Out now: Nick Butcher Free Jazz Bitmaps III
STREAM: Nick Butcher “Formants”
The third installment of Nick Butcher’s process-based publication — initially being released on very-limited lathe-cut 7” records — is now briefly physically-available from Sonnenzimmer and eternally digitally-available from Hometapes.
Begun in February as a sonic and visual exploration by, respectively, Nick and his partner Nadine Nakanishi, Free Jazz Bitmaps is an almost-real-time documentation of the process of creating a record. Parameters were set: the format, the schedule, the end result (in this case, an LP to be released in early 2012). From there, there’s just one task at hand: Create.
Free Jazz Bitmaps III takes a more raw approach to electronic music than I usually allow myself to take. Rather than heavily edited pitch-perfect tunes, both tracks are an exercise in retaining the spontaneous energy I love so much in music. With these songs, I wanted to keep the sense of discovery, that is so important to my process, intact. Pulling from dusty samples and my own experimentation, the two tracks offer a window into the creative process…and hopefully something you can nod your head to as well. - NICK BUTCHER
Free Jazz Bitmaps III continues to up the ante of this project and further reveals Nick Butcher’s unique voice. Through his painting and screen printing, his collaboration with Nadine, and his simultaneously sensual and historical understanding of music and sound, Nick is pushing forward the definition of Art…ten hand-made records at a time.
Click here to read more about Free Jazz Bitmaps.
The collection of A-sides will ultimately be featured on vinyl LP, alongside reinterpretations of those songs by renowned Chicago improvisers Jason Adasiewicz, Tim Daisy, Keefe Jackson, Mike Reed, Jason Reobke, and Jason Stein.
Click here to explore Free Jazz Bitmaps I-III and Nick Butcher’s other releases.
