Borbetomagus

Formed in New York in 1979, when saxophonists Don Dietrich and Jim Sauter connected through guitarist Donald Miller’s radio show on Columbia University’s WKCR, Borbetomagus builds an overwhelming, “take-no-prisoners” wall of free-jazz noise, its signature technique pressing two saxophone bells together while playing. Albums including Borbetomagus (1980), Work on What Has Been Spoiled (1981), and Barbed Wire Maggots (1983) established the trio as a formative influence on the American noise underground, including Sonic Youth, and on the Japanese noise scene via acts such as Hijokaidan. The group recorded Fish That Sparkling Bubble (1988) with the Swiss electroacoustic duo Voice Crack.