives him a unique sonic vocabulary. He also uses a systemœ of temporal harmony, based on the undertone series (1, 1/2, 1/3...) that allows him to improvise and compose in multiple tempos at once. Maroney has composed some 90 works and recorded some 50 albums (35 as a leader) with Dave Ballou, Theo Bleckmann, Michael Dessen, Dave Douglas, Mark Dresser, Andrew Drury, Min Xiao Fen, Robin Fincker,  Denis Fournier, Ratzo Harris, Shelley Hirsch, Earl Howard, James Ilgenfritz, Leroy Jenkins, Lisa Karrer, Dominic Lash, Emilie Lesbros, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Mat Maneri, Bob Meyer, Angelika Niescier, Oscar Noriega, Kevin Norton, Barre Phillips, Ned Rothenberg, Rich O’Donnell, Michael Sarin, Megan Schubert, Samuel Silvant, David Simons, Hans Tammen, Scott Walton, and Matthias Ziegler, among others.   Jimmy Garrison and James Tenney were among his favorite teachers. He has a Master of Fine Arts degree in composition and piano from Cal. Inst. of the Arts.  He has won fellowships from Chamber Music America, National Endowment for the Arts, NY Foundation for the Arts, NY State Council on the Arts, Arts Council of Rockland (NY), Michigan Arts and Culture Council, Jerome Robbins Foundation, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Music Omi, and Yale Summer School of Music and Art.  He has performed in Canada, USA, Mexico, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, China, South Korea, and Japan. In 2006 Agusti Fernandez invited Maroney to perform solo on a piano series he curated for the Fondatió Miró in Barcelona, Spain. The series ran in conjunction with an exhibition of Tampered Pianos by Carles Santos. The music recorded on this live album, Nits Musica, is what he played. It’s a mélange of Maroney's compositions "Pulse Field" (11:59 of track 1) and "Kilter" (beginning of track 2) and his improvisational techniques hyperpiano and temporal harmony, respectively (1) playing the keys with one hand and the strings with the other using bows and slides of metal, plastic, rubber, and wood and (2) writing and playing in pulse fields and rhythmic canons. Nits Musica is Denman Maroney's first release on Cuneiform Records. ~ ~ ~ ~ click on image to Buy / Hear DENMAN MARONEY'S NITS MUSICA  on Bandcamp:                                                return to top                                  !! OUT NOW !!                  RELEASED OCTOBER 25, 2024                                       ON                     CUNEIFORM RECORDS:                                        RADIO MASSACRE                INTERNATIONAL                GALACTIC FURNACE            Bio information: RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL Title: GALACTIC FURNACE (Cuneiform Rune 537 / 538) Format: CD  / DIGITAL www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC / AMBIENT           “Tripping across light years and well-paced between interludes of movement and stasis, Radio Massacre International's sound of the future may draw from the past,                 but remains unsurpassed in the electronic music of the present.” – AllMusic                                         ~ ~ ~ ~                             listen to / share "listen to/ share "Galactic Furnace part 2 (edit)"                         from GALACTIC FURNACE by RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL                     UK Space Music / Electronic                                      Improvisation Legends         RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL                    Weave Inspiration from            the Genre's Past Masters with       new Insights, Approach and Emotion         to Unveil an Airy, Sun-drenched and      Cinematic 21st Century Cosmic Vision    Appealing to fans of classic era work by Ashra Temple/Manuel Gottsching, Heldon, Pink Floyd, Popol Vuh, Steve Roach, Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, as well as to lovers of atmospheric, ambient musics, Radio Massacre International are considered one of the greats of the current international spacemusic / electronic music scene.  Its members, Steve Dinsdale (keyboards, electronics, drums), Duncan Goddard (keyboards, electronics, bass) and Gary Houghton (guitar, keyboards) first began playing together, along with other friends, as 16-year old students. After several years of various combinations, in 1993 the trio began working together as Radio Massacre International.   Radio Massacre International's music is largely improvised and performed live, without overdubs, gathering shape via post recording editing. After amassing numerous recordings, in 1996 the group released their first CD and also began playing shows and electronic music festivals. Throughout the 90s, the group released many CDs and toured much of western Europe. They've remained active ever since, releasing countless recordings on the their own label and performing live internationally.  RMI have performed in the USA six separate times, beginning in 2002. Radio Massacre International's discography is extraordinarily extensive, and includes many BandCamp-only releases. But in addition to their ‘d.i.y’ releases, they have had a long relationship with Cuneiform Records, stretching back to 2005. Galactic Furnace is the group’s fourth collaboration with Cuneiform, and their third double-album on the label. Each of their Cuneiform releases is thematically unique; information on RMI's Cuneiform releases appears in the Additional RMI Releases on Cuneiform section below.                                        Radio Massacre International speak about Galactic Furnace:   “Galactic Furnace was made over the course of a week, in the middle of summer, in beautiful North Yorkshire. We inhabited a cottage space which was very kindly loaned to us by a good friend and unlike many recording environments, it was extremely pleasant with plenty of natural light and air. As is our wont, we always keep a live microphone somewhere in the mix and this one was outside on the decking pointing towards woodland and good old Yorkshire countryside. This album is unique, you could say, because it was recorded in this certain space which we know will not be available to us again (it now belongs to someone else, we didn't trash it or anything).          When assimilating the music we have made, certain images and pictures arrive unconsciously, there is a loose visual impression created. Whilst we never set out to paint literal sound pictures, or describe specific images, the music suggests these things to us afterwards. Certain sections of this music seemed to convey a vast turbulent cosmic fire, while others a peaceful sunlit place. You could maybe say this is our `Anthem To The Sun'.        We'd been aware of the work of Greek painter Silena Lena through her galleries on social media, and the minute we saw `The Dimensions Of Stillness' we knew that there was an immediate synergy with the music. Sometimes you just know when the right cover has presented itself, and happily Silena loved the music and gave us her blessing to use the work. We're still great believers in the CD/LP as an artistic medium, and the artwork is crucial to the listener's perception of the music, so we are very happy that the two fit together so perfectly in this case.   Regarding how we see physical releases v digital ones: Physical releases are still the `major statements', the career markers, the work which adds up ultimately to your story, so a release like this is very important in reinforcing how the band is perceived. It is the work which may draw in people who are new to us, it's important to put our heads above the parapet occasionally and go for a higher profile regardless of how realistic this expectation may or may not be. "                                                                                                         – Radio Massacre International    Listen to / Buy GALACTIC FURNACE  on Bandcamp                                                              buy CD or DIGITAL                                                                                                      .        ALBUM CREDITS: Steve Dinsdale : keyboards, electronics, drums Duncan Goddard : keyboards, electronics, bass Gary Houghton : guitar, keyboards Recorded in Castleton, North Yorkshire, UK, June-July 2021. Cover painting: Silena Lena                             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~                        See TOURS for upcoming LIVE Radio Massacre International concerts return to top RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL  ADDITIONAL RELEASES ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS All titles available in both Digital (download & streaming) and CD formats.  click on image to hear / buy:      TIME & MOTION                                                    Double album by Radio Massacre International with special guest Martin Archer on reeds and electronics. "Tripping across light years and well-paced between interludes of movement and stasis, Radio Massacre International's sound of the future may draw from the past, but remains unsurpassed in the electronic music of the present. ... 4/5 stars" – Dave Lynch, All Music Guide "RMI makes passionate, warm and intelligent electronic soundscapes. ....Time & Motion...is a must for lovers of electronic music. The music is influenced by the Berlin School (Tangerine Dream, Ashra Tempel, Klaus Schulze) but...RMI is going one step further with their exploratory electronic music. ...4/5 stars" – Douwe Fledderus, ProgVisions "2½ hours of superb electronic, space, and cosmic music spanning two discs. ...Each [track] is well orchestrated and truly a mind-expanding listening experience! Highly recommended!" – Henry Schneider, Expose        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~                                             RAIN FALLS IN GREY                                         Radio Massacre International's tribute to Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett captures some of the psychedelic magic of 1967-1968 through its music, and its cover, drawn by the late Daevid Allen of Gong as a hommage to Syd. "Rain Falls in Grey...remains true to RMI's sound, but it has a distinctly more potent rock flavor -- psychedelic rock, in fact. A tribute to Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett, who died days before the first recording sessions, Rain Falls in Grey succeeds in capturing Barrett's sound world -- or at least the elements that have had an influence on RMI's music. ... Rain Falls in Grey goes beyond the tribute album to become one of the group's best-paced and most welcoming albums yet. 4.5/5 stars"- – Francois Couture, All Music Guide        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ EMISSARIES           Deluxe 2 CD set, which includes a new studio album, a live album recorded at radio station WXPN in Philadelphia during their 2004 tour, and a stunning cover by cartoonist Matt Howarth "If you like Berlin school 1970's electronics...this is a feast of scorching sequencerrs and synthesizers, laced with searing guitars over lots of cool outer space drifting." - Expose "RMI's Steve Dinsdale, Duncan Goddard, and Gary Houghton know how to coax all sorts of nuances from their machines, and they function as a live, interactive trio, with each member responding to the others' riffs and musical motifs. It doesn't hurt any, either, that Houghton has very impressive guitar chops... In a word, Radio Massacre International nail the vintage electronic music sound, but the band is simply more "nimble" than the first generation models, which greatly enhances the listening pleasure of the suitably attuned listener. ...4/5 stars." – William Tilland, All Music        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Listen to an ECHOES interview with Radio Massacre International :  "Musical Children of Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream  Improvise Electronic Dreams"  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ return to top ! SNEAK PEEK WITH SOUNDS ! COMING OUT ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS ON JANUARY 31, 2025: JOHN SURMAN FLASHPOINTS AND UNDERCURRENTS Double CD release of jazz recordings from April 18,1969 by British saxophonist John Surman's ensemble with Kenny Wheller, Alan Skidmore, Mike Osborne, Harry Miller, Alan Jackson & more. It's a completely different recording & version of "Flashpoint" than Cuneiform's 2011 John Surman release:  Flashpoint: NDR Jazz Workshop - April '69)  listen to/ share via Soundcloud  "ONCE UPON A TIME" from JOHN SURMAN'S FLASHPOINTS AND UNDERCURRENTS credits: John Surman - soprano and baritone saxophone, bass clarinet Alan Skidmore - tenor saxophone and flute Ronnie Scott - tenor saxophone Mike Osborne - alto saxophone Malcolm Griffiths - trombone Erich Kleinschuster - trombone Kenny Wheeler - trumpet and flugelhorn Fritz Pauer - piano Harry Miller - bass Alan Jackson - drums   Recorded on April 18, 1969, Hamburg, Germany. ~~~~~ John Surman, celebrating his 80th birthday, on the cover of Jazzwise (September 2024) Read Stuart Nicholson's interview with Surman for Jazzwise – "John Surman: A Lust for Life" - now online: On the 1960s and early 70s, John Surman notes that:  "it was a turning point when an identifiable jazz music that reflected American achievements but liberated us as Europeans, was invented.” return to top SNEAK PEEKS OF DISTANT TREASURES   COMING OUT IN 2025 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS (Listed in alphabetical order. Sound samples to come out in future newsletters) ~~~~~ JAZZ ~~~~~ CURLEW – FASCHING, GERMANY APRIL 1990 & SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA MAY 1990 (More live, archival material, this time from the later period of the ‘classic quintet’ line-up of Pippin Barnett, George Cartwright, Tom Cora & Ann Rupel)  [USA] ~~~~~ GHOST RHYTHMS – MISSING TIMES  (New studio album by young French avant progressive ensemble [FRANCE] ~~~~~ LUKE STEWART / SILT REMEMBRANCE ENSEMBLE – THE ORDER (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 ~~~~~~ MIKE JOHNSON – FLEETING (Mike Johnson, leader/ composer/ guitarist of Thinking Plague, releases an album under his own name featuring orchestration - strings, brass reeds, etc - combined with rock instrumentation.) [USA] GILLES LAVAL – 100 GUITARS SUR UN BATEAU IVRE  [100 GUITARS ON A DRUNKEN BOAT] (100 electric guitars, conducted. Designed for public performances) [FRANCE] ~~~~~~ ROGER CLARK MILLER – CURIOSITY FOR SOLO ELECTRIC GUITAR ENSEMBLE (Guitarist / keyboardist/ composer Roger Clark Miller [Mission of Burma, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Alloy Orchestra/The Anvil Orchestra), releases his second Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble album on Cuneiform  - an extravaganza of guitars, electronics and looping ) [USA] ~~~~~~ NEBELNEST – LIVE AT PROGDAY 1999 (Hard hitting, French instrumental, zeuhl / dark symphonic rock ensemble)  [FRANCE] ~~~~~~ NEBELNEST – unreleased fourth album  (Previously unreleased 4th album by this hard hitting, French instrumental, zeuhl / dark symphonic rock ensemble) [FRANCE] ~~~~~~ return to top CUNEIFORM ARTISTS ON TOUR 2024 - 2025 CALENDAR IMPORTANT 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.   CHEER–ACCIDENT Cheer-Accident celebrate Vacate,  released in Cuneiform Records 40th Anniversary year.                  "...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 _______________________________ January 17 - Cubby Bear - 1059 West Addison - Chicago, IL   Listen to & buy Vacate  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 EMPIRICAL Featuring Nathaniel Facey (alto saxophone), Shaney Forbes (drums), Lewis Wright (vibraphone) and Tom Farmer (bass), Empirical buildson the extroverted improvisational ethos of the 1960s New Thing, embracing oblique harmonies, translucent textures and jagged, quick shifting rhythms, transformed for new generations.   "The coolest of Britain's young jazz bands." – Daily Telegraph 2024 December 3 - Jazz Hastings - Hastings, UK December 6 - Sheffield Jazz Festival - Crucible Theatre - Sheffield, UK   2025 January 23 - Singen Jazz Club - Singen, Germany January 25 - Peggy's Skylight - Nottingham, UK January 27 - Jazz In The Round - London, UK February 21 - Reading Jazz Festival - Progress Theatre - Reading, UK February 22 - Stapleford Granary - Cambridge, UK April 4 - Stamford Arts Centre - Stamford, UK April 11 - Birmingham Jazz Club - Birmingham, UK May 8 - Music Spoken Here - Worcester, UK May 9 - Derby Jazz Club - Derby, UK May 15 - The Nutshell Arts Centre - Winchester, UK   Listen to & buy:        Connection                            "[Empirical] remains enthusiastically devoted to remaking jazz for a contemporary audience... This fine set is a significant renewal of Empirical’s commitment to giving 1960s hard bop and free jazz (probably still their deepest loves) a 21st-century identity." – John Fordham / The Guardian 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, double-disc studio recording on Cuneiform Records, called New Moon In the Evil Age - their second duo release 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 2025 January 10 / 11 - Winter Jazz Fest -  NYC, NY January 31 - Rhizome - Washington, DC [opening for Brandon Seabrook]   Listen to & buy:  New Moon In the Evil Age                             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. Just released, the SUMMER 2024 video , HENRY KAISER QUARTERLY SHOW #6 : You Can't Get There From Here, features Morgan Ågren  Jennifer Burnes,  Jaya Drats, Trey Gunn, Killick Hinds, Michael Manring,  Ed Petterson, Damon Smith, Jim Thomas, and Bill Walker. 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. For instance, 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 A composer and cellist who’s honed a singular synthesis of composition, orchestration and improvisation, Janel Leppin is an avant-jazz luminary. 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. In June 2024, Cuneiform released Ensemble Volcanic Ash's second album, To March Is To Love "An Absolute Virtuoso - 4 Stars" - Downbeat Magazine, reviewing the first EVA album "Leppin is a rarity..ahhh-vant garde at its finest." - Capital Bop JANEL LEPPIN JANEL & ANTHONY January 3 - Rhizome - Washington, DC JANEL LEPPIN RESIDENCY May 19, 2027 - The Stone - Stone Residency - 55 West 13th St - NYC, NY May 20, 2027 - The Stone - Stone Residency - 55 West 13th St - NYC, NY May 21, 2027 - The Stone - Stone Residency - 55 West 13th St - NYC, NY May 22, 2027 - The Stone - Stone Residency - 55 West 13th St - NYC, NY   Listen to & buy: Janel Leppin Ensemble Volcanic Ash    To March Is To Love                 Ensemble Volcanic Ash Janel & Anthony New Moon In the Evil Age,   Where Is Home            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."   Roger Miller with the Anvil Orchestra [live soundtracks for silent films] December 13 - Nosferatu - The Theater - Kansas City, MO January 5 - The Adventures of Prince Achmed - The National Gallery - Washington, DC January 12 - Metropolis - The Cobot Theater - Beverly, MA   Roger Miller Solo December 19 - solo gig - The Stone Church - Brattleboro, VT Listen to & buy: Roger Clark Miller, Eight Dream Interpretations for Electric Guitar Ensemble      --------- The Fourth World Quartet, 1975 ---------- Birdsongs of the Mesozoic Dawn of the Cycads // The Fossil Record       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 SELL OUT, so buy your tickets well in advance. ~~~~ December 21 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542   2025 January 20 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner of 51st and Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 February 22 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 March 24 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner of 51st and Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 April 26 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 May 19 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner of 51st and Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 June 28 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 July 28 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner of 51st and Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 August 23 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 October 25 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 December 20 - 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                               RICHARD PINHAS One of France's major experimental musicians, guitarist/ electronic musician / writer Richard Pinhas is a key figure in the global development of electronic rock via his group Heldon and solo projects. In 2025, he'll tour in England and beyond. __________________________ March 4 - Just Dropped In - Coventry, UK March 5 - Just Dropped In - Coventry, UK March 7 - Café Oto - London, UK March 8 - Café Oto - London, UK   Listen to & buy releases by Richard Pinhas & friends on Cuneiform: Richard Pinhas: Process and Reality, Desolation Row, Metatron, Metal/Crystal, Tranzition, Event & Repetitions                      Richard Pinhas & Oren Ambarchi: Tikkun    Richard Pinhas & Merzbow:  Keio Line, Rhizome, Paris 2008            Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya: Welcome in the Void    Schizotrope (Richard Pinhas & Maurice Dantec): The Life & Death of Marie Zorn   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 ________________________________ Anthony Pirog with Janel Leppin Janel & Anthony: 2025 January 10 / 11 - Winter Jazz Fest -  NYC, NY January 31 - Rhizome - Washington, DC [opening for Brandon Seabrook]   Listen to & buy: Anthony Pirog: Pocket Poem; Palo Colorado Dream .       Janel & Anthony,     New Moon in the Evil Age,     Where Is Home            in other groupings: Location Location Location: Damaged Goods Five Times Surprise: Five Times Surprise The Spellcasters, Music from the Anacostia Delta   Janel Leppin/ Ensemble Volcanic Ash To March Is to Love,  Ensemble Volcanic Ash          RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL UK electronic ensemble Radio Massacre International bring "Berlin School electronics" into the 21st  century and onto the live stage. The longstanding improvisational synth & electronics trio has released dozens of recordings - including 3 on Cuneiform – and mesmerized festival audiences worldwide. In  October 2024, the trio releases a new album, Galactic Furnace – their fourth release on Cuneiform Records. Galactic Furnace       Listen to & buy: Time & Motion,   Rain Falls in Gray       Emissaries   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.  2024 has been eventful year for Reid. Besides a commissioned piece performed with an ensemble at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, her Quartet released a new album - 3+3 - on Cuneiform and toured Japan.  In 2025, they will tour northern Europe.   The Wire - July 2024, Issue 485 2025 - USA   January 3 - The Green Mill - 4802 N Broadway Ave - Chicago, IL January 4 - The Green Mill - 4802 N Broadway Ave - Chicago, IL   January 30 - February 10, 2025 EUROPEAN TOUR    January 31 - Philharmonie Luxembourg - Luxembourg February 1 -  Muziekpodium Paradox - Tilburg, The Netherlands February 2 - Bimhuis - Amsterdam, The Netherlands February 4 - NOSPR - Chamber Hall - Katowice, Poland February 5 - tba - Oslo, Norway February 6  - Jazz Offensive Essen  - Essen, Germany February 7 - Kulturzentrum  Gems -  Singen, Germany February 8 - Gemeindehalle Gschwend - Gschwend, Germany February 9 - El Molino Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain   Listen to & buy: 3+3 //  Old New       SKULLCAP Cuneiform's newest signing: Skullcap, the DMV-based, post-rock/post-jazz+beyond trio of Mike Kuhl (drums/ percussion), Janel Leppin (vocals, cello, electronics), Anthony Pirog (guitar, electronics). Album coming out on in 2025. _____________________________   2025   January 13 - Art Space - Richmond, VA January 18 - The Perch - 2321 Emerald St - Philadelphia, PA February 2 - Fadensonnen - Baltimore, MD   WADADA LEO SMITH Trumpeter, composer, and improviser Wadada Leo Smith is one of America's foremost creative musicians.  His epic tribute to the American Civil Rights movement, Ten Freedom Summers, was one of 3 finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in Music, and his albums have won Album of the Year awards in jazz polls worldwide.  “Smith uses his magisterial instrumental voice, his inspirational leadership and his command of classical, jazz and blues forms to remind us of what has gone down and what's still happening.” –Bill Meyer, DownBeat’s 80 Coolest Things in Jazz Today _____________________________   2025   March 27-30 - Big Ears 2025 - Knoxville, TN     Listen to & buy: WADADA LEO SMITH America's National Parks // Ten Freedom Summers        Heart's Reflections  //  Spiritual Dimensions              Tabligh ________________________ HENRY KAISER & WADADA LEO SMITH: YO MILES! Upriver  // Sky Garden       WADADA LEO SMITH Trumpeter, composer, and improviser Wadada Leo Smith is one of America's foremost creative musicians.  His epic tribute to the American Civil Rights movement, Ten Freedom Summers, was one of 3 finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in Music, and his albums have won Album of the Year awards in jazz polls worldwide.  “Smith uses his magisterial instrumental voice, his inspirational leadership and his command of classical, jazz and blues forms to remind us of what has gone down and what's still happening.” –Bill Meyer, DownBeat’s 80 Coolest Things in Jazz Today _____________________________   2025   March 27-30 - Big Ears 2025 - Knoxville, TN     Listen to & buy: WADADA LEO SMITH America's National Parks // Ten Freedom Summers        Heart's Reflections  //  Spiritual Dimensions              Tabligh ________________________ HENRY KAISER & WADADA LEO SMITH: YO MILES! Upriver  // Sky Garden       LUKE STEWART SILT TRIO Called “one of the 25 most influential jazz artists of his generation” by DownBeat Magazine and a member of several earth-shaking ensembles, including Irreversible Entanglements and Heroes Are Gang Leaders, polymathic bassist Luke Stewart, a creative catalyst on the Washington D.C. (and beyond) music scene for almost two decades, introduces his protean trio with Chicago drum legend Chad Taylor and powerhouse DC saxophonist Brian Settles.  2025 March 27-30 - Big Ears 2025 - Knoxville, TN     Listen to & buy: The Bottom      THUMBSCREW All-star jazz supergroup Thumbscrew prepare to release Wingbeats, their 8th album on Cuneiform, with album launch shows at NY's Jazz Gallery, followed by a European tour.                 WINGBEATS                 "Thumbscrew are one of the essential contemporary jazz groups"– Brian Morton, The Wire “Thumbscrew...are likeminded souls with decades of experience among them. Encapsulating a rare chemistry, their music offers a virtual masterclass of communal interplay.” – Point Of Departure _____________________________   Listen to & buy: Multicolored Midnight  //         Never Is Enough // The Anthony Braxton Project       Theirs  //   Ours         Convallaria  //  Thumbscrew      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+2025+BEYOND 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 on TWITTER (now X) • 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.  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 © 2025 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