This summer brought the unfortunate news that avant-garde guitarist Tom Carter had been taken gravely ill.

Carter is best known as a founder member part of revered Houston ensemble Charalambides, responsible for Kranky’s 1992 classic LP Our Bed Is Green and oodles of experimental releases on Siltbreeze and Wholly Other. He’s also one half of drone unit Sarin Smoke with Pete Swanson, and has notched up collaborations with the likes of Bardo Pond and Thurston Moore.

As The Wire report, Carter contracted a very serious bout of pneumonia whilst touring Europe with Charalambides this year. Carter ended up in intensive care in Berlin, and, although now back in the States, remains unable to work or tour until next year. A new compilation has been pulled together at short notice in order to help fund Carter’s medical bills, and it features some notable friends and collaborators.

Swanson is the biggest name on the collection, contributing frazzled track ‘Citizens On Patrol (RIP)’. Harry Pussy’s Bill Orcutt offers the unusually gentle ‘Over The Rainbow’, and Not Not Fun associates Ensemble Economique submit the engrossing ‘UNDER The Almond Blossoms’.

All takings from the eleven track compilation go directly towards assisting Carter’s parlous situation. Further information about the appeal is available from the Help Tom Carter website. Head over to Bandcamp to grab the compilation.