From Tampere, a shared screenprinting practice and a close-knit scene shape a catalog of ambient, jazz, and esoteric music built to be held as much as heard. Tampere sits […]
Chris Williams’ ‘Odu: Vibration II’ Expands in New Performance Footage
A new live video brings the AKP Recordings release into sharper view, placing Williams alongside a catalog that includes work by YAI and Jessica Ackerley, all now available through the In Sheep’s Clothing shop and offered to retailers through our wholesale channel.
Trumpeter and composer Chris Williams moves through open-ended jazz with a clear sense of purpose, treating the instrument less as a lead voice primed for wild solos than as a generator of tone and texture. Now based in New York after relocating from Los Angeles, he’s part of a Brooklyn-rooted circle shaped by improvisation and longform thinking, with ties to players including Bennie Maupin, Nicole Mitchell, and the late, great Ras G. His work folds trumpet into electronics and ensemble interplay, whether through projects like HxH and History Dog or his own sharp compositional voice.
Brilliant bassist and composer Melvin Gibbs called Williams “the definition of ‘ancient to the future’ on his instrument,” high praise from a storied expert.
That approach comes into focus on Odu: Vibration II, his late-2025 release on AKP Recordings, drawn from a live performance at Roulette Intermedium and built around a three-horn front line. The record features Patrick Shiroishi on saxophone and Kalia Vandever on trombone, with Williams handling composition, trumpet and electronics.
It follows a productive stretch that includes Stark Phenomena with HxH and Root Systems with History Dog. Odu: Vibration II marks his first release for AKP, the Los Angeles label devoted to exploratory, composition-minded work. Releases by Jessica Ackerley, along with projects from Luke Elliott, YAI, and more, sketch out a catalog that leans toward process and collaboration, a context in which Odu: Vibration II fits naturally.
We’re glad to be bringing AKP Recordings into the fold, with a selection of titles now available through the In Sheep’s Clothing shop and accessible to retailers through our wholesale channel, extending the label’s reach while keeping its careful, artist-led ethos intact. As a way to celebrate the connection, here’s a previously unavailable video of Williams presenting what he calls “a study on expanded trumpet.” Shot and edited by Laura Sofía Pérez and mixed and mastered by Kevin Ramsay, the piece is called Kumiko Moment I.
AKP Recordings titles are now in stock at In Sheep’s Clothing, available through our online shop and offered to retailers via wholesale for those looking to bring this catalog into their own racks. We’re currently offering for preorder Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe and Shiroishi’s new album Making Colors (preorder) and Prymek & Sage’s sublime record Shelter (preorder), alongside titles from Vandiver, Ackerley, Ben Seretan and John Thayer, elijah jamal asani, YAI, and Howe Gelb.
