John Garner & Martin Donkin – Wild Breath

Both veterans of North East England’s improvised music scene, John Garner and Martin Donkin first met when Garner joined Donkin’s ‘Shunyata Improvisation Group’ in 2021. A short while later, they began to meet outdoors for duo sessions embracing and enriched by the elements, in local parks, nature reserves, and by ancient springs.

Their latest release ‘Wild Breath’ follows two other EPs, ‘Interventions & Detours’ and ‘The Moon in the Stream’, released on Wormhole World and Turquoise Coconut respectively. With an unusual lineup of jinashi shakuhachi and acoustic guitar, Garner and Donkin channel a panoply of influences through a sensitive improvised dialogue which has emerged over long hours playing together. Honkoyku meets free jazz meets no wave in a striking and utterly unique sound reflective of the modern day.