For many years, the sort of non-idiomatic improvisation practiced by groups such as AMM was a lonely, sparsely populated genre. However, by the '90s the music began to seep into the knowledge base of younger musicians, and soon a day didn't pass without a new non-jazz-oriented free improv release. One of the few musicians who was treading that post-AMM path prior to this outbreak was the Swiss percussionist/electronicist Günter Müller, and his work with the cooperative trio Nachtluft is strikingly presented here in a reissue of the original mid-'80s recording. Together with Andres Bosshard on cassette machines and Jacques Widmer on percussion, Müller creates abstract soundscapes where traditional melody and rhythms are entirely absent, but which boil and bubble with ceaseless and fascinating activity. The pieces vary from eerie, humming sections evoking a desolate landscape a-crackle with random electronic discharges to thrashing percussive firestorms. Throughout, a strong consciousness of sonic space is maintained, the pieces feeling very solid and palpable whether filled with noise or near silence. Müller would go on to produce numerous fine albums in the '90s and beyond, but this reissue is a welcome look back at some of his earlier investigations. The disc includes some fun liner notes by Jim O'Rourke, reminiscing about his youthful introduction to this genre. Recommended. ~ Brian Olewnick