Flowers
New EP, winter live dates, listening to kittiwakes
Happy New Year.
I’m very glad to finally announce my new record FLOWERS, coming out next month (13 February) on South of North. So much has changed, for better and worse, in the year since I recorded these songs that it feels like I’ve been holding onto them for far longer.
The six tracks on Flowers all take Pete Seeger’s ‘60s protest-folk song “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” as their starting point. However, they veer off in different directions, from vocal loops and deconstructed lyrics, to instrumental drones and glitchy, manipulated rhythm tracks. Flowers began to take on a life of its own, raising renewed questions about age-old themes such as war, authorship, translation and historical structures.
The EP was mastered by the Cologne Wizard and designed by Dominique Saiegh with artwork by Kelsey Isaacs… these three people are also very dear to me so it’s a real family affair, the way the best-feeling projects often are. Biggest thanks to Dominik Rodemann for making this happen and of course brother Nick Klein for his unwavering support!!!!!!
I’ll be playing some shows in support of the record at the end of February alongside South of North labelmates Kim David Bots and TRii:
26.02 Brussels - Les Ateliers Claus
27.02 Köln - 674fm Basement
28.02 Berlin - Aktionshaus
and a couple more to be announced!
I have two other projects going on in February, both under the auspices of Sonic Acts Biennale. Firstly, the composition I worked on last fall, “Syrinx I,” will be presented every Sunday for the duration of the festival as part of the Listening Room program. I was interviewed about the piece here:
If you’re in Amsterdam during February or March, I hope you have the chance to hear it! Information about the schedule and other works in the program here.
And yes “Syrinx I” implies there will be “Syrinx II”… I must return to my birds!
Additionally, Hugo Esquinca and I will perform together on February 19 at Murmur on a different octophonic sound system built by engineer extraordinaire Danny van der Lugt. Hugo and I met in 2017 and have been developing a collaborative practice in secret ever since. 10000 Heinekens later, we present ORGANIZACIÓN SECRETARIAT, a research unit and an artistic duo. The project examines relationships between gesture and meaning through music-industry paraphernalia, from the iconography of black metal, corridos tumbados, and Schlager music to commercial musical instrument logos, bootleg band merchandise, and the visual identities and logistics of corporate event management.
I think that covers it for now. I spent the last year working my ass off on all this alongside day jobs, health issues, and other kinds of private chaos so it feels good to finally share it.
MEANWHILE! Here are five pieces of sound and writing I’ve read and listened to recently that struck a chord:
Ariana Reines Wave of Blood
All six volumes of My Struggle (I know)
Iris Our Victual Vittle Bottle Cunt
Valise Live at Pioneer Works
Mark Iosefescu Failures of the Avant Garde
Thanks as ever for reading and more importantly listening.
Elizabeth