The Garment District is the project of Jennifer Baron (founding member of The Ladybug Transistor), who we have covered countless times on TMT, including C Monster’s epic interview with her back in 2014. Baron’s latest, Luminous Toxin, sees her taking an all-instrumental (and therefore less hierarchical) approach, a breezy yet thoughtfully arranged embodiment of the simplistic, melody-forward songs that play in her head. And it’s delivered to us like an unexpected present, like grainy sand stuck to lips, like rainbows streaming from eyeballs, like humble meditative states widened to the aspect ratio of cinema.
Below you’ll find a guest mix that Baron lovingly crafted for Tiny Mix Tapes, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it. Titled Waiting for the Gift of Sound and Vision, the mix features everyone from Coil and Licorice Roots to Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Judy Henske. Read Baron’s description of it below.
Also be sure to check her out live if you’re around Pittsburgh (May 19 at Carnegie Museum of Art and July 16 at Ladyfest Pittsburgh), as well as her contribution to a special audio-based sound portrait for a massive 250-artist group exhibition called JOHN RIEGERT (curated by Brett Yasko), which runs at SPACE Gallery from June 24 - August 22. And, as always, support, support, support.
From The Garment District:
I ended 2015 in the Nevada desert unexpectedly watching a Russian SL-4 rocket body re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere on a clear December night, and began 2016 covering “Heroes” at a Pittsburgh music festival as the universe bid a collective and heavy farewell to Ziggy Stardust. Little did I know that this mix would become a de facto tribute to one of my favorite film pioneers, cinematographer Haskell Wexler — who also recently left this world — as I had already selected an instrumental (a cover of a composition by Love guitarist Johnny Echols) from Wexler’s prescient 1969 film, Medium Cool. From India to Berlin, from interstitial moments of French horror and children’s television, to cold western Pennsylvania nights absorbed by the eerie, serial tale of Victoria Winters at Collinwood — I hope these sounds take your ears to new places.
Stream below, and subscribe to our podcast here.
- Glen A. Larson - “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Opening Theme”
- Maurice Jarre: Les Yeux Sans Visage”
- The Garment District - “Meeting of the Dark Sky Association”
- Bill Wendry & the Boss Tweeds - “A Wristwatch Band”
- LA Freeway - “Listen, Listen”
- Licorice Roots - “Maracca Beach”
- Coil - “The First Five Minutes After Death”
- Hans-Joachim Roedelius - “Café Central”
- Yoko Ono - “Shiranakatta (I Didn’t Know)”
- Joe Raposo - Seahorse”
- Asha Bhosle - “Dum Maro Dum”
- Young Brass - Emotions”
- Judy Henske - “Road to Nowhere”
- Robert Corbett - “Josette’s Music Box” (Dark Shadows)
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