Cover photo Jennifer Ilene Photography
Featured album release
RETURN TO SENDER Sept.2026 Neuma Records
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Usually a mixer is judged by how clean it sounds; the less noise, the more signal, the better. With sneaky patching, however – with outputs connected back into inputs – it becomes a different creature entirely: a generator
of analog chaos, volatile and unpredictable. Add a trumpet to the circuit and you are now entering the unstable, fragile, and gritty world of Mark Kirschenmann. Return to Sender takes the idea of feedback to a whole new level. The album captures improvised exchanges between trumpet and No-Input Mixer, bringing together experimental jazz, electronic noise, and live studio experi- mentation in a series of one-take unrepeatable performances. First associated with Japanese circuit bender, Toshimaru Nakamura, the No-Input Mixer func- tions as a responsive partner with a mercurial mind of its own. Improvisor Kirschenmann shapes its pulses, tones, and feedback into layered textures, then adds processed trumpet lines that interact with the shifting electronics. The result is a tense, layered record that moves between rhythm, noise, and other-worldly melody; redefining both mixing desk and trumpet in the process. Ann Arbor-based composer/performer Mark Kirschenmann performs the music of Miles Davis and has appeared with creative luminaries such as Wadada Leo Smith, Myra Melford, William Hooker, and Oliver Lake Return to Sender was mixed and mastered by electronic musician Erdem Helvacioglu. |
“The performer is in a constant state of improvisation and discovery” |
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Neuma 250 Street date: September 18, 2026 Digital (all DSPs), and physical CDs (Amazon, Bandcamp, Neuma) formats UPC: 766162778507 Contact: [email protected] NEUMARECORDS.ORG Facebook.com/TheOriginalNeuma X.com/RecordsNeuma Instagram/NeumaRecords Cover art: Kaes Holkeboer |
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Reviews
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Return to Sender: Mark Kirschenmann Wrestles Beauty Out of Pure Feedback
"Most musicians spend their careers trying to eliminate noise from their signal chain. Mark Kirschenmann has spent his building an entire album out of embracing it. --- The result is eight tracks of genuinely tense, alive improvisation, captured in real time with no overdubs and no do-overs: a series of one-take performances between a human being and a machine that refuses to behave. Frankie Pfeiffer, Editor in chief – PARIS-MOVE |
