Blank Forms, a non-governmental, nonprofit organization and curatorial platform based in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, has released the penultimate, ninth edition of its anthology series titled Sound Signatures. The 20-hour conversation between music journalist Mike Rubin and Detroit house music icon Theo Parrish was recorded in 2022 and covers Parrish’s childhood in Chicago’s South Side, his training in sculpture, and his collaborations with Moodymann, Rick Wilhite, and more. They also discuss how social movements in 2020 have inspired his practice and dance music at large.
Rubin has described the conversation as a “dance music remix of the Frost/Nixon tapes.” Sound Signatures includes an illustrated discussion between Druphad singer Amelia Cuni and tuning theorist Marcus Pal, where Cuni shares her years of studying voice and dance in India, and her interpretations of John Cage, collaborations with Terry Riley, and the late Catherine Christer Hennix. Additionally, there are deeply researched essays from Cuni on Hindustani classical music.
The anthology also features “reminiscences” from composer and performer Akio Suzuki and musician Aki Onda on the Fluxus pioneer and Taj Mahal Travellers founder Takehisa Kosugi, complete with a translated criticism from Kosugi himself. Blank Forms’ previous editions have covered Texan composer Jerry Hunt, Organic Music pioneers Don and Moki Cherry, and Japanese free jazz trailblazer Masayuki Takayangi.
Blank Forms 09: Sound Signatures is available for purchase on Antenne Books
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