AMM (band)

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AMM is a British free improvisation group that started in London in 1965. The original core members were Keith Rowe (guitar), Eddie Prévost (drums), and Lou Gare (sax). Over the years, many musicians joined and left, including Cornelius Cardew (piano/cello) and Lawrence Sheaff (bass), with John Tilbury later becoming a key member. The band aimed to explore music beyond conventional jazz, making improvised sounds with no set melodies or fixed rhythms.

AMM’s performances were unique and spontaneous. They often used amplified objects and extended techniques to create dense, evolving textures where it was hard to tell who was making which sound. Audiences could observe quietly, and the music frequently shifted in unexpected directions.

Their first album, AMMusic (1966), appeared on Elektra UK. The 1968 release The Crypt became a landmark in their evolving, drone-focused style, pushing long-form, abstract soundscapes even further. The Crypt has been reissued several times and remains influential among adventurous listeners.

Tensions within the group, including political differences between Cardew and Rowe, led to periods of reduced activity, especially in the early 1970s. The lineup changed often: Cardew left after a time, Gare’s role shifted, and Prévost and Rowe carried the project forward alongside Tilbury from the 1980s. In later years, collaborators such as Evan Parker and Christian Wolff joined, and AMM continued to release new material on the Matchless label.

By the 2000s, Rowe increasingly pursued other electroacoustic improvisation projects, and he eventually left the group for periods at a time. Prévost and Tilbury kept AMM going, sometimes with guests, and they released works like Apogee (with Musica Elettronica Viva), Norwich (2005), Trinity (2009), and Sounding Music (2010). The ensemble performed and recorded into the 2010s with occasional guests like John Butcher and Sachiko M.

AMM disbanded in 2022 after their final show at Cafe Oto on July 30. They are remembered for creating a distinctive, influential approach to free improvisation that emphasized collective sound over individual parts.