Our latest digital-exclusive release is being received very positively. The latest in excellent reviews is one by Eyal Hareuveni for SALT PEANUTS.

“The pan-European free improvising trio of German sopranino and alto sax player Stefan Keune (of XPact and the King Übü Örchestrü), Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries (who runs the A New Wave Of Jazz label), and British violist Benedict Taylor (of London Improvisers Orchestra) first performed at the A New Wave Of Jazz Live Event at PlusEtage in Baarle-Nassau, The Netherlands, in April 2022 (Live at PlusEtage Volume 1, A New Wave Of Jazz, 2023). Six months later, this trio recorded Closer and Beyond at the  Sunny Side Inc. Studio in Anderlecht, Belgium. Serries’ partner, Martina Verhoeven, took the cover photo.

Series and Taylor collaborated extensively on many projects over the last decades, including on duo albums (the most recent one, Obsidian, Creative Sources, 2023). Taylor, like Keune, collaborated with the late British free improvising guitarist John Russell. Closer and Beyond offer four untitled improvisations leaning into the chamber yet uncompromising, spiky side.

Keune, Serries, and Taylor’s interplay is immediate, urgent, and organic. They challenge each other, never settle on familiar courses, and are determined to exhaust the magic of the art of the moment. It is an elaborate dance of three intrepid improvisers, with no safety net, moving seamlessly and between control and surrender, eruptive attacks and silences, and timbral searches and brief textures, and deepening their restless, searching dynamics as this studio session progresses, until the last intense and cathartic fourth piece.”

Martin Schray’s of FREEJAZZ BLOG just wrote an absolutely lovely review on our latest digital release KEUNE SERRIES TAYLOR’ CLOSER AND BEYOND. The album is available here :

“Jon Corbett once said that in the sometimes hermetic world of free improvised music, there are contrasting tendencies between fragmentation and blending. In the 1970s in particular, there was a certain ‘schism’ between jazz musicians and non-jazz musicians, which has continued to exist until today, as can be seen, for example, in Mats Gustafsson’s and Thurston Moore’s duo or Peter Brötzmann’s collaborations with Last Exit or Oxbow. However, some musicians are also drawn to like-minded colleagues who share their musical philosophy, their aesthetic goals, and their taste. And there is nothing negative about that. Stefan Keune is one of these musicians. For example, he enjoys playing with guitarists who share his view of freely improvised music – a style more closely aligned with European free improvisation than with classical (free) jazz. In the mid 1990s, he approached John Russell because he liked his guitar sound so much. “I always thought his 1930s Epiphone guitar with steel strings and his dental acrylic pick were great,” he says, and indeed, Russell’s sound was unique and suited Keune’s delicate, irritated, disturbed tone. Then there are also recordings with his old friend Erhard Hirt, with whom he plays in Xpact and the King Übü Orchestrü , but whose approach is completely different because it’s based on electronics and the preparation of the instrument. Finally, Keune’s latest project at the Moers Festival with Damon Smith and Sandy Ewen is also different, although the guitarist also prepares her guitar with objects and uses effects devices and two amplifiers. On Closer and Beyond, he has joined Dirk Serries. Serries (guitar) and Benedict Taylor (viola) have played with each other frequently, and since Stefan Keune has a penchant for string instruments anyway – whether bass, guitar, violin, or viola – this trio was somehow a natural fit. And of course it comes as no surprise that the three harmonize wonderfully. After a brief period of feeling each other out, quick, excited movements set in, and the musical molecules whirl around in a frenzy. Sharp contrasts – especially between Taylor’s longer, sweeping notes on the one hand and Keune’s hard riffs and Serries’ Derek-Bailey-inspired, sometimes brittle playing on the other – meet contemplative phases (right in the first piece after three minutes). But more often than not, the players dart around each other, into each other, and away from each other. The most interesting moments, however, are those of silence, when Keune escapes into barely hearable, extremely high registers or when delicate breaths meet the gentle scratching sounds of the guitar and long notes of the viola only to start again at breakneck speed (both also in the first piece). This varied play of sonic ricochets is hidden across four tracks, with Serries providing the textures, Taylor the verbosity, and Keune the hectic and breathless figures. Since no one pushes themselves into the spotlight, tension and dynamics are always guaranteed. The highlight of the studio recording is the last piece, in which the ideas and playing styles of the first three tracks culminate. Keune’s saxophone wanders wonderfully between Taylor’s bowed lines and Serries’ blurred chords. The timing is perfect, creating pure beauty in dissonance. If you like European improvised music in the sense of sound exploration, this album is for you. A definite recommendation.” Freejazz Blog

“KEUNE SERRIES TAYLOR Closer and Beyond (A New Wave Of Jazz, nwoj0075, DL): Stefan Keune spielt hier an Sopranino- & Altosax in Anderlecht mit dem nwoj-Macher Dirk Serries an Archtop-Gitarre und mit dem britischen Bratscher Benedict Taylor. Der ist ein erprobter Spielgefährte von Serries, zu zweit, in Tonus oder SETT. Und ein Komponist (zusammen mit Naren Chandavarkar) von Scores für indische Filme und Serien, der sich das Herz der Bollywood-Diva Radhika Apte eroberte. Keune in seiner in Xpact und im King Übü Örchestrü widerhallenden und mit Lash & Noble originalgetreu vertieften Affinität zum Brit-Plonk quiekt, keckert, girrt, sprudelt hier nicht umsonst ausnehmend schillernd und quietschfidel. In Serries struppiger Ästhetik findet er nämlich einen Anklang an John Russell, mit dem der Oberhausener eng verbunden gewesen ist. Taylor unterstreicht das mit gewetzten und glitchigen Lauten, herben Kratzern, flötenden, zwitschernden, schmatzenden Strichen. Und deutet mit sonoren Klängen an, dass der Abstand zu den euphonen Gefilden ein bewusster ist. Serries harkt, bekrabbelt, beprickelt die Saiten, pocht an den Korpus. Die dreistimmige Action streift immer wieder lustvoll ins Kakophone und Turbulente, als hyperkinetisches Action Painting, nicht als Farbfeldmalerei. Die Laute umflattern und umtanzen den Pollock-Pol wie delirante Motten auf Speed. Doch solange dieser Pol für Freiheit und Vitalität steht… [BA 131 rbd]” Bad Alchemy

“***** Dirk Serries: Solo Acoustic Guitar Improvisations II/III and VII nwoj0045 2 LPs and EP DirkSerries (elecc g, acous g). 2021.As I said above, and as I say below, Dirk Serries is the most prominent continuator of the guitar free improvisation scene in Europe, going back to Derek Bailey and John Russell, or Fred Frith. His music also evokes associations to “younger” members of the European scene, like Terry Ex. Me, I cannot resist trying to hear similarities and differences to the Catalan giants: Ferran Fager or Diego Caicedo, or Portuguese giants: Luís Lopes or Marcelo Dos Reis. In Poland, only Michal Dymny has comparable ideas. Volumes II and III contain very profound acoustic improvisations, keeping a relaxed mood, yet being quite expressive. Performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered at the Sunny Side Inc. Studio, Anderlecht (Belgium) in November and December 2020. Note: “These are mono recordings, using the AEA R44 Anniversary Edition ribbon microphone placed 50cm away from the body of the guitar. One band EQ and variable-mu compression were subtly applied across the spectrum to smooth out dynamics. No other audio processing was used.” Wow!!! For me, the best of the best, however, is Volume VII, An EP with four miniatures, A true sublimation of beauty!” Maciej Lewenstein

As previously announced, since we are starting to move houses from next week on, we’ll be putting our mail-order service on hold till at least February 2026. You probably know that a lot of work comes with moving so in order to focus completely we can’t accept any new physical orders. Since it’s pretty time-consuming and rather cumbersome to opt out every title we sell, we’ll just refund any new physical items that comes in till our re-launch.

Naturally as much as we can we’ll continue to contribute to the bandcamp fridays with discount campaigns, etc. The Streams Of Consciousness series, for our subscribers, will of course continue over the months to come.
Digital sales are still greatly accepted and appreciated.
Thank you for your understand.

To support digitally :
https://newwaveofjazz.bandcamp.com/
https://dirkserries.bandcamp.com/
https://streamsofconsciousness.bandcamp.com/
https://vidnaobmana.bandcamp.com/
https://vidnaobmanatf.bandcamp.com/ 
https://dirkserriesmicrophonics.bandcamp.com/
https://fearfallsburning.bandcamp.com/
https://fearfallsburningtf.bandcamp.com/