NVP12. Dead Edits Present: Erased

With each Dead Edits release, Eric Lunde and I happily delve deeper into concepetual territories as we plumb the recesses of what language does and doesn’t. This two book, two CDR, and ephemera set take us to another step along the adventure.
The concept of erasing, copying over, duplicating, and permutating has been an integral (one might say driving) force in Lunde’s own work since the 80s; I have been repurposing equipment and reworking audio sources for quite a while, but I too have been fascinated by the limits of language from when I was exposed to Z’EV’s uns material in the early 90s. For this release, both Eric and I wrote texts in pencil and then sent them to one another, where we proceeded to erase and / or add to the text whatever we deemed necessary. The audiobooks (the two CDRs) represent various readings of the contents of each of the collections of writing, with elements of the recording of voice process (tape player sounds, reading errors, and accents of erasure) substituting (and enhancing) the erased and modified hand writing.
From the supplemental text: He who writes treads, leaves marks, leaves corrections, leaves errors. He who writes trades, accepting shortcomings in the script for the benefit of documentation. Purported benefit. The revs outwait the costs, and long after the author’s dead does the deciphering and reinterpreting take life.

Or does it even rely on the author’s death?

 Confusion arises from the first mark on the page, in the sand, in the clay. The perspective, that of the writer, is a singular no matter what “voice” is intended—it is only from one, and one only, perspective, and cannot possible be understood by anyone but the author. And so that author struggles, rewrites, erases, discards. And the writer who realizes the words are weightless wastes no time aiming to write; they (words) stand on their own, once released from the author’s and they are the property of the earth.

Erased is a limited edition of 20 signed and numbered copies. The CDRs are tucked inside 9" x 12" envelopes with smeared misprintings (caused by printer feed error) of the supplemental text. The supplemental text, along with an insert about recording processes and track information, is tucked in a separate stamped envelope. The two books are bound with a pseudo obi band.
The cost is $25 ppd in the United States; for rest of world orders, please contact so I can calculate postage.
 
thanks,

Blake

NVP10. Howard Stelzer: Normal Bias 6 x CS now available

I’ve known Howie and his work for a little more than 15 years, and I'm excited to announce this monumental (and monolithic) dose of his audio.
Over the years (unsurprisingly), Howie's work has evolved, developing from (and this is my assessment only) fast sharp bursts to more deep-listening-esque drone elements (while still based in exploring, and exploiting, the tape medium) with shifting density, tension and implied/oblique narrative playing greater roles in the overall composition.
And although Normal Bias was composed specifically for this multi-cassette format, it should be viewed not as a collection of disparate tracks but as a single long form album, the pace and changes of which are determined by tape length.
Howie mentioned to me, and I agree, that this recording delves more “spatially” because of the flexibility of the duration.
In the end, this is a wonderful two+ hour audio journey that will stretch and immerse those intrigued to take the plunge.

Normal Bias is a limited edition of 50 copies, signed and numbered by Howie. Each cassette is hand stamped, and the entire release is housed in a clamshell case with transparency art. 
The cost is $30 ppd in the United States; for rest of world orders, please contact so I can calculate postage.
 
thanks,

Blake

Vertonen: An Intended Accident review

Frans De Waard shares some kind words about the final installment of the trilogy in Vital 1041: I think there is one typo, though, so I added (and bracketed) said change.
Also, a side note, the trilogy isn't really based on th Book of Lamentations: permutations of those texts were only part of the first release (Send the Call Out Send). (But, in hindsight, I could also argue that the ~ideas~ in/of the Book of Lamentations are thematic...heh!)

"As promised in Vital Weekly 1038 the third instalment of a trilogy based on the Book of Lamentations was to be released shortly, and here 'An Intended Accident' (again sixty-six minutes) is released in a similar package as the two previous ones, but also with a small envelope supplying the keys to the artcards found in every package in which Blake Edwards has made efforts 'at translating/transcribing related texts into three different ancient alphabets'. In the accompanying letter Edwards asks me to [not] reveal these keys and as much as I don't care about spoiler alerts (really don't), but all right I won't, but I thought these 'keys' were great! It's a bit like the mousetrap, the Agatha Christie play, in which the audience is asked not to reveal whodidit. It makes reviewing the music perhaps a bit more complicated, since I now have insider knowledge. 'An Intended Accident' is six parts, of which two at the end are a bit shorter. Music wise however Vertonen is still in the musical area I like to see him best, and that is of drone music. The single-source processing takes on many shapes but sounds like a near stasis of acoustic debris, with emphasis on the lower end of the sound spectrum. Quite spooky at that and very atmospheric, but also quite 'low' in volume. It reveals Vertonen's love for the Hafler Trio and Roland Kayn, but I think one should add Eliane Radigue to that list as well. The odd element here is the three sighs that audible in the music at various parts in the piece, but then singled out, to add more spookiness, perhaps. Maybe it's coincidence but when I reviewed the previous one is was a dark day in June and that is the same thing here today; maybe it is a sign? This release concludes a rather beautiful trilogy of works, and with a great 'secret'. (FdW)

NVP07. Vertonen: Rose Gardens CDR (with textual supplements)

I'm excited to announce the second in a trilogy of releases (which began with NVP03, Send the Call Out Send) is now available for purchase. This release, like NVP03, is drone-based, wavering between Roland Kayn and Hafler Trio sensibilities (in more ways than one).
While NVP03 included encrypted text utilizing a circa 300 BCE writing system, this release includes text utilizing three different (yet related) writing systems: one circa 1700 BCE, one circa 900 BCE, and one circa 800 BCE.

The release is in an edition of 33 signed and numbered copies in a sikscreened envleope (and CDR sleeve) and comes with six 5" x 5" inserts threaded together. The cost is $10 ppd in the United States; for rest of world orders, please contact so I can calculate postage.
The third and final release in the trilogy, An Intended Accident, will be released by the end of June.

Thank you,

Blake

NVP 06.5. Eric Lunde: The Twin Earth Experiment (CDR, DVDR, book)

I am extremely pleased to co-release (with Eric’s atychima imprint) The Twin Earth Experiment, a document of / supplement to a lecture / performance Lunde did in November 2015 at the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin (UW-M).

The CDR contains audio demonstrations of Lunde’s reduplicative / degenerative process performed for the class lecture, with a textual emphasis on Lunde’s “I am a Copy of a Copy of a Strange Loop.” The CDR also includes audio elements from the subsequent video performance at the Student Union Cinema.
The DVDR, contains the performative aspect of Lunde’s presentation: a live demonstration of the reduplicative / degenerative processes / copying processes that have informed Lunde’s work for more than 30 years, applying the process (with the help of Neil Gravander, an instructor at UW-M who performs under the name Lucky Bone) to a selection of the film Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969), which circles around the discovery of a duplicate / mirrored Earth.
The 86 page booklet contains background information about the UW-M performance, commentary on Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, observations on quantum Darwinism (as applied to copying irregularities, and the nature of copying imperfections and accidents to create new evolutionary phases, concepts addressed in Lunde’s previous fiction and nonfiction books, Short Bursts of Light and The Accident of Purpose, respectively), theoretical applications of the brain functioning as a copy machine vis a vis the development of consciousness, and the text for a proposed performance, “A Game of Risk.”
The release is in an edition of 20 signed and numbered copies in a hand screened canvas bag, and the cost is $20 ppd in the United States; for rest of world orders, please contact so I can calculate postage.

Thank you,

Blake

Review: Eric Lunde's The fear of appearing monotonous prevents us from recording expressions which, upon such occasions, are all very apt to resemble one another

from Vital Weekly 1018 (Feb 2 2016):

Throughout all the times I came across the name of Marquis de Sade I never felt inclined to read any of his books and as I understand Eric Lunde that is probably a wise decision. Back in 1988 he released a cassette called 'De Sade' but immediately withdrew that release and I am not sure why. Among the texts found in the re-issue presented here that's something that didn't become clear. Maybe it was because the original was on AWB Recording, a perhaps not entirely correct label? Blake Edwards now re-releases this, with a bunch of original liner notes and new ones and Lunde complains here that De Sade is quite boring, 'dead on arrival'. At the same time he also acquired a very cheap biofeedback machine to record responses while reading De Sade. On the first piece of music it is a male 'engaged in sexual activity' (masturbating) while listening to a reading of De Sade and on the second piece a  female's 'biofeedback reading whole listening to this broken retelling of Champvilles' tales, while reading the text out loud and while reading the text in silence'. The booklet has some hilarious interview (no doubt a selfie) with Lunde about all of this and it supposed to [be] embarrassing ('did you or did you not masturbate while recording this?'), which is perhaps not so embarrassing. This is all classic Lunde material. The voice, the degradation of  the voice, ever a central focus in the work of Lunde is present here. None lead led to any particular sexual  arousal here, but I thought of this as another fine work by Lunde, presented with a lot of context about the project, then as well as now. Maybe a bit more focussed on the text, I'd say than some of his other work, but that's quite all right for a change." (fDW)

NVP 06. Eric Lunde: The fear of appearing monotonous prevents us from recording expressions which, upon such occasions, are all very apt to resemble one another

I am extremely pleased to present this reissue of a 1988 cassette withdrawn (not for audio related reasons…) almost immediately upon release at Eric’s request, a decision Eric has often said was extremely frustrating as he considers this a seminal example of both his process- and language-driven works: I am hard pressed to disagree.

As noted in his original liner notes, Eric initiated the recording process using his preferred taped reduplication process with voice but "In the middle of the engagement, I discovered at the local Radio Shack a simple biofeedback monitor…" He then used said biofeedback monitor to document responses to various readings of de Sade’s work. Although he acknowledged that the device was "rarely sensitive enough to register the slightest reaction of the mind through the body to highly aggressive sexual and violent words,” Eric still says he was satisfied with the outcome, having "always been interested in a direct form of expression: the body directly creating sound and image without interference."

With that framework in mind, I hope you can see why I am so excited to bring this release back into the world. This edition, housed in a small 6" x 9" booklet, contains both the original liner notes and contemporary supplemental texts by Lunde.

One extremely special component of this edition is that each copy includes a unique, original signed and numbered 4" x 6" collage by Matt Taggart (known to many as PCRV). Both Eric and I have been fans of Matt’s collage work over the past few years, so we decided to commission these collages. To make things a bit more challenging / interesting for Matt, and to cement the collage’s connection to the audio, we placed some OULIPO-inspired constraints on the visual elements (outlined the booklet) to reflect the source material. Unsurprisingly, Matt delivered beautifully.



This is in an edition of 78 copies (signed and numbered by Eric, with the collage signed and numbered by Matt). The cost will be $32 ppd in the United States; for rest of world orders, please contact so I can calculate postage.

Thank you for your interest,

Blake