SoundCloud Spotlight: JIIN – Cult Hymns

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—01. Portrait by Han Dasom.
—02. EP cover art.

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Can any music really be new at this point? It seems unlikely on one hand, yet on the other, the climate of the industry, the internet and the accessibility to software today is creating a group of musicians and producers that sound new to me. House, drone, drum and bass, R&B and hip-hop feel more like reference points than categories sometimes, as the blending and blurring of sounds continue to evolve. Spending most of his time in Toronto, JIIN released a 7-track EP entitled Cult Hymns last week, and it's another example of this progression. Of course the idea of mixing genres isn't a recent thing, but the output of an increasingly young and talented generation is really interesting, and if nothing else, they have me excited about music again.

—SoundCloud: JIIN – Cult Hymns

Weekend Listening: Treader Records

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—01. A selection of releases.

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Treader is a small but perfectly formed record label, run by Ashley Wales and John Coxon (of Spring Heel Jack fame). The consistent and beautiful artwork should be enough to warrant your attention, and at least have you considering a reasonably priced purchase or two. However, if you feel you need further convincing, I'd recommend listening to J Spaceman's two releases on the label: his first solo record under his own name Guitar Loops, and a collaboration with Matthew Shipp, entitled SpaceShipp. Both were the reason I discovered Treader in the first place, and I'm certainly grateful that I did.

—Treader
—Guitar Loops via YouTube
—SpaceShipp via YouTube

Issue Project Room Presents Little Black Egg Big Band

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Pioneer Works Center for Art and Innovation
159 Pioneer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
Sunday, June 28 at 8pm

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"Issue Project Room returns to Red Hook for an evening with the Little Black Egg Big Band and Oren Ambarchi, presented in collaboration with Pioneer Works Center for Art and Innovation. Named for Georgia Hubley’s rarely performed solo guitar project Little Black Egg, the expanded Little Black Egg Big Band features Hubley and her Yo La Tengo compatriots Ira Kaplan and James McNew, joined by bassist Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu), an array of jazz mainstays including Susie Ibarra, Daniel Carter, Taylor Ho Bynum, and more TBA. Australian improvisor Oren Ambarchi, known for his deft and exploratory instrumental approaches, performs solo."

—Issue Project Room
—Pioneer Works Center for Art and Innovation

Deviate From Balance by John Wiese

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Softcover, perfect bound
64 pages, 6.5 x 9 inches
Edition of 500

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John Wiese is probably most recognized in music circles for his participation and collaboration with Sissy Spacek, Wolf Eyes and Sunn O))), as well as releasing records under his own name. He's by no means given this up, but a lot of his present endeavours revolve around sound installation, video, collage, photography, typography and graphic sound scores. On top of this array of activities, Wiese is the co-founder of Hesse Press, the small publishing house that issued this monograph. Deviate From Balance catalogues his latest art practices in a beautifully designed edition of 500. It should also be noted that to coincide with the book's release, Gilgongo Records put out a companion album of the same title which would give you a complete picture of Wiese’s multitalented explorations.

—Hesse Press
—Gilgongo Records

Safe Crackers presents Future Days

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356 S. Mission Road
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Thursday, June 18 at 7pm

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As part of 356 Mission's Summer Screenings Series LA-based artist Oliver Payne presents the latest installment of his ongoing Safe Crackers project: a night of trip-hop, krautrock and science fiction. A seemingly random yet perfect mix of all things futuristic, the first of the aptly titled Future Days events takes place tonight, Thursday June 18th, and will feature a screening of the 1972 film Silent Running followed by a DJ set by Eli Diner and Oliver himself.

—356 Mission
—Silent Running trailer via YouTube
—Summer Screenings Series

Dia 15 VI 13 545 West 22 Street Dream House

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Dia:Chelsea
545 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011
June 16 – October 24, 2015

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As anyone who has visited the Church Street Dream House installation in Manhattan can attest, experiencing one of La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela’s sound and light environments is unlike anything else. The pervasive wash of magenta-tinted light and the densely textured sustained sound composition seems to fill every available measure of space, and has continuously been doing so in this location since the fall of 1993. Before the longest running of all the Young and Zazeela’s Dream House installations, they had produced different iterations on this theme at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Moderna Museet, Documenta 5, and the Guggenheim – just to name a few.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of one of the Dia Art Foundation's earliest efforts after its establishment in 1974: the Dream Festival. To commemorate this event, the organization is hosting a newly acquired site specific version of La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela’s Dream House at their Chelsea location. Entitled Dia 15 VI 13 545 West 22 Street Dream House and created in collaboration with Jung Hee Choi, it includes Young’s sine-wave sound environment, Zazeela’s sculptures and light design, and Choi’s Ahata Anahata, Manifest Unmanifest IX. There is an extensive calendar of events and performances throughout the installation’s run, with the first happening on June 13th and many others running into the fall. 

—Dia Art Foundation

DJ Slyngshot – Cycles

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—01. Available on 12-inch vinyl.

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DJ Slyngshot runs the German label Yappin Records, and seems to use it mainly as a vehicle for his own productions. That can often be a tiresome formula, but considering their quality and diversity, I'm sure no one is complaining. These particular tracks feel like they were assembled in the future by someone who found a lockbox of old radio parts. Each is a totally unique journey of funk and dust, that will definitely push your toes to the pavement.

—Available from Honest Jon's

Varg – Ursviken

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—01. Ursviken.
—02. Northern Electronics.

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Swedish techno maestro Varg is an incredibly prolific personality in the world of underground music. His records possess the same icy talons that grab you while watching an Ingmar Bergman film, creating the sense that the walls around you are closing in. Ursviken comes courtesy of Northern Electronics, the label he runs with fellow Swede Abdulla Rashim, which has quickly become the go-to name for beautiful dance floor intended melancholia. 

—Available from Northern Electronics