Inside No. 9, Season 3, Episode #34: A mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, paths to the West, a river to the East [double episode]
The words that grace the title of this month’s mix come from the pen of László Krasznahorkai. As Curzon has lovingly rereleased many 4K enhanced versions of Béla Tarr’s work in recent months it seemed fitting to attribute the expansive modernism of this music to the words of his most frequent inspiration. The aforementioned novel is an incredible, concise and mind-expanding exercise in modernist prose. I devoured the text slowly, taking a small chunk at a time to bed. I have also recently absorbed Ulysses in quick succession rummaging through its cacophony of form and narrative that has left me both spellbound and bewildered.
The music in this episode is often wrought with fragmentation and early electronic sounds that interplay with field recordings and more abstract depictions of voice. You will notice a number of recordings from Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM) included in the mix, alongside other recent pioneers in this form of expression including labels Shelter Press, Black Truffle and early PAN.
As Joyce plays heavily on alliteration, the sounds here repeat from artist to artist echoing expressive forms of dissonance and static. And again as you can dip into any section of Ulysses and paint a miniature of vivid colours; I hope you can do the same skipping and playing with the running time of these 18 vignettes.
There is a wonderful comfort in returning to modernism in what could be the post-metamodernist world we are stumbling drunkenly through. A lot of current expression is a fart in the face of art and the ability to express oneself in an age of fake news, doublethink and instant global communication.
I have littered the mix with moments of more traditional calm and melody, to draw you back into reflection; not to self-reflect, but to allow the sounds to imitate a wider experience of the past, present and future. This may sound somewhat grandiose but now more than ever we need to avoid the metaphysical and connect with the present.
Returning to Krasznahorkai’s novella, there is a safe place that we can dip into in our minds, painting pictures beyond hyperbole and reactionary opinions. Your ears, eyes and thoughts needn’t be a commodity for big tech tycoons. Just listen and enjoy the sound as you are and absorb the din without the need to share, like or subscribe. This episode is not apolitical and has moments that challenge your perception and I hope it inspires as much as it challenges and befuddles.
Most of these are edited sections from longer pieces. This would have run to around 6 hours if all tracks were left to play in their full form.
Garden One
Shrine (Aether)
Marja Ahti
Garden One
Two
Plurielles
Robert Cahen
Garden Three
From Tiny Red Box in APO
CM von Hausswolff
Garden Four
Le Qoheleth
Valerio Trocchi
Garden Five
Mundus Intellectualis
Nicole Lachartre
Garden Six
Schall
Horacio Vaggione
Garden Seven
In the Liquid Amber Within the Ivory Porcelain
Tomoko Sauvage
Garden Eight
Pedigree I
Suk Hong
Garden Nine
Homage to Dick Raajimakers
Thomas Ankersmit
Garden Ten
Spectral Evolution
Rafael Toral
Garden Eleven
Ni envers ni endroit que cette roche brûlante (Pour Georgia O’Keeffe)
Felicia Atkinson
Garden Twelve
They don’t sleep on the beach anymore
Oliver Cong
Garden Thirteen
If God Were Alive (& He Is) You Could Reach Him By Telephone
Paul DeMarinis
Garden Fourteen
How to Avoid Ants
Lasse Marhaug
Garden Fifteen
The Blue Hour
Loren Connors & Alan Licht
Garden Sixteen
Plate of Order
Pan Daijing
Garden Seventeen
They Live
Dave Phillips
Garden Eighteen
Wrong Intersection
Kevin Drumm
Inside No. 9 is an attempt to share unique narratives through the mixing of 9 songs. Every episode will showcase a new theme, opening up new tributaries of discovery. Inside No. 9 is presented by Peter Taylor, a former features writer for Foxy Digitalis from back in the late 2000s. Peter is a visual artist and musician and has been creating music as MAbH since 2008.
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