John Butcher - Here and How (2023)

Here and How is the first album by the trio of John Butcher, Dominic Lash, and Emil Karlsen. In fact, it documents the first occasion at which they played as a group. All three musicians have contributed to the Bead catalogue. Butcher's early work includes a duo with Chris Burn (Fonetiks, 1985), and Lash’s a trio with Philipp Wachsmann and Bruno Guastalla (Imaginary String Trio, 2007). Karlsen appears as part of various projects such as Spaces Unfolding (2022), having recently joined Wachsmann in the running of the label.

"Restrained frenzy seems like an impossible thing, yet John Butcher, Dominic Lash, and Emil Karsen found the tools to unlock it (...) The technical skill on display is incredible, giving these wild, angular jaunts an undercurrent of precision that elevates them to new heights." - Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis

"Butcher matches the drummer's light touch with a more quizzical, probing approach. Their dialogue has a balanced, self-regulating quality that reminds this listener of how Butcher has previously found ways not to overwhelm the quick decays and low volumes of acoustic stringed instruments. This leaves plenty of room for the session's actual string player, double bassist Dominic Lash, to wax both mercurial and economical; there's nothing spurious in his jumpcuts between buzzing resonance and carefully wrought shapes." - Bill Meyer, The Wire

"A “running” bass drum sax trio would have revealed its secrets and dark corners to you in a single listen, as happens to me when I write a poetic or fiery, reasonable or partisan report, but with this ‘Here and How’, I admit to needing to come back to the work to discover it and re-discover it with several listenings." - Jean Michel Van Schouwburg