The Wire 265. March 2006

Phill Niblock At 72, the pioneering American 'loud music minimalist' and film maker is at the top of his game. By Dan Warburton Quicksilver Messenger Service How Quicksilver Messenger Service and others tore up the late 60s Bay Area Ballroom scene. By Edwin Pouncey Mat Maneri New York's 'microtonal jazz' violinist tells Philip Clark how moving out of his father's shadow took him to the edge Invisible Jukebox: The Bug Soundbombing Kevin Martin with tunes by Creation Rebel, Rootsman, Skream and more. Tested by Derek Walmsley Wooden Wand The sprawling US collective stitch together a family quilt of influences, from Kraut to misfit hillbilly. By Marc Masters Tape The in-house group of Sweden's Häpna label make electroacoustic Improv in the midnight hour. By Rob Young Keith Berry This British digital composer treats found sounds to plant surreal seeds in listeners' ears. By Dan Warburton Global Ear In Taipei, Taiwan's alternative rock movement cries freedom from Chinese oppression Epiphanies David Elliott is hypnotised by a televised encounter with Tangerine Dream Print Run Blocks Of Consciousness And The Unbroken Continuum, edited by Brian Marley & Mark Wastell; Improvised Music From Japan 2005, edited by Yoshiyuki Suzuki; Van Der Graaf Generator: The Book, by Jim Christopulos & Phil Smart; What's The Use Of Walking If There's A Freight Train Going Your Way?: Black Hoboes & Their Songs, by Paul Garon & Gene Tomko Cross Platform Music and New Media, including Max Eastley recording the Arctic icecap; plus DVD reviews and Karlheinz Stockhausen's Inner Sleeve