Not Two... but twenty

Recorded across five discs and drawn from the label’s 2018 anniversary festival in Wleń, Not Two But Twenty brings together an extraordinary constellation of improvisers whose histories intersect across decades of adventurous music‑making. Curated around the creative universe of Barry Guy, the collection moves fluidly between composed material, open‑form improvisation, chamber‑like dialogues, ever‑shifting duos, trios, larger groupings, and full‑ensemble fire.

The set opens with Maya Homburger and Barry Guy in works that bridge early music and contemporary expression, placing Biber, Bach, and Kurtág in direct conversation with Guy’s own writing. From there, the project expands outward into a series of duos, trios, quartets, and larger formations featuring some of the most distinctive voices in European and international free music: Peter Brötzmann, Joëlle Léandre, Mats Gustafsson, Mikołaj Trzaska, Paal Nilssen‑Love, Agustí Fernández, Ken Vandermark, Zlatko Kaučič, Per-Åke Holmlander, Rafał Mazur, Steve Swell, and many others.

Each disc reveals a different facet of the ensemble’s collective language—intimate, explosive, lyrical, raw, and always deeply committed. The closing “Finale,” performed by the Not Two But Twenty Orchestra, gathers these energies into a powerful summation, celebrating the label’s legacy and the enduring vitality of improvised music.

This release stands as both a document and a celebration: twenty years of Not Two Records, captured through the musicians who helped define its sound.