The performance was part of the Vir2ual Cage CalArts project in honor of Cage’s centenary. Eventually it will enable users to put together an entire performance of the Song Books, which it will then arrange via chance procedures and allow you to watch and listen to your customized performance online. Neat, huh?

Performing them all was draining, but it was a good feeling finishing the final piece with about two minutes to spare. Everyone was supportive of what I was trying to accomoplish and many congratulations were doled out by the night’s end. My contemporary Max Wanderman performed one piece for the entire four hours, moving incredibly slowly, and we’re still not sure which of us was more tired!

The most important thing I took away from the experience was a memory of the meditative state that gradually enveloped my consciousness. In the haze of the modern artist’s hectic lifestyle, it’s a rare treat to be able to perform with the combination of focus and mindlessness that these classic works can inspire.

I’ll eventually get some recordings down of the various songs for the purpose of the online archive. Also, keep a lookout for an interview for a documentary web series by Lee Ray, coming soon! Below is a montage video of the performance, winkingly titled “The Long Books”, put together by CalArts. I’m the one at the end, performing Song 35, sometimes referred to as “The best form of government is no government at all.” Good times.

This is Australian woodwind player and live looper Linsey Pollak playing quirky and absolutely amazing music on common household items. I love live music like this with all my heart.

Direct download: http://baseck.net/mp3/baseck_-_stirred_up_baseck.net_djmix.mp3

From the site:

“Stirred Up – Mixed by Baseck”

run time: 33mins 12 secs

tracklisting:

baseck – intro
current value – heavy weight
all leather – well fed fuck
le jad – beat 133.333 pour bank
duran duran duran – furious george
monster x – get up to kill
otto von schirach – night terror
the teknoist & scheme boy – versus unleashed (gancher remix)
the outside agency – industrial cooking spray (feat. tapage)
receptor & engage – wi-fi waves
i:gor – los control
cooh – down boy (feat. dean rodell)
halves – autumn
broken note – meltdown
xanopticon – tempcw_5
wmx – possibilities (acid rework)

notes: this mix was originally made for rob booth’s electronic explorations show last year but it never seen the light of day. now hear it here first… BASECK EXCLUSIVE!

Watch video of it in action via the BBC here.

The moral of the article is a lesson all audiophiles really need to learn, which is that most things don’t sound better or worse, just different. Of course, we’re all just listening to MP3s at 320 now, so maybe it’s a deck chairs/titanic sorta thing.

The other free downloads from this series can be found here:

Souls Unswayed
Minds Make Lights
The Prosaic Fades

Though essentially the new kind of glitch hop that has drops, the overall sound is surprisingly, deliciously, secretly acoustic at its core, and that’s what makes Signal Path stand out. Hooray free music!

“Born in the mountain enclave of Missoula, MT, Denver based Signal Path bends musical genres and deep melodic ideas around a core of unrelenting rhythm and massive low-end. They create a depth and intricacy of sound that become more commanding every time it’s heard, and by blending live instrumentation into their production they create a live experience that is as beautiful as it is intense.”

Prague by Chris Schunk