RELEASES
LIVE IN MATSUYAMA
SIMON NABATOV/DARREN MOORE/TAKASHI SEO
‘Live in Matsuyama’ is a result of circumstance. It was not a planned recording, but occurrences arranged themselves to produce this fortuitous outcome. In early December 2019, the rhythm section of pianist Simon Nabatov, bassist Takashi Seo and drummer Darren Moore were set to engage in a nine-city Japan tour with saxophonist Akira Sakata. Unfortunately, Sakata missed the first three shows due to unforeseen circumstances and ’Live in Matsuyama’ documents the third and final trio performance. The recording is marked by intuitive communication that wheels from state to state with restless motion. Nabatov, Seo and Moore move as if a single entity producing murmurations of sound; darting fluid formations that arise and dissipate with virtuosic agility.
Available on BandCamp as a digital download and CD.
MIRROR LAKE
TIM O'DWYER TRIO
The Tim O'Dwyer Trio make their debut on LaoBan Records with Mirror Lake. The album is the third release by the Australian free jazz trio and their first live album recorded at the famous Loft in Cologne in 2014. Mirror Lake removes the shackles from the compositionally-driven material on previous albums Broken River (2006) and Falconry (2011) to unleash their ecstatic nature in all its free jazz glory. The trio performs completely improvised pieces that sound like fully formed nuanced and powerful compositions. Mirror Lake reflects the trio's long partnership going back to 2005 through stunning interplay between the rhythm section of Darren Moore (drums) and Clayton Thomas (bass) and masterful sonic manipulation by Tim O'Dwyer on alto and baritone sax.
Available on BandCamp as a digital download.
THE BAD SLEEP WELL
GAME OF PATIENCE
The Bad Sleep Well is the debut release from South-East Asia free improvisation group Game of Patience. Originally independently produced as a vinyl-only release sold at gigs, this re-issue sees the album digitally available for the first time on LaoBan Records with a limited run of 50 copies available.
The self-proclaimed ‘noise-jazz’ album builds on the foundation of free jazz protocols to create sweeping shards of harsh noise and driving rhythmic propulsion. Saxophonist Yong Yandsen and drummer Darren Moore act as counterweights to the sonic onslaught brought about by Brian O’Reilly’s contra-bass and electronics. Its not for the faint hearted, keep your defibrillators close.
Available on limited release of 50 vinyl and digital download
ELEMENTS
ELISABETH HARNIK/TIM O'DWYER/DARREN MOORE
What are the elemental qualities of sound? How can we distinguish one instrument from another when an artist’s aim is to transcend the traditional domains? Elements offers answers to these questions posing sonic answers that unfold in the moment. A first time meeting, Elements features pianist Elisabeth Harnik, saxophonist Tim O’Dwyer and drummer Darren Moore. Recorded live in Singapore in January 2020 just prior to worldwide lockdowns, the pristinely documented album captures unadulterated exploration of sound where each artist lays down the territorial markers of their individual style towards shared modes of discovery.
Available as a digital download.
HAPPY TO BE HERE
YONG YANDSEN/CHRISTIAN MEAAS SVENDSEN/DARREN MOORE
First encounters seldom produce such focused outcomes but Happy to be Here! captures such a rare moment. Recorded live in Kuala Lumpur in late 2019, Happy to be Here! features Malaysian saxophone virtuoso Yong Yandsen, innovative percussionist Darren Moore and powerhouse acoustic bass player Christian Meaas Svendsen.
The members conjure with alchemic economy extracting an expansive range of frequencies and timbres from just saxophone, acoustic bass and snare drum in a dense exploration of sound made with the minimum of tools. The music oscillates between intense static textures and high energy telepathic interplay. At times the trio swarms in unison, at others, it splinters in cells that bury deep underground while the surface dwellers roam freely. Extended music for extended listeners.
KAY-EL
ACHIM KAUFMANN/FRANK GRATKOWSKI/WILBERT DE JOODE/YONG YANDSEN/KOK SIEW WAI/DARREN MOORE
Kay-El takes its name from Kuala Lumpur - the home of LaoBan Records. The record is a double trio album featuring Frank Gratkowski, Achim Kaufmann and Wilbert De Joode with the trio of Yong Yandsen, Darren Moore and Kok Siew Wai. Recorded live in KL in January 2020, this beautifully recorded album captures stunning playing from the full ensemble and tracks by both trios. Although it was the first time the two trio's had played together, each member allows the music space to breathe while being ready to strike with reflex punctuations.
"When we hear music like this, we know that freely improvised music is an international language that crosses all borders, bringing the musicians and listeners closer together, like one spirit/force."
Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD and digital download (with one bonus track) is available on Bandcamp from July 24 and ships from August 28. The project was generously supported by the Goethe Institute.
PAN MEE
YONG YANDSEN / DARREN MOORE
Pan Mee is an ode to one of Malaysia's most famous dishes. Done right, it is insanely good and made spicy, even better. Pan Mee is the sophomore release for Yong Yandsen on tenor saxophone and Darren Moore on drums following on from their 2018 release Towers of Silence. The record is a balanced overture of spice, sweetness, savoury, sour and depth. Layered textures that blend to produce new tastes to make you sweat.
Available as a digital download.
YEAR OF MENACE
GAME OF PATIENCE
Year of Menace crosses the comfort threshold with reproductive cells of electronic and acoustic particles decimating the staid state of tradition; creating future sounds for tomorrow's sorrow. Year of Menace is electro-acoustic improv at its most daring and inspired and a product of telepathic communication between Yong Yandsen on tenor, Brian O'Reilly on contrabass and electronics and Darren Moore on snare and percussion.
Available as a digital download.
CEPHAS UNISONS
ILIA, KONSTANTIN & ME
Cephas Unisons introduces the Norwegian-Russian trio of Ilia Belorukov on alto saxophone, Konstantin Samolovov on drums and Christian Meaas Svendsen on double-bass. Just as with any other creation in the universe, the trio came to life from nature’s side: a part of an organic process initiated by a question without definitive answers. Ilia, Konstantin & Me constitutes three living, breathing and existing entities who strive to remain as three at the same time as they try to become one.
Available as a CD and digital download.
FOREIGN POLICY
TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA, HIROSE JUNJI AND DARREN MOORE
Foreign Policy is a 2019 release featuring legendary Tokyo saxophonist Hirose Junji, no-input mixing board pioneer Toshimaru Nakamura and Australian master percussionist Darren Moore. The album was recorded live at Ftarri which is the undisputed centre for improvised music in Tokyo. The album was recorded over two live performances and represents the trio's disdain for conforming; gliding seamlessly from minimalist Onkyo to maximalist free jazz and noise.
Available as a CD and digital download.
THE SOUTH OF THE EAST
TENGGARA TRIO
The South of the East is the debut from the South-East Asian superband The Tenggara Trio. Featuring Ikbal S. Lubys from Yogyakarta, Dharma from Singaporean post-rock band The Observatory on electric guitar and Malaysian hard-blowing tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen, the gamelan/noise/free jazz-inspired sounds of The Tenggara trio are a trance-inducing window into the diversity of the music scene in South-East Asia.
Available as a CD and digital download.
TOWERS OF SILENCE
YONG YANDSEN/DARREN MOORE
Towers of Silence features Malaysian master saxophonist Yong Yandsen and Singapore-based Australian drum virtuoso Darren Moore. Recorded at Tokyo's legendary GOK Sound studio in October 2017, Towers of Silence is a distillation of Yong and Moore's approach to acoustic improvisation. The amalgam of their sounds at times creates ghost tones where apparitions of unknown origins create rarefied space.
Available as a CD and digital download.
CLINAMINA
HIS HUBRIS
Clinamen is the Latin name given to the unpredictable swerve of atoms by Epicurean philosopher-poet Lucretius. In modern English, this has come to mean bias or an inclination. Clinamina is the plural of clinamen and represents a masterful study in musique concrète-style atomic manipulation of both electronic and acoustic sounds by Sudarshan Chandra Kumar on electronics and Yong Yandsen on tenor saxophone. His Hubris honed their approach through countless live performances in Kuala Lumpur, perfecting the bias of electro-acoustic interplay and inclination towards the sublime.
Available as a CD and digital download.
