Mark Wastell

Born in Orsett in 1968 and active since the mid-1990s, Mark Wastell has been developing from England a career centered on free improvisation, at the crossroads of experimental, electroacoustic and reductionist musics. Playing according to the contexts of cello, double bass, percussion, tam-tam and electronics, Mark Wastell has established himself on the London scene linked to the New London Silence movement, marked by low dynamics, discreet attacks and careful work on the sonic space. His activity unfolds in solo, in duo and within formations that have become benchmarks of this aesthetics, notably IST, a trio formed with Simon H. Fell and Rhodri Davies between 1997 and 2002, then The Sealed Knot, with Davies and Burkhard Beins, where improvisation becomes more open to repetitions and electronic textures. Mark Wastell also has directed since 1996 the label Confront Recordings, initially designed to publish his own projects before expanding its catalog to international contemporary improvisation. Among his solo discs are Vibra #1 in 2004, Amongst English Men in 2006, After Hours in 2009, Cello-Intern Solos in 2022 and Pre-existing Commitments in 2023. He has also collaborated with Keith Rowe, John Butcher, Maggie Nichols, Evan Parker and David Sylvian, while continuing a collective work with The Seen, a geometry-variable ensemble he gathers for improvised performances.