Amm
Biography
Founded in London in 1965, AMM developed out of various free jazz ensembles, combining as a 3 / 4-piece improvisation unit. Initially comprising Lou Gare, Eddie Prevost and Keith Rowe, From 1980 their membership has been stabilised around the trio of Prevost (percussion), Rowe (guitar treatments) and John Tilbury (piano). A guiding light for anyone interested in improvised / experimental music, their infrequent performances continue to inspire and amaze. 'For Ute', AMM's recording for a split 12" released in February 1999 was, like all AMM material, recorded live, 100% improvised and genuinely experimental. Attempting to develop a new language, vocabulary, and role for the guitar, Keith Rowe deploys found objects, urban detritus, and radios in non-orthodox arrangements, resulting in a restless abstraction. He has collaborated with numerous musicians, including membership of the MIMEO electronic group, alongside modern players including Pita, Fennesz, Marcus Schmickler, and Kaffe Matthews.
Tilbury has given first performances and broadcasts of new music in many contemporary music festivals. He has worked with composers including David Bedford, Howard Skempton, Dave Smith, Michael Parsons, John White, Morton Feldman, John Cage, Christian Wolff, Terry Riley and Cornelius Cardew, and has toured with the New York-based Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Prevost also performs and has recorded with numerous established free jazz and improvising musicians (e.g.. Evan Parker, Marilyn Crispell, Paul Rutherford, Derek Bailey, Jim O'Rourke).
He has performed with musicians from other cultures (most notably Yoshikazu Iwamoto) and in the ambient field (GOD, Main, EAR), and runs the Matchless label, on which most AMM music is released. Writing and lecturing on improvisation, his book 'No Sound Is Innocent' was published by Copula. He was described by the BBC as "One of the pioneers of contemporary improvising music as well as being one of its most gifted percussionists".
