No stranger ‘round these parts, Jason Lescalleet is a quintessential, experimental “sound artist” that we simply love to cover. By meticulously considering his instruments of choice, (hand-held tape recorders and reel-to-reels; laptops, samplers, and amps; field recordings and found dialogue), he slams the prevailing invisibility of his prepared tools and surrounding space, while, at the same time, relying on them for his compositions.
For his latest release, Lescalleet dove into a bygone box of early recordings and came up with a set of manipulations as raw and arresting as any of his previously-loved works. Speaking on the sounds of 20th Century Music, he states:
I only recently discovered them in an old box of cassette tapes. I enjoyed hearing my work from 20 years ago. I decided to release it without any input from the composer from the future (with the exception of one contemporary field recording that coincidentally fell into my hands while I was editing these tapes and the synchronicity was surprisingly perfect.)
20th Century Music will be released TOMORROW (a.k.a. September 24), not through his own Glistening Examples label, but on the phantastic Philadelphia-based No Rent Records. About this oddball release, Lescalleet explains,
No Rent had asked me for an album a long time ago, but I had a full schedule at the time and my work didn’t seem to align with what they wanted from me. They were the first label I thought of when found these long-lost tapes. The vibrancy and excitement of my early tape work fits the no-nonsense aesthetic of No Rent perfectly. It’s not pretty, but it’s honest.
For the featured “Head of the Maja (Lowell, 1997)” track below, Lescalleet splice ‘n’ dices the intro and outro from the first performance from Head of the Maja, his musical liaison with David Quinn that existed between 1996 and 1998. It has the hyperreal ambiance we know and love from Lescalleet: a RRRecords dialogue loop that slides slowly into a comfortless mood that might not be pretty, but it’s honest and pretty imaginative.
Once again, 20th Century Music is out September 24 digitally and as a cassette edition of 100 copies, but Lescalleet will be selling an additional 33 hand-numbered limited tapes at his upcoming performances in Houston and Dallas (see below).
20th Century Music tracklisting:
01. Peening and Pealing
02. Music for Voice Piano and Tape
03. Head of the Maja (Lowell, 1997)
04. I Am Sitting in a Small Metal Room
05. Alone Again
Lescalleet live:
09.27.19 - Houston, TX - Flatland Gallery
09.29.19 - Dallas, TX - Power Station Art Space
More about: Jason Lescalleet
