Foxy Digitalis
On kinjarling studies: soundtracks (five years on), Amby Downs reimagines this series of film soundtracks and creates a spellbinding, haunting sonic document. Field recordings become liminal specters, tactile reminders of the history embedded in specific places. “jidda” crawls forward beneath high-frequency whisps, moving toward the source of each muted piano toll. Even with its heightened […]
“Many Ran” is a tightly wound ball of sound slowly unfolding and rasping against the dawn. Blurred voices holler in the distance, a beckoning call toward a crumbling horizon imparted with cryptic dissonance. This new collection from Craig Varian’s 400 Lonely Things, curated and assembled by Lawrence English, is a slow-burning, immersive spectacle. Felix Burford-Connole’s […]
On this new edition from Alvin Curran and Room 40, the beginning becomes the present. Two new works sourced and sculpted from materials created in the 70s come to life on ARCHEOLOGY // ARCHEOLOGIA. In this excerpt from “La Serra,” gentle, oscillating hums build a foundation for submerged thrushes and speculative melodies. It’s a world […]
Stillness and progression stand on equal peaks within Kenneth Kirschner’s beguiling April 27, 2023. Using hundreds of chords, the piece unfolds at a considered pace, letting each moment breathe, each set of notes exhale completely before the next round wakes up. Subtle timbral shifts glide almost imperceptibly but add an emotional depth to the piece […]
Track Premiere: Black Rain “Tokyo Night City” With William Gibson’s Neuromancer celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Room 40 is releasing the first proper edition of Black Rain’s soundtrack for the audiobook version from 30 years ago. These recordings are legendary in certain circles but have remained largely unavailable until now. The duo captures the […]
On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s David Grubbs! I often ask myself, is there anything David can’t do? I’m pretty sure the answer is no. We talked a fair bit about his new record with Loren Connors, “Evening Air,” before going down all sorts of rabbit holes about Mayo Thompson and The […]
For Material Prosody, the latest from Mo H. Zareei aka mHz and Room 40, he invited a handful of artists to compose pieces using his sound sculpture of the same name. Material Prosody (the sculpture) is “a custom-designed 8-step electromechanical sequencer aimed at emphasizing the physical materiality of sound and sound production.” On “Brass,” Loscil […]
Listening to “Dust Resonance,” the title track from Zimoun’s latest for Room 40, feels like some combination of levitating on sound waves and being buried alive. Purposeful, subtle movements send sonic ripples through the atmosphere. Laced with granular textures, Zimoun bends time to a standstill. Inside “Dust Resonance,” we are suspended in immersive drones while […]
On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Yann Novak! There’s so many things Yann does that are important in my life – from his music (check out the upcoming “Voices of Theseus”!) and label to his supportive approach with artists – so it was so great to have this conversation. We get into […]