October 31, 2025:
Just a quick note this week as a follow-up to my October 28th blog entry: this weekend we're running a sale with the Victoriaville, Quebec label Les Disques VICTO. Run by Michel Levasseur, the label has released remarkable albums of improvised and contemporary music for more than 30 years. Originally centered around the FIMAV music festival in Victoriaville, VICTO began by issuing live recordings from the festival and albums related to its performing artists. Now operating independently from the festival, the label continues to maintain its own vibrant release schedule.
There's no doubt that physical media pressings are produced in much smaller quantities today than in the past, and that older releases with remaining stock can sell slowly. That inventory, however, can be transformed into funding for new projects when sold so we've partnered with the label to help make that happen. This weekend's sale features 20 titles, which we hope will be the first of several future collaborations.
Many of the albums included have been in our catalog for up to 20 years and were cataloged under earlier standards. For this sale, we've updated each album's information, added audio samples and artist biographies, and in many cases completely rewritten the descriptions. We hope this gives our customers a clearer perspective on each release and a chance to explore music they might not have considered before.
By taking advantage of these exceptional prices, customers directly support new VICTO releases, helping sustain and expand the universe of creative music.
Squidco Publishing Roundup:
You can view our latest fully cataloged albums in the Recently Section.
You can also browse new titles as they enter our Just In Stock Section meaning we physically have the album and can ship it, though we may still be updating additional information about the release.
To see restocks of previously listed titles, visit our Recently Restocked page.
And if you're interested in a future release, you can ask us to notify you by email via our Upcoming Releases page no obligation necessary.
October 28, 2025:
We took a few deep breaths over the last two weeks to catch up on new releases and plan for the next couple of months as we prepare for the holiday season and adjust to the cooler weather here in the Northern Hemisphere. That gave us time to make some updates to our websites and do a little housecleaning in our catalog. We also finalized agreements on three new digital albums on our own Squid Note Records, which I'll write more about soon.
Since my last entry, the biggest additions to our catalog came from Relative Pitch Records, with four excellent new albums. As a true fan of electric harpist Zeena Parkins, I was excited to hear her duo with Cecilia Lopez, a fellow explorer who merges electronics and live processing to create unique sonic environments. Their live concert at Roulette Intermedium is presented on Redshifts, giving us virtual access to an outstanding set of inventive and compelling sonic dialogs.
Continuing these ideas of sonic exploration, I was unfamiliar with the solo work of Berlinde Deman, though she has collaborated with Machinefabriek and appears on Dave Douglas' Secular Psalms. Here Deman develops a series of rich and introspective works using the serpent a low-pitched aerophone and hybrid between brass and woodwind instruments. Her playing is beautifully paced and exotic, augmented with electronic effects that make for a mesmerizing album.
The collective trio of Marνa Valencia (alto saxophone, Bb clarinet), Matt Moran (vibraphone), and Brandon Lopez (bass, percussion) is heard live at iBeam in Brooklyn. I know Valencia from her solo album on Relative Pitch, Compendio de Alofonias Abisales, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Here she is joined by two improvisers I follow closely Lopez and Moran and the concert is diverse and rich with creative impulse.
 Parkins, Zeena / Cecilia Lopez: Redshifts (Relative Pitch)
Harnessing Zeena Parkins's electric and acoustic harps and ebow-piano alongside Cecilia Lopez's custom-built RED speaker-wire instrument and electronics, this live Brooklyn set fashions a singular sonic architecture where plucked strings, feedback networks and sustained fields fold into one expansive, sculptural conversation of improvisation and invention.
 Deman, Berlinde: Plank 9 (Relative Pitch)
Exploring the resonant depths of the serpent, a low-pitched lip-reed aerophone, and her own voice through effects and extended techniques, Belgian musician Berlinde Deman crafts an intimate and deeply personal sound world where breath, tone, and distortion intertwine, her slow and deliberate process unfolding like a meditative journey toward balance, discovery, and quiet transformation.
 Borges, Sofia / Ada Rave: The Unseen Pact (Relative Pitch)
Recorded in their first meeting, percussionist Sofia Borges and saxophonist Ada Rave forge a vivid, intuitive dialogue of fire and reflection, blending spontaneous storytelling with fierce lyricism and dynamic restraint; their improvisations unfold like ritual acts of empathy and resistance, where every strike, breath, and silence reveals an unspoken pact between sound and spirit.
 Valencia, Maria / Matt Moran / Brandon Lopez : Tarabita Espiral (Relative Pitch)
Recorded live at IBeam in Brooklyn, the trio of Marνa Valencia (alto saxophone, Bb clarinet), Matt Moran (vibraphone), and Brandon Lopez (bass, percussion) weave a richly textured improvisation of lyric tension and resonant space, where breath, metal, and wood converge in shifting layers of sound, balancing volatility with quiet reflection in an atmosphere of deep, intuitive dialogue.
Pyroclastic releases their third album with vibraphonist and composer Patricia Brennan, whose star continues to rise through collaborations with some of New York's finest, including Tomas Fujiwara, Mary Halvorson, Matt Mitchell, Dave Douglas, Dan Weiss, and Adam O'Farrill. For this album, Brennan composes for five stellar constellations Antlia (The Air Pump), Aquarius (The Water Bearer), Andromeda (The Chained Woman), Lyra (The Lyre), and Aquila (The Eagle) along with a piece for graphic score (Citlalli) and a work inspired by the essence of those constellation pieces. The results are lyrically rich, inspiring exceptional performances and destined to be among my top releases for 2025.
 Brennan, Patricia: Of The Near And Far (Pyroclastic Records)
A stellar ensemble of strings, piano, guitar, drums and electronics performs Patricia Brennan's constellation-derived compositions, weaving data-mapped harmonies, celestial mythology and improvisation into vivid chamber-jazz textures that balance luminous exploration with introspective depth as each instrument expands its sonic role in the music's cosmic design.
 Weiss, Dan (w/ Evans / Okazaki / Brennan): Unclassified Affections (Pi Recordings)
Drummer and composer Dan Weiss brings together Peter Evans (trumpet), Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), and Miles Okazaki (guitar) in a set of compositions written for their distinct voices, shifting from meditative calm to intense peaks, weaving intricate contrapuntal textures and improvisations into a mysterious and transcendent collective sound.
 Fujiwara, Tomas: Dream Up (Out Of Your Head Records)
Recorded at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara introduces his Percussion Quartet with Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Tim Keiper on African strings and percussion, and Kaoru Watanabe on Japanese drums and flute, blending global traditions into vivid, imaginative works that traverse groove, texture, and color with striking originality and depth.
 Douglas, Dave (Douglas / Ridout / Adewumi / Brennan / Pass / Royston): Alloy (Greenleaf Music)
Created for the Festival of New Trumpet Music, Dave Douglas leads a sextet with a trio of trumpeters Douglas, Alexandra Ridout & Dave Adewumi plus Patricia Brennan on vibes, Kate Pass on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums, their collaboration unfolding from Douglas' lyrical compositions that highlight the breadth of brass voices, collective interplay, and vibrant ensemble synergy.
 O'Farrill, Adam : For These Streets (Out Of Your Head Records)
Brooklyn trumpeter Adam O'Farrill leads a superb octet Mary Halvorson (guitar), Patricia Brennan (vibes), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), and others through dramatically inventive compositions inspired by the literature and arts of the 1930s, balancing angular rhythmic intensity, rich melodic lyricism, and expressive improvisational depth with adventurous sophistication.
 Halvorson's, Mary Amaryllis: Cloudward (Nonesuch)
The second release from NY guitarist Mary Halvorson's Amaryllis band of Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O'Farrill (trumpet), with Laurie Anderson on violin featured on one track, for eight exquisitely optimistic, diverse and genre-merging Halvorson compositions.
 Fujiwara, Tomas (Fujiwara / Reid / Brennan): Pith (Out Of Your Head Records)
Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.
 Brennan, Patrick S0nic 0penings: Tilting Curvaceous (Clean Feed)
Patrick Brennan's compositions propose a series of groove instances or cells, each laying out a contrasting polyrhythm in bass & treble so that at least two melodic lines can be played over them simultaneously and the series looped, cleverly accomplished with Brian Groder on trumpet, Rod Williams on piano, Hilliard Greene on bass, Michael TA Thompson on drums and Brenann on sax.
 Brennan, Patricia (w/ Herrera / Cass / Gilmore): More Touch (Pyroclastic Records)
Three drummer/percussionists and bass make up vibraphonist, marimbist, improviser and composer Patricia Brennan's sophomore album, reimagining the percussion quartet through jazz, new music and latin influences including Mexican folkloric roots, working with deceptively relaxed, highly interactive grooves that turn angular melodies into warmly irresistible music.
 Brennan, Patrick / Abdul Moimeme: Terraphonia (Creative Sources)
Portuguese guitarist and experiementer Abdul Moimeme, once a student of US free jazz saxophonist Patrick Brennan, now joins him as Moimeme employs two electroacoustically altered guitars played simultaneously with objects, Brennan performing on sax and cornet, as they create unusual and assertive abstract sonic environments, intensely detailed and gripping.
 Mitchell, Matt : Phalanx Ambassadors (Pi Recordings)
The sophisticated compositions of New York pianist Matt Mitchell on piano, also performing on synthesizer, are heard in this quintet with Miles Okazaki on electric & acoustic guitars, Patricia Brennan on vibraphone & marimba, Kim Cass on bass, and Kate Gentile on drums & percussion, a challenging album that rewards through intensity and incredible detail.
When I first started collecting albums in the late '70s, and especially in the '80s, I would always spend time browsing the magazine and book sections of every record store. Being a reader at heart, I learned a great deal from magazines like DownBeat and JazzTimes, and even more from Option and The Wire, which focused on outside improvisation and experimentation. Even further out was the 'zine scene of the '80s, where truly underground music was covered, often with unusual artwork. For a few years I wrote for one of my favorites, Fact Sheet Five, which covered anything sent their way a broad swath of music from punk and hardcore to conceptual sound work. The merging of art, language, and criticism reminds me of scenes in the Bay Area, London, or Downtown New York, where genres and styles are simply elements of something new, blending disparate approaches and disciplines (or gleefully ignoring them altogether!).
I was reminded of that spirit with the latest release from The Gate, known mostly for their Tubapede albums. The core trio Dan Peck on tuba and effects, Tom Blancarte on bass, and Brian Osborne on percussion has released what I believe is their second live album, archly titled Almost Live. The packaging took me back to those unusual 'zines of the '80s, featuring a viciously humorous riff on the Deutsche Grammophon label on the cover of an accompanying magazine filled with warped graphic imagery. It's a perfect fit for the dark composition on Side A of this cassette release, and the accompanying remix on Side B. Drawn from live performances, guests include fellow New York-based innovators Cecilia Lopez, Sam Pluta, Aki Onda, and Zach Rowden. My copy now sits with my 'zine collection, reminding me that the creative and cracked world of outside music is still alive and as twisted as ever.
 Gate, The : Amost Live [CASSETTE + MAGAZINE] (Imploding Sounds)
A cryptic live document from The Gate's expanded lineup Dan Peck, Tom Blancarte, Brian Osborne and guests casting subharmonic dread, electroacoustic rupture, and dirge-like trance into two versions of the same ritual, where Almost Live blurs performance and fabrication and the Marston Mix sinks the remains into deeper, uncharted gloom, accompanied by a fractured visual zine of equal disquiet.
 Gate, The: Scum [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tubapede)
A heavy and wild ride in the 9th album from New York's The Gate of composer and tuba player Dan Peck, bass player Tom Blancarte and percussionist Brian Osborne, concise pieces of heavy melodic elements, dark riffs and an ominous attitude, intersecting with plundered asides and anxious pauses, a strong addition to their discography and an engrossing collection of deep disturbance.
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Fred Frith / Shelley Burgon:
CHANGES TO blind:
Michel Doneda / Le Quan Ninh / Nuria Andorra:
Rutger Zuydervelt a.k.a. Machinefabriek:
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters:
Jaap Blonk:
Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson:
Joe Henderson:
Jason Kao Hwang:
AMM and Sachiko M:
Brennan, Patricia Septet (Irabagon / Shim / O'Farrill / Gilmore / Herrera / Cass): Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic Records)
Brennan, Patrick / Maria do Mar / Ernesto Rodrigues / Miguel Mira / Hernani Faustino / Abdul Moimeme: The Sudden Bird Of Waiting (Creative Sources)
