Ok, here is the newly photographed image for the "Polarity" cassette. I have taken the picture in slightly different light on a more matte finished wall and I like it much better. It is now cropped to fit the dimensions of a cassette cover as well. For the rest of my fall break, I am planning on continuing to edit the tracks for this release.

Milwaukee Noise Fest Write-up

Here is a write-up of the recent Milwaukee Noise Fest. I think that it is a nice introduction to the broad spectrum of aesthetic choices that are often lumped under the "noise" label. One stand-out quote for me describes it as "a music scene that strikes a balance between the deliberate and the unhinged while allowing individual performers to tip that balance toward either extreme."

Here is a video of my set from Voice of the Valley. I Have been trying this set out a lot over the last month and a half. This was the first time performing it live.

Mike Shiflet has just posted a writeup of the Show in Minneapolis a couple of weekends ago over on his blog. Among other things, he had this to say about my set.

"Zeh’s set has taken a unique turn, discarding the cassettes and focusing on the sounds of the decks themselves. Dense layers of mechanical drone and electric hum swirl around the room for twenty minutes or so and it is absolutely enthralling."

Polarity

I finally finished the artwork for my cassette entitled "Polarity" on Handmade Birds. I think that I might want to photograph it in a different setting and with different light. The texture of the wall and glossy paint in the background bother me as does the warmth of the light. I think I want to try it on a smooth, matte, wall with slightly cooler light. We will see. Either way, I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. This one is a pretty new approach for me. When adding color to these pieces, I usually only place different colors in spots that are fully closed in with black borders. I will credit Robert Motherwell's "Opens" series with some of the inspiration for this new approach. In the same way that "Polarity" is marking a turn in a new direction that I have been exploring in a live setting as well lately, this piece is an early sketch for a larger score that I am working on to eventually use as a visual component to accompany my live performances of this new work. For an example of this new direction check out this video that David Russell took at last weekend's Audio Visual Baptism in Cleveland, Ohio.

HUSH!

I am FINALLY getting around to finishing up the cover artwork for the Factotum Tapes HUSH! compilation series. This image will be cut up into 6 cassette-sized pieces. When you buy all 6 cassettes in the series, you will be able to piece them together like a puzzle to see the complete image. Up next, I will be working on the cover image for my cassette on Handmade Birds.

Voice of the Valley