Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse)

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Written by John Cage
Hardcover, 176 pages
6 x 8.5 inches
Published by Siglio Press, 2015

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"It is a mosaic of ideas, statements, words, and stories. It is also a diary. For each day, I determined by chance operations how many parts of the mosaic I would write and how many words there would be in each."

As the quote above states, John Cage authored his version of a daily diary over 16 years – complete with intertwined observations, obsessions and jokes – in the same way he composed much of his music. One of the 20th century's most visionary and enduring avant-gardists he was a strong and vocal proponent of operations of chance, from his use of the I Ching throughout his life, right down to his aleatoric compositions. Co-edited by Joe Biel and Richard Kraft, Diary is brimming with non-standard text treatments and is a thought-provoking assessment of Cage's methods of composition, making it a beautiful and intriguing work of art in its own right.

—Available from Siglio Press

Pod Tune: Humpback Whale / Human Collaborative Music Project

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—01. Proceeds support Ocean Alliance and Blue Mind.

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Pod Tune is a collaborative compilation project, involving various influential experimental musicians using field recordings of the communication between humpback whales. Pairing ambient luminaries such as Loscil, William Basinski, Christina Vantzou and many others, with a variety of vocalchord-less cetaceans may sound like a gimmick, but it actually makes for a really incredible and relaxing outsider excursion. If this kind of weirdness sounds like something up your alley, as it most certainly was mine, it’s well worth following the link below for a listen.

—Pod Tune

Interview: Geographic North

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—01. Sketch for Winter III: Green Sleeves by Night Cleaner.

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Geographic North is an independent record label based in Atlanta, Georgia. Since 2008 they have built an impressive roster, releasing limited edition tapes and records from both established and new artists in genres ranging from dream pop to dance, bridging electronic and analog. Inspired by record clubs and subscription series, the old school model encourages fans of the label and its aesthetic to discover new music easily by bringing collectible physical products into a world that is going more and more digital. Each release from Geographic North has a very consistent and interesting look, spearheaded by co-founder and designer Farbod Kokabi. I spoke to Kokabi about his design inspirations and what the future holds for the label.

—Geographic North

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Flat Static

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—01. Silk screened sleeve.
—02. Rereleased by Ruff Records.

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After highlighting Garry Bradbury's work last week, I thought I would continue to give shine to the often forgotten artists that made up the Australian experimental scene of the 1980s. To be honest, I don't know much about this reissue, or Flat Static in general, but it doesn't take more than a quick listen to realize that this record is a beautiful and strange mix of nearly every genre of music imaginable.

—Available from Juno Records

Garry Bradbury – Panspermia

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—01. Limited to 200 copies.

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Garry Bradbury might not be a household name, but he is someone who's had a long and undeniable influence on experimental music. He first rose to prominence in the early '80s with seminal band The Severed Heads, and hasn't stopped working on various solo and group material since. His new album, released by Vinyl On Demand, is decidedly more dance friendly than a lot of his previous work, injecting tried and true grooves with an ability to simultaneously make one's skin crawl.

—Available from VOD Records

Sam Prekop – The Republic

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—01. Thrill 384.

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For anyone familiar with Sam Prekop’s work as part of the seminal post-rock group, The Sea and Cake, this record may seem like a bit of a departure. Produced entirely at home, it sees the American musician trading his customarily crystalline guitar sound for that of modular synthesizers. The first half of The Republic features tracks composed to accompany a video installation by David Hartt, while the second half is built around ideas that worked best on their own. The album essentially picks up where Prekop's previous solo effort, Old Punch Card, left off in 2010. This time though the tones are hazier and less glitchy, making for a more minimalist and ambient listen with some decidedly rhythmic patterns laid beneath. Prekop's output, alone and as part of The Sea and Cake, is sophisticated and precise, encapsulating what the Thrill Jockey sound is all about.  

—Available from Thrill Jockey

Inventory SoundCloud: Journeymann Trax – Water Mix

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—01. Compiled by producer Bobby Draino

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We recently launched our own SoundCloud page and have since posted two mixes put together in-house by different members of the team. The third edition comes from outside of Inventory, courtesy of Vancouver-based producer Bobby Draino. Created under his Journeymann Trax moniker, the disco-influenced collection is perfectly suited to the height of summer, evoking relaxing beach days and cool dips in the water.

—Inventory SoundCloud
—Journeymann Trax

Boo-Hooray and Gavin Brown's Enterprise present A Living Collage

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Gavin Brown's Enterprise
291 Grand Street
New York, NY 10002
July 8 – July 31, 2015

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While last weekend saw the final show at Gavin Brown's downtown, West Side space (he's moving the Enterprise to a former Brewery in Harlem, close to where he lives) this week saw the opening of one of the best exhibitions I've seen in a while, at his East Side project space in Chinatown. A Living Collage: The Living Theatre, Judith Malina and Julian Beck 1947-2015 opened on Wednesday evening, and gave a glimpse into the paper-based world of the legendary American experimental theatre company through flyers, posters, programs and prints. Many of these same pieces are offered for sale, or in the case of some of the smaller items: for free, or whatever donation you felt inclined to make. All this gave an unprecedented look into the history of New York theatre, music and arts through the decades and eyes of two of the city's pioneers and patrons in these fields. The fact that you could take some of that home with you was simply mind-blowing. Not to be missed.

—Boo-Hooray
—Gavin Brown's Enterprise
—The Living Theatre