Alien Planetscapes – Life On Earth (1997)

“ALIEN PLANETSCAPES was the brainchild of space rock veteran Doug Walker who unfortunately died of a heart attack in April 2006. The New York based musician has been a prolific keyboarder with a jazz background showing interest in using an experimental instrumentation consisting of synthesizer and other electronics… ALIEN PLANETSCAPES was founded in 1981 then based on an experimental approach with elements of improvisational rock, free jazz and the Berlin School electronic music represented by Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel.”

Hotel Wrecking City Traders & Gary Arce – Hotel Wrecking City Traders & Gary Arce (2011)

Hotel Wrecking City Traders & Gary Arce (2011)

“It’s a cross-continental collision of sounds. Gary Arce is considered one of the founding figures of desert rock. His laid back, airy tone and improvisatory will have been a key inspiration for bands literally all over the world, and when it comes to jams, there are few guitarists out there who can add as much personality to a piece of music as he can. Apart from working instrumentally, they seem to be driven by completely different musical ideals. The two-song, 20-minute release combines the disparate elements at work in the total three players involved for a double-guitar brew that’s based as much on improvisational noodling as it is on noisy crunch.”

Bandcamp

Twin Tail – Everything Is Permitted (2008)

“Twin Tail is a three piece improvisational, instrumental band. Made up of drums, bass and violin, they bring something of a unique sound to the table. Violinist Yuji Katsui uses the same set of floating, delayed and syrupy effects as sgt’s Mikiko Narui. The sound is so similar as to make one wonder if there isn’t some sort of conspiracy going on amongst post-rock instrumental bands in Japan. It’s obvious from the start that Twin Tail is all about improv and jamming out thorough extended passages. Their songs build (very) slowly, with tempos stretching and breathing along with the intensity of the music. There are really no “songs” or hooks per se. Yuji plays his violin like a screaming, psychedelic guitar more like a blissed-out solo from Jimi Hendrix than any sort of classical piece, while drummer Tatsuya Nakamura and bassist Toshiyuki Terui pound out a trance-like tribal backdrop.”

Elephant9 – Dodovoodoo (2008)

“Elephant9 is a Norwegian jazz/prog rock band. Their music sounds like a modern take on 70’s prog and hard rock, with clear influences from Miles Davis. Their live shows are said to be stunning. Classic Hammond driven prog fusion and great big real deal analogue instrumental pieces on a direct line from somewhere in 1974. Flowing jazz flavoured progressive rock pieces that feel like well considered structured focused jams. Well focused is a relative term, they’re not afraid of a long piece (or two) of healthy prog rock self indulgence, a self assured style, tight accomplished musicians who just let it all naturally flow rather then feeling any kind of need to show off how good they are. Thrilling ride through the glories of organ driven 70’s sounding jazzy prog rock, bits of funk, Deep Purple sounding hard rock jams, and more notes that you can reasonable expect to be coming at you none stop in such a gloriously good way.”

Husky – The Sea King (2008)

“Based in Charlotte, NC, Husky is made up of Mark Hadden (bass), Phil Strickland (guitar), and Nate Wilkinson (drums)… In the past nine years, the instrumental trio has grown from spinning improvised epic rock jams to firing off focused, intelligent yet simple tunes. Ranging from thick, head nodding Southern grit-rock to echoing bluesy twang and swirling psychedelia to ambient soundscapes, Husky’s masculine punch has been embraced by fans of blues and classic rock to modern and stoner rock aficionados to fans of sweeping melodic post-rock. Their improv skills often come into play during live shows, and they rarely play the same show twice.”

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