http://improvizone.comnoen-gb© 2010 Andrew BookerAndrew BookerLive ambient/chillout recordings from Improvizone gigsLive electronic/ambient/chillout beats and soundscapes for bars and public spaces.Improvizonecontact@improvizone.com© 2010 Andrew BookerMusicImprovizoneHappy-making rhythmic chimes and soloingHappy-making section from about 40 mins into our 20 May 2009 gig at the Plough. We usually have to force ourselves to play in a major key, and are then the better for it. The Laffsta chimes his effected rhythm guitar through this one while the rest of us decorate. Os ramps in halfway with a background drone and we shift the feel into a steady light pulse. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=140Podcasts2010-03-14T10:00:00+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneAmbient guitar with supporting bass and processingAn hour and 40 mins into our 20 May 2009 evening at the Plough, and this gig was showing no signs of petering out. I thought this one sounded better with just Nick and Mike, with Os droning discreetly and then rhythmically in the background. Although I took the drums out, you can hear my electronics still. A few bits of dirt in someone's signal spoil this a bit, not enough to make me go and find out where and try some clean-up though. Arty and pensive, it is nice to hear something properly ambient for a change. I should play less often. (Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=139Podcasts2010-03-06T19:45:00+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneBusy guitars negotiate slack timeContinuing only a couple of minutes after the previous track from our 10 Jun 2009 gig at the Plough, although you wouldn't know it, faster and with a completely different feel. For me the highlight is about two minutes from the end, with Ben's clipped guitar on the one side, Mike's inimitable celestial picking on the other, punctuation on the bass and as little as possible from me. There really is no point trying to compose music like this. Just bring good people together and let them make it up. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Ben Lubin)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=138Podcasts2010-02-27T23:51:36+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonerock with 80s sounds migrates into extended free-pulse calmFrom about an hour into our 10 Jun 2009 gig at the Plough. My original mix of this section was about 25 minutes, not surprising for a gig where we ended up playing for about three hours. The first half of this is optimistic minor-key rock where Mike and Ben, who had not met before this evening, compliment each other really well. Ben's clean 80s sound, treated with some light flange at the Improvizone nerve centre, perfectly contrasts the smoothed dirt dished from the Bearpark corner, but what I really enjoy here is the notes they play. The actual music. Nick keeps it all together harmonically on the bass, and I add energy here and there, otherwise keeping it down. In the second half I seem to be playing some mixed-cycle pattern involving 5 on the hands and 3 on the feet. Hopefully the only listener that distracts will be me, as the piece settles down into its long level calm ending. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Ben Lubin)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=137Podcasts2010-02-19T23:12:23+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonefunky freeform chillout with ethearal strummed guitar endingDirectly following the second track to appear from our 10 Jun 2009 gig at the Plough, the theme that developed at the end of that one runs throughout this. A slightly shaky beginning, but really finding its feet half way through, as the rhythm section lock into agitated freeform cymbal-less funk, and the guitars chime rhythms against each other over the top, and all four of us agree what key we are playing in. If you ignore the frequent scrappy hamonisation, and the occasional mains buzzes from both guitars, a piece with a pulse and its own little micro-muse. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Ben Lubin)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=136Podcasts2010-02-13T19:04:22+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneOpening guitar duet followed by lengthy rhythmic versionFrom about an hour and a half into our 10 Jun 2009 gig at the Plough, a major key section in what would supposedly have been our closing section of the gig, except we went on for about another hour after this. Mike opens and duets with Ben for the first two and a half minutes. Nick punctuates occasionally with some heavily souped up low end, most of which I removed. Light electronic tinkerings on the drums trigger their persistent MIDI cousins over in the wobbly organ sound that are just interesting enough, and just quiet enough, not to be annoying. I think. A track that does very little for almost 10 minutes, which pretty much suits the chilled background music I look to us to provide. Tune in and out, it's still here and still sweet. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Ben Lubin)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=135Podcasts2010-02-07T00:25:49+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneDistorted bouncing ambients gradually lose energyFrom less than 10 minutes into our 01 Jul 2009 gig at the Plough, saving the relaxed chillout music fashioned from guitar/synth/looping gear/acoustic drums for later, instead bouncing around something more forceful and exciting, except without adjusting the levels first. A blissful two chord riff at around 2:50 that only Mike Bearpark can conjure up is slightly spoilt by unintended overdrive, but what he plays is so good, I don't care. On the other hand the mechanical buzz somewhere on the guitar signal is a pity. So as not to feel left out, I applied so much distortion to my bass drum it's practically a bass note, and almost a good one (somewhere near the minor 3rd). I let this one run to its actual stopping point on the night, although admittedly the main interest is in the first half. In the second, we gradually wind down beneath Os's electronic harmonica loops and Mike's buzzing-clean plucked rhythm playing. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=134Podcasts2010-01-28T21:36:36+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonemajor key finale with phantom distorted guitarThe final few minutes of our 01 Jul 2009 gig at The Plough. Os leans on a keyboard bass and some peripheral pad chords, I supply a muted pulse, but mainly this is Mike's distorted guitar. There's a little bit of a phrase at the beginning, and something else some time after the halfway point. The rest of the time he's happy to scrape and pick here and there and generally make indeterminate noises, almost anti-guitar playing. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=133Podcasts2010-01-22T00:18:06+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneEerie and tense but beautiful modal jazz ambience without the jazz instrumentsFrom about an hour and 10 minutes into our acoustic drum gig at The Plough on 01 Jul 2009. I looped them up a bit here and gave them a bit of post-production delay. Mainly this was to compliment the Os bass sequencing, which gives this a nice tense undercurrent. Nothing wrong with chillout music having a bit of an edge, I say. Mike resolves the tension here beautifully with his simple guitar figure in the second half, while Os assembles his eerie backing loops and I flap around with the brushes. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=132Podcasts2010-01-15T23:26:08+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneRelaxed 2-chord minor-key chilloutThe final piece from our 05 Dec 2009 gig at the Luna Lounge, E11, sounding like it could be near the end of a set, when actually it comes from about 10 minutes in. I chopped a couple of big sections out of this to keep it even and relatively short, and the result is a typical extended Improvizone 2-chord minor-key trick, from which Nick occasionally deviates using his distorted volume pedal sound. Chas checks out a few effects and does a bit of looping, from which I eventually drift, while Mike, having opened with the simple chord pattern, keeps a relatively low profile. Not a lot happens in all, and I remember feeling a bit of a complex about that while we were playing. But listening back, as well-paced chillout music I think this is really good. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Chas Fernyhough)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=131Podcasts2010-01-09T20:10:31+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneRepeating jangly guitar theme builds and then disappearsFrom about 20 minutes into our 05 Dec 2009 gig at the Luna Lounge, E11, and the beginning of our second piece that evening in which the two jangly guitars slowly build up a repeating theme. Aiming for chilled background feels for these downloads, I omit the huge chunk of energetic bashing on the same theme in the middle of this. A short piece that goes nowhere and ends a bit abruptly (if you had the master you would know why), but is nicely listenable anyway. The two guitars complement each other really well, and Nick keeps the bass unintrusive by seeming never to deviate from the downbeat root note, whereas in fact he has plenty of fun. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Chas Fernyhough)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=130Podcasts2010-01-02T00:12:16+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneTemporary diversion to jazzy rock muzak becomes sparse spacey fidgetFrom an hour into our 05 Dec 2009 gig at the Luna Lounge, E11, in which Chas gets his moneysworth from his Line 6 M13 Stompbox whatsit. The first few minutes represent us in the jamming mode we spent much of the evening in. I mainly blame the drums in this example, leading us into jazzy rock muzak, while it seems the band around me are trying to keep the space. But from about three and a half minutes in everything is OK again, even though I am still playing. Mike and Chas swell in their clean and effected guitars, I do circumspect and restless rhythms and Nick keeps it all together. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Chas Fernyhough)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=129Podcasts2009-12-27T22:36:52+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneAmbient intro to high activity that slowly declinesFrom about three quarters of an hour into our 05 Dec 2009 gig at the Luna Lounge, E11. Ahh, the peaceful but commanding drumless intro. Actually you can hear them right at the beginning bleeding into Mike's pickup. We were switching in and out of energetic sections. Well, I was anyway, although making a conscious effort not to smother the sound in cymbal, inevitably succumbing later on. Mike maintains his dignified stately swelled guitar ambience, under which Nick and I do the Improvizone-grade pigs-in-shit rhythm section thing, not exactly jazz fusion funk, but busy by our standards. Chas starts off with zippy rhythm guitar, before moving back to slower picked embellishments. The piece tapers out very slowly, I almost chopped out a whole chunk, but I like the increasingly abstract drawn-out tailing off of this one, sounding like it will develop into something else as I slowly bring the faders down for good. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Chas Fernyhough)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=128Podcasts2009-12-18T22:52:47+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneStripped down but expressive melancholiaThe closing five minutes of our 05 Dec 2009 gig at the Luna Lounge, E11, exactly at the point we dropped down from a 120 bpm rock-out that I'm not going to bother mixing. This, I think though, is quite special. Mike and Nick co-ordinate themselves winningly on the harmonic underlay, over which Chas does some excellent soloing from about 30 seconds in. I do a proper job of sticking to relatively sparse drumming for a change, and unusually for us, the piece is a whole is strikingly stripped down. About a third of the way it drops completely to just bass and drums. I know. Wow. Only the slightly premature ending hints that we were feeling our way, otherwise I'm enormously proud of this one. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Chas Fernyhough)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=127Podcasts2009-12-13T22:08:03+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneMoody middle-eastern marsh meditationFrom about half an hour into our 05 Dec 2009 gig at the Luna Lounge, E11. Mike provides the guitar backbone, Chas winds a middle-eastern solo over the central bit, then heads for the end with a looped delay swamp. I brew up some typically distracting clattering, while Nick does what I was supposed to and keeps a lowish profile. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Chas Fernyhough)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=126Podcasts2009-12-07T23:27:55+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneDarkroom with sequences and light acousting drum clatterA good passage from just over half an hour into our last gig at the Plough to date, where Os, Mike and I did Darkroom with acoustic drums. The Darkroomy atmospherics build initially, then a typical example of what happens when I play to a click that no-one else can hear. The drums beat over a pattern Mike has already set up at a different pace. He unnoticeably corrects and continues seamlessly. Collapsing to jazzy patterings and more sweeping warehousey atmospheres, Os introduces light sequencing alongside the pizzassh of cymbals. Mike's corrupted guitar sound buzzing and rattling itself to pieces signals the end. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=125Podcasts2009-12-02T23:27:38+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSlow and simple beautiful ambient closerFrom the very end of our 28 Aug 2007 gig, our first at the Plough, when Improvizone was barely six months old. Back then, I uploaded sections from gigs in order, so that once the next gig came along, anything from the previous one I had not yet upload was shelved. I discovered this on my drum practice recorder recently. The mighty Simeon supplies the bulk of the ambience, Achilleas flutters nimbly over the top, while Nick and I keep it ultra simple in the rhythm section. (Andrew Booker, Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Simeon Harris)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=124Podcasts2009-11-15T23:59:50+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneguitar psalm builds into ambient jingleA prequel to the previous track, from about an hour into our 02 Feb 2009 gig at the Plough. Evensong on the guitar from Mike Bearpark. Nick decorates with the bass towards the end, Os samples and frees up Mike to come up with one or two more phrases. I do suitably little. We bid farewell to this one before it turns into the previous download. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=123Podcasts2009-10-09T00:01:27+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSlow bright rhythmic atmospherics with beautiful cyclical guitar descentA continuation from another upload to appear from this gig on 02 Feb 2009 at the Plough. Excellent atmospherics from the Darkroomies, Nick and I stamp out some time in the engine room, the percussion easing off in the second half for improved sweetness. A fantastic cyclical phrase from Mike brings this piece to a gradual close. There were some busy drums at this point but I faded them out. Right at the end, a reference to another piece this followed on from. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=122Podcasts2009-09-29T12:54:05+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneLengthy piece of ethereal electronica over light funkFrom about 45 mins into our 02 Feb 2009 gig at the Plough. Not immediately obvious why this qualifies as a chillout track, with some industrial funk on the drums and bass. But it all falls into place in the second half, as the upbeat but now more subtle rhythm backing skitters along underneath some ethereal if increasingly edgy noises from Os and Mike. Listen for Os at the end too, ticking away with sequenced electronic plinks. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=121Podcasts2009-09-22T22:53:17+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneGentle airy major key with standard electronic percussion noisesGentle airy major key piece from near the beginning of our 25 March 2009 gig at the Plough. Simon hardly played any trumpet in this section. What you can hear is him playing some ten minutes later or so. I dragged it forward to a random point in this piece and it fits fine. This one really gets going about half way through with a simple but beautiful phrase from Mike, as is often the case with our best stuff, which Os loops up an octave higher a bit later, layering woodwindy ambience on top. Nick moves around the bass harmonies. I make a bit of a mess, and I dropped the drums out of the mix in the middle. Nicer without them, how true that frequently is. From two thirds of the way through, this is sublime. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os, Simon Taylor)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=120Podcasts2009-09-02T00:42:30+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSlow muted trumpet solo over ambient backing in 12/8Light 12/8 drums and bass begin this piece from 25 March 2009 at the Plough. Simon opens with a single sustained note, and before he moves into a proper solo, Os has some atmospherics that sound like an orchestra tuning up. Mike joins in with his understated fast tremolo guitar about halfway through. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os, Simon Taylor)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=119Podcasts2009-08-27T19:23:21+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneCymbal and sampled bass noise march with picked guitar decorationFrom our 01 July 2009 gig at the Plough. Our first gig with acoustic drums, and reduced to a trio, we were an alternative version of Darkroom for this gig. Os takes care of the ambience, and the bassline, with a sampled bass-noise pattern. I tinkle around on cymbals, and Mike embellishes with clean delayed guitar. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=118Podcasts2009-08-15T23:45:40+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonerock guitar in ambient nectarStunning section from about 20 minutes into our 20 May 2009 gig at the Plough. This was the second gig by this quintet, and was generally excellent. I've been trying to listen to the complete gig but I've hardly made it past this section. Its magic ingredient is the double-act between Mike and Os, with the picked guitar line transposed up one heavenly octave. The Laffsta has a slightly intense heavy guitar sound, but he never overplays. Nick is happy to state the chord progression when he needs to, and do nothing else. The percussion is virtually absent, except at the end. I was playing just the SPD-S and remember finding it a bit limiting. But the evidence here is that I should stick with not being able to clatter about. Also I quite like the falling pitches from my simple laptop drum software, which makes its debut here. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=117Podcasts2009-07-24T00:38:51+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonespace station lift music gets groovy later onFrom the very beginning of our second ever gig at The Plough on 25 Sep 2007, and definitely our least successful evening. Three people with tonal instruments, three different tunings. So mostly this is Tim and his rotating space echo effect, which is lovely, and was the highlight of the evening. If he'd just played that all evening we would have been fine, but in the event it was a bruising landslide downhill from there. The broken drum sound that ramps in towards the end is kind of appropriate. (Andrew Booker, Tim Williams, Nick Cottam)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=116Podcasts2009-07-16T23:29:51+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonePassing the time with laid back rock and tremolo drumsFrom somewhere in the middle of our 10 June 2009 gig at the Plough. Mike carries the main distortion guitar presence, Ben backs up with cleaner punctuation. Nick and I move it along slowly. Not a huge amount happens, true, and yet that makes it the good background music that it's supposed to be, and at nearly 10 minutes, this feels like a much shorter piece. We get a teeny bit funky later on, if you can do that with auto-panning drums, and towards the end Mike throws in a few long-delay ambient tricks for subtle sweetness under Ben's simple descending melody. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Ben Lubin)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=115Podcasts2009-06-28T19:37:54+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneOn-off smoothly controlled ambient rock spaceThe first thing we played at our 10 June 2009 gig at the Plough. I got my swelled vocal loops just about right here, for the only time in the gig. I love what everyone else does. Nick's gently coaxing bass ascending into something more propulsive as he gets going, and the two guitars working very well together in their subtle ambient/rock ingressions. A piece that rises and falls, and as usual, it's the falls I like best. The suggestion of a melodic phrase in the last minute, when I can hardly believe that nine have already passed. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Ben Lubin)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=114Podcasts2009-06-12T23:23:41+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneInfinite guitar takes over, followed by Scandanavian musical box.Quite a sweet ending to our 08 April 2009 gig, even if we did go on for a bit longer on the night. Mike provides the two big themes in this one. After a few minutes of hamonically ambiguous atmospheric groove, he fades in an overwhelming infinite guitar loop. While I was mixing this I assumed the loop was coming from Os, and couldn't understand why turning him up didn't make the track any better. It's because Mike was doing the whole thing himself. I've taken out the percussion by this point, but there's still a bit of a mess that gradually cleans itself up underneath the mesmerising whirl of guitar. That would have then been it, but there is a third section which Mike drives with a totally different hi-tech Scandanavian music box of a phrase. We gradually disintegrate around it. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=113Podcasts2009-05-29T15:00:26+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonebass plateau followed by upbeat chiming second halfA piece of two halves, from less than 15 minutes into our 08 April 2009 gig at the Plough. The Laffsta and I stamp out a compressed pulse at the beginning and Mike sweeps around some atmospherics. But some magic really begins after about 50 seconds when Os takes over with a looped organ chord and Nick sustains a crucial perfect 4th and 5th on the bass. We wonder around whirling and building it up a bit for a few surplus minutes as it plateaus off onto an industrial assembly line of bass parts. This is rescued by Os gradually going tremolo, and as I drop down the percussion, he picks up his EWI and loops up some flute sounds. Finally as the Laffsta chimes in, I celebrate with compressed cymbals. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=112Podcasts2009-05-24T19:34:16+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneAmbient after-hours ascending into glorious resample-maniaFor me, there are two really nice things to know about this track, from our 08 April 2009 gig at The Plough. One, it's one of the less interesting sections from the gig. Two. I love it. Mike opens with a subdued guitar phrase, Simon debuts on electric guitar with something sounding suspiciously like a bass solo, Os sweeps in the atmosphere with all kinds of resampling, Nick joins in later plucking out a rapid ascending bassline, next to which I play with my delay and try and keep a steady clatter of sampled household noises. And yet, superb. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=111Podcasts2009-05-18T23:09:40+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneTech-ambient exploration with disorganised percussion pulseFrom our 23 May 2008 gig at the Design Museum, when we played quiet ambient music from the bottom of a stairwell. This one grew out of something 33% faster, as you can hear at the beginning before the cymbals come in. The percussion is a bit shakey throughout this one, because I'm still playing to the original click at the other speed. And because I'm no good. Os and Steve keep the rest of it interesting for nine whole minutes, doing... I'm not sure what... I've got the audio master tracks and I still don't know. I guess this is the whole point of ambient music. (Andrew Booker, Os, Steve Lawson)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=110Podcasts2009-04-09T23:47:38+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneTense climactic ambient swellClassic Improvizone from about 10 minutes into the 05 Feb 2009 gig at the Plough. This gets lovely and intense after about 4 minutes, even better when I abandon the cymbals all too briefly. It then settles into a calmer outro that has all the inevitable beauty of the drums shutting up. Nick provides a bit of tension by shifting around underneath the minor key harmony, Mike plucks his usual enigmatically poignant yet circumspect phrases, while Os daubs the whole thing in his elusive lush processing. For the mix, I gently pulled the plug before it turned into something else. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=109Podcasts2009-03-31T23:30:39+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneambient drone funk and decorationsFrom about 25 minutes into our 05 March 2009 gig at the Plough. Overall a bit formless and jammy, but interesting even so, and great if you put it on in the background and do something else. Kind of what it's supposed to be doing. Nick provides the backbone with his persistent octave/reverb riff drone, the rest of us play about about over the top, especially Nils. Matt strikes up a tremolo pattern and the thing finally takes shape, finishing fairly conclusively. Listen out for Simon drifting in with noises that take a few seconds to register as being of trumpet origin. (Andrew Booker, Nick Cottam, Nils Eyre, Matt Stevens, Simon Taylor)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=108Podcasts2009-03-14T22:45:13+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneplinky guitar into mid-tempo thrash wigoutFrom just before the interval of our 05 March 2009 gig at The Plough. The first couple of minutes centres around Matt's lovely guitar loop, as it might have been conceived by teenage gentry in an english public school in the late 60s. He, Nils and Simon have fun exploring ideas over the top of it, Nick burbles along on his bottom string with a descending minor key harmonic structure, and I pitch in and muck up the timing a third of the way in. It then ascends to a mid-tempo jazz rock wigout, before collapsing very nicely. After my vocal continuum subsides, Matt deconstructs his loop to close the piece. (Andrew Booker, Nick Cottam, Nils Eyre, Matt Stevens, Simon Taylor)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=107Podcasts2009-03-10T08:02:58+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonepicked acoustic and muted trumpet washThe very beginning of our 05 March 2009 gig at the Plough, the moment four people who had never met started making ambient chillout music without a drummer (I was off stage at this point, but the vocal and keyboard chime loop is mine). There are at least two tempos going on here, sometimes at the same time. Nick begins with some picked harmonics, Nils suggests various phrases on electric and does general decorations, but the for the backbone I've done some gratuitous looping of Matt's acoustic and Nick's bass. Simon's muted trumpet surprises the whole thing with its complete sonic and textural counterpoint to the guitars. (Nick Cottam, Nils Eyre, Matt Stevens, Simon Taylor)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=106Podcasts2009-03-07T16:11:21+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSlow ambient spooky swells and agitated sitarFrom about 25 minutes into our 30 July 2008 gig at the Plough. A relatively featureless beginning soon gives way to some spooky magic, I think. The audio quality is dogged by glitches and drop-outs all over Chris's sitar, and I doubt there's anything to be done about it. Which is a pity. He skips and tumbles around Mike's stable guitar swell pattern, while Os slowly reprocesses Mike into some awesome ambient loops, decaying the whole thing to a natural conclusion in under 5 mins. Such a shame. If this had gone down well onto disk it would have been truly outstanding. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os, Chris Cook)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=105Podcasts2009-01-20T23:08:05+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonePeachy uptempo delayed guitar and light slap funk with sitar commentaryWe got a loud cheer at the end of this one, from about 50 mins into our 30 July 2008 Plough gig. I don't disagree with the audience. This is a good example of how ambient chillout music can be uptempo and beautiful, giving the rhythm section and the texturalists plenty to keep them amused for eight minutes and a bit. Chris's sitar joins in halfway with subtle tonal counterpoint. A couple of nasty glitches in the middle will spoil it slightly for the audiophiles, otherwise, on the whole, a peach. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os, Chris Cook)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=104Podcasts2009-01-14T21:54:43+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneTypical laid-back major-key ending riff with quiet sitarThe very end of the 30 July 2008 gig at the Plough. I had not listened back to the recording of this at all, so it was a winning surprise to come across this in December. I immediately wanted to add it to one of the live CDs currently in production, but couldn't decide whether it was too good or not good enough. Chris Cook joined us for this gig on sitar, but he didn't record well. There were glitches all over his stereo track, probably from his laptop (yet again, I wish we'd taken a direct signal), and the sitar is only nearly in tune. Hence it's a bit low in the mix here, and mostly I've looped up a clean bit where he was in unison with the Laffsta's simple bass riff. Os creates sweeping background textures, Mike takes his time over his guitar swells, and I add the occasional tremolo bass pad towards the end. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os, Chris Cook)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=103Podcasts2009-01-10T22:51:05+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneRhythmically ambiguous fast-paced ambient lushnessFrom somewhere in the middle on 07 Oct 2008 at Switch. Once this gets going I regard this as a true gem. For much of the time I am in fact trying to play a 5/8 over 4/2 structure, but you wouldn't know it, thanks to a sublime Laffsta bassline. He really has fun with this towards the end. A multi-seamed feast of fast percussion, lithe bass and lush layers from Mike and Os. And I came away from this thinking it wasn't a great gig. What a nonce. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=102Podcasts2009-01-03T14:53:06+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneRe-sampled yee-haw power trio dropping into half-tempo melancholiaUptempo thigh-slapping begins this extract from the latter half of our 07 Oct 2008 set at Switch in South Woodford. Mike carries the main body of the first half, while Os and I decorate the skittering pulse with offbeats, to the Laffsta's funk slapping. There was a part Mike played that I liked so much, I repeated it a bit later on in the track. Go on, see if you can spot it. After that, as always, we then cut the tempo in half, Os samples Mike, and it ramps up, or down, into a massive warehouse-sized ambient rock sweep. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=101Podcasts2008-12-30T21:34:17+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSpanish/jazz guitar and bass into freewheelFrom immediately before the previous upload, ie near the end of the 07 Oct 2008 gig at Switch. When I wrote about this gig recently I reported that the rhythm section weren't firing on all four at this gig. But the Laffsta does brilliantly here, carrying along a Spanish-style groove that's almost 50% of what's going on here. And almost the other 50% is Mike's guitar, beginning with Spanish jazzy phrases and then exploring elsewhere. The Laffsta goes with him, while Os and I mainly do the percussion. I especially like the ending, where Os chips in some samples of the other two. Totally different from the way the piece started. And that is as good a reason as any for improvising during gigs. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=100Podcasts2008-12-27T00:19:46+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneAmbience over heartbeating footAn extended fadeout from the very end of our 07 Oct 2008 gig at Switch in South Woodford. We had dropped down to a fraction of our normal volume by this point. For the mix, everything is boosted so much you can hear chattering and glassing clinking through Mike's guitar pickup. Os spurs us on with some ambient drones at the beginning, and then that's him sampling a bit of Si's bass from another section I edited out. Finally the Laffsta rolls in some bass carpet towards the end. Mike swells up and down, and I just about maintain the hearbeat pulse all the way through. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=99Podcasts2008-12-23T23:44:52+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneedgy but sweet ambient guitar loops with bass grooveFrom a little way into our last gig at Ember to date, on 28 May 2008. Mike, Os and the Laffsta carry this one. I was probably rebooting my laptop at the time, and while I do play on this one (you can just hear my heavily phaser-effected synth pads towards the end), what the trio does here needs no percussive embellishment. We did this in the height of summer, yet it has quite a nice wintry feel. Ginger wine with a dash of whiskey please, I'll be sitting over by the fire. (Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=98Podcasts2008-12-20T11:16:36+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneFidgety jam ends with an utterly sublime second halfThe very beginning of the 06 Aug 2008 Plough gig, a mediocre jam until about 3:10. The drums eventually shake off the fidgety patter, and at 3:26 Nick moves to a different bass note and officially turns this into a gem, elevating into the absolute sublime in its second half, when the rest of us realise what's going on and settle into a beautiful relaxed moving soundscape. Improvizone with live music in Walthamstow at its best. BTW, if you listen to the ending of this one, and the beginning of the previous download from this gig... (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os, Steve Bingham)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=97Podcasts2008-12-01T22:31:23+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizone5 guys explore guitar sample with uptemp but controlled workoutFrom the 06 Aug 2008 gig at The Plough. An example of improvisation working really well. Os finds the perfect Mike sample and loops it, Binksy begins with rhythmic tension before breaking into more florid soloing that was just as much fun to watch then as it is to listen to now. Nick and I take the rhythm section for a walk, then break into a jog. We drop the intensity but keep the pace while Mike inimitably sweeps guitar over the temporary calm, before the whole thing ascends into organised chaos, with Os perfectly placing octave-shifted violin in the final ramp-up. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os, Steve Bingham)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=96Podcasts2008-11-26T22:51:19+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneChillout musicians express melancholyFrom somewhere in the middle of the 06 Aug 2008 gig at The Plough. Steve Bingham is absent for most of this, as he was offstage replacing a broken string. The rest of us have settled into full on pessimism, a doleful soundtrack to hard times, steered by Mike's filtered guitar swells, stretched out by Nick's expansive bass chords. Binksy joins in agreement towards the end. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os, Steve Bingham)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=95Podcasts2008-09-26T22:32:15+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonelengthy but beautiful downbeat gig endingFrom the very end of the 06 Aug 2008 gig at the Plough. This feels like it's going to end about half way through. Then it carries on with more of the same until you start thinking it never will end. Then it slips into something slightly funky and quietly tries to go off somewhere weird, before going off altogether. All of which is a very crass summary that belies the lovely passage of music from the trio of Mike, Steve and Nick here, while Os and I fill in around the sides. It's a whole 10 minutes but I don't get bored at all. Rhythmically rambling and ambiguous, harmonically smooth and sorry-sweet. A fine if slightly blue (as in unhappy) alternative end to a gig from our usual upbeat major key thing. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os, Steve Bingham)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=94Podcasts2008-08-24T16:20:30+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneStandard jam deflating into calm rampdownFrom about an hour into the 06 Aug 2008 gig at the Plough. Though it pains me so to say, some of this feels like a jam, edited down from 17 minutes, with standard descending chords. We find Steve Bingham in full florid violin soloing mode, as he was throughout quite a lot of the gig. But here, he also fits in some rhythmic and melodic embellishments that work really well, and, as ever, when the drums stop, lovely things happen. Not the highlight of the gig, but a good spot all the same. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os, Steve Bingham)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=93Podcasts2008-08-21T00:11:00+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneExtended intro/outro with chugging, burbling and clatteringFrom near the end of the 04 June 2008 gig, sounding like an extended intro morphing into an extended outro, without worrying about a middle bit. The lightly distorted drums don't settle until at least 2 minutes in, then calm down quickly after that, before going off for a few splashes towards the end. Os's ambient processing and rhythmic chugging work as well as ever, and it's always great, just as the rhythm section change gear eg at 5:14, to hear Mike come in with another new sound. Especially when you have to remind yourself it's coming from a guitar. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=92Podcasts2008-07-24T17:08:43+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneFunk bass with ambience and subtle guitar pickingThe same tempo as the previous download from the Plough on 04 June 2008, because this one ends about a half a minute before that one starts. Besides Nick's steady funk bassline carrying the whole thing along, not a lot appears to happen here. But I like to focus on Mike's subtle guitar picking, especially a few minutes before the end, as the busy drums tail off. Good things always happen when the drums tail off... (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=91Podcasts2008-07-19T18:28:57+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneambient guitar phrase with rock undercurrentFrom about half way through the 04 June 2008 gig at The Plough. Carried along by another classically simple but superb Mike Bearpark repeated phrase, with Os drifting in and out in the background. I love my 80s pitch-bend sounds, but the drums/bass don't really gel here, probably my fault. So I shut up 3/4 of the way through, and Nick finishes the piece with an arpeggiated bit that I thought would sound nice through a tremolo. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=90Podcasts2008-07-13T23:06:40+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneDrum clattering with ambient loopsNarrowly avoiding the first ever Improvizone drum solo, Os joined in when Mike and Nick left the stage for a break during the 04 June 2008 gig at the Plough. I carried on because the DVD with the visuals was still had a good half hour left. Os pitched in with some great accompaniment and could have created a piece of music if he'd had some less random and circumspect drumming to work with. I have fun flapping my arms about to a metronome. At least I assume I had a click, otherwise Os wouldn't have been able to aim his semi-quaver bass artillery so well. I'll have to find the video. (Andrew Booker, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=89Podcasts2008-07-09T11:32:00+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneLaid back major-key balmSomething I remember enjoying during the 04 June 2008 gig at The Plough, about half an hour in. Occasionally a track comes along that is such a pleasure to mix, the delight is listening to it again and again as I audition and edit it. This almost one of those. I say almost, because although it is essentially wonderful, it does have a few hairs, is not completely organised harmonically and needed a little editing. No matter, to me the first little-practised secret to success in a piece like this is the slow tempo. For us, it's always when the best music happens, because the players have time to think, and time to relax. Another reason I like this is that it's a great advocate against playing solo. Mike's fluid guitaring, Nick's calm bass support, and Os's alert reprocessing all took three heads. Four if you factor the percussive pattering which I'm glad I kept reasonably under control. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=88Podcasts2008-07-03T22:18:53+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneambient drum-n-bass soundcheckFrom the beginning of the 28 May 08 gig at Ember. And I mean the very beginning. The soundcheck. The wire-up. We didn't even know Os was recording, and this is pretty much from the moment he pressed the button. As such, there was never going to be a great deal of musical meaning here, as we (particularly I) checked levels and settings, but it's worth a listen all the same. Os provides the general air conditioning, Mike makes sure stamping his feet in various places does the right thing, and I drift in and out of amusing the Laffsta with drum-and-bass clatter and patter. The drums are fun, but as is so often the case, the beauty is when they stop. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=87Podcasts2008-06-11T23:47:09+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneend of evening mystical sweepdownFrom the very end of the 30 Oct 2007 gig, possibly its highlight, and one of the finest gig endings so far. Some excellent audio processing here by Os, and Jim slips in some lovely sliding bass punctuation. Mike as ever strikes up one of his trademark simple melancholy cyclical phrases, then the whole thing submerges itself in its own sweetly scented washes. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os, Jim Lampi)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=86Podcasts2008-05-23T23:18:40+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneslow rock hammering with psychedelic violinFrom 15 Jan 08 at the Plough. This gig is unusual in that it is the only guitarless gig to date, and the only one where I did not upload anything from it afterwards. I wasn't necessarily going to, we were due to play the next day, and we were trying out a couple of new people at this one. The gig was fun and musically not bad, but had a higher-than normal proportion of driving up-tempo stuff, aided and abetted by Nick and Oli, rather than the ambient chillout direction we advertise. This is one section where we play a bit more slowly at least, even if we still don't get to the pleasant chillout bit. Oli is doing the swirl noises, Nick rumbles several metres down in the Earth's crust, I bash around on distorted drums and long-release midi notes, and Peter scatters his heavily processed melancholy violin towards the back of the mix. It's got something. In fact listening to this encourages me to revisit this gig and get some more material out of it. (Andrew Booker, Nick Cottam, Peter Sellars, Oli Mayne)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=85Podcasts2008-05-22T22:00:20+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSlow stabs, crackles, musical box and crunch guitarsFrom the end of the 14 Nov 07 Ember gig. The quality is not great, there are glitches from somewhere, probably my laptop. But where they might have spoilt a smoother ambient textural piece, between the stodgy thwacks of the drums, and Michael P's solid bass-note stamping, they almost sound intentional. Listen to the track about 20 times like I've done, and they won't bother you :) A good end-of-evening, empty-room, emotionally ambiguous piece. Such is the value of recording, I don't remember us playing this at all (and I'm completely sober at my gigs). (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Peters, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=84Podcasts2008-05-21T15:22:35+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonesmooth fast ambient rockNice to hear Simeon back in the downloads list. This is one of the only fragments from his first gig with us at Imbibe on 29 May 07 that we have not yet used. Everything else is either already up, or went onto the SE1 CD. One reason for leaving this out might have been that I didn't exactly call it chillout, although compared to some of our less accessible improvisations this is full-on commercial. Another reason is that I hadn't got Simeon's levels right yet. The clipping that spoils his beautiful ambient stereo is my fault. Also, I remember having a hard time maintaining the unfaltering up-tempo pace, and boy can you hear it. The rhythm section is not tight here. Despite those, it's mellow and easy on the ear without being too cheesy. (Andrew Booker, Michael Captain, Simeon Harris)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=83Podcasts2008-05-20T21:52:43+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneDark sweeps and swirls then ambient delay funkFrom about an hour and a half in to the 30 Oct 2007 gig at The Plough, E17. Not the highlight of the gig, but a good section, that didn't make it to the downloads at the time because the next gig was only a fortnight later. The sweeps and swirls near the beginning are Jim, before he drops down to playful funky stick-bassing. Apart from me, the rest of the track is Os sampling Mike's guitar, and it all starts to pile up from about 5:30. Mostly good stuff though. Nice gradual climbdown at the end. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os, Jim Lampi)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=82Podcasts2008-05-19T22:47:41+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneIndustrial (as in estate) with a lot of hi-hatFrom about 40 mins into the 05 Dec 2007 gig at the Plough. The drums are so frustratingly understated at times, I had to loop up one of the more assertive bits. The truth is we'd been going for five minutes on this idea already, and I'd got a bit bored with funking out the typical snare that only appears fleetingly here. Even if I'm flagging, the others are just warming up by the time this starts, and more than compensate, especially Os, who creates the lovely bubbling arpeggiated riff you can hear at beginning, before supplying those sinister distorted swells that give the first two minutes an industrial factoryscape feel. Nice ambient chillout? Some other time... (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=81Podcasts2008-02-10T21:46:42+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneBoth sides of Improvizone, the rough and the smoothThoroughly enjoyable epic stretches from Mike dominate the first few minutes of this, typically veering off the path of nicety at the Plough (05 Dec 07, almost at the end of the gig) compared to our usual bar gigs. Then it slips down into the more relaxed ambient mode we have written on the tin. Os takes over the rhythm with recorded drum loops, leaving me to clatter along ineptly, or shut up. The latter preferable. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=80Podcasts2008-02-05T21:39:58+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonemelancholy and slightly tense mid-tempo funkFrom a section that begins immediately after the previous download from the 05 Dec 2007 gig at the Plough, though I've begun this edit a little way in. Did I say edit? No, this lineup doesn't need much editing, and this is exactly as it was played. Great stuff from everyone here, especially Nick, who with his simple 1-4 changes later on injects a lovely melancholy undercurrent. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=79Podcasts2008-01-28T22:27:45+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonesweeping 6/8 shuffleFrom 8 or 9 minutes into our last gig of 2007 (5 Dec at the Plough). This is a shuffle-type groove, the beat ambiguously subdividing into 3 or 2 depending on which bit of the drums and bass you listen to. In fact the metronome in my ear was still clicking around 96bpm in 4/4. Sorry, you've nearly gone to sleep I know, but that may also be a result of the soothing flutterings from Achilleas, or the gentle picked phrases Mike coaxes from the guitar. Or Os's ambient underlay, which you can hardly hear unless you button out all the other instruments, but if you took away would leave a huge hole. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=78Podcasts2008-01-24T23:35:27+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneImprovizone has a quiet ChristmasFrom the middle of the 28 Nov 07 gig at Ember, while I was amongst the audience dishing out the last remaining copies of our free SE1 CD. A lovely wintery soundscape formed out of Os's muted musical box and Mike's picked phrasing, with the Laffsta gently steering from the bass. (Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=77Podcasts2007-12-21T11:02:23+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneLight funk with heavenly extended descentFrom about half an hour into the 28 Nov 07 gig. It opens with some light ambient funk, all good and well for a few minutes, then just as it sounds as if it's going to stop, slips into a superb quiet passage, stunningly beautiful from 4:42... if I really wanted, I could solo all the parts and find out what everybody's doing, but it would spoil it if I did. What I can hear is Mike's subtle but stellar inventiveness and control, supported by Os's textural manipulation, who may be looping, but it's all constantly changing. The Laffsta and I sit back in an unintrusive rhythm section and enjoy. Absolutely brilliant. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=76Podcasts2007-12-20T11:00:14+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSlow happy gig climbdown in A MajorThe very end of the 28 Nov 07 gig at Ember. We always finish with something slow in a major key (this is in A). Although this is the end of almost 2.5hrs of playing, we all seem to be pretty functional and accurate with the playing still. No lightweight amateurs us, oh no. A very happy ending to a very happy gig. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=75Podcasts2007-12-19T19:29:35+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneRamp-up ramp-down in D MajorFrom near the beginning of the 28 Nov 07 gig at Ember. Maybe it shows, as the playing got a bit tighter later on. The gig intro was all good, but fairly 80s U2ish up until this point. You can kind of hear it still in the first minute or so, after which the Os processing and electronic drums help to lift it out of the ordinary, as does Mike's typically inventive wobbly guitar sound towards the end. Before that, we just about keep control of the buildup in the middle, then it has a nice climbdown. The oddly abrupt ending is genuine. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=74Podcasts2007-12-18T19:53:15+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSwamp explorers on adrenaline. For a bit.From near the end of the 28 Nov 07 gig at Ember. Dark, murky and ominous to begin with, with sub-bass from Os (go on, ditch the earphones, bring on the woofers), it's worth hearing how it develops, always managing to be not entirely unpleasant, dropping down into loitering guitar and persistent rhythm section, closing after Os joins back in with layers of reverse-guitar samples. Mike sources a lot of the interest, but notice the Laffsta's understated but playful bass towards the end. Not quite sure this would be everyone's idea of chillout, but hey. Light and shade, light and shade... (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=73Podcasts2007-12-17T13:34:26+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonemechanised ambient wallpaperThis grows into a nice bit of ambient machinery, from somewhere near the middle of the very successful 28 Nov 07 gig at Ember. Mike triggers some chord changes, otherwise not a lot happens, such is the whole point of this stuff: various people sitting around having a drink and a chatter, not quite realising why they're having a better time than usual, when suddenly it dawns on them... the band are playing something really nice... whatever it is... (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=72Podcasts2007-12-12T00:25:52+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneRelaxed ambient chillout goes for a walkReally going for the ambient chillout here. Mike B in the middle, Os panned towards the left, and towards the right is Michael P mainly on MIDI washes, in the closing section again demonstrating exemplary adeptness as a bassist, and with an unconventional sound too. This is not as involved as what we usually get up to, but nice even so. We have often ended gigs this way in the past, in fact we were barely a third of the way through (Ember 14 Nov 07). (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Peters, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=71Podcasts2007-11-27T21:54:55+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneswirling uptempo build-upHalf an hour from the end of the first Ember gig (14 Nov 07). Lovely section from about 1:50, thanks to a fantastic phrase from Mike B (L) and some great ghoulish accompaniment from Michael P (R) on his MIDI sounds, before he moves onto picked guitar. Loses its way slightly in the middle, suffering a bit from some lurching drumming (having to re-sync with the click track), but recovers towards the end, when it reminds me why I don't like to describe what we do as jamming. Shame to fade this out, it becomes another section, as hinted by Os's sub-bass in the last few seconds. It was all pretty good right till the end of the gig... maybe another free CD :) (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Peters, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=70Podcasts2007-11-27T01:57:09+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneuptempo ambient funkA little unsure of itself at the beginning, but settles into an enjoyable medium fast groove, one of the bits of the gig that was really cooking. Difficult to tell who's doing what, but the low frequency rhythmic rumble is Os, the busy rhythmic low end guitar panned right is Michael P, the sweeping guitar panned left is Mike B. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Peters, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=69Podcasts2007-11-24T15:39:46+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneRough soundscapes and crunchy broken funkI rarely find cause to compliment myself in these downloads, but I quite like the infectious drum pattern that settles by about 1:00. If only I stuck with it all the way through. The rough ambient clouds from the trio are lovely, the groovy yet elusive bottom end comes from Michael Peters. As to why I have cruelly faded this out prematurely... like a dipstick, I had forgotten to plug in the laptop power supply. At exactly the moment this download ends, the battery went under. I looked down, saw a blank screen and hastily plugged in, whereupon recording miraculously resumed, but it had missed a section. Could only ever happen in a good bit. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Peters, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=65Podcasts2007-11-18T22:30:50+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneUnsteady bass stamping on a musical boxThe first gig without a bass player (Ember 14 Nov 07). Those bass noises at the beginning are me, followed by Michael Peters swelling and picking on the guitar and a muted muffled musical box loop from Os. Mike B joins in later on, and you can hear the two halves of the band taking up their respective rhythmic (MP, AB) and textural (MB, Os) positions, coming together with something really nice in the middle. Some very light drumming comes in half way, truth is it was going down to disk quietly. Plus playing bass pads and a kit was pretty much beyond me. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Peters, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=64Podcasts2007-11-15T23:55:16+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSoupy swirl with stabsWeirdness and fun from somewhere near the middle of the 30 Oct 07 Plough gig, just before the interval. Jim's semitone upward modulation to his stabs near the end demonstrates the not-very-seriousness of it (I am happy to believe that he did it deliberately), while Os and Mike conjure their typically indeterminate sounds. I've got the multitrack here and I can button everyone else out and check what they're doing. You all get the big soup. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os, Jim Lampi)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=63Podcasts2007-11-09T00:45:30+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneAutumnal ambient stompFrom about 15 minutes into the gig at the Plough on 30th Oct 07. Os spreads some lovely keyboard stokes around, Mike drops in a few phrases, and Jim has fun walking around on his wiry bass sounds. Although it doesn't go very far harmonically, the eight minutes have plenty of variation and interest. Gawky one-two stabs and random patterns from the drums keep it striding along. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Os, Jim Lampi)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=62Podcasts2007-11-02T12:31:06+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneambient looped guitar flute duoIt would have been tough to come up with something like this in a noisy bar. Terrific duo from Simeon and Achilleas at the Plough gig on 28 August 07. Effortlessly beautiful, and a fully formed piece of music, from two people who had met only that evening. Brilliant. (Achilleas Sourlas, Simeon Harris)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=61Podcasts2007-09-22T16:33:45+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneslow tempo sublime ambient mashOnly the second thing we did in this spur-of-the-week first gig at The Plough, E17. Nice little calming trip overall, but the real nectar oozes in the last two minutes, with Simeon building up his delay washes, me joining him on the sustained organ-type pad sounds, Nick pinning down the low frequencies and Achilleas sedately contouring with the flute. Absolutely sublime. This is exactly why this gig is worth bothering with. (Andrew Booker, Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Simeon Harris)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=60Podcasts2007-09-13T23:34:45+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizone80s rock noises from somewhere inside the air conditioningFrom just before the interval of the first Plough gig. Some vintage Simeon in here, soaring sliding guitar, plus some more gritty ambient loops than his normal sounds. Most of all I love the 80s lead sound he brings in half way through, clean but souped-up. Achilleas simultaneously demonstrates the ambient, percussive and textural sides to the flute. I flap about on some dubious cheap e-kit sounds. It all works. (Andrew Booker, Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Simeon Harris)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=59Podcasts2007-09-11T23:08:25+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneunsettled ambient jazz funkEven though it has a nice pleasant feel and sound, this piece never settles into a groove. None of the natural cycles and patterns that normally make this kind of thing work are maintained. You get the drums stopping in the middle of a phrase, because my internal clock says I've done a nice round 16 bars, yet I'm completely out with the others. Simeon's background loop doesn't give many clues either, swelling between chords with an indeterminate cycle time, probably meaningful to start with, but the band has now left it behind. And Nick, possibly as a result, never settles into a groove, although I suspect this has more to do with him not having any idea where the first beat of the bar is. And listening back, I must confess it is a bit obscure occasionally... :) (Andrew Booker, Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Simeon Harris)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=58Podcasts2007-09-09T16:02:21+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneflute, ambient/lead guitar and driving bass engineTotally awesome atmospherics from the drumless trio during this impromptu gig in NE London. This is about half an hour into the gig and I had just left the stage for a break, Nick assuming the role of rhythm provider, while Simeon and Achilleas swap phrases. Oddly, just after 4:40 it begins to slow down. If the drums had being playing it would have sounded crap. Here, it all makes sense. I looked and watched and instantly knew we'd done well with this gig in this venue. (Nick Cottam, Achilleas Sourlas, Simeon Harris)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=57Podcasts2007-09-06T23:15:33+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneflute overture with plinky toys and vacuum cleanerFrom the second half of the 31 July 07 gig, with a few drops of the avante-garde sauce tipped into the ethnic/ambient/beat formation. Simeon does some discreet ambient decorating and Nick and I stamp out a sparse shuffle. Meanwhile, Tibo complements the electronics with flute and thumb piano, and Os completes the off-the-wall sonic textures with some kind of... erm... electromagnetic surface polisher... thing. (Andrew Booker, Tibo Remy, Nick Cottam, Simeon Harris, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=56Podcasts2007-08-13T17:16:26+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneambient swoops with beats and jazzy guitarFrom the 31 July 07 gig, after I had rebooted the laptop. This is almost unedited, except for a couple of snips at the beginning and the end to get it moving (and squish the file size under 10MB). It starts with superb lush ambient swoops from Simeon, with Tibo's subtle jazzy doodles sprinkled over the top. Later, Nick starts to drive it along in the second half, and I like the four-on-the-floor pace change that follows. To me this was stable, bang-on-the-money ambient bar music, but as a listening experience, stable becomes static... I could have cut it down a bit, but nobody did anything crap, so I left it. what do you think - too long? (Andrew Booker, Tibo Remy, Nick Cottam, Simeon Harris)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=55Podcasts2007-08-08T12:32:29+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonerock fusion in warehouse with flamenco passers-by15 minutes into the first section with everyone playing at the 26 June 07 gig, my innards turned as I looked down and saw I wasn't recording. One short pause and some emergency mouse-clicks later, this happened. I didn't think much of it then, but with a bit of souping-up in the production it's more fun. Harmonically a bit ordinary, and not quite together in places, then it undergoes a nice gear change at about 3:50, which I didn't edit, it happened exactly as you hear it. The drums drop out and a soloing Simeon swaps with Mike, who is now making arena-sized audience chanting noises with his guitar. As the piece dies down, Tims Spanish-style flourishes are a nice contrast to the concrete drumming and atmospherics of the rest of it. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Tim Williams, Simeon Harris, Simon Laffy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=54Podcasts2007-07-29T19:30:22+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneSoundscapes go for a spinAnother from 26 June 07, and a prequel to the previous upload from that gig. Tim (Williams) was also playing acoustic on this one, but was so completely overwhelmed by the two electric guitarists, the cleanest thing to do was to take him out of the mix. I guess we don't get any less chillout than this, probably my fault for picking up on Mike's intro with a fast rock beat. Then again, you can't appreciate the chillout if you don't throw in a little turbulence occasionally for contrast. That's not was I was thinking at the time, of course, I was just having a bit of fun. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simeon Harris, Simon Laffy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=53Podcasts2007-07-27T00:30:44+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonedownbeat rainy summer ambient rockThis one takes its time and deliberately tries not to do much, but it is full of atmosphere. Taken from somewhere in the middle of the second bit with everyone playing at the 26 June 07 gig. The effects on the kit make it sound like it was raining, which it wasn't on the night, though this has been the story of our entire summer, if I may mention the weather for a second. Mike is cheerfully experimental in this one, the rhythm section keep the whole thing tense and unsettled, Simeon mimics Tim's earthy twang with a repeating melancholy phrase. This is really good ambient music, you can tune in and out without missing the plot. For me it also has enough to make it fully listenable, though I wouldn't use it to entertain record company executives in the lift. Actually, can you imagine this as lift music... (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Tim Williams, Simeon Harris, Simon Laffy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=52Podcasts2007-07-21T23:45:51+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneambient bayou jangle rockFrom the 5th gig (26 June 07), straight after the interval. It's taken some editing (difficult when you're recording washy ambient audio), but I quite like this now. It's got really nice moments of harmony, and the sounds that Mike and Simeon develop are exactly what these gigs are about. Although Tim's gentle plinking on the acoustic is low in the mix, I think he triggered the C major/A major change that develops, not an obvious choice, but which the others play off brilliantly, and shapes the whole track in the end. I love the beginning and the end. Good bits in the middle too. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Tim Williams, Simeon Harris, Simon Laffy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=51Podcasts2007-07-16T23:35:47+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneplanar ambient groove with Mt Guitarsolo (5632m) towering on the horizonFrom the 26 June 2007 gig. After modest ambient bar music beginnings, Simeon breaks into an incendiary guitar solo. Either he's feeling pretty good about something by this point, or is totally arsed off with the whole shebang. Clearly we must do our best to make him feel that way more often, whichever. And then we're back down to the linear ambient-with-beats groove we started with. Two of our three video recording devices were operative at this point (anyway the third would have been pointing in the wrong direction)... I'll see what I can do:) (Andrew Booker, Simeon Harris, Simon Laffy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=50Podcasts2007-07-09T21:39:14+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneleisurely rock dipped in bossa shavingsThe very end of the last gig (26 June 07), a typical slow major-key stretch to finish up with. I like the occasional chink of glasses coming through the mic inside Tim's nylon acoustic while he plucks bossa-type chords. Simeon provides most of ambience, plus he and Mike put in some forceful solos. Over Si's smooth bass underlay, the drums push and pull at the tempo a bit. Just to prove it's all live. As a recording this is nearly nine minutes of not all that much, but at the gig this was great piece of ambient bar rock to close the evening. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Tim Williams, Simeon Harris, Simon Laffy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=49Podcasts2007-07-05T18:55:44+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneHorizontal moodscapeFrom the beginning of the 5th gig. Mike and I do guitar and drums first, then beckon Si over for low frequency additions. I wouldn't exactly call this uplifting. I like the no-hurry melancholia, the general sound is good, and I don't mind that harmonically it doesn't go very far. But this is near the beginning of the gig, it's only 8pm, and we're trying to win people over. Would have been great about 3 hours later. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Simon Laffy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=48Podcasts2007-06-29T00:17:51+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonerocky ambient funk without the groovesFrom the last gig on 29 May 2007, towards the end of the bit with everybody playing together for the first time. There is a little build-up to get through before this gets going, but the tingles begin for me with Simeon's picked guitar phrase at about 2:40, backing up Mike B's swells, then later Simeon's shimmering organ-icicles at about 4:40. It's great to hear the two guitarists working well together, filling each other's pauses, complementing each other's phrases and sounds really well. All the while, Mike C leads the harmonic structure, skittering around over his simple 1-3-4-5 line, with Os providing those indefineable background noises. I say all that listening back to it, but I remember this part of the gig well too. Let it not stop, I was thinking. For me, this is exactly why I bother with Improvizone. I don't think there is any other way I could get to be involved in something like this. For others looking at this objectively it may not sound great, and it may yield a dull points score, but as far as I remember, if you were there watching us you were pretty glued by this point. I can hear why. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Captain, Simeon Harris, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=47Podcasts2007-06-13T02:29:30+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneambient with solid backingFrom near the beginning of the first everyone section from the last gig (29 May 07). I particularly like the way Mike C falls into a lovely stumpy bassline as soon as the drums drop down, and the way the whole thing adopts 4-bar cycles of phrases everywhere. Almost like a real piece of music. The general sound of this is really nice, we were all enjoying ourselves. Well, I was! (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Captain, Simeon Harris, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=46Podcasts2007-06-07T16:37:37+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonerefined unearthly chaos in 5/4If I'm trying to promote accessible improvisation in these lists, what am I doing posting this? I love it, that's why :) This is the beginning of the second "everybody" section from the 29 May 2007 gig, and is basically Simeon having a lot of fun, with the rhythm section trying to keep it together and providing Os with mashing material for the mac. About half way through this I woke up and realised we were heading somewhere mental, then quickly took confidence in it being actually pretty good. We played for 37 minutes in total, all one seamlessly presentable recording. I was about to use the whole thing on the forthcoming free CD, but chickened out of using this section at the last minute. At least here you get to score it badly and say what you think. (Andrew Booker, Michael Captain, Simeon Harris, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=45Podcasts2007-06-06T00:21:26+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonesublime washesFrom the 29 May 07 gig, where we slid neatly into an interval of loops that Os and Simeon left running, which you can hear a bit of here. Simeon is a major contributor to the beauty of this piece, a tiny fraction of the all the great stuff that happened at this gig. Through entirely my fault, for some this one may be spoilt slightly by a little unintentional distortion in places. Having admitted to that screw-up, I do like the slight edge it gives it. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Michael Captain, Simeon Harris, Os)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=44Podcasts2007-06-02T02:58:25+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneI really like Mike's playing on this, particularly in the light of the potential altercations at the bar.... not so much an out of body experience, more a preparatory state for a get-out-of-the-way experience. I think we'd both gone into a trance watching the suits dissolve from inside. The playing has a meditative/distracted feel depending on your point of view. Probably the first recorded instance of a mantra under the influence of drink. It was fun. (Michael Bearpark, jeremy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=41Podcasts2007-05-09T03:18:58+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizone070424-070508-0857-0888Looped pint glass chink. I think it works! Although probably unpleasant at the time to have to play to, the disembodied background clamour sits sweetly at the back of Jeremy's vocal treatments. (Michael Bearpark, jeremy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=40Podcasts2007-05-08T23:34:52+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizone070424-070508-0510-0560live from gig 24th April 2007 (James Hender, jeremy, Simon Laffy)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=39Podcasts2007-05-08T22:36:44+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonesawmill in warehouse with beatsOpening the 2nd gig (28 March 07) with the usual MB/AB duo. If what we get up to in the larger Improvizone groups tends towards a smoother funky ambient blend, this is where you hear the harder industrial touches creeping in. It's good to lay down a bit of this kind of noise to start the evening with kick, like downing a couple of shots of badly blended whiskey, before mellowing out later on with the single malts. It also highlights Mike's versatility - must do a feature one day on the five-foot arc of effects at his feet. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=38Podcasts2007-04-23T23:02:58+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizone80s electronic folk funkAbout half way through this we are properly in the 80s retro section of the second gig (28 March 07). Just as the punk revolution of 1976 was to topple prog, so the indie movement in 1989 was probably looking to bulldoze precisely this variety of sleek, white linen suited, sunset-in-Miami gloss. I think of the number of times I use the word "industrial" for Improvizone, while this is hardly Jean-Herve Peron. Phil Manzanera/801 more like. But, just as any old alcohol at a party will shed people's inhibitions and make them sociable, so all sorts of dreamy wash will do the job as unintrusive ambient-with-beats bar background music. I like it. I don't care what it is, and I think it does what Improvizone says, depending on which bit of the tin you're looking at. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Tim Williams, Michael Captain)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=37Podcasts2007-04-22T01:28:41+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonespace disco in the evergladesFrom the 28 March 2007 gig. This was everyone playing, and had been for getting on 20 mins. We were going to stop, but Mike B brought in that weird 60's electronica noise, an offer I couldn't refuse. Mike B is on the left, Scott in the centre and Tim on the right, all underpinned by Mike C's funky Karn-esque bass. Something I was thinking all the way through, and that shows up really well here, is how distinct the playing of the three guitarists is, each adding something completely different and equally good, each clearly discernible. And because we're not wall-of-noise apROCKalyptic death metalheads, at least not on a Tuesday evening at Imbibe, this is good thing. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Scott Davitt, Tim Williams, Michael Captain)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=36Podcasts2007-04-16T00:10:42+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonerelaxed warm-weather funkThe final six minutes of the second gig. Sometimes it's nice to listen to stuff without the drums. The beat picks up when Scott brings in the distortion. If you're wondering what all that squelchy guff is in the background, it's me, and I wish there was less of it, but I'm stuck with it in the drum mix I recorded. I took the kit out completely at the beginning because there was too much delay at the wrong speed. From now on I'm recording a dry drum signal as well as the effects. It's basically Mike leading this one all the way through, with his busy but relaxed funky bassplaying providing the harmonic structure. (Andrew Booker, Scott Davitt, Michael Captain)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=35Podcasts2007-04-09T18:19:33+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneRelaxing in the intrastellar bathtubFrom the second gig. One of the earliest settings I put into my drum module. I made up the pattern during a HiD gig almost two years ago, and later tried it with a few different people. Of all of them, Tim is by far the best fit for this. We could achieve perfection by sorting out our majors and minors. In other words, with me listening to what Tim's doing right from the beginning, rather than from only about halfway through as I was here, bringing in and taking out the A natural on my left foot (the piece is basically in B). The slight shift in ambience for a minute or so is where I had to edit out some rumbly sounds I was making by mistake that were spoiling it. See, I still don't know what I'm doing. This is one is the sound of wallowing and reclining amid the cosmic lather. I'd be happy playing this music for the rest of my life. (Andrew Booker, Tim Williams)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=34Podcasts2007-04-04T23:26:20+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneFrom pretty much right at the beginning of the first gig. The drums let this down a bit, I seem to be losing the momentum in a couple of places and not flapping about as much. Nonetheless the excitement of the beginning of the opening night comes across here. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=33Podcasts2007-03-27T22:56:16+01:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizonefeelgood jazz-rock chilloutIf you can tune out the crackles, this is from the very end of the first gig. Mike and Tibo exert their completely different styles in the first bit, then Tim puts some quiet rhythm guitar during the dropdown while I'm tapping on drum pads that play string pads. I had a vague idea the pads were in some kind of compatible key. Only Nick is represented badly here. I had almost no bass signal on his channel, so we're listening to him through the room mic. From the next room, it sounds more like. Muddier than an a rock festival in a ploughed field. Shame, because he plays a really solid, no-nonsense groove, and does exactly the perfect thing in the dropdown. Listen out for Tibo's vocal processing in that bit too. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark, Tibo Remy, Tim Williams, Nick Cottam)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=32Podcasts2007-03-21T00:34:56+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisationImprovizoneambient lead guitar with exploratory beatsFrom the end of our duo set, opening the first Improvizone gig. There are glitches all over this, like we pressed a mix onto shellac and then cleaned it with sandpaper. Upsetting to begin with, now it just sounds like the scratchy old vinyl that got me into doing music in the first place. More to come from this piece in due course, it went on for nearly 23 minutes when we were only supposed to play for 15. By the way this is completely live, in case anyone has been listening to the recordings thus far and is thinking "yeah, right". All those little bubbly whirly noises... such is the fun of playing through electronics. (Andrew Booker, Michael Bearpark)http://improvizone.com/_audio.mp3?id=31Podcasts2007-03-06T00:02:40+00:00alternative,chillout,ambient,electronic,soundscapes,improvisation