Tectonic Plates, by Alan Niblock, John Butcher, Mark Sanders

Tectonic Plates

by Alan Niblock, John Butcher, Mark Sanders

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Exclusive, limited edition, first pressing digipak disc of only 200 copies

Includes unlimited streaming of Tectonic Plates via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/48kHz.

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edition of 200

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

Download available in 24-bit/48kHz.

$10 USD or more
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1.	Mountains 28:46	buy track
2.	D.P.B. (divergent plate boundaries) 07:09	buy track
3.	Mantle Plume 08:11	buy track
4.	Olympus Mons 09:04	buy track
5.	Faultline 09:00	buy track

about

Tectonic Plates: The Highly Anticipated Album Flipping Improvised Music on its Head, Thanks to New Trio Starring Alan Niblock, John Butcher, and Mark Sanders

The moment improv fans have been waiting for has arrived! 577 Records is ecstatic to debut budding Irish bass player Alan Niblock alongside legendary improv masters, saxist John Butcher and percussionist Mark Sanders). Tectonic Plates marks their first album as a trio – and it’s a must-have!
The group is a catapulting poster child for modern-day improv. Although Niblock is new to Brooklyn’s 577 Records, Butcher and Sanders are not – and none of these talented musicians are strangers to each other. Together, they serve a creativity-charged collection of unique instrumental voices co-piloting toward a common goal that unfolds before your very ears. As they perform, the audience becomes a part of their creative ecosystem. Their reactions and enthusiasm fuel the trio's innovation.
Tectonic Plates is a five-track paragon recorded live at The Black Box in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Each piece bears a name from the tectonic lexicon and sizzles with graceful unpredictability, much like our planet’s inherent movements. The first, Mountains, rises from a valley of percussion to meet the tenor and bowed bass – a union made solid by shared pedal points and uplifted by the saxophone’s quirky sounds. Distinctively, the double bass and percussion guide the intensity, culminating in a fundamental collective, like an orogenic event you can feel through the speakers.
“From a cognitive perspective, we hear the individual thoughts and feelings in the sonic process, which shape the narrative and further enhance the consistency during certain moments,” the group explains. “There is nothing that doesn't fit musically in this trio performance. These traits are a reflection of their mental intuitiveness on display.”
Become one of only 200 people to own Tectonic Plates on a first-edition CD – or enjoy it as a digital download!

credits

released July 11, 2025

Alan Niblock - double bass
John Butcher - saxophones
Mark Sanders - drums & percussion

Recorded by Aaron McGlinchey on March 5, 2024 at The Black Box, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Mixed by John Butcher
Mastering by Jeremy Loucas, Sear Sound, New York City

Photography by Marcin Wilkowski
Graphic design by Sergio Vezzali
Graphic support by Mark Smith

All music by Alan Niblock, John Butcher, Mark Sanders

577 Records is an independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York operating since 2001

577 Records
Brooklyn, New York
www.577records.com
©+℗ 2025

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about

577 Records Brooklyn, New York

577 Records is proud to be celebrating its 24 year anniversary. The label has been producing music since 2001 and has released albums featuring the work of artists from New York and around the world.

The name comes from the address of the house where these concerts first took place (577 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York).

100% of profit from the sale of most of these albums goes to the musicians. ... more