stephen o’malley / steve noble “st. francis duo” double long playing record set

• untitled (1)
  
  
• untitled (2)
  
  
• untitled (3)
  
  
• untitled (4)

stephen o’malley / steve noble “st. francis duo” compact disc

• untitled (1) (18:09)
  
• untitled (2) (18:42)
  
• untitled (3) (18:21)
  
• untitled (4) (21:08)

bo’weavil press release...

st francis duo cd stephen o'malley & steve noble having played together in æthenor for the last couple of years, steve noble & stephen o'malley came together to play as a duo at cafe oto in 2011. these recordings are the results of these two hot and sticky nights in east london. noble is a regular at bo' weavil recordings, having appeared on over nine recordings for the label, and a lynch pin in london's improvising community. steve noble studied with nigeria master drummer elkan ogunde and in the early 1980s and over the last 20 years has played with most of the great players from 4 corners of the globe. stephen o'malley predominantly a guitarist, producer and composer from seattle who has been at the centre of avant-garde / drone metal, best known for his group sunn0))), and also a prolific collaborator with many of the finest improvisers. so it was bound to be a memorable night of music to see these two to meet. noble sets the recording off with a full tribal charge, while stephen instead of firing off a shard of ecstatic notes and chords, coaxed his guitar into singing a slow ever growing roar. but soon the two are of into some wildest creative rampages - exciting drum and guitar territory, sounding at times not too dissimilar to haino's fushitsusha, brutally beautiful shredded riffs from o’malley met with noble's exuberant rhythmic force . over this cd the memory of these 2 nights can be heard in full violent sonic attack.

decoy / joe mcphee “oto” compact disc

• opening might (39:53)
  
• breakout (30:47)
  
• dancing on the wolf road (8:42)

bo’weavil press release...

oto decoy & joe mcphee decoy’s first recordings as a trio (vol 1: spirit and vol 2: the deep), which were made 9 months before the meeting with mcphee, powerfully illustrated the range of possibilities opened up by bringing a completely fresh approach to what, on paper, looks like a familiar format. received with appropriate enthusiasm, their confident debut encouraged the participants to take a further step with the addition of an illustrious guest. hawkins is a young composer and keyboardist with a rapidly growing reputation and a clear interest in working with musicians of diverse backgrounds (as no now is so, the enigmatically titled 2009 debut album by his own six-piece ensemble, fascinatingly attests). his early training as a pipe organist surely encourages him to exploit the full range of textures offered by the hammond c3 and its accompanying leslie speaker. john edwards may well be the busiest musician on the improvising scene, his near-ubiquitous presence an infallible guarantee of vitality and substance; only his noted ability to bring a sagging session to life is not required here. steve noble, who is among edwards’ regular partners, provides a fine combination of stealth and swing, of drama and discretion, although the dextrous aplomb with which he negotiated a solo passage for small untethered cymbals really had to be seen as well as heard. mcphee may be a man of an earlier generation, but he shares their absolute devotion to cliché-free spontaneity. born in miami in 1939 and raised in poughkeepsie, new york, he started issuing albums on small labels in the late 1960s and has subsequently made a career – in both america and europe, where he lived for a while in the 1970s – out of flying under the radar. listening him working in this unusually stimulating context, and appreciating his eloquence, sensitivity and pronounced gift for timbral variation, it is difficult to understand why he is not spoken of more often in the same breath as some of the more renowned free saxophonists. his ability to sing through the trio’s array of pointilliste textures or to launch himself full-tilt into the churning maelstrom adds a significant element to an already remarkable organism. - richard williams

decoy “volume 1 • spirit” compact disc

• outside in (5:42)
  
• who's who (2:46)
  
• decoy (10:35)
  
• episode no. 69 (9:42)
  
• native origins (14:12)
  
• shadows (4:38)

bo’weavil press release...

spirit decoy there is a companion vinyl with this release of different material: the deep decoy are alexander hawkins on hammond organ, john edwards on double bass and steve noble on percussion. the disturbing, distorted hammond organ sound is a natural fit for a free jazz combo. with a pedigree including low-cost church pipe organ substitute, novelty instrument (vide walt disney’s blame it on the samba, part of his 1948 animated film melody time, where a carmen mirandered ethel smith plays a hammond as it’s blown to bits by ‘toon aracuan) and jazz cool tool bar none courtesy of smiths - jimmy and dr lonnie - mcgriff, patton, young et al, the b3 and leslie cabinet’s overblown bastard tones one minute toying, the next destroying, were made to play the freedom sound. ra did it (free jazz funk on lanquidity, 1978) but the hammond has been over-looked by the improv community. which is a surprise as it combines huge tonal potential with visceral attack, speed of articulation and sheer presence and volume that, when geared to a powerhouse drum ‘n bass combo (as here), creates compelling, reality-jarring music. alexander hawkins has a pipe organ background (which is the ideal grounding for the hammond – you can hear his churchy tones during this album’s playout) and exploits the potential of the c3 to the full – pulls out all the stops, in fact. from the interstellar sounds of the opening outside in and slick be-bopisms of decoy to some fine spine-juddering scronches interspersed in shadows. rhythm team noble and edwards never let it rest (of course), interjecting – injecting, imposing, prompting, inspiring, kick-assing and generally motoring along in fine style. it takes great players at the top of their game to play solo and rhythm at one and the same time without compromising either role and noble and edwards together are able to effectively lock down a groove while using their own instruments (noble’s cymbal work, edwards bowing) to counterpoint hawkins’ organ’s additive waveform synthesis, almost becoming tone generators themselves, so at times the three fuse in one, augmented, hammond.

alan wilkinson / john edwards / steve noble “live at cafe oto” compact disc

• spellbound (31.30)
  
• recoil (7.53)

n.e.w. “deadeye tricksters” compact disc

• opening shot
  
• empty ballroom
  
• coming up for air
  
• the persuaders
  
• blood on our hands
  
• nerve ending

alan wilkinson / john edwards / steve noble “obliquity” long playing record

• obliquity
  
  
• drag head
  
• south of 4
  
• cuttin' the p nut
  
• kwakm'bababli stomp

alan wilkinson / john edwards / steve noble “obliquity” compact disc

• obliquity
  
• drag head
  
• south of 4
  
• cuttin' the p nut
  
• kwakm'bababli stomp

decoy “volume 2 • the deep” long playing record

• first call
  
• set apart
  
  
• crossroads
  
• aces high
  
• hook line

n.e.w. “newtoons” long playing record

• crossfire
  
• riptide
  
  
• all the way