Welsh music has strong traditions of contemporary folk, rock & pop which have helped shape its social and political landscape since the mid 1960’s.
Wales also has a rich history of Avant musical activity ranging from free jazz to performance art, happenings, and free improvisation.
Despite the rich cultural significance of the Avant music scene in Wales we believe however, that participatory work in fields such as free improvisation remain marginalised and under-documented alongside other more accessible areas of contemporary music practice.
Dukes of Scuba is webzine, label and concert/workshop provider based in Bangor, North Wales. Its mission is to create a network for improvised music that will promote contemporary practice, unify existing grass roots groups, increase participation & widen the audience for musicians working within the field of free improvisation.
To help document and promote the current Welsh scene, Dukes of Scuba has partnered with The South Wales Improvisors to create the first in an ongoing series of download compilation albums of free improvisation which shine a spotlight upon new music from across the whole of the country.
'Exotic Connections and other such stuff' contains sessions or extracts of sessions from groups that are currently meeting and playing in Wales. The albums' 10 tracks capture the rawness of the moment, the context of the room or space that the performers play in and the methods they employ to convey the spontaneity of the music.
Many thanks to all the artists that contributed to this album.
We hope that you will join us and enjoy the fabulous improv sounds currently happening in Wales.
For more info on The South Wales Improvisers please see the link below.
shiftcardiff.org/south-wales-improvisors
released December 8, 2022