Webster / Lisle / Ward - Red Kite

'Red Kite' is the debut album by my new trio with Alex Ward (guitar) and Andrew Lisle (drums). The album is available now to download from Raw Tonk Records, and a CD version will be available soon.

The trio was formed especially for the recording session, prompted by the offer of studio time from Sam Thredder at The Cro's Nest. The album was improvised in the studio, recorded directly to reel-to-reel tape, and mastered by the excellent Marlon Wolterink.

Invertebrata - Available Now

New release on Raw Tonk Records: Invertebrata is a duo record with Graham Dunning, and the follow-up to our previous album 'Estigate'. Recorded in the same series of sessions in South London, Invertebrata features minimal and textured improvisations using tenor and baritone saxophones, Walkmans, found tapes, and amplified objects.

The download version is pay-what-you-want. The physical version is a limited edition CDR (50 copies), with individually hand-printed covers.

http://rawtonkrecords.bandcamp.com
http://www.grahamdunning.com

Estigate - Available Now

New release on Linear Obsessional Recordings: Estigate is a saxophone/turntables duo album with Graham Dunning. Minimal and textured improvisations using tenor and baritone saxophones, specially recorded dubplates, and prepared turntables.

The download version is pay-what-you-want. The physical version is a limited edition CDr (50 copies), which comes in a carry-case containing shellac disc fragments, and a map.

www.linearobsessional.org
www.grahamdunning.com

Collaboration with Romvelope D.V.M.A. Installation

In July, myself and Jussi Brightmore improvised live to a sound installation entitled D.V.M.A. by artist Bjorn Hatleskog, aka Romvelope. A recording of the set is here:




DVMA Installation by Bjorn Hatleskog / Romvelope
Colin Webster: Baritone Saxophone
Jussi Brightmore: Electronics

Recorded at Burgh House Gallery, London. July 10th 2013.
http://www.adaadat.co.uk/romvelope/

...And It Ended Badly - Available Now

'...And It Ended Badly' - the collaboration I recorded with Dead Neanderthals is now available from Raw Tonk Records on CD and download. The full album can also streamed from the site:

The first few reviews have come in from: Burning Ambulance, Echoes and Dust, and Dutch blog 3voor12.

Also, Marlon Wolterink wrote a piece about recording and mastering the album:

http://www.mrmunchkin.net/dead-neanderthals-and-it-ended-badly-opnames-mastering/

Finally we have some lo-fi footage from the recording session. Here's a clip of 'It Went On For Days':

'...And It Ended Badly' - Artwork

'...And It Ended Badly' is the collaboration I recorded with Dead Neanderthals at the end of last year in rural Netherlands. The album will be released by Gaffer Records and Raw Tonk Records on October 10th on CD and download.

Artwork by Dead Neanderthals

www.gafferrecords.com
rawtonkrecords.bandcamp.com
deadneanderthals.wordpress.com 

Electronic Musik Compilation

A track from my forthcoming solo album 'Antennae' features on this recent compilation by the Electronic Musik netlabel.

The compilation features over 30 noise, improv, electronic, and experimental artists, and is available for free download from here.

'The Claw' - Artwork

Just received the artwork for my new duo album with Mark Holub - 'The Claw'. The cover was designed and individually screen-printed by Oliver Pitt (www.oliverpitt.co.uk).  The album should be available on CD and Download in a few weeks time.

Solo recording session

A few weeks ago I did a solo saxophone recording session.  I did the recording at Shiftworks - a studio I've used a for my trio and duo recordings - and used the same engineer, Alex Bonney.  I took alto, tenor, and baritone for the session.  The idea was to record  a series of very quiet improvisations with as much emphasis on breath sounds, and mechanical key noise as on the naturally produced sounds of the saxophone.  We set up two close-mics, and also attached some very small DPA mics to the saxophone itself - on the crook, on the bell, and inside the bell.  I've posted a few photos from the session below.

Musically, I tried to explore breath sounds, percussive sounds, resonance, extreme quiet, mechanical sounds (key/pad noise), sub-tones, multiphonics, overtones, 'non-notes', and combinations of these elements.  The temptation to play a 'natural' note would usually lead to the termination of these short improvisations.  These ideas had been on my mind for a while after exploring them almost by accident during some very quiet practice sessions at my flat, and it was great to finally get them on tape.  I'm hoping the recordings will see the light of day sometime later in the year.

Open Sound Group - Warehouse One

Back in August I participated in a 12-piece group improvisation session at a warehouse in North London. The session was curated by sound artist/improvisor Graham Dunning, and included musicians from several different improvising disciplines. The resulting recordings have been released as a free download on the Open Sound Group website:

http://www.archive.org/details/OpenSoundGroup-WarehouseOne

Webster / Holub duo recording

Back in March I did a sax n' drums duo recording session with Mark Holub. We did a one-day session at Shiftworks in North London - the same studio that I recorded Koi Bombs, and with the same engineer, Alex Bonney.

Mark was one of the first people I played improvised music with, and we played duo sets back in 2005 in places like the Red Rose Club, and the Bonnington Centre (both gone now sadly). Since then our playing together has mainly been in larger groups, but I always wanted to record as a duo. When we did the Koi Bombs session we recorded a few duos, which were great, but didn't fit with the rest of the stuff. This gave me the excuse I needed to finally book in a duo session to record some more.



We went into the studio with no pre-concieved ideas, and came out with about 15 short improvisations. For this session I took all my horns with me, alto, tenor, and bari. The bari is quite new, and the alto doesn't get played out very often, so it was exciting for me to experiment with these horns and see what I could get out of them.


We've justed finished mixing the tracks, and I've been listening hard and enjoying them. There's a real range of stuff - some very percussive, some melodic, some noise. It's going to be hard to decide what makes the final cut.