Discus Music

30/12/2024

"Rich and deep" - Chris Baber, JAZZ VIEWS

"The music is free yet playful and focused.....Most impressive." - Downtown Music Gallery NYC

"A master-class. Here is instant listening and interpretation swooning between two improvisers." - Steve Day

"Essential". - Mr Olivetti, FREQ

"Challenging but also exciting." - Kevin Whitlock, JAZZWISE

"Order and chaos, beautiful melodies, and fierce and gentle improvisation, just the right balance of all those elements." - Peter Thelen, EXPOSÉ

Martin Archer - alto, sopranino, tenor, baritone saxophones, saxello
Walt Shaw - drums and percussion

5 track album

28/12/2024

It's very easy for writers to classify Discus Music as a jazz label, in fact most usually do. But a look at the top 10 sellers for the 24 months to Dec 2024 tells another story. I would only call 3 or maybe 4 of these jazz. The simple fact is that leftfield rock and songform releases are generally the most popular items in the catalogue!

Discus top 10 2023/24

#1 Sound On Stone
Keith & Julie Tippetts

#2 Scald – Live 2022
Anthropology Band

#3 Theta Six
Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere

#4 Bright Light A Joyous Celebration
Paul Dunmall

#5 This Celestial Engine
This Celestial Engine

#6 Bars Without Measures
Eclectic Maybe Band

#7 Threnodies and Ad hocs
Mzylkypop

#8 It’s A Matter Of Fact
Paul Dunmall

#9 The New World
Tony Oxley

#10 Veer
Das Rad

Check them out at

Discus Music was founded in 1994 by Martin Archer. The label releases leftfield rock music, free jazz, extended songform, electronics, improvised music, and other sounds which defy categorisation. EU customers! Your purchase will be shipped to you from within the EU. No unexpected import charges!

27/12/2024

"Odd Unit is a project by the young violinist and composer Theo May, in which he brought together various graduates of renowned London music schools in 2019 to make music beyond strict genre boundaries. At the end of 2022, the tracks were recorded, which were then released in early 2024 with the title "Alive in the Forest of Odd" on the formation's debut album on Discus Music from Sheffield. On May's website, one learns that he sees himself strongly influenced by Keith Tippett, who died in 2020, whom he also met through his father and won as a teacher. You can hear that in "Alive in the Forest of Odd", composed throughout by May. A jazzy-rock, consistently acoustic, but very extensively instrumented ensemble music is offered here, which has a certain kinship to Tippett's works for larger groups of musicians, even if it is much more rounded and catchy. Dominated by violin and clarinets, sometimes one of the other string instruments or the piano works its way into the foreground as a soloist, the composition surges forward solemnly to swingingly, dynamically and committedly performed, chamber music swaying, jazzy virtuoso and folky rocking (listen to the introductory "Voyager" in a moment), whereby – as already indicated – no rock instrument is used except for the drums. British and Eastern European folk tracks are often discernible, characterized by May's lively fiddling and trumpeting clarinet sounds, but in the end this music is probably best accommodated in the genre of chamber rock (or chamber prog). If Jean-Luc Ponty had recorded an album of jazzy folk (rock) with a few college graduates, something like "Alive in the Forest of Odd" might have come out of it. With his debut album, May does not need to hide from this and other 'rock violinists', especially not from his almost surnamesake Darryl Way, whose last works this album is almost light years superior to. If you appreciate acoustic chamber rock, e.g. the music of Aranis or Metamorphosis, and don't have an aversion to folky violin excursions, you should definitely give "Alive in the Forest of Odd" a try. I hope there will be more from the young formation." - Achim Breiling, BABYBLAUE SEITEN

10 track album

24/12/2024

Das Rad are working on their first single (yes, 45 RPM) It’s a cover version (their first) of a Turtles tune called “Buzzsaw”. It will come with downloadable extended “dub” versions of both sides. Written by Howard Kaylan & Mark Volman, we’ve tried hard to make contact with both of them, but no joy - if you can help, that would be amazing. Peter has added some lyrics!

The sleeve is a mock-up and may change….

You can buy their latest album here
https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/funfair-180cd-2024

16/12/2024

"An amazing and powerful statement that should please any fan of superbly crafted group improvisation." - Peter Thelen, EXPOSÉ

"This is experimental ambient improvisation of the dangerous type with some anarchist excesses. Respect!" – Georges Tonla Briquet, JAZZ HALO

Sam Richards - piano
Ric White - tenor saxophone, EWI, electronics
Eliza Jacobs - electric cello
Roger Hall - double bass, symphonic gong, percussion
Steve Day - drums, percussion, bowed cymbals

6 track album

15/12/2024

Just buy the record #65247

Fran Bass - electric bass, voice, little instruments
Phil Hargreaves - tenor/soprano sax, flute, voice, little instruments
Richard Harrison - drums/percussion, voice, little instruments
Maggie Nicols - voice, keyboard, little instruments

"The album is balanced on the edge of sounds. Yet the more sounds that are created, the less on the edge they become and soon the listener realises they are mainstream human — heard in the street, in the air, around the house, in the weather, in the bathroom pipes, car sounds on the road outside, birdsong and insect sounds from the bushes and trees. Siapiau tell us that all these sounds are ours, are human, consciously or subconsciously heard and absorbed by us, and felt, seen and heard by all of us, becoming a part of their worlds too.” - Chris Searle, MORNING STAR

"I found this disc to be immensely charming, silly at times and even quite weird at times yet still fun. In some ways, this sounds to me like music for children with the fun & games vibe at the center. It does make me feel good to be alive." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, NYC

12 track album

13/12/2024

"It’s a stupendously awesome endeavor from the beginning to the end...at times tight and well fused, at other times chaotic and free.....one can listen to Red Hot Ice from beginning to end over and over, and hear something new on every pass — it never gets old." - Peter Thelen, EXPOSÉ
"Red Hot Ice is one of those instant, special sessions." - Steve Day
"I found this entire to be most enchanting throughout, completely different from anything I’ve heard from Mr. Dunmall in the past." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery NYC
"Dunmall rampages with aplomb, in this hugely inventive session from the heart of England. Five Stars" - Chris Searle. MORNING STAR

5 track album

10/12/2024

Paul Dunmall – tenor saxophone, c soprano saxophone
Percy Pursglove – trumpet
Richard Foote – trombone
Alicia Gardener-Trejo – baritone saxophone
James Birkett – electric guitar
Andrew Woodhead – synthesizers, organ, rhodes
Glen Leach – acoustic piano, lorenzo organ, voice
James Owston – double bass
Jim Bashford – drums
"I found this entire to be most enchanting throughout, completely different from anything I’ve heard from Mr. Dunmall in the past." – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery NYC
"Dunmall rampages with aplomb, in this hugely inventive session from the heart of England. Five Stars" – Chris Searle. MORNING STAR

5 track album

10/12/2024

CARLA DIRATZ & THE ARCHERS OF SORROW - BLUE STITCHES
"Carla sings from a deep well of experience. There is such gravity in her voice. Captivating. The blues is expressed and also deconstructed here. Take the journey." - Dereck Higgins
"If you want safe go elsewhere. This is dark, dingy and oh so atmospheric and it’ll leave you wanting more. To quote aptly from one of her songs, ‘Kill the fear’ she says. Quite." - Paula Mcadam, Audion
"The album eases along from strength to strength, taking in elements of jazz, blues, rock, folk, a veritable showcase of different styles all connected by Diratz’ voice. There really isn’t a bad song on here anywhere, and it’s one of those “the more you listen to it, the better it gets” albums. "- Peter Thelen, EXPOSÉ

13 track album

10/12/2024

Coming 24 Jan 25 on Discus Music from THE EXU

UK-based Anglo, Celtic, Scandi collaboration for fans of Acoustic Unity Trio, Fly Trio, and The Thing. Debut album out 24/01/2025 on Discus Music.

10/12/2024

ECLECTIC MAYBE BAND - BARS WITHOUT MEASURES
"This is one of the most remarkable works within the experimental territory in force in the year 2023. Totally recommendable!!!" – CÉSAR INCA, AUTOPOIETICAN
"Cosmic and surreal at the same time, where accents of beautiful melodious music moments also find their way in this incredible work, but also powerful full orchestral pieces with winds, and polyrhythmic unrolling that marches through individual moments." - Goran Čabrajić, NEW DAWN OF PROG
"Such a concentration of excellent musicians is not offered every day." - Achim Breiling, BABYBLAUE SEITEN
"I find that it is my favorite Eclectic Maybe album so far. Segers has hit on a winning formula (which is fortunately loosely defined) and has no shortage of talented contributors to draw upon."- Jon Davis, EXPOSE
Eclectic Maybe Band is the creation of Guy Segers, a player / composer / producer first prominent as bassist with legendary band Univers Zero, and subsequently active in many live and studio projects.

11 track album

10/12/2024

"On their fifth CD under the name Das Rad, Nick Robinson (guitar, mellotron), Martin Archer (keyboards, woodwinds), Peter Rophone (voice, acoustic guitar), Jon Short (bass) and Steve Dinsdale (drums, synthesizer) deal in long prog-related improvisations, recorded live in the studio but afterwards reworked with adapted arrangements and orchestrations. It sounds like a meeting between Syd Barrett and Miles Davis at the time of 'Bi***es Brew'. The opening track alone, a medley of half an hour, is worth the trip. A post-rock soundtrack for the Apocalypse. With beautiful matching cover photos." – Georges Tonla Briquet, JAZZ HALO

7 track album

10/12/2024

THEO MAY'S ODD UNIT ON DISCUS MUSIC
"The dynamic is strong yet offers up space, it’s clever and clean ..... handled with delicious detail." - Steve Day, 2024
"Progfans might love this a lot, and there’s also classical music and jazz-fusion parts, so a really healthy fresh mix of aforementioned styles all throughout the album." - Gabor Kleinbloesem STRUTTER'ZINE
"A strong new release. The music borders on modern classical with Bulgarian folk influences. Beautiful." - Dereck Higgins online vlog
Theo May: Violin and Compositions
Gustavo Clayton Marucci: Bb and Bass Clarinets
Will Bracken: Piano
Ali Watson: Double Bass
Alex Temple-Heald: Drums

10 track album

10/12/2024

PAUL TAYLOR ON DISCUS MUSIC
Improvisations for Hammond C3 organ.
"Taylor's music is sublime, with various monumental structures, yet incredible in its polytonal, polyrhythmic, whimsical characteristics that are so evocative and personal." - New Dawn Of Prog
"Taylor notes that there are ‘certain indelible influences’ in his playing, with nods to phrases from a variety of prog rock classics ..... but his mention of these influences does a disservice to his ability to create, in real-time, pieces that feel so complete and vibrant." - Chris Baber, JAZZ VIEWS
"Paul is an incredible talent on the Hammond, and he shows off his skills on the organ, and experiments and improvises throughout the album, so there is a lot to discover here." - Gabor Kleinbloesem STRUTTER'ZINE

2 track album

10/12/2024

THIS CELESTIAL ENGINE ON DISCUS MUSIC
Roy Powell: Keyboards, Loops
Dave Sturt: Bass, Ebow Bass, Weird S**t
Ted Parsons: Drums, Percussion
"The mindspace is colored with dreamy tones, with touching memories, faint hopes, dark forebodings." - Rigobert Dittmann BAD ALCHEMY
"Each song has an own identity and style, which gives you overall a very diverse album that should appeal to both jazz and prog fans!" - Gabor Kleinbloesem STRUTTER'ZINE
"A psychedelic-tinged, avant-jazz rock-fuelled sonic dream, ensyruped in fractal and kaleidoscopic energy." - João Morado, BEATS FOR PEEPS

5 track album