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i found this after listening to a bunch of pram and remembering how much I love the way a theremin scratches my brain.
some background on clara rockmore (1911-1998): after immigrating to the us from soviet lithuania, clara met leon theremin and his instrument (not a euphemism, though he did propose to her at one point; she declined). she became its most talented player, which is no surprise, as, at four, she made history as the youngest student ever admitted to the saint petersburg conservatory. she went on to connect with robert moog and begin recording her work, eventually becoming an early electronic legend. she recorded these tracks in 1975, but the album wasn’t released until 2006 (and i guess re-released in 2017?)
first of all, incredible album art: the vignette and font, her forlorn expression, the looming shadow of her hand and head, muah. great music for lying awake, late at night, listening to the rain. i will caution you against listening to this in the punishing fluorescence of a crowded trader joe’s, though, unless you want to dissociate until you need to take deep breaths by the bagged salads
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the air is getting colder and i start to hear this album. it is one of my all time favorites, i would definitely recommend for anyone to give it a listen as it is very unique in it's sound. an interesting blend of guitar, piano, flutes and more "classical" instruments alongside digital synth melodies and glitch-pop distortion, it blends so many things together to create such a wonderful sound and wide variety of emotion across the whole album. give it a listen and let me know what you think.
Nov 29, 2024
This album…goddamn. S/o to the Herb Sundays substack for putting me onto what’s probably my favorite release of the year so far. It’s a beautiful piece of music front to back; very contemplative, sometimes sorrowful, other times achingly joyful. Can’t quite explain it the way I’d
like, tbh. I have a feeling I discovered this at the exactly right time to fully receive it. It’s a good reminder just how context-driven art is.
Moran employed a Yamaha Disklavier for this, which essentially plays a supporting role to her own playing. Per the Warp site: “Moran augments her pianistic abilities by utilising the Disklavier to write intricate piano parts that go beyond human capabilities, resulting in multi-layered compositions that blur the lines between human and machine.”
Aug 15, 2024
Randomly got this record in the $1 bin at my local library because the cover caught my eye. It’s all instrumental music played pretty hypnotically by Ruth on her zither. Can’t find it on any of the streamers, but you can listen at the link attached ✨
Feb 5, 2024
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great movie for many reasons (go library science!), but i always go back to the tights…
Apr 6, 2024
17th century dioramas made from human remains—with fun names like “Ah Fate, ah Bitter Fate!”—by a dutch anatomist. he eventually sold his collection to tsar peter the great, who became very emotionally invested in these scenes (he once kissed the forehead of a particularly beautifully preserved baby). some say that a few of them were destroyed when russian sailors broke them open and drank the embalming fluid on the voyage to st. petersburg (okay??), but most made it to the tsar’s “kunstkamera” (lol), or cabinet of curiosities
pro: weird, charming, memento mori, etc.
con: involved a lot of infant skeletons (troubling, gross)
there are lots of detailed drawings left of these things and they’re interesting to read about. neat!
Jan 25, 2024
los angeles’s hottest new club is watching six best friends play alt-americana music from the comfort of your very own movie theater seat
(dutch interior is playing at brain dead this thursday, with support from the inimitable charlie havenick! don’t be a square…)
Feb 26, 2024