Two more offerings by the prolific British improvisor

Photo by Yaqin Si

Ni Vu Ni Connu presents the next two entries in the label’s series dedicated to the work of improviser and composer John Butcher. Unlockings and Lower Marsh follow up on a first set of releases from 2022 that documented five different collaborations between the British saxophonist and artists such as Sophie Agnel or Magda Mayas and Tony Buck, four of which were recorded at Berlin’s ausland in November 2019. Recorded at the release event of these five albums at London’s Iklectik on 5 April 2022, Lower Marsh sees Butcher work with different musicians in focused and intimate duo settings, while on Unlockings he collaborates with three of them in a quartet setting. Accompanied by liner notes written by Clive Bell and artwork by Ni Vu Ni Connu’s Yaqin Si, these two stand-alone releases are more than mere documents of these events. They capture the raw spirit of exceptional improvisers making music in, out of, and for the moment.