Emanem Records is a record company and

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

founded in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England in 1974 by Martin Davidson and Madelaine Davidson to record

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of ...

. Its headquarters moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

(1975–76),

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

(1979, recordings released as Quark Records),

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

(1979, recordings released as QED Records), and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

(1986–88), releasing about 25 records before returning to London in the 1990s and issuing compact discs. Since 2013 it has been based in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The slogan of the label is "Unadulterated New Music For People Who Like New Music Unadulterated". It has become a prolific source of both new recordings and archival recordings, notably its extensive documentation of the work of John Stevens and the

Spontaneous Music Ensemble The Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME) was a loose collection of free improvising musicians, convened in 1965 by the late South London-based jazz drummer/trumpeter John Stevens and alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts. SME performances and ...

. In the 2000s, Emanem joined

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

Psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviat ...

and

Eddie Prévost Edwin John Prévost (born 22 June 1942) is an English percussionist who founded the free improvisation group, AMM. Early years Of Huguenot heritage, Prévost's silk weaving ancestors moved to Spitalfields in the late 17th century. He was born ...

's Matchless label to present Freedom of the City, an annual improvised-music festival in London. Though its size and scope vary from year to year depending on funding, it continued as an annual event for several years, with many of the recorded performances issued on either Emanem or Matchless.

Partial discography

* 4001 Derek Bailey – ''Domestic & Public Pieces'' (1975–7) * 4002

Paul Lytton Paul Lytton (born 8 March 1947, London) is an England, English free jazz and free improvisation, free improvising percussionist. Lytton began on drums at age 16. He played jazz in London in the late 1960s while taking lessons on the tabla from ...

''Three Other Stories'' (1971–4) * 4003

''Face to Face'' (1973) * 4004

Steve Lacy Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya (born May 23, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He gained recognition as the guitarist of the alternative R&B band the Internet, which he joined in 2015. His self-produced debut EP, '' ...

''Weal & Woe'' (1972–3) * 4005 Spontaneous Music Ensemble – ''Summer 1967'' * 4006

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

& Derek Bailey – ''

First Duo Concert ''First Duo Concert'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton and British guitarist Derek Bailey recorded in 1974 at the Wigmore Hall in London and released by Emanem.

'' (1974) * 4007 Paul Rutherford & Paul Rogers – '' Rogues'' (1988) * 4008 Spontaneous Music Ensemble – ''Hot & Cold Heroes'' (1980/91) * 4009 Evan Parker & Paul Lytton – ''Two Octobers'' (1972–5) * 4010 John Russell & Roger Turner – ''Birthdays'' (1996) * 4011 John Carter &

Bobby Bradford Bobby Lee Bradford (born July 19, 1934) is an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist, bandleader, and composer. In addition to his solo work, Bradford is noted for his work with John Carter, Vinny Golia and Ornette Coleman. In October 2009, Brad ...

''Tandem 1'' (1982) * 4012 John Carter & Bobby Bradford ''Tandem 2'' (1979–82) * 4013 Derek Bailey ''Lace'' (1989) * 4014 Roger Smith ''Unexpected Turns'' (1993–6) * 4015 Spontaneous Music Ensemble – ''Quintessence 1'' (1973–4) Replaced By 4217 * 4016 Spontaneous Music Ensemble – ''Quintessence 2'' (1973–4) Replaced By 4217 * 4017 Nigel Coombes &

Steve Beresford Steve Beresford (born 6 March 1950) is a British musician who graduated from the University of York He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, electronics, trumpet, euphonium, bass guitar and a wide variety of toy instruments, suc ...

''Two to Tangle'' (1997) * 4018 Paul Rutherford & Iskra 1912 ''

Sequences 72 & 73 ''Sequences 72 & 73'' is an album by trombonist Paul Rutherford and the group known as Iskra 1912. It was recorded during 1972–1974 in London, and was released in 1997 by Emanem Records. The album features studio recordings of two ensemble work ...

'' (1972–4) * 4019 Paul Rutherford '' The Gentle Harm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1974) * 4020 Spontaneous Music Ensemble – ''Withdrawal'' (1966–7) * 4021

Lol Coxhill George Lowen Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 10 July 2012) known professionally as Lol Coxhill, was an English free improvisation, free improvising saxophonist. He played soprano saxophone, soprano and sopranino saxophone, sopranino saxopho ...

Veryan Weston Veryan Weston (born 1950) is a British pianist active in free improvisation, jazz, and rock music. He has worked with Lol Coxhill, Eddie Prévost, Trevor Watts, Caroline Kraabel and Phil Minton. Weston was born in 1950 and lived in Cornwall bef ...

''Boundless'' (1998) * 4022 Evan Parker /

Barry Guy Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London, England) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of or ...

/ Paul Lytton – '' At the Vortex'' (1996) * 4023 Spontaneous Music Ensemble – ''For You to Share'' (1970) * 4024 Steve Lacy ''Saxophone Special +'' (1973–4) * 4025

Phil Minton Phil Minton (born 2 November 1940) is a British avant-garde jazz/ free-improvising vocalist and trumpeter. Minton is a highly dramatic baritone who tends to specialize in literary texts: he has sung lyrics by William Blake with Mike Westbrook' ...

A Doughnut in Both Hands ''A Doughnut in Both Hands'' is a live album by British vocalist Phil Minton. His first solo album, it was recorded during 1975–1982 at various locations, and was initially released on LP in 1981 by Rift Records. In 1998, Emanem Records reissued ...

'' (1975–82) * 4026 RoTToR '' The First Full Turn'' (1998) * 4027 Derek Bailey ''Fairly Early With Postscripts'' (1971–98) * 4028 Veryan Weston / John Edwards / Mark Sanders ''Mercury Concert'' (1998) * 4029 John Butcher / Phil Durrant / John Russell ''The Scenic Route'' (1998) * 4030 Evan Parker / Paul Rutherford / Hans Schneider / Paul Lytton ''Waterloo 1985'' * 4031 Spontaneous Music Ensemble ''Low Profile'' (1977/84/88) * 4032 Roger Smith ''Extended Plays'' (1993–7) * 4033

Kent Carter Kent Carter (born June 14, 1939 in Hanover, New Hampshire) is an American jazz bassist. His father, Alan Carter, founded the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. He is also the grandson of American artist, Rockwell Kent. He worked in Steve Lacy (saxophoni ...

& Albrecht Maurer ''The Juillaguet Collection'' (1996) * 4034

''Alone and Together'' (1991–9) * 4035 Evan Parker / Steve Beresford / John Edwards /

Louis Moholo Louis Tebogo Moholo (10 March 1940 – 13 June 2025) was a South African jazz drummer. He was a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. Biography Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The ...

Foxes Fox ''Foxes Fox'' is an album by saxophonist Evan Parker, pianist Steve Beresford, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on July 21, 1999, at Gateway Studios in London, and was released later that year by Emanem Records. On th ...

'' (1999) * 4036 John Russell /

Maarten Altena Maarten van Regteren Altena (born January 22, 1943) is a Dutch composer and contrabassist. Altena attended the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (he studied contrabass) and graduated in 1968. Between 1980 and 1985, he studied composition with Robert ...

Terry Day ''For the American former football player, see Terry Day (American football).'' Terence Day (born 17 October 1940) is a musician specialising in free improvisation, a poet and a visual artist. He is a founding member of the ''Continuous Music ...

''The Fairly Young Bean'' (1981) * 4037

Karl Berger Karl Hans Berger (March 30, 1935 – April 9, 2023) was a German-American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. He was a leading figure in jazz improvisation from the 1960s when he settled in the United States for life. He founde ...

Ed Blackwell Edward Joseph Blackwell (October 10, 1929 – October 7, 1992) was an American jazz drummer, best known known for his work with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Biography Blackwell was born in New Orleans on October 10, 1929. His career began ther ...

''Just Play'' (1976) * 4038 Three & Four Pullovers (1975–8) * 4039 Spontaneous Music Orchestra ''Mouthpiece'' (1973) * 4040 Tony Bianco /

Paul Dunmall Paul Dunmall (born 6 May 1953) is a British jazz musician who plays tenor and soprano saxophone, as well as the baritone and the more exotic saxello and the Northumbrian smallpipes. He has played with Keith Tippett and Barry Guy. In the earl ...

/ Simon Picard ''Utoma Trio'' (1999) * 4041 Masashi Harada Condanction Ensemble ''Enter the Continent'' (1999) * 4042 Steve Lacy ''Hooky'' (1976) * 4043

Frank Lowe Frank Lowe (June 24, 1943 – September 19, 2003) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone at the age of 12. As an adult he moved to San Francisco, where h ...

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar wh ...

''Don't Punk Out'' (1977 + 1979 & 2000) * 4044 Howard Riley / Barry Guy /

Tony Oxley Tony Oxley (15 June 1938 – 26 December 2023) was an English free improvisation, free improvising drummer and electronic musician. Born in Sheffield, Oxley moved to London in 1966 and became house drummer at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club where he ...

''Synopsis'' (1973) * 4045 John Butcher ''Fixations (14)'' (1997–2000) * 4046 Pat Thomas ''Nur'' (1999) * 4047 The Kryonics (2000) * 4048 Veryan Weston &

Caroline Kraabel Caroline Kraabel (born 1961 in Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los A ...

''Five Shadows'' (1999–2000) * 4049 John Butcher With Derek Bailey & Rhodri Davies ''Vortices & Angels'' (2000) * 4050 Quatuor Accorde ''Angel Gate'' (1998–2000) * 4051 Iskra 1903 ''Frankfurt 1991'' * 4052 Lol Coxhill ''Digswell Duets'' (1978) * 4053 Spontaneous Music Ensemble ''Challenge'' (1966–7) * 4054 Howard Riley / Barry Guy / Tony Oxley ''Overground'' (1974–5) * 4055 Evan Parker '' The Ayes Have It'' (1983 & 1991) * 4056 Chris Burn Ensemble ''The Place 1991'' * 4057 Sylvia Hallett ''White Fog'' (1998–2001) * 4058 John Russell & Roger Turner ''The Second Sky'' (2001) * 4059 Ian Smith ''Daybreak'' (2000) * 406
Milo Fine
Free Jazz Ensemble ''Koi/Klops'' (2000–1) * 4061 Kent Carter ''Beauvais Cathedral'' (1974–5) * 4062 Spontaneous Music Orchestra ''Plus Equals'' (1974–5) * 4063 Chris Burn / John Butcher / Rhodri Davies / John Edwards ''The First Two Gigs'' (2000) * 4064 Steve Beresford / Pat Thomas / Veryan Weston ''3 Pianos'' (2001) * 4065 Frode Gjerstad / John Stevens / Derek Bailey ''Hello Goodbye'' (1992) * 4066 Iskra 1903 ''Buzz Soundtrack'' (1970/1) * 4067 Tony Wren / Larry Stabbins / Howard Riley / Mark Sanders ''Four in the Afternoon'' (2001) * 4068 Maggie Nicols / Caroline Kraabel / Charlotte Hug ''Transitions'' (2001) * 4069 Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston ''6 Dialogues'' (2001) * 4070 Barry Guy / Howard Riley / Philipp Wachsmann ''Improvisations Are Forever Now'' (1977–9) * 4071 John Russell ''From Next to Last'' (2001–2) * 4072 Paul Rutherford '' Trombolenium'' (1986–1995) * 4073 Roger Smith ''Green Wood'' (2002) * 4074 Lol Coxhill & Veryan Weston ''Worms Organising Archdukes'' (2000–1) * 4075 Lines ''In Australia'' (2000) * 4076 Paul Lovens / Paul Hubweber / John Edwards ''Papajo'' (2002) * 4077 Mike Adcock & Clive Bell ''Sleep It Off'' (1999–2001) * 4078 Paul Rogers ''

Listen Listen may refer to: * The action of listening * Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear * Listening behaviour types in human communication Computing * LISTEN, a TCP connection state on the server side indi ...

'' (1989/99) * 4079 Lunge ''Strong Language'' (2000/2) * 4080 Chris Burn Ensemble ''Horizontals White'' (2001) * 4081 Roland Ramanan ''Shaken'' (2001–2) * 4082 Paul Rutherford '' Chicago 2002'' * 4083 Roger Smith ''Spanish Guitar'' (1980/92/97) * 4084 Markus Eichenberger ''Domino Concept for Orchestra'' (2001) * 4085 Charlotte Hug ''Neuland'' (2001–2) * 4086 Lol Coxhill ''Out to Launch'' (2001–2) * 4087 Frode Gjerstad & Derek Bailey ''Nearly A D'' (2002) * 4088 Howard Riley / John Tilbury / Keith Tippett ''Another Part of the Story'' (2002) * 4089 John Butcher & John Edwards ''Optic'' (2001–2) * 4090 London Improvisers Orchestra ''Freedom of the City'' 2002 * 4091 The Gathering ''For John Stevens'' (2002) * 4092 Alan Tomlinson / Steve Beresford / Roger Turner ''Trap Street'' (2002) * 4093 Larry Stabbins ''Monadic'' (2002) * 4094 John Edwards & Mark Sanders ''Nisus Duets'' (2002) * 4095 Veryan Weston ''Tessellations For Luthéal Piano'' (2003) * 4096 Bobby Bradford ''Love's Dream'' (1973) * 4097 Lol Coxhill / Torsten Müller / Paul Rutherford ''Milwaukee 2002'' * 4098

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical music, contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, author, and visual artist. A central figure in the Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimenta ...

– ''The Velocity of Hue'' (2003) * 4099 Derek Bailey & Milo Fine ''Scale Points on the Fever Curve'' (2003) * 4100 ''Mopomoso Solos 2002'' * 4101 Paul Dunmall & Paul Rogers ''Awareness Response'' (2003) * 4102 People Band 1968 * 4103 Gail Brand & Morgan Guberman ''Ballgames & Crazy'' (2002) * 4104 Tony Bianco / Dave Liebman / Tony Marino ''Line Ish'' (2003) * 4105 Kent Carter String Trio ''The Willisau Suites'' (1984/1997) * 4106 John Russell / Ute Völker / Mathieu Werchowski ''Three Planets'' (2003) * 4107 Paul Rutherford Trio '' Gheim – Live at Bracknell 1983'' * 4108 Masashi Harada Condanction Ensemble ''Enterprising Mass of Cilia'' (2001) * 4109 Fred Lonberg–Holm ''Dialogs'' (2002) * 4110 London Improvisers Orchestra ''Responses, Reproduction & Reality'' (2003–4) * 4111 Paul Dunmall ''In Your Shell Like'' (2003) * 4112 Clive Bell &

Sylvia Hallett Sylvia Hallett (born 1953) is an English musician and composer. She plays many instruments including the violin and she is known for improvisations on unusual instruments. She has appeared at international festivals, often in collaboration with ...

''The Geographers'' (2004) * 4113 Anthony Braxton & Milo Fine ''Shadow Company (2004)'' * 4114 Roger Smith & Louis Moholo–Moholo ''The Butterfly and the Bee'' (2004) * 4115 Spontaneous Music Ensemble ''A New Distance'' (1993–4) * 4116 Free Base ''The Ins and Outs'' (2003) * 4117 John Stevens Quartet ''New Cool'' (1992) * 4118 Paul Rutherford '' Neuph'' (1978/80) * 4119 Olaf Rupp / Tony Buck / Joe Williamson ''Weird Weapons'' (2002) * 4120 Badland ''The Society of the Spectacle'' (2003) * 4121 News From The Shed (1989) * 4122 Collectif Inaudible ''Cardo'' (2001–5) * 4123 Roland Ramanan ''Caesura'' (2003) * 4124 Malcolm Goldstein & Masashi Harada ''Soil'' (2002) * 4125 Terry Day ''Interruptions'' (1978–1981) * 4126 ''Supermodel Supermodel'' (2002–3) * 4127 Howard Riley ''Two Is One'' (2005) * 4128 Ross Bolleter ''Secret Sandhills And Satellites'' (2001–5) * 4129 Michael Keith / John Oswald / Roger Turner ''Number Nine'' (2005) * 4130 Kent Carter String Trio ''Intersections'' (2004/5) * 4131 Roswell Rudd '' Blown Bone'' (1976) * 4132 Milo Fine & Viv Corringham ''Senilità'' (2005) * 4133 Elliott Sharp & Reinhold Friedl ''Feuchtify'' (2001) * 4134 Spontaneous Music Ensemble ''Frameworks'' (1968/71/73) * 4135 Adam Bohman & Roger Smith ''Reality Fandango'' (2004/6) * 4136 Lol Coxhill ''More Together Than Alone'' (2000–5) * 4137 Terry Day ''2006 Duos'' * 4138 John Russell ''Analekta'' (2004/6) * 4139 ''Freedom of the City'' 2006 * 4140 Phil Minton Quartet '' Slur'' (2006) * 4141 Trio of Uncertainty ''Unlocked'' (2007) * 4142 John Butcher ''The Geometry of Sentiment'' (2004/6) * 4143 Elliott Sharp & Charlotte Hug ''Pi:K'' (2004/5) * 4144 Paul Rutherford ''

Solo in Berlin 1975 ''Solo in Berlin 1975'' is a live solo trombone album by Paul Rutherford. Four tracks were recorded at the FMP Workshop Freie Musik at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin on March 31, 1975, while the remaining tracks were recorded at the FMP Total ...

'' * 4145 Pascal Marzan & Roger Smith ''Two Spanish Guitars'' (2006/7) * 4146 Grosse Abfahrt ''Everything That Disappears'' (2007) * 4147 Barkingside (2006/7) * 4148 Phil Minton ''No Doughnuts in Hand'' (2007) * 4149 Caetitu (2007) * 4150 Spontaneous Music Ensemble & Orchestra ''Trio & Triangle'' (1978/1981) * 5045 Paul Rutherford ''

In Backward Times ''In Backward Times'' is a live album by trombonist Paul Rutherford. Drawn from archival tapes, it was recorded in 1979, 1988, 2004, and 2007, in Milano, London, and Brussels, and was released in 2017 by Emanem Records. On track 1, Rutherford is ...

'' (2017) * 5202 Paul Rutherford ''

Tetralogy A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- ''tetra-'', "four" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies ...

'' (2009) * 5301 Rivière Composers' Pool ''Summer Works 2009'' with

Theo Jörgensmann Theodor Franz Jörgensmann (born 29 September 1948) is a German jazz clarinetist. Activities Theo Jörgensmann belongs to the second generation of European free jazz musicians. He was part of the clarinet renaissance in the jazz and improvisat ...

(2010) * 5311 Iskra 1903 ''Chapter One 1970–1972'' :Source
emanemdisc.com/cds.html

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Free improvisation British independent record labels British jazz record labels Record labels established in 1974