Rule Of Nines
New Order
Explicit content, Graphic Violence (18+)
Pairing: Reed900
Tags: AU, Multi-Chapter, Lovers to Enemies, Kidnapping, Crime and Violence, Oral, Anal, Dom/ Sub, Toxic Relationships
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Summary: In a world where loyalty is currency and compromise is weakness, Gavin Reed, a ruthless mobster, lives by his own rules. When an old enemy resurfaces with a deadly demand, his life is thrown into chaos-as his trusted second-in-command, Nines, is put to the ultimate test of allegiance. Will he stay committed to Gavin, or will the loyal guard dog begin to stray? (Human Mob!AU)
Warnings: Major Character Death (before events of the story), Graphic Violence, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Dubcon and Noncon
Tag List: @sweeteatercat @wedonthaveawhile @ladyj-pl @tentoriumcerebelli @negative-citadel @faxaway @moriahadi424 @unicorn4genocide @cptjh-arts
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ONE YEAR LATER.
There had been a hit on one of the Delray warehouses. All contact had been lost with the guards stationed there, and family members sent to investigate had soon become unreachable too. Following an extended period of silence, Nines took matters into his own hands, proceeding to the location himself.
Upon entering the space, the halogen bulbs of the loading bay failed to activate. It was dark outside, the lack of windows only exacerbating the vacuous black. The scent in the air was oppressively potent, clogging his nostrils.
Gunpowder and blood.
He already knew what they were about to discover as their torches were raised and the first beam of light sliced through the darkness.
Bodies lay strewn across the ground amidst a series of overturned crates, gutted of their contents. The hollowed-out panels proudly presented, with some of the lesser goods strewn haphazardly on the floor. Fairly innocuous, given the extensive stockpile of munitions that had once been contained.
Either the culprits had left in a hurry, their infiltration discovered sooner than anticipated, or they simply took what they’d wanted—the surplus serving to send a message, a brazen exhibition of dominance. Mockery.
A disrespect which ignited a flame in his gut as Nines bent down to inspect the bullet punched neatly between the eyes of Meyer. Vacant pits that bore up at the ceiling—ashen and lifeless.
He stayed there for a moment, running a hand through the crimson streaks blossoming from his wound. Connor stood close, glancing down at the body, watching as mislaid life seeped through the cracks of his brother's fingers. While nothing was said, there was a distinct air of sorrow in the way he bowed his head. A show of silent respect and gratitude.
Vincenzo was more vocal in his discontent, knocking one of the smaller crates with the end of a steel-capped boot, propelling it across the room. “Christ, what a mess. Who’d you think is behind this shitshow?”
It was difficult to say. Most gangs in Detroit, as well as wider Michigan, knew better than to cross Nines. He ran a decidedly more ruthless operation than Reed, seldom opting to take prisoners. The repercussions of such a stunt were well understood, with even the most hardened criminals knowing better than to provoke him.
This had to be the work of a fledgling organisation, unaware of their precarious position in the hierarchy. Men filled with bravado and confidence that hadn’t yet been beaten out of them.
Nines would be more than happy to serve them this well-earned lesson in humility.
“He’s still warm,” he said plainly, standing from his crouched position. “Scope the area, I suspect we have company. I'd like to have a discussion with them, should they be man enough to show themselves.”
The words served as instructions to the family but also a pointed appeal to any rodents cowering in the shadows. Goading their movement, on the presumption they would act in the same callous abandon that had been demonstrated up until now. Compromise their own position, saving him the trouble of doing so.
His ploy worked flawlessly—as a sudden, flurried rustling broke through the stillness.
The attention of all family members was drawn in unison. Arcs of light snapped to the source, casting a spotlight on the nearby debris. Then the noise grew louder, more frantic, signalling the creature was preparing to flee.
Finally, they broke from their hiding place, a blur of frenetic movement tenuously resembling a person. As they darted through the sparse cover, Vincenzo raised his pistol, bellowing out a sharp deterrent:
"Don't move, you piece of shit!"
The figure refused to comply.
A warning shot was then fired at the nearby wall, just barely missing their shoulder. As the bullet skimmed past, a curse echoed through the warehouse, and heavy footfalls momentarily faltered. Floyd and Rooney closed in, restraining the stranger before they could regain their bearings.
“Let me go, you fucking assholes !”
Nines felt shards of ice permeate his veins as matched fractals stabbed their way through his eardrums. Because the sound was not strange at all—but cruelly familiar.
The same harsh, biting octaves that had relentlessly haunted his consciousness. Poisoning his every thought and memory like a fatal disease that refused to be cured.
The cold beneath his skin was quashed as the man came into view, face partially obscured by tousled brown hair—but still recognisable. His stocky body thrashed and writhed against the grip of his captors, confirming to Nines that this was real.
“Well, would you look at that?” As though further confirmation was required, Rooney grabbed a fistful of hair, pulling back and presenting Nines with the snarling visage he had hoped to never see again. “You've got a lotta fucking nerve, Reed, showing yourself ‘round here.”
Really, this could have been predicted. It wasn't so hard to believe that he would have had some involvement in this.
There had been rumours of his re-emergence. Ascending from the gutters in order to align himself with a group of freshly rallied degenerates. Charged to a particularly repugnant beast whose name Nines made no effort to learn.
All he knew was he was similar to DeLuca, without any of the duplicitous charm or cunning. Making enemies left, right and centre in a constant bid for more . The sort who indulged in everything to excess—be it food, drugs, or sex. Although he doubted the latter was something claimed freely; more likely bartered for.
Despite this gluttonous sphere of influence, Gavin looked frustratingly good. Healthy. As though he'd been thriving under the new regime.
He’d gained weight since the last Nines saw him, a far cry from the skeletal bundle left beaten and bloodied in his basement. New clothes, a clean shave, coupled with a potent reek of aftershave that could be smelled from several paces back.
Amidst the rising swell of revulsion, there was curiosity. Whatever Gavin was doing to win the favour of his newfound associates, it was working. This, in turn, raised the question of what that might be.
What exactly could warrant such preferential treatment, given the man's contemptuous reputation and lack of social delicacy—
“Eat shit and die.”
As though to illustrate the point, Gavin swung his legs back and began kicking at Rooney's thigh, flailing and screeching like a madman. This was before he abandoned the effort in favour of an even less dignified lunge. Aiming for his forearm, attempting to sink teeth into flesh.
As his neck arched, veins bulging from the added exertion, the marks became visible. Some were old and fading, while others were tellingly fresh—patterned in red and purple buds all across his skin.
Revelation struck hard, bringing with it a staunch clarity. It seemed the man’s newest keeper was having to do far less bartering than anticipated in satisfying his physical needs.
As Gavin accepted he would not be able to brute force his way out of the situation, his demeanour shifted. Much less hostile, although it was clearly a farce. He was simply waiting for the right moment, biding time until a distraction emerged.
“Good to know you dipshits still can't secure a perimeter to save your lives.” He gestured to the pronounced sea of death surrounding him, snickering cruelly.
His attention then passed the living occupants, disdainful glare returned with matched abhorrence. It was clear just how desperately the men wished to execute their own justice. Extinguish the spite and overconfidence gleaming in his eyes.
Then focus shifted to Connor, and the sickening display intensified. Murky green turned bright in awe like a child opening presents on Christmas morning. The corners of snarling lips were all but pinned to his ears in an uncomfortably large, twisted grin.
“Holy-fucking-shit...” He whistled softly, speaking in a slow, mocking simper. “Loving the eyepatch, Connie, very stylish.”
It was Connor who came close to faltering first, succumbing to lethal temptation. His gun was raised, safety removed, as he trained the barrel on the man taunting him. He was unable to hold the weapon still—shaking with anger, compounded by the persistent tremors that already blighted his muscles.
Despite extensive physiotherapy, he had never fully adjusted to his new left-handed grip, nor the loss of his depth perception.
"I guess I have you to thank for it.” The words were seethed, with bitterness spat from every syllable. “Maybe I should return the favour. What do you think?”
Gavin was less than fazed by the threat. Taut lips puckered into a kiss as he shamelessly fluttered his lashes. A man with his head on the chopping block, all but begging for the blade to drop.
“I'll pass, don't think ‘pirate’ is really my style.” The sarcastic expression morphed into a commiserate pout as he clicked his tongue in feigned sympathy. “I’d say ‘sexy pirate’, but let's be real. You look like someone was roasting a marshmallow and forgot to take it off the fire.”
Connor tensed, his finger poised on the trigger. Twitching reflexively as it threatened to pull, shattering the man and his self-satisfaction into a thousand scattered pieces.
Nines shared in this burgeoning bloodlust but understood allowing the man to escape so quickly would be a kindness undeserved. With tenuously held composure, he applied gentle pressure to the barrel of the pistol, angling it down.
“Let me handle this.”
His brother looked at him, lips parted, poised on the brink of protest. The rest of the family was equally stunned, as Nines seemingly denied his sibling a golden opportunity for vengeance.
What they couldn't see were the wheels of cognition beginning to turn, spurring with them sadistic machinations. Nines offered assurance to Connor in the form of a subtle nod, a gesture he knew would be understood.
A promise that this wasn't the betrayal it appeared to be, and that the situation was under control.
Gavin would not be permitted to slip through the cracks of his judgment a second time. He would know precisely the damning mistake he'd made in coming here.
With the siblings distracted, at least as perceptible from the outside, the captive seized his opportunity. Vying for escape a second time, he successfully clamped down onto the taut flex of Rooney's bicep. The man howled in pain, arm reeling back, as Floyd moved instinctively to assist.
Dropping to the floor, he swiftly clambered to his feet and sprinted across the warehouse. Pressing a hand to an overturned crate and vaulting himself over before emerging between opposing trails of wreckage.
Guns clicked in unison—an orchestra of impatience—until Nines conducted their restraint, raising his hand before bringing it down in a decisive sweep.
“Don't shoot.”
He watched carefully, observing as Gavin darted and weaved through the obstacles, his confidence mounting with each maneuver. What proceeded was inevitable, shameful in its predictability, as he craned back to mock his would-be pursuers, offering a pointed flourish of his middle finger.
Nines could feel the bemused huff pressing at his lips as he subsequently failed to notice the large metal beam entering his path. He struck it cleanly, tumbling to the side, landing in a heap on the gnarled concrete.
His head ricocheted off the ground, snapping back unnaturally before flopping limply to its original position. The man groaned, lying sprawled and stunned, incapable of movement.
Nines closed in swiftly, making his way through the chicanes of debris until he was standing by his side. Nudging Gavin's limp form with the tip of his shoe, he mimicked the condescension of his previous tuts.
“You know, you really ought to watch where you’re going.”
He then kicked against the sensitive junction between his shoulder and neck—hard—rendering the already debilitated man entirely tranquilised.
By the time Gavin woke up, Nines had gone to extensive measures to ensure he wouldn’t run again. Instructing his subordinates to secure their catch with heavy-duty fastenings before transporting him to a secure location outside the city border.
It was on a need-to-know basis where they were headed, with provisions made to ensure the captive would not secure membership to this club.
Nines watched with clinical detachment as his senses returned. Draws of breath fluttering against the inside of a burlap sack, mingled with pained murmurs until his body seized and the fluttered movements steadily ramped in pace.
Pulling material into the heaving gape of his mouth, he struggled against the restraints. Thrashing wildly in a vain attempt to rock the chair he’d been anchored to. Cries of protest were muffled but nowhere near enough to prevent a profound auditory assault.
Nines took little note, pacing evenly around the chair—a wolf circling its prey. He relished the signs of struggle, the mounting desperation that emerged from an inability to anticipate strikes.
Despite all the bravado and rage, every footstep was matched with a flinch. Gavin was scared—a primal fear, an innate drive for self-preservation, that was completely unavoidable.
For Nines, it was euphoric. The sense of control that came from watching him reel and squirm, with little that could be done to mask it. He paused in place, calmly removing the rope that bound the sack to his neck before tugging it away.
Gavin's jaw was forced closed by the clawing grip of his hand, and he was left with no option but to face his captor. He glared up at him, squinting through the sudden onslaught of light as Nines cooly addressed him:
“It's been a long time.”
A grumbled response rumbled from within clenched bone and muscle, sounding indistinguishably similar to “Not long enough.”
"I was surprised when your bloated corpse didn't wash up in a river somewhere. Your father made more enemies than allies, and you've certainly never been popular.”
His chin was released, as Nines opted instead to burrow fingers into his dress shirt, rumpling the gaudy silk as he yanked him close. In the new proximity, he was rudely accosted by a heavy whiff of aftershave.
It had been bad enough from a distance, but now, the stench was overwhelming. Nauseatingly rich, clinging to him like a second skin. Powerful citruses mingled with a sickly, cloying musk that Nines struggled to place.
“DeLuca was far from the only person who wanted you dead. I wonder what you did to convince your new ‘friend’ to offer protection.”
He already knew, just wished to hear it from Gavin's mouth. To draw the shameful confession from his lips. Ones that formed a humourless smirk as he sharply replied:
"I'm just that fucking charming.”
The grip on his collar was abandoned, gliding down silky trails of fabric before reaching Gavin's hand. With precision, he seized one of his fingers, twisting back until it was strained at an increasingly grotesque angle. His captive hissed, attempting to pull away but being stopped by the hold of his restraints.
"Tell me, how long did you last on the streets before you got down on your knees for the first man who’d have you?"
He pulled back, further still, until the tip drew close to the knuckle. "How many times have you let him fuck you? Heaving up and down, grunting and straining to keep it hard as his disgusting body drips with sweat—”
"I don't kiss and tell.”
One of the bones reached the limit of its flexibility, snapping in two. "Was it worth it, Gavin? Losing me? Losing everything?”
The mangled digit twitched and spasmed, then stilled, as did the man attached. He gritted his teeth, clenched so tight they also threatened to shatter before they were bared in another hideous grin.
He wouldn't be willing to succumb so easily, falter to such paltry torture. Nines would have to escalate matters if he wished to secure the desired result.
The middle finger was clenched next, a known favourite amongst the appendages. “Answer me.”
"I don't have to answer shit.” Gavin's body shook, a combination of defiant chuckles and involuntary trembles. “What about you, Nines? You found someone else to stick it in, or is it all about the hookers these days?”
It was Nines’ turn to fall silent. His hold on the digit tensed, tightening substantially but failing to execute decisive action.
“You ever think about me when you're pumping their guts?” Another goading flutter of lashes, as though the mockery wasn't already transparent. "Such a shame you kicked me out; we could have been so beautiful together. Had a spring wedding, settled down in the suburbs, maybe adopted some kids—"
"Stop talking.”
"Did you ever think about it, huh? Us, having a future together?”
The carefully planned finesse of his torment was swiftly forgotten. Nines struck Gavin in the chest. A show of raw, primitive brutality. Fist propelling into ribs that broke with sickening cracks against his knuckles.
The way his skin and bones yielded obediently to the impact, moulding to the shape of his hand, felt almost intimate. This was only exacerbated by the winded gasp which passed his lips as the man buckled over.
Because it had always been this way, hadn't it?
It had never been about love or appreciation or even the most meagre pursuit of shared satisfaction. It had always been about control, the desire to take , claiming exactly what they wanted from one another, and omitting anything else.
Gavin tilted his head to the side, hawking a wad of spit to the floor below. The impact had caused some form of concealed damage, evident in the slither of blood curling its way through the puddle, catching the lights above.
What followed had not been part of the plan.
Nines had intended to bring Gavin here in order to rectify mistakes. Beat the man to the point of submission, inflicting physical torment comparable to what his brother had been forced to endure one year prior. Leave him for dead, as he’d done to Connor.
But as Gavin looked at him—blood streaking down his chin, eyes ablaze with provocation—it triggered another, more dormant instinct. Beyond the desire for revenge.
Because the current arrangement was familiar, starkly resemblant to the warped closeness they had once shared. It was something Nines could only go so far to remove himself from, its heavy hand having been paramount in shaping his identity. Sadistic desire, ingrained as deeply into his psyche as the need to breathe, conditioned by almost a decade of ritual.
Nines had lost his composure, strands of hair tumbling loose from neatly gelled coils. They descended his face like tangled vines. He felt equally discordant, gripped by insanity that only the monster in front of him inspired.
He didn't think, couldn't think, as he lunged for Gavin a second time. This time, capturing his waist with the bruising grip of his thighs. Grabbing his chin, he wiped away the lingering crimson with his thumb and leaned close to growl a demand against the shell of his ear.
"I said shut your fucking mouth.”
The response came in a broken wheeze, rumbled through a shattered chest. Barely intelligible, yet maintaining a pronounced degree of obstinance. “Make me.”
Nines took this as an invitation, falling prey as he sank deep into temptation.
The kiss was crushing—bruising—not allowing for any protest. The territorial hold on Gavin’s jaw had formed into an iron lock grip, ensuring he couldn't pull away.
Nines wanted to rip him apart. Tear to ribbons the visage of the man who had come so close to taking everything.
With each movement, he sought to channel this hatred, poised on the tip of a tongue shoved forcefully down his throat. He wanted to show Gavin just how weak he was. Remind him of all the mercies granted up until now and how they formed no indication of power or influence.
Nines had spared him because he wanted to. He was in control, having granted the man an opportunity to escape on one basic stipulation that he couldn't show the decency
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2023 Year In Review
This year once again I invited some friends and colleagues to reflect on 2023
JG Thirlwell
Composer Foetus Xordox Manorexia Steroid Maximus Venture Bros Archer
2023 was an intense year. The year began with the premiere of my symphony for Alarm Will Sound and ended with guesting vocalizing with Dinosaur Jr on some Stooges classics. I completed the final season of Archer. Wrote a lot of material for new Xordox and Foetus albums. Released an album of string quartets and scored a Venture Bros movie. Worked with some great singers and premiered my Ensemble project in London.
I spent several months traveling and set up a small studio in Melbourne for a bit. Road tripped through NZ with my partner, Dora.
I played some excellent shows in London, Colchester, Auckland, Wellington, Melbourne and Sydney.
I still woke up 5am in a panic on too many occasions.
And I saw some great concerts.It was difficult to whittle down this list but here are a lot of albums I enjoyed in 2023, in no particular order.
Albums
Poil Ueda Yoshitsune (Dur et Doux)
Poil Ueda - Poil Ueda (Dur et Doux)
Genevieve Artadi Forever Forever (Brainfeeder)
Knower - Knower Forever (Brainfeeder)
Ultraphauna No No No No (Dur Et Doux)
Gahlmm Break A Leg (GEIGER Grammofon)
Oneohtrix Point Never Again (Warp)
Lankum - False Lankum (Rough Trade)
Evian Christ Revanchist (Warp)
Chromb Cinq (Dur et Doux)
Deskartes A Kant After Destruction (Cleopatra)
Gazelle Twin Then You Run (Original Score)
L’Rain I Killed Your Dog (Mexican Summer)
Loraine James Gentle Confrontation (Hyperdub)
Royal Blood Back To The Water Below (Warner)
John Luther Adams Darkness and Scattered Light (Cold Blue)
Catherine Christer Hennix Solo for Tamburium (Blank Forms)
Rachel Fannan Bjork Impersonations (Instagram)
Regal Worm Worm! (Quatermass)
Wild Up Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? (New Amsterdam)
PJ Harvey I Inside the Old Year Dying (Partisan)
Poppy I Disagree (Sumerian)
Sparks The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte (Island)
Queens Of The Stone Age In Times New Roman (Matador)
Time Wharp Spiro World (Leaving)
Murderpact Ultraheaven (Bandcamp)
RVG Brain Worms (Our Golden Friend)
HMLTD - The Worm (Lucky Number)
Catarina Barbieri - Myuthafoo (Editions Mego)
Ligeti Quartet and Anna Meredith - NUC (Mercury KX)
Mandy Indiana I’ve Seen a Way + EP(FireTalk)
Kate NV WOW (RVNG)
Kelly Moran Vesela EP (Warp)
Kurws Powiez / Fascia (Korobushka)
Fever Ray Radical Romantics (Mute)
Netherlands Severance (Svart)
Tim Hecker No Highs (Kranky)
Bohemian Flesh Bohemian Flesh (Ojet)
Pure Adult II (FatCat)
Model/Actriz - Dogsbody (True Panther Sounds)
Laurel Halo - Atlas (Awe)
Water From Your Eyes - Everyones Crushed (Matador)
Moritz Von Oswald - Silencio (tresor)
REZZETT Meant Like This (Trilogy Tapes)
Jess Johnson and Simon Ward 'Terminus' Virtual Reality exhibition at the Museum in Dunedin NZ.
Books
Naomi Klein Doppelganger
Graham Rayman and Reuven Blau Rikers : An Oral History
Thurston Moore Sonic Life
Malcolm Gladwell The Bomber Mafia
Tony Cohen Half Deaf, Completely Mad
Brett Anderson Coal Black Morning Book
Wesley Doyle Conform To Deform
Primo Levi Survival in Auschwitz
Films + TV
Beef
Barry
Fargo
The YouTube Effect
Mutiny In Heaven
Beau Is Afraid
In The Court Of The Crimson King
Oppenheimer
Concerts
01.28.23 Kodak Quartet performed at the Jack Studio Festival Event at The New School, performing a work by Khyam Allami and a stunning rendition of Ligeti’s String Quartet No 1.
02.21.23 Pure Adult opened for Gilla Band at Brooklyn Made and both were excellent!
02.22.23 Clown Core (featuring Louis Cole on drums and keys) Elsewhere in NYC.
03.02.23 Laurie Anderson performs at a drone event anchored by Lou’s guitar generating feedback drones, on the occasion of Lou Reed’s birthday .Other musicians joining the drone included Shazad Ismailey, Steven Bernstein, Stan Harrison, Briggan Krauss and more.
03.09.23 Michael Byron’s new work In One Second There Will Be A Thousand Plateaus Perhaps for two pianos and small orchestra featuring pianists Joseph Kubera and Steve Beck with Petr Kotik conducting members of the S.E.M. Ensemble. At Roulette Intermedium.
04.04.23 Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs brought the rock power and played an intense and triumphant show at Mercury Lounge to end their first US tour.
04.08.23 Amarcord Nino Rota, a reimagining of the Hal Willner’s Nino Rota tribute album, at Roulette Intermedium.
05.03.23 Genevieve Artadi played a grreat set at Public Records in Brooklyn to support her new album Forever Forever, with Louis Cole on drums.
05.27.23 Gloryhammer at Irving Plaza. Saw them in Melbourne too.
06.27.23 Sparks played a brilliant show at the Beacon Theater in NYC and I also caught them at Palais Theater in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia on 10.26.23
07.04.23 75 Dollar Bill at Union Pool
08.20.23 BeatFox . Incredible luck to see this guy busking on Brick Lane.
08.21.23 The very wonderful Deerhoof at The Lafayette in London
08.22.23 clipping. played a killer show at Outernet in London
08.23.23 The incredible Poil Ueda from Lyon, France played in London at the Lexington + Lost Crowns
08.24.23 Swans played an epic set at The Troxy in Londo
09.24.23 TENGGER played an amazing set at the Art Gallery of NSW.
10.06.23 Fuji|||||||||||ta at Tempo Rubato in Melbourne, Australia.
10.07.23 RVG played a killer show to a packed house at Northcote Theatre in Melbourne, Australia
10.17.23 Chloe Sobek at Make It Up Club in Melbourne Australia.
10.21.23 Paul McCartney at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne Australia
10.28.23 Sarah Mary Chadwick at Wesley Anns as part of The 86 Super Saturday Festival
10.28.23 Party Dozen from Sydney played a great set at The 86 Super Saturday Festival in Melbourne Australia.
11.10.23 Devon Townsend played a beautiful, brutal and ecsatic show in Melbourne Australia at the Forum.
12.06.23 Ashley Bathgate and percussion sextet Mantra Percussion performed Matt McBane’s Topography at National Sawdust in NYC.
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Michel Langevin
(aka Away/Voïvod)
My coups de coeur in 2023:
TV Series:
The Last of Us
Music:
The Damned - Darkadelic
Godflesh - Purge
Crown Lands - Fearless
Gong - Unending Ascending
Soft Machine - Other Doors
Best show:
KISS End of the Road World Tour in Montréal on Nov 18th
Best Moments:
-Recording and touring the new Voïvod album, Morgöth Tales, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the band
-Celebrating my 60th birthday on stage in Lyon on the Voïvod/Testament Euro tour
-Jason Newsted joining the band on stage in Fort Lauderdale, USA
-Eric Forrest joining the band on stage at Hellfest, France
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Lydia Lunch
https://www.lydia-lunch.net/
“Time-one long second that goes on forever”
So enjoy it motherfuckers!
BOOKS
Love the World or Get Killed Trying Alvina Chamberland
Mother Howl Craig Clevenger
Nein, Nein, Nein! : One Man's Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust Jerry Stahl
Mystic Debris Justin Gradin
Niagara, NY Ric Royers
The Pale-Faced Lie : A True Story David Crow
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror Thomas Ligotti
The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe
Lynne McTaggert
Yuval Noah Harari Box Set (Sapiens, Homo Deus, 21 Lessons for 21st Century)
Season of the Witch Cathi Unsworth
Every word John Tottenham utters or writes
TOURS with Sylvia Black & Gregg Foreman, Joseph Keckler, Marc Hurtado (tribute to Alan Vega & Suicide), Ian White, Kevin Shea (Sinister Impulse), Tim Dahl & Matt Nelson (Murderous Again)
Workshop & Performance Badass Babes of Burlesque w Rita D’Albert Zebulon LA
Workshop at the University of New Mexico thanks to Greg Moss
Reading with Zoe Hansen & Ron Athey at The Philosophical Research Center LA
Reading with Eugene Robinson Makeout Room SF
Finishing the documentary with Jasmine Hirst Artists - Depression, Anxiety, and Rage and premiering it in Italy
Meeting butuh Queen Azumi OE and discussing up coming performances together with Tim Dahl
Completing the 233 episode of The Lydian Spin with Tim Dahl
FUN
Nights in London & Brighton spent with Nick Soulsby, Cathi Unsworth, Billy Chainsaw, Chris Bohn, Jack Sargeant, Pam Hogg,
Tina Kit (opened for my Suicide tribute in London & Brighton) best new band of suited and booted bad boys
Squired around Europe by Sebastien Greppo, a man like no other - who so lightens my burden…
Watching every episode of The Dark Side of The Ring with Kevin Shea
Training squirrels, levitating objects, saving lives, screaming into the void.
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Mike Berdan
(Uniform)
https://uniform-nyc.com/
ALBUMS
Lankum - False Lankum
Surgeon - Crash Recoil
Ryuichi Sakamoto - 12
Fellwinter - The Dawn Of Winter
Abysmal Lord - Bestiary Of Immortal Hunger
Death Kneel - Dawn Simulation
Shit And Shine - 2222 And Airport
Carnivorous Bells - Room Above All
Agonal Lust - Mankind Is A Talisman Of Misfortune
Godflesh - Purge
FIRST-TIME READS
A History Of Violence (1973) - David Cotner
Someone Who Isn't Me - Geoff Rickly
Your Dreams - Thomas Moore
4. In A Lonely Place - Karl Edward Wagner
Burn You The Fuck Alive - B.R. Yeager
The Holy Day - Christopher Norris
A Collapse Of Horses - Brian Evenson
The Devil Thinks I'm Pretty - Charlene Elsby
Let's Go Play At The Adams' - Mendal W. Johnson
Counterillumination - Audrey Szasz
MOVIES
Godzilla Minus One
CIGARS
Cohiba Magico Maduro Petit Robusto
God Of Fire Serie B Double Robusto
Padron Family Reserve no. 95 Maduro Petit Gordo
El Pulpo Toro
Tatuaje Reserva J21 Broadleaf Robusto
Atabey Benditos Double Corona
Romeo y Julieta Línea de Oro Nobles
H. Upmann Half Corona
Foundation Cigars The Tabernacle Robusto
OpusX Eye Of The Shark
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Mario Diaz deLeon
(composer, Luminous Vault, Bloodmist)
ALBUMS
Evita Manji - Spandrel?
Eartheater - Powders
Slowspin - Talisman
Marta DePascalis - Sky Flesh
Kalia Vandever - We Fell in Turn
Eraldo Bernocchi + Hoshiko Yamane - Sabi
JakoJako - Verve
Surgeon - Crash Recoil
Cavalera - Morbid Visions / Bestial Devastation
Bell Witch - The Clandestine Gate
Steve Lehman + Orchestre National de Jazz - Ex Machina
SONGS
Kelly Moran - Vesela
Vines - I Don’t Mind
Cybotron - Maintain
Barker - Birmingham Screwdriver
VMO - Supergaze
Omar Hisham - Adhan (Be Heaven)
EVENTS
New Firmament: MONAD - Roulette
Peter Evans: Being and Becoming - Roulette
Anna Sperber: Amplifier - Roulette
20 Years of Shinkoyo - Roulette
Anthony Braxton + Wolf Eyes - Pioneer Works
Caterina Barbieri - Pioneer Works
Felipe Lara + Claire Chase + Esperanza Spaulding + NY Phil
TAK Ensemble: Swoonfest - The Clemente Center
Kayo Dot: Choirs of The Eye - MilkBoy
Cecilia Vicuña / Raven Chacon - The Poetry Project
Krallice / Indocrithere / Geryon / Ocrilim - Saint Vitus
Cavalera: Morbid Devastation - Irving Plaza
Hulder / Blackbraid / Aeviterne - Le Poisson Rouge
Eartheater / Concrete Husband - Elsewhere
BOOKS
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz - An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States
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Alexander Tucker (Microcorps)
I started off the year by releasing a project very close to my heart: Fifth Continent, a collaboration with the late Keith Collins, partner and collaborator of film maker and artist Derek Jarman. The album was partially recorded in Jarman’s cottage in the desert-like landscape of Dungeness, on the South East coastline of Kent, in the UK, with elements constructed from Collins own spoken word pieces, and environmental recordings. The album was released on James Ginzberg’s Subtext label, and we also produced Fifth Quarter, an anthology publication of writing, recollections, photography and newly commissioned artworks about Jarman, Collins and Dungeness.
Although I probably made more music than usual this year, and had a greater focus than ever on the various projects I have underway, 2023 felt like a weird and often frustrating year for me and music. About five years ago I set about teaching myself modular systems, experimenting, and recording the results as I went along. This culminated in a new solo guise primarily for electronics and the synthesis of voice and acoustic instruments, MICROCORPS (the debut album Xmit came out on Alter records in 2021). Using these systems is at the same time liberating and incredibly frustrating. For a while this year nothing felt good enough: I could feel the potential of my ideas glimmering in the distance but was unable to catch up with them. I decided to take a short break from the modular, and focused upon compositions for cello, saxophone, and clarinet. But the pull of electronics is never far, so I began processing these recordings, using granular synthesis to stretch, mutate and reorganise the audio into new pieces. As soon as you want more from your practice and yourself, things can become more laborious - it’s difficult to be in the moment and focus on what’s in front of you. I used to be happy with the immediate effects I produced, but I think this is being replaced by a different approach, something more considered, which is exciting and, in some ways, sobering - even if the results are far from what you would describe as sober. I’m also so lucky to have many friends and fellow artists around me to offer help and suggestions, to whom I’m eternally grateful. As R.Crumb says, “Keep on truckin”.
Music I dug this year:
Godflesh - Purge (Avalanche Recordings)
Rắn Cạp Đuôi - *1 (nhạc_gay)
Mun Sing - Inflatable Gravestone (Planet Mu)
RS Tangent - When A Worm Wears A Wig (The Trilogy Tapes)
Arnold Dreybaltt And The Orchestra Of Excited Strings - Resolve (Drag City)
Elvin Brandhi and Lord Spikeheart - Drunken Love (Hakuna Kulala)
Mark Fell and Will Guthrie - Infoldings / Diffractions (NAKID)
Afrorack - The Afrorack (Hakuna Kulala)
Kinn - Dogtooth (First Light Records)
General Magic - Nein Aber Ja (GoTo Records)
Live shows:
Emptyset - Village Underground
Elvin Brandhi - IKLECTIK
Mick Harris/FRET – Downwards’ 30th, Centrala
Mun Sing, Crys Cole, Penelope Trappes - Boundaries Festival
Maxwell Sterling - Cafe OTO
Pole - EartH
Nik Colk Void - Too many to count!
Phew - Cafe OTO Residency
Acid Horse Festival
Devo - Hammersmith Apollo
Kinn - New Cross Road Baptist Church
Comics:
In 2023 I produced a new issue of my ongoing oblique and nonlinear comic series, Entity Reunion. For this issue I drew upon my love of HP Lovecraft, using the repetition of the comic format to peel back layers of the everyday to reveal omnipotent entities underlying all reality. The viewpoint of each page is from the point of view of the protagonists, who hold an electronic device, photographing their surroundings only to capture the blurred features of some insidious face. There are also references to Lovecraft’s own fictional grimoire the Necrononmicon. I wanted that dreamlike sensation of being the protagonists of the dream but also viewing yourself as separate entity.
Books:
I read nearly all of Patrica Highsmith’s ‘Ripley’ books, a bunch of John Le Carré novels, Mark Kermode’s book on The Exorcist and I’m currently working my way through the spy novelist Eric Ambler’s books. I also re-read Bruce Robinson’s analysis on Jack the Ripper and Victorian society, ‘They All Love Jack’.
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Tom Chiu
(composer, Flux Quartet)
2 0 2 3 IN REVIEW
Albums Worth Exploring (including a couple entries from 2022 that I discovered late)
Bar Italia Tracey Denim (Matador)
Blur Ballad Of Darren (Parlophone)
Bush Tetras They Live In My Head (Wharf Cat)
Death Valley Girls Islands In The Sky (Suicide Squeeze)
Dummy Mono Retriever (Sub Pop)
Duster Remote Echoes (Numero Group)
En Attendant Ana Principia (Trouble In Mind)
Everything But the Girl Fuse (Verve)
Horse Lords Comradely Objects (RVNG)
Kelela Raven (Warp)
Lael Neale Star Eaters Delight (Sub Pop)
Lana Del Rey Do You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Interscope)
Lewsberg Out And About (12XU)
Munya Jardin (Luminelle)
Slowdive Everything Is Alive (Dead Oceans)
Sweeping Promises Good Living Is Coming For You (Sub Pop)
Wednesday Rat Saw God (Dead Oceans)
Yo La Tengo This Stupid World (Matador)
Night at the Movies
Poor Things
Past Lives
Monster
Recurring Personal FAVES
FAVE Sandwich:
Mekelburg's Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
FAVE Burger:
Two8Two Bar & Burger, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
FAVE Craft Beer Brewery
Omnipollo (Sweden), brewed at Twelve Percent Beer Project, North Haven, CT
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Pierre Cerrato
Producer - Editor
Floyd County Productions (Archer)
Favorite Movies/TV
Archer Season 14
The Last of Us
Gen V Beef
This Fool Season 2
Fargo Season 5
Primo (Amazon Prime Show)
The Bear Season 2 Episode
Barry Season 4
Favorite Records
I listened to a lot of music but these were in constant rotation.
Some are from last year but what is time and who cares?
Boris/Uniform - Bright New Disease (2023)
Birds in Row - Gris Klein (2022)
Fleshwater - We Are Not Here to Be Loved (2022)
Asunojokei - Islands (2022)
Everything But the Girl - Fuse (2023)
Night Owls - Versions (2022)
Honorable mention
Boris - Feedbacker (2003) this was my introduction to Boris. This year is the 20 year
anniversary of its release. Roberto Carlos Lange shared it with me one day while at work.
He said it was something he thought I would like. Blew my mind and I have been a fan
ever since.
Favorite Concerts
The Cure - State Farm Arena - also saw The Cure at Riot Fest but this was better of the 2.
I regret not going to Night 2 in Atlanta because they played Disintegration.
H20 - Riot Fest 2023 Set
Fleshwater - Riot Fest 2023 Set
Future Islands - Shakey Knees 2023 Set
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Shakey Knees 2023 Set
Converge / Brutus - The Masquerade
Drain / Drug Church - The Masquerade
Donny Benet - Terminal West
Idles - Re:Set 2023 Set
Favorite Food
MF Sushi - Atlanta - went twice and each time it was a special occasion.
Heirloom Market BBQ - Atlanta - best BBQ in my neck of the woods.
The Aviary - Chicago - specialty cocktails with spectacular presentation.
Cafe Tola - Chicago - best empanadas i've ever had in my life.
Selva Negra - Miami - a solid contender for Nica food.
Jaguar - Miami - great vibes, service and ceviche!
No Hard Feelings - Chatanooga - great cocktails and vibes!
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Zachary Lipez
(editor at large of Creem Magazine, writer, singer of Publicist UK)
Music
I made a (very) long list on my wildly popular blog, Abundant Living. But, for kicks and with the understanding that maybe you don’t feel like reading (or subscribing to) my wildly popular blog, here’s some stuff I included and some stuff I forgot (with particular attention paid to albums I think might be of particular interest to JG friends/fans but which may have slipped through the radar) (meaning: I mainly put the stuff that wasn’t on too many other lists).
Fatboi Sharif Decay (Backwoodz)
Skech185 He Left Nothing for the Swim Back (Backwoodz)
Zohra Murder In The Temple (American Dreams)
The Native Cats The Way On Is The Way Off (Chapel)
Geese 3D Country (Partisan)
Gold Dime No More Blue Skies (No-Gold)
Algiers Shook (Matador)
EXEK The Map and the Territory (Foreign)
Skinhead Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt (Closed Casket)
Débruit & Alsarah Aljawal الجوال (Soundway)
Fairytale Shooting Star (Toxic State)
Among The Rocks and Roots Pariah (Cacophonous Revival)
Full of Hell, Nothing When No Birds Sang (Closed Casket)
Uniform & Boris Bright New Disease (Sacred Bones)
Sleaford Mods UK Grim (Rough Trade)
Money&King Act Unnaturally (self released)
Blu Anxxiety Morbid Now, Morbid Later (Toxic State)
Nana Benz du Togo AGO (Komos)
Citric Dummies Zen and the Arcade of Beating Your Ass (Feel It)
Ghösh Prismassive (Ramp Local)
Peasdez Fenomenologia Del Espiritu Agonico: De La Existencia Sordida Al Pendulo De La Nada (SPHC)
Upper Wilds Jupiter (Thrill Jockey)
Death Valley Girls Islands In The Sky (Suicide Squeeze)
Raphael Rogiński Talán
Body Void Atrocity Machine (Prosthetic)
Feeling Figures Migration Magic (Perennial)
Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band Dancing on the Edge (Sophomore Lounge)
Nosaj from New Kingdom & steel tipped dove House of Disorder (Fused Arrow Records)
mclusky unpopular parts of a pig / the digger you deep (self released)
Advertisement Escorts (Feel It)
King Vision Ultra Shook World (hosted by Algiers) (PTP)
Live Shows that Stand Out In My Memory
Moor Mother/Armand Hammer/The Caretaker/Raphael Roginski for the Unsound Fest at Lincoln Center (I covered this for The Quietus if yr interested)
Sleaford Mods at Coachella (profiled them for CREEM)
Lydia Lunch/Zohra at St.Vitus
Lydia Lunch Retrovirus last American show ever (?) at TV Eye
Various skinhead/nü oï bands at the Monarch/TV Eye etc. with Liberty & Justice being the standout
Son Rompe Pera at TV Eye
Chisel (the Ted Leo outfit, not the neo-bootboy band with the “the” in their name) at LPR
BOOKS
My phone has pretty much eliminated my ability to read. I did read the first 100 pages of more books than I care to admit. I finally finished Mark Andrews’ Paint My Name In Black and Gold: The Rise of the Sisters of Mercy and I recommend it if, like me, you think The Sisters of Mercy are better than the Beatles (or whatever inane comparison annoys your friends the most). I also discovered Gene Wolfe and read the first book in the Book of the New Sun trilogy. Otherwise, it’s pretty much been just using Louise Glück poetry as inspiration to write terrible versions of Louise Glück poetry.
TV
Doom Patrol
Pokerface
Rick and Morty (idc idc idc idc)
HasanAbi twitch stream
A ludicrous amount of Britbox mysteries and—passively, yes, but not without a fair amount of emotional investment—various Real Housewife shows/spinoffs
Movies
Didn’t watch any new movies this year but I did have a lot of youtube videos playing in the background while I did other things, and sometimes those videos would be three hour long screeds about what was wrong with a number of movies I’d never heard of. So I feel like I got the gist.
LIFE
Converted to Islam and married Zohra in January. Both choices have proven to be rewarding as all hell. Cashing in my “as a Jew I…” argument card—while simultaneously being too new a Muslim to reasonably claim either special knowledge and/or marginalization status—has really fucked with my ability to be self-righteous online. But the love that Zohra and her family have shown me has more than made up for my newfound inability to really wipe the floor with a motherfucker in the instagram comments. In fact, I liked marrying Zohra so much that I did it again in December (first time was a religious ceremony, the second time was our rendering to Caesar etc). If you know me/us and weren’t invited to either that’s because essentially no one was. As my parents couldn’t attend (on account of being dead) I didn’t really see the point of a big party. That was perhaps selfish. We love you (probably) and will have some sort of to-do in 2024.
Otherwise, I am still very much enjoying working for the new CREEM Magazine (please subscribe) and doing my newsletter (please subscribe). Musically, I lived vicariously through Zohra and the release of her first solo album. Murder In The Temple, with amazing production by Ben Greenberg and contributions by Lydia Lunch, is a synthesis of so many of Zohra’s obsessions. It’s unlike anything in the post-goth-dark-whatever sphere and I can’t express how proud I am of it and her. As for my music, I did some neat-o Scientists-esque stuff with Telematics (Sohrab Habibion, Robert Austin, and Alexis Fleisig) and Zohra and I did a Sheer Terror cover in the style of Tindersticks to commemorate Paul Bearer’s marriage. Also, I’m pretty sure my most successful band (Publicist UK) got dropped by our label (apparently taking eight years to finish a demo is a long time) so get at me if you have a low-to-mid tier label and want to put out an album of eight minute gothic metal songs with zero mosh parts, about an aging hipster loving his wife and cats and missing his dead mom and dad. C’mon, do it. You’d be printing money.
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Jim Siegel
Vivid Oblivion
Records And Other Things I Liked In 2023
Lankum - False Lankum (Rough Trade)
Milford Graves with Arthur Doyle and Hugh Glover - Children Of The Forest (Black Editions Archive)
Nakibembe Embaire Group (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
Henning Christiansen - Mediterranean Music-Water (Holidays)
Alain Goraguer - La Planete Sauvage (Expanded) (Decca)
Phill Niblock - Boston III (Alga Marghen)
Sam McLoughlin & David Chatton Barker - The Heavenly Realms (Folklore Tapes)
Svitlana Nianio & Tom James Scott - Eye Of The Sea (Skire)
Half Mortal - Creature Of Christ (Hospital Productions)
Pharoah Sanders - Pharoah box (Luaka Bop)
Ragnar Johnson & Jessica Mayer - Spirit Cry Flutes And Bamboo Jews Harps From Papua New Guinea (Ideologic Organ)
PJ Harvey - I Inside The Old Year Dying (Partisan)
Jana Winderen - The Blue Beyond (Touch)
Rezzett - Meant Like This (The Trilogy Tapes)
Arsenije Jovanovic - Sailboat Galiola Nuria's Unfinished Logbook (Pentiments)
Only Voices Vol. 1 + 2 (DDS)
Wounded Son - Pain Is All I Have For You (Hospital Productions)
Various - Cease & Resist: Sonic Subversion & Anarcho Punk In The UK 1979-1986 (Optimo Music)
Umeko Ando - Upopo Sanke (Pingipung)
Philip Jeck & Chris Watson - Oxmardyke (Touch)
Lori Vambe - Space-Time Dreamtime: The Four Dimensional Music Of Lori Vambe (Strut)
Mozart Estate - Pop-Up! Ker-Ching! And The Possibilities Of Modern Shopping (West Midlands)
Sandwell District - Feed Forward box (The Point Of Departure)
Japan Blues - Japan Blues Meets The Dengie Hundred (DDS)
Various - A Web Of Braided Willow - The Folklore Of The Wickerman (Folklore Tapes)
Surgeon - Crash Recoil (Tresor)
Mark Glynne And Bart Zwier - Home Comfort (La Scie Doree)
Ariel Kalma - French Archives Vol. III 1964-89 (Black Sweat)
Marginal Consort - 06 06 16 (St Elisabeth Kirche, Berlin) (901 Editions)
Brendan Perry - Eye Of The Hunter / Live At The I.C.A (4AD)
The Complete Obscure Records Collection box (Dialogo)
Various - Avant Garde 21xCD Box (Deutsche Grammophon)
Bill Nace Live at Public Records, December 2023
The Elephant 6 Recording Co. Documentary
Squaring The Circle - The Story Of Hipgnosis
Shame And Dignity with Stanley Schtinter and Sukhdev Sandhu at UnionDocs, NY November 2023
Godland, dir. Hlynur Palmason
Wawa Pretzel w/ Melted Cheese (Sandwich)
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Simon Karis
(CEO of Nice Music, recording artist)
Okay so fave releases of 2023
Absurd Cosmos Late Nite 'These Magic Clothes Don't Play Themselves' (Reseach Laboratories)
Actress 'LXXXVIII' (Ninja Tune)
Armand Hammer 'We Buy Diabetic Test Strips' (Fat Possum)
Danny Brown 'Quaranta' (Warp)
De-Bons-En-Pierre 'Card Short Of A Full Deck' (Dark Entries)
Evian Christ 'Revanchist' (Warp)
Eyes Of The Amaryllis 'Perceptible To Everyone' (Horn Of Plenty)
Francis Plagne 'Into Closed Air' (Bison)
Francis Plagne 'Udge' (Horn Of Plenty)
Giuseppe Ielasi 'Down On Darkened Meetings' (Black Truffle)
HHOST 'Windswept Italics' (Altered States Tapes)
HHOST 'Veil' (Snail Editions)
JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown 'Scaring The Hoes' (no label)
Kassell Jaeger 'Shifted In Dreams' (Shelter Press)
Khanate 'To Be Cruel' (Sacred Bones)
Klein 'Doubt'/'Normani's Torment'/'STORM' (no label)
L'Rain 'I Killed Your Dog' (Mexican Summer)
Land's Air 'Land's Air' (Tone List)
Locust 'The First Cause' (Mysteries Of The Deep)
Low Flung 'The Wheel' (Snail Editions)
Matt Harkin 'The Door Knocker' (no label)
Nick Ashwood 'Inside The Body Of A Wave' (no label)
Nuno Loureiro 'Lua Onus' (Super Pang)
Patten 'Mirage FM' (555-5555)
Pissed Jeans 'No Convenient Apocalypse' (Sub Pop)
Princess Nokia 'I Love You But This Is Goodbye' (Arista)
Red Wine & Sugar 'Turkish Coffee & Twice Baked Potatoes' (Chocolate Monk)
Rezzett 'Meant Like This' (The Trilogy Tapes)
Richard Youngs 'Modern Sorrow' (Black Truffle)
Rory J S 'P' (no label)
Rrose 'Please Touch' (Eaux)
Solo Andata 'Slip Casting' (12k)
WPH 'III' (no label)
100 Gecs '10,000 Gecs' (Dog Show/Atlantic)
fave back catalogue listens that made sense in 2023
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist 'Haram' (Backwoodz Studioz)
Beherit 'H418ov21.C' (Spinefarm)
Bernard Parmegiani 'De Natura Sonorum' (INA-GRM)
Bowery Electric 'Beat' (Kranky)
Charalambides 'Exile' (Kranky)
Def Leppard 'Hysteria' (Mercury)
Elastica 'Elastica' (Deceptive/Geffen)
Elucid 'I Told Bessie' (Backwoodz Studioz)
Emptyset 'Demiurge' (Subtext)
Emptyset 'Recur' (Raster-Noton)
Hematic Sunsets 'Musik Aus Dem Aroma Club' (Klang Der Festung)
Joey Beltram 'Classics' (R&S)
Ka 'Languish Arts' (Iron Works)
Kim Cascone 'Cathodeflower' (Ritornell)
The Kinks 'Lola Vs Powerman And The Moneygoround Part One' (Reprise/Pye)
Kreator 'Terrible Certainty' (Noise International)
Lol Coxhill & Morgan Fisher 'Slow Music' (Pipe/Aguirre)
Low 'Hey What' (Sub Pop)
Marsfield 'The Towering Sky' (Faraway Press)
Massive Attack 'Mezzanine' (Virgin)
Matt Harkin 'Sanctuary 1, 2015-2016' (Hobbies Galore)
Maurizio Bianchi 'Endometrio' (no label/Dais)
Moodymann 'Mahogany Brown' (Peacefrog)
Moor Mother & billy woods 'Brass' (Backwoodz Studioz)
Nearly God 'Nearly God' (4th & Broadway)
Nightcrawlers '2031 AD' (no label)
Richard Youngs 'Beyond The Valley Of The Ultrahits' (Sonic Oyster)
Rita Revell 'I Had A Very Bad Time!' (Happy Endin')
Roc Marciano 'Reloaded' (Decon)
Seine Trance-Parenz Fredi Alberti 'Klaenge Aus Dem Engelsraum (Die Verdunklung Der Sonne Und Des Mondes)' (Scribble Art)
Simbiosi 'Elements' (Werkdiscs)
Suede 'Dog Man Star' (Nude)
Valerio Tricoli 'Say Goodbye To The Wind' (Shelter Press)
100 Gecs '1000 Gecs' (Dog Show)
fave melbourne/naarm restaurants in 2023
Khabbay (Indian/Pakistani, Carlton)
Laksa Village (Malaysian/Chinese, Donvale)
Cinger Biang Biang (Dolan/Uyghur/Chinese, Carlton)
Lim Kopi (Malaysian, Naarm/Melbourne CBD)
Raya (South East Asian desserts, Naarm/Melbourne CBD)
Taste Hunan (Hunan/Sichuan/Chinese, Naarm/Melbourne, CBD)
Laksa House (Malaysian, Naarm/Melbourne, CBD)
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Brendon Randall-Myers
(composer, Scarcity, Marateck, Glenn Branca Ensemble)
If 2022 was the Return of the Show and the Return of Travel, 2023 was about Building Stability (i.e. making my teaching studio a primary income source), Hunkering Down to Finish Two Albums, and Re-Learning How to Be a Human Being. I also played a bunch of cool shows with Dither (collabs w/ Carla Kilhlstedt, Lee Ranaldo/Brian Chase, Amirtha Kidambi, AJ Santillan, and Laurie Spiegel; playing Electric Counterpoint on GFA), a couple fun Scarcity shows (playing with Liturgy, improvising on graphic scores by Anthony Hawley) and did some performances with Whimbrels and Contemporaneous.
These were albums I enjoyed (incessantly) at some point during 2023 that were mostly - but not exclusively - also released in 2023.
Agriculture - Agriculture
Armand Hammer - We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
Arnold Dreyblatt - Resolve
Big Brave - Nature Morte
Blackbraid - Blackbraid II
Bummer - Dead Horse
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
goat (JP) - Joy in Fear
Goldfeather - Change
JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - SCARING THE HOES
Jute Gyte - Unus Mundus Patet
KEN Mode - VOID
Killing Joke - Night Time
Krallice - Mass Cathexis 2 - The Kinetic Infinite
Model/Actriz - Dogsbody
Modern Nature - How to Live
Nabihah Iqbal - Dreamer
Neil Young - Greatest Hits
Oren Ambarchi - Shebang
Pink Pantheress - Heaven knows
The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land
Rid Of Me - Traveling
Slowspin - Talisman
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Swans - The Beggar
Trauma Bond - Winter’s Light
Tristan Kasten-Krause and Jessica Pavone - Images of One
Victory Over the Sun - Dance You Monster To My Soft Song!
Yaeji - With A Hammer
Here were some shows I attended:
Wolf Eyes + Raven Chacon @Union Pool
Liturgy @TV Eye
Gamelan Dharma Swara, Ridgewood Presbyterian Church
Moor Mother @Merkin Hall
Object Collection @The Brick Theater
Spectral Wound @Saint Vitus
Pyrrhon + Barrsheadahl @Saint Vitus
The Smile @Forest Hills Stadium
Krallice @Saint Vitus
Mediaqueer @Windjammer
Sarah Hennies + Tristan Kasten-Krause @Issue Project Room
Peter and the Wolf @Guggenheim
Model/Actriz @Music Hall of Williamsburg
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Grace Bergere
(songwriter / singer / performer)
This year was full of firsts for me!
Definitely the most musically eventful year of my life to date.
I went on my first tour playing bass with my great friends in COP/OUT, supporting Days n' Daze (A band I'd been listening to for years as a young punk kid.) I immediately realized touring is really all I want to do.
I also got to tour alongside Subhumans in Cop/Out. Meeting them and getting to know them was mind expanding.
They were all kind and humble thoughtful individuals, completely down to earth and engaged with everyone they spoke to. Every night across the midwest they brought the crowd to a cathartic screaming euphoric mess. Working with COP/OUT, whose message is so clear; to be good to each other, question everything even when it means swimming upstream with every bit of strength you have, filled me with hope.
Playing on that tour with them, and watching Subhumans every night reminded me the power of music to affect real social change which is something I believed to have been lost in recent years. I met my great friend Jessica Mills on that tour and we still talk all the time.
I also started playing guitar in The Art Gray Noizz Quintet. One of my longtime favorite bands (that my very talented cool boyfriend happens to play bass in.) We went all across the West Coast, landing in Las Vegas.
Playing with them has demanded I advance as a guitarist, stepping into Andrea Sicco's shoes. Andrea is a complete beast of a musician and all of his musical projects are awesome. Check out MOVIE MOVIE, his most recent project.
I also joined Crazy And The Brains on second guitar. They’re a super fun high energy punk band. I love being around such positive fun loving musicians and watching them bounce around while I do my best to keep up.
I recently finished recording my album at HOBO SOUND in Hoboken by James Frazee. The time and effort it took over the several years since I started, was at times grueling. But James never stopped caring or checked out. He helped me shape this album into something I am truly proud of, along with Richard Dev Greene, one of the first people to ever believe in my music. I am so grateful to both of them.
I started spending time with Victoria and Kay of Puzzled Panther. They quickly have become two of my best friends. It is so meaningful for me to have found such badass, driven young women to share a dream with. Puzzled Panther is raw and hypnotizing. They have a unique strong hold over their audience and every show of theirs I’ve been to has been fantastic. Victoria has joined me a few times on a song at my shows, and every time I believe has been one of the strongest points in my set.
I Met Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello (the first huge band I ever went to see as a young teenager.) He will be releasing my upcoming single and video for “Come And Go” on his label Casa Gogol Records in early 2024.
I just played the biggest show I’ve ever played with my solo project that plays under my name.
We were on a bill with Gogol Bordello and JON SPENCER (Also one of my favorite artists.) Being on that stage standing there in front of more people I’ve ever seen in an audience from that vantage point, I felt like every second of my life was leading to that moment. Each song brought me back to the time in my life when Id written it and it felt very much like watching my life projected in front of me. It was indescribably satisfying to be on that stage. Later, in the audience, I screamed along to Gogol and watched my mom dance to songs she'd heard me blasting through the house as a kid, and felt just as moved by them as I did as a young teenager the first time I saw them.
I am so grateful to be working with Eugene. He is kind and thoughtful in his feedback and hugely supportive of me and my dreams.
I will be playing New Years Eve with the Art Gray Noizz Quintet before Kid Congo Powers and The Pink Monkey Birds !!
This last week I can honestly say, has been the best of my life to date. Like looking out over a valley after climbing for years.
BEST SHOWS
(other than the ones I was lucky enough to play at listed above)
RICHARD DAWSON
I got to see Richard Dawson three whole times!!! it was his first US appearance. He is a completely unique force. I’ve never seen such a captivated crowd. we all cried and screamed along with him.
PIGS X 7
One of those times he was playing with Pigs x7. They quickly became another favorite band of mine despite having severe technical difficulties. it was actually kind of a highlight because their front man just started joking around and had the entire audience laughing along with him and talking for about 10 minutes. I got to see them two other times that went perfectly. What a band..
JON SPENCER AND THE HIT MAKERS
I saw them at TV Eye. I had been able to squeeze myself into the DJ booth for their set. They hammered away into some kind of magical hypnosis that made me feel like I'd taken MDMA. (I had not.) I had to lean against a wall to keep my balance. They played with Licks, a badass 60s garage rock inspired band fronted by my friend Skunk.
LYDIA LUNCH RETROVIRUS
Also driving and hypnotic and loud as hell. I was left with a similar feeling of having been dosed with something at all of their shows…
JOSEPH KECKLER
The first time I saw Joseph perform was at TV eye with Lydia Lunch. He’s completely unique. He writes gorgeous songs that he sings in an incomprehensibly wide range, sometimes in languages that he has invented himself! His seamlessly mixes humor with honest beautiful songwriting.
SONGS I LISTENED TO A BILLION TIMES THIS YEAR.
ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET- Lie Come True
JOSEPH KECKLER- The Ride
JON SPENCER AND THE HIT MAKERS- Death Ray
GOGOL BORDELLO- Shot Of Solidaritine
PUZZLED PANTHER- Smoke And The Mirrors We Broke
PIGSX 7 - Reducer
ARCHERS OF LOAF- Banging On a Dead Drum
OLDER HITS THAT WERE NEW TO ME
LAURIE ANDERSON- Poison
POISON GIRLS- Fear Of Freedom
CULTURE SHOCK- Things To Do
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART- Tropical Hot Dog
WARREN ZEVON- Desperados Under The Eves
MINNIE RIPERTON- Les Fleurs
BOBBY GENTRY - Ode To Billy Joe
TOWNES VAN ZANDT- Highway Kind
BOOKS
Joseph Keckler- Dragon at the edge of a flat world.
Mark Lanegan- Sing Backwards and Weep
Miriam Toews- Fight Night
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Marc Urselli
producer / engineer / sound designer
I want to thank JG Thirlwell for inviting me to submit my 2023 Year in Review. I had never done one of these before and it's been a fun challenge to go through my calendar and social media to remember and realize how much I was able to pack into this year! Selecting and writing down all of these things also helped me further grasp and understand how tremendously privileged and lucky I am to be able to do what I love all year around, year after year, and to live my life to the fullest and according to my own wishes and my own design. I don't take this lightly and I don't take it for granted. I am very aware that it comes from hard work, limitless passion and unweavery dedication, not just luck and good fortune, but nevertheless I am grateful every single day for this life and for being healthy, being able to do all of this, and for all the people in my path who trust me, inspire me, support me, challenge me, and enlighten me!
STUDIO SESSIONS, ALBUMS & PRODUCTIONS
When compiling this list, it really dawned on me how fortunate I am to be working with such incredible talents and how priviledged I am to be able to witness, participate and contribute to the creation of exceptional works such as the following:
Producing, Recording & Mixing sessions with David J of Bauhaus, Norwegian artist Ihsahn (of Emperor) & Toby Driver (of Kyao Dot), John Stanier (of Battles), Brian Chase (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Restless Spirit, Vicki Peterson (of the Bangles), John Cowsill (of the Cowsill Family and The Beach Boys touring band) and many others for my new RAMONES tribute album to come out next year on Magnetic Eye records
Producing, Recording and Mixing a cover of Soundgarden's song "4th of July" with my doom metal / throat singing project SteppenDoom for the Magnetic Eye album "Soundgarden (Redux) and featuring Matt Cameron of Soundgarden themselves on drums
seeing the release of Brian Carpenter's "Ghost Train Orchestra & Kronos Quartet - The Music of Moondog" album featuring Kronos Quartet (which I recorded at EastSide Sound) and many other amazing guest artists
Producing, Recording, Mixing, and Mastering a live album by Brazilian artists Zé Ibarra, Dora Morelenbaum and Julia Mestre of Bala Desejo for Glasshaus Presents & Tower Records
Mixing new albums by Glenn Max Vanderwolf (produced by Dennis Martin), by Bloodmist (Toby Driver, Mario Diaz De Leon, Jeremiah Cymermann), and by Ikue Mori & Zeena Parkins at EastSide Sound fully utilizing the analog console and the analog outboard gear (something nowadays is more and more rare)
Recording & Mixing 6 new albums by John Zorn this year alone, which brings my total JZ count to over 120 albums, and which as of this year can finally be heard on streaming platforms as well!
Recording and Producing a new album by Marco Cappelli's Italian-inspired band IDR at EastSide Sound in NYC and then going to Rome, Italy to overdub trombone and vocals with famed contemporary Neapolitan singer Raiz
Producing, Recording, Mixing, and Mastering 2 new albums by incognito jazz / blues artist Russell Orr with legendary Brian Marsella & Brian Mitchell on keys, respectively
Recording, Mixing, and Mastering two new albums by Jessica Pavone and her trio
Producing, Recording, Mixing and Mastering a "We Are the World"-type track for NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs with a song composed by Captain Beefheart / Jeff Buckley's guitarist Gary Lucas and 10 other musicians from various parts of the world playing their local instruments and singing in their mother's tongue
Recording and Mixing the new album by Italian singer/songwriter Beppe Voltarelli, produced by Simone Giuliani, which took second place in Italy's Premio Tenco
Recording a new film score by composer Billy Martin (of Medeski, Martin & Wood) and arranged by Simon Hanes (of Tredici Bacci)
Producing, Recording, Mixing, and Mastering contemporary classical music sessions commissioned by Miller Theater and Columbia University with artists such as Laura Barger & Julia Den Boer, Miguel Zenon, Matt Mitchell & Miles Okazaki, Russell Greenberg & Vicky Chow
Recording new albums by contemporary classical/jazz musicians such as Miles Okazaki, Brian Drye, Anna Webber & Matt Mitchell and others
Recording new albums by amazing Latin Jazz artists such as Gili Lopes, Homan Alvarez, Rodrigo Recabarren, Benjamin Furman
seeing the HBO release of John Lurie’s “Painting with John” new season where all the music was recorded & mixed by me and seeing my face briefly on TV
recording in an old church in Italy with Adriano Viterbini and Vincenzo Vasi for a project that will come out sometimes next year hopefully
SOUND DESIGN GIGS & LIVE SOUND MIXING GIGS
Similarly to the list above, I am eternally greatful for the fact that all these wonderfully talented people trust me with designing, mixing and amplifying their sound so that the rest of the world can truly and fully experience their art in the most complete, sonically articulated, detailed and full spectrum way there is! Some of these highlights include:
Mixing a 90-piece orchestra + 90-piece choir playing the score to Stanley Kubrick "2001: A Space Odyssey" live-to-picture conducted by Brad Lubman in the Auditorio Nacional of Mexico City to a sold-out crowd of 10'000 people
Mixing the Grammy Award Premiere Ceremony in Los Angeles and being there to amplify and mix the immensely talented house band led by Cheche Alara and the performances by musicians such as Samara Joy, Anoushka Shankar, Arooj Aftab and more…
Mixing the Robbie Robertson tribute concert & memorial organized by Martin Scorsese at Village Studios in Los Angeles with artists such as Jackson Browne, Jason Isbell, Rocco DeLuca, Citizen Cope, Angela McCluskey, Blake Mills and Jim Keltner
Mixing the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony concert at the White House with artists such as Dionne Warwick, Samara Joy, Joe Walsh of the Eagles, St. Vincent and others.
Sound Designing and Mixing the world premiere of "Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine" at the DNO Dutch National Opera House in Amsterdam, a beautiful performance/concert/opera directed by Peter Sellars, composed by Tyshawn Sorey and performed by Tyshawn Sorey and ICE International Contemporary Ensemble with soprano Julia Bullock
One of my sound design pieces inspired by Icelandic nature sounds and folklore was presented at the "Le Son 7" Art Gallery in Madrid between the 3rd and the 13th of May 2023, after it was presented the year before in London and will be presented in January 2024 in New York
mixing 12 shows by John Zorn in 2 days at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville TN
mixing more shows by John Zorn to celebrate his 70th birthday in places like Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Miller Theater in New York, Reggio Emilia and Modena in Italy, Philharmonie in Paris, November Music Festival in Den Bosch Netherlands and Mexico City
Mixing Brian Carpenter's Ghost Train Orchestra live at Roulette with special guests David Byrne, Karen Mantler, Joan As Policewoman AND doing so right after I mixed another matinee gig earlier in the day with the New York Choral Society
working sound for the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with musical guests Lizzo and David Byrne
Mixing Claudia Acuna at Lincoln Center
mixing Idina Menzel's performance in Trafalgar Square in London for Gay Pride 2023
playing keys (something I almost never ever do!) for Japanese electronic artist Coppé's first-ever performance in Italy
mixing my first ever K-pop gig in Times Square NY
teaching Mixing Workshops at SAE in Mexico City and MOB Studios in Rome, Italy
RECORDS
In no particular order, here are some of my favorite records of 2023 that I was not involved with but I wish I had been ;-)
Anohni and the Johnsons "My Back Was a Bridge for you to Cross"
Lil Yachty "Let's Start Here"
Boygenius "The Record"
Ryuichi Sakamoto "12"
Jaimie Branch "Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War))"
Arooj Aftab / Vijay Iyer / Shahzad Ismaily "Love in Exile"
Peter Gabriel "I/O"
Hania Rani "Ghosts"
Meshell Ndegeocello "The Omnichord Real Book"
Bill Frisell "Four"
- Ambrose Akinmusire, Bill Frisell, Herlin Riley "Owl song"
Porcupine Tree "Closure / Continuation"
Dr. John "The Brightest Smile in Town"
Spencer Zahn "Statues II"
Meshuggah "Chaosphere 25th anniversary 2023 Remastered edition"
Ennio Morricone "Segreto Songbook 1962-1973"
Sin Fang, Kjartan Holm "Angakok"
MUSIC SHOWS
It's always hard for me to recount the shows I've seen because I usually see about 300-500 shows every year. LPR (Le Poisson Rouge) definitely shines through as my favorite venue and the one I've visited most often! Here are some of the highlights of 2023:
Spotlights, Imperial Triumphant, Puzzled Panthers at Saint Vitus
"La Splendida", a heavy metal opera by Laurent David & Kilter at Culture Lab LIC
Exotech 3 times, at Public Records, Mark Morris Dance Theater and at LPR
Tredici Bacci at least 2-3 times, one of which at Sultan Room
John Cale at Paradiso, Amsterdam
Plini at Melkweg, Amsterdam
Mary Halvorson Quintet at Bimhuis, Amsterdam
Thurston Moore at OCCII, Amsterdam
Jeff Goldblum at Town Hall
Xylorius White at LPR
Hal Willner's Amarcord tribute concert at Roulette
Snarky Puppy at Beacon Theater
Tim Bernardes at LPR
Groa at Taste of Iceland showcase at Pianos
JG Thirlwell & Mivos Quartet at National Sawdust
Bloodywood at Irving Plaza
Hermeto Pascoal twice, at Pioneer Works and LPR
Sexmob at Fotografiska
Grace Jones at Hammerstein Ballroom
Lisa Fisher at Blue Note
Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry / Blondie, London
Laurie Anderson & SexMob Let X=X at Barbican in London and BAM in Brooklyn
- The Cult at MEDIMEX festival in Taranto, Italy
- Tom Morello at MEDIMEX festival in Taranto, Italy
Emperor at Kings Theater
Ibrahim Malouff at Drom
- Elan Mehler & Dave Douglas at Fotografiska
The Misfits at Prudential Center
- Oumou Sangare at Brooklyn Bandshell
Red Fang at Gramercy Theater
The Eagles & Steely Dan at MSG
- Tammy Faye Starlight at Joe's Pub
Julian Lage at Village Vanguard
- Mdou Moctar at Summerstage
Makaya McCraven at Locus Festival, in Locorotondo Italy
Fatoumata Diawara at Locus Festival, in Locorotondo Italy
Sisters of Mercy at Cinzella Festival, in Grottaglie Italy
SunRa Arkestra at Locus Festival, in Locorotondo Italy
Robert Plant at Locus Festival, in Bari Italy
Mr. Bungle at Terminal 5
Melvins, Boris and all the other amazing bands at Desert Fest at Knockdown Center
Front Line Assembly at LPR
Peter Gabriel at MSG
Empire State Bastard at LPR & St Vitus
Cavalera Conspiracy at Irving Plaza
Swans at Music Hall of Williamsburg
- Steven Bernstein w/ Millennial Territory at Dizzy's
Nick Cave & Jonny Greenwood 3 times, twice at Beacon Theater and once at Kings Theater
The Mission at LPR
- Titan to Tychons at NuBlu
Dresden Dolls at Bowery Ballroom
Robert Glasper's Art Blakey tribute at Blue Note
- Puzzled Panthers at Bowery Electric
Ghost Train Orchestra at Roulette
Arthur Brown in London
The Mongol Khan theater production at the Coliseum in London
8 Bit Big Band at Sony Hall
Bud Spencer Blues Explosion at Monk in Rome Italy
plus all the amazing artists I can't recall individually that I have seen at Winter Jazz Festival, Long Play Festival and Big Ears Festival
BOOKS
I am sadly a slow reader and my pile of books on my bedside table is always bigger than the time awake I have when I finally do get to bed, but here are some I have read, or started to read or am planning on starting to read:
Kid Congo Powers "Some New Kind Of Kick"
Nick Cave & Seán O'Hagan "Faith, Hope and Carnage"
Warren Ellis "Nina Simone's Gum"
Rick Rubin "The Creative Act: A Way of Being"
Quincy Jones "12 Notes: On Life and Creativity"
Quincy Trouple "Miles & Me"
MUSEUMS
I try to visit museums in every city I go to, whether I am on tour, working, traveling for pleasure or whatever the reason is… Art is my passion, my love and a way of life…
Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain
Fundcaio Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain
The Salvador Dali Theater and Museum, Figueres, Spain
Salvador Dalí House / Fundació Gala, Cadaqués, Port Lligat, Spain
Park Gúell, Barcelona, Spain
Moco Museum, Barcelona, Spain
Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
Vermeer Exhibit, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Moco Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Art on Paper, New York
Frieze, New York
Karl Lagerfled "A Line of Beauty", Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Yayoi Kusama "Infinity Mirror Rooms", Tate Modern, London, UK
Frida Kahlo & Diego Riviera House & Studio, Mexico City
Palacio De Bellas Artes, Mexico City
Museo Jumex, Mexico City
Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporanea, Mexico City
Paul Gugelmann "Poetic Machines", Aarau, Switzerland
MOVIES
There are soooo many movies I still want to / need to see… I love movies but I prioritize work and live music in my life and I will only watch movies on planes, on (very very) rainy days or those rare times when I don't have a concert on my calendar, so here are a few of those rainy/non-concert films, in no particular order:
Killers of the Flower Moon (for the story, the acting and the soundtrack)
Equalizer 3 (because aside from its Hollywood-ish story and ending, it's a realistic look at how organized crime works in Italy)
Little Richard: I am Everything (for his story, his character, his music and his courage!)
Psychedelicized: The Electric Circus Stroy (for the amazing portrait of a time that's past but that changed NYC forever!)
American Symphony (for the amazing story, talent, spirit and courage of Jon Batiste)
32 Sounds (because my life is about sound…)
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (because Leonard was an amazing artist and songwriter and singer and so many friends are in this movie)
Oppenheimer (because that history is so complex and so divided as the country in which it took place)
TRAVEL
Travel is the richess of life! I travel SO MUCH that I am on a plane AT LEAST once a month and usually it is to an international location… This year was no different, so I've decided to only list 12 trips for this section:
January: Ringing in the year in a medieval tower in Barcelona and spending the first 4 days of the new year trying all the tapas bars, restaurants, food stands this beautiful city has to offer and seing the Sagrada Familia cathedral for the 3rd time in my life
February: Living in Amsterdam for 3 weeks visiting all the musuems, all the music venues and all the while working at the Dutch National Opera with some amazing folks (see list above)
March: Snowboarding the Swiss and the French alps
April: Visiting Knoxville Tennessee for Big Ears (easily the best independent music festival in the US!!!) for the 2nd time in 2 years, and hopefully the beginning of many more visits in the future!
May: Spending time in sunny Los Angeles and plotting a way to spend more time there and make music
June: Visiting London twice in one month to work and see amazing music shows, theater shows and art exhibits
July: coming back from London on July 6th only to realize that strangely there is no travel for the rest of this month! So weird and unusual!
August: Spending the month in Puglia, Southern Italy eating good food, kitesurfing in the Adriatic and Ionium sea, seeing tons of concerts and playing one myself!
September: arriving in Mexico City and getting my very own police escort motorcade to make it in time from the airport to the theater
October: On tour with John Zorn in Italy, France and the Netherlands
November: Flying to Los Angeles with a 36 hour notice for a concert I was hired for in secrecy having been told "we need a mixing engineer who can mix music for a room full of musicians" and showing up for the Robbie Robertson tribute orgnaized by Martin Scorsese with people like Joni Mitchell and Leonardo DiCaprio in attendance
December: DC-to-DF aka flying to Washgington DC to work at the White House and then flying straight to Mexico City
I've finished the year with travel to my motherland of Switzerland, my fatherland of Italy and my second home of London UK!
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DJ Food aka Kevin Foakes
Music:
Kosmischer Laufer - Volume 5 LP (UCR)
Soia, Julien Sénélas, Jérôme Vassereau - In C for 11 Oscillators and 53 Forms LP (unjenesaisquoi)
Cate Brooks - Tapeworks DL (Cafe Kaput)
Memorials - Music For Film: Tramps! LP (State 51 Conspiracy)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse… LP (Album of the year)
Brian Eno - The Lighthouse radio station (Sonos) (most listened to)
Niholoxica - Source of Denial LP (Crammed Discs)
SareemOne - Olivine Window
Coast Contra - Breathe & Stop Freestyle/Never Freestyle/Scenario Freestyle
Move78 - Grains LP
Heiroglyphic Being - The Moon Dance LP (Apnea)
Raj Pannu - Past Crimes EP 12" (To Pikap Records)
Gordon Chapman-Fox - The Nine Travellers LP (Castles In Space Subscription Library)
Gigs / Events:
Beyond The Streets exhibition @Saatchi gallery, London
Sunroof / Finlay Shakespeare @iklectik, London
The Light Surgeons - The Consensual Hallucination @iklectik, London
Memorials at the State 51 Summer Psych party @State 51, London
FogFest2 @iklectik, London
JG Thirlwell & Ensemble @Bush Hall, London
Machina Bristronica, Bristol
Visiting Peel Acres with Eilon Paz for Dust & Grooves
Nihiloxia @the Jazz Cafe, London
Design / Packaging:
Yves Malone - A Hello To A Goodbye LP (Castles In Space)
Drumetrics - Phuzzle (Drumetrics)
Waclaw Zimpel - Train Spotter LP (State 51)
David Boulter - Factory 3" CD (Clay Pipe Music)
Fluctuosa - Wetware EP 12" (Analogical Force)
Fluxus - Orbit & Shine LP (Castles In Space)
Floating Points - Birth4000 12" (Ninja Tune)
Cate Brooks - Easel Studies LP + badge (Clay Pipe Music)
Brian Eno - Top Boy OST CD (Beatink)
Books / Magazines / Comics:
Medical Grade Music - Steve Davis & Kavis Torabi (White Rabbit)
Doctor Strange - Fall Sunrise - Tradd & Heather Moore (Marvel)
Tales To Enlighten - The New Testament - Matt King and James Edward Clark
Pop - Milton Glaser (Phaidon)
Kevin O'Neill Apex Edition (2000AD)
Mark Stafford - Salmonella Smorgasbord (Soaring Penguin Press)
Savage Impressions - Bruce Lichen (Independent Project Records)
Hexagon Bridge - Richard Blake (Image)
Monica - Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics)
Acid Valley - Luke Insect
Petrol Head - Rob Williams & Pye Parr (Image)
Lawless - Dan Abnett & Phil Winslade (Rebellion)
Giant Robot Hellboy - Mignola/Fegredo (Dark Horse)
Facelss & The Family - Matt Lesniewski (Oni Press)
Films:
Barbie
Squaring The Circle : The Story of Hipgnosis
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