1010 Ensemble - Lullaby for the Distance (October 1, 2021 Ramble Records)

The sessions for Lullaby for the Distance began towards the end of 2018 and stopped mid 2020 as Covid-19 ended 1010 Ensemble's improvisational sessions.

These 4 pieces showcase the wonderful, intuitive talents of two exceptional artists pushing each other's boundaries like a couple of seasoned pugilists; the free form piano's cosmic vamping against the driving rhythm offers a wonderful counterpoint eventually syncing in to explore a celestial motif.

The confluence of Matt Norman's rhapsodic but lilting, melodic piano lines combined with Kraig Ludensky's responsive and tribal percussion and brushed drum strokes creates a wonderfully chaotic and evocative soundtrack.

Matt Norman and Kraig Ludensky met by a chance encounter and, after a brief discussion, believed their diverse tastes in music could, perhaps, create a potent elixir for reflection, joy and madness.

 

Matt Norman – piano; A self-taught player living in Austin, TX has played up and down the West Coast over the years with the elders of the free and Avant-garde music scene.  Matt has engaged audiences with his unique sound, embracing the spiritual, lyrical and mystical elements of modern music, while celebrating the explorations of the past.

 

Kraig Ludensky – percussion; lives in Austin, TX. Kraig has performed with musicians and dancers from a wide range of genres in the United States, India, Europe and Japan. Kraig’s has studied music in India, Japan and the United States. 

1. Lullaby for the Distance

2. Rain Dance

3. B1 Embracable Midnights (Part one Disappearance of Abstraction)

4. Our Quarantied Telepathy

Matt Norman: piano, keyboard, organ, toy piano

Kraig Ludensky: drums, percussion, tabla, kulintang

All compositions improvised by 1010 Ensemble - Matt Norman and Kraig Ludensky

Mastered by Anders Peterson at GS Mastering and Post Stockholm, Sweden and Mike Sill, Melbourne, Australia

PREORDER

Kawol Samarqandi - Silence, Notes and Structures 1 (2021 Ramble Records)

Kawol Samarqandi is a composer and improviser of guitar from seaside Japan. His compositions are delicate fragments of incredible beauty and introspection.

Kawol Samarqandi's ethereal recording Silence Notes and Structures 1 follows his exquisite album of covers. On Silence Notes and Structures 1, Kawol explores the subtle balance between silence and notes and the result is a magically crafted recording where the space between notes is as poignant as the nuanced notes he delicately picks.

Mike Sill

Ramble Records

This is the first album of the group of works that form the core of my work. There is literally just one acoustic guitar and voice, occasional "silence" and atypical "notes" and the simple unfinished "structure" formed by them. This is probably the skeleton of my "poor music".

Kaowl Samarqandi

1. Variation 1

2. Variation 2

3. Variation 3

4. Variation 4

5. Variation 5

PREORDER