I’m pleased to share another video in the Forest Listening Rooms series. This time, I visit a group of local children for a sound walk, listening sessions, and discussion at Wildcat Hollow in the Wayne National Forest, Ohio, adjacent to the active Buckingham Coal Mines. They take a soundwalk together, and gather at a group of fallen mossy trees. They listen in silence together (no small feat), and immediately talk of what they heard: branches and birds, wind and voices, airplanes and industry. They then listen to music and archival recordings of children of past generations talking of mining. They finally tell their own stories, of their discoveries in the forest.
Artist Talk at Bakersfield College, California
Had an excellent/inspiring time talking with students at Bakersfield College (who are mostly all from here). We talked of place, living in the middle of oil and gas extraction, and about making work that addresses the places you are from. Thanks to Josh Ottum for the invite/pic!
New "Forest Listening Rooms" Video - Perry State Forest
I’m happy to share this new video in an ongoing Socially Engaged Art project. It features a one-on-one forest listening session with Joelene Dixon, a Perry County, Ohio resident concerned about new coal strip-mining proposals in the Perry State Forest. Here, she takes me to listen to and discuss different sites of recovery slated to be mined once again, as well as poorly recovered sites that show the limitations of previous mining company mitigation efforts. This video was shot in April, 2019, in the Perry State Forest.
New Album Release - Many Hands - October 18
Many Hands, a new album of instrumental piano music, comes out this Friday on Bandcamp. Quiet, tender, searching, tactile. Very quiet, and with purpose. Up to six melodies on piano, each played by one hand, independent, coming together.
Inspiration: working in and listening to Appalachian Ohio. Landscape and labor, sense and sensuous: yes, the work is easier with many hands, but the connections are stronger, too.
2019 Creative Capital Retreat Presentation
In June, I participated in the Creative Capital Retreat at Bard College - watch here for my presentation on Shawnee, Ohio. It was such an honor to be among so many inspiring artists!
Forest Listening Rooms - This Saturday - 10/5/2019
There are still a few tickets left for the Forest Listening Rooms session this Saturday (10/5) in the Wayne National Forest. You can purchase tickets here. Plus, here is a nice map of where our hike will be, just outside of Shawnee, and along the Buckeye Trail. Hope to see you!
Two feature radio programs in Germany and Portugal
Two new radio programs are out this month, for SWR2's "Musikpassagen" in Germany, and RTP's "Geografia dos Sons" in Portugal. Both programs focus on Shawnee, Ohio. "Musikpassagen" includes interviews with me (dubbed over in German, btw). "Geografia dos Sons" is hosted by an old friend and fellow student with me in London, Luis Tinoco. I'm happy to have the music reach these audiences in Europe! Listen to “Musikpassagen” here, and listen to "Geografia dos Sons" here.
Forest Listening Rooms Event October 5
SOUNDWALK + LISTENING + MUSIC + VOICES OF THE FOREST = FOREST LISTENING ROOMS
Tickets are now on sale for the next event on October 5, from 9:30AM - Noon. Lunch included. All Proceeds go to Southern Perry Summer Youthshops. Register here.
#Listening #Meditative #Contemplative#Stories #Environment #Hiking#WayneNationalForest
September Newsletter: "Listening for the Future of Appalachia"
Check out the new newsletter for September, 2019 — and please consider signing up! You can read it here.
The Daily Yonder Premieres "Listening for the Future of Appalachia"
In May, a film crew from A Blade of Grass and Rava Films came to Ohio to document Forest Listening Rooms. I'm excited to share the film with you now. The Daily Yonder generously agreed to premiere the film on their website, updating an article I wrote for them this spring. Check it out here!
"With For About" Conference Video and Round Up
In May, I was part of “With For About: Art and Democracy” — a conference on Socially Engaged Art in St. Helens, UK. It was hosted by Heart of Glass, and I was there with representatives from A Blade of Grass. It was a wonderful experience. Above is a lovely drawing by Emmeline Pidgen of the attentive and thoughtful discussion group that I led there. Click here for more info and a nice video that I participated in.
VAN Magazine Article on Ambient Music
Author George Grella recently wrote this long-form article entitled "Imaginary Places: The Ambient Influence on Contemporary Music" for VAN Magazine. I'm happy to have a part in it, alongside many other composers that I admire, including Kate Carr, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and John Luther Adams. Grella states that, "...the places of ambient music don’t have to be tethered to the present, even though that’s when they are heard—they can be a vision of the future or an evocation of the past." It is an insightful and lovely article and I hope you get a chance to read it. You can read the article here.
MOJO Magazine Gives SHAWNEE, OHIO 5 / 5 Stars
5/5 STARS FROM MOJO! Unbelievable. Extremely grateful to Andrew Male and Mojo Magazine. Wow. Just, wow. #MojoMagazine #ShawneeOhio
Marble House Project Residency
I’m in the middle of a two-week residency at the Marble House Project in Dorset, Vermont. It is a beautiful place, with plenty of silence, solitude, and the company of many great artists and their families. My studio is set apart from the main buildings, and I love it — it seems strangely appropriate to be thinking about and working on a project based on Thomas Merton’s hermitage in such a place. It has been a wonderful opportunity!
Courtesy of Columbus Alive (Photo: Julian Foglietti).
Pacific Standard / Columbus Alive Feature Article
I am astounded and humbled by the writing of Joel Oliphint for this joint article from Columbus Alive and Pacific Standard. It is an in-depth exploration of Forest Listening Rooms — Joel spent several days traveling around with me as we did listening sessions with residents in Perry County, Ohio. You can read the article here and here.
Photo courtesy of Evan Walsh.
2019 Creative Capital Retreat
This past weekend was intense: I went to Bard College for the Creative Capital Retreat, and once again saw the most inspiring projects from across all disciplines. I’m so proud to be among and to learn from these people, and to share my own work, too. Thank you Creative Capital! #ccretreat
A review from Ox Fanzine (Germany)
Recent Reviews for "Shawnee, Ohio"
“Shawnee, Ohio” has received a lot of great reviews lately. You can read them here. Many thanks to Karlrecords and Dense Promotion for their help.
BBC Late Junction
Nice! “Neva” from “Shawnee, Ohio” made it onto the BBC’s Late Junction! Listen to it here.
Final Forest Listening Room Event - May 18th - Robinson's Cave
Please join us for the final listening event for Forest Listening Rooms, taking place on May 18th at Robinson's Cave in New Straitsville. We'll walk up to the cave, listen to the forest and each other, and then have lunch after. All are welcome! You can sign up here.
Article in The Daily Yonder: "The Sounds of Rural America"
I wrote a piece for The Daily Yonder on listening to the sounds of rural America, and how listening to people, places, and archives can help bridge rural/urban divisions and how we understand one another. You can read the article here.