category : other

Leave to Remain is a faux spy-novel in 6 parts, possessed by the spirit of Janus: doubleness, duplicity, two-facedness – written by two authors (one French, one American) and performed by two narrators (with special guests).

published by Dalkey Archive Press

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2022

Used by permission of Dalkey Archive Press

Leave to Remain - ̶M̶o̶n̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ Between the Coldest Us

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 14:35:07 +0000

Leave to Remain

Chapter 5

̶M̶o̶n̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ Between the Coldest Us

written by Thalia Field & Abigail Lang

this episode is performed by Stephanie Weeks and Shannon Tyo with Sedric Choukroun.

designed and produced by Ben Williams

original music by Billy Martin aka illy B

Carol Emanuel (harp), Dana Lyn (violin), Jane Scarpantoni (cello), Kenny Wollesen (vibraphone), Billy Martin (additional percussion)

Chapter 5: the Cold War obsession with capturing two-faced monsters

Leave to Remain is a faux spy-novel in 6 parts, possessed by the spirit of Janus: doubleness, duplicity, two-facedness – written by two authors (one French, one American) and performed by two narrators (with special guests).

published by Dalkey Archive Press

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2022

Used by permission of Dalkey Archive Press

Leave to Remain - A Trifle or Entremet...

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 18:19:05 +0000

Leave to Remain

Chapter 4

A Trifle or Entremet, for My Better Half, Pending – Being an exchange on the relative benefits of real, spiritual, and logical bridges

written by Thalia Field & Abigail Lang

this episode is performed by Stephanie Weeks and Shannon Tyo with Sedric Choukroun, T. Ryder Smith, and Ben Williams

designed and produced by Ben Williams

original music by Billy Martin aka illy B

Carol Emanuel (harp), Dana Lyn (violin), Jane Scarpantoni (cello), Kenny Wollesen (vibraphone), Billy Martin (additional percussion)

Chapter 4: in which Janus takes on medieval Avignon and the false Popes.

Leave to Remain is a faux spy-novel in 6 parts, possessed by the spirit of Janus: doubleness, duplicity, two-facedness – written by two authors (one French, one American) and performed by two narrators (with special guests).

published by Dalkey Archive Press

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2022

Used by permission of Dalkey Archive Press

Leave to Remain - Case the Case: 11, rue Larrey

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 04:14:50 +0000

Leave to Remain

Chapter 3

Case the Case: 11, rue Larrey

written by Thalia Field & Abigail Lang

this episode is performed by Stephanie Weeks with Shannon Tyo and Sedric Choukroun

designed and produced by Ben Williams

original music by Billy Martin aka illy B

Carol Emanuel (harp), Dana Lyn (violin), Jane Scarpantoni (cello), Kenny Wollesen (vibraphone), Billy Martin (additional percussion)

Leave to Remain is a faux spy-novel in 6 parts, possessed by the spirit of Janus: doubleness, duplicity, two-facedness – written by two authors (one French, one American) and performed by two narrators (with special guests).

published by Dalkey Archive Press

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2022

Used by permission of Dalkey Archive Press

Leave to Remain - "A Bridge to Turn Around!"

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 15:13:55 +0000

Leave to Remain

Chapter 1

Janus at a Chinese Restaurant in Paris

written by Thalia Field & Abigail Lang

this episode is performed by Shannon Tyo and Stephanie Weeks

designed and produced by Ben Williams

original music by Billy Martin aka illy B

Carol Emanuel (harp), Dana Lyn (violin), Jane Scarpantoni (cello), Kenny Wollesen (vibraphone), Billy Martin (additional percussion)

Leave to Remain is a faux spy-novel in 6 parts, possessed by the spirit of Janus: doubleness, duplicity, two-facedness – written by two authors (one French, one American) and performed by two narrators (with special guests).

published by Dalkey Archive Press

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2022

Used by permission of Dalkey Archive Press

Leave to Remain - Janus at a Chinese Restaurant in Paris

Sun, 28 Aug 2022 11:55:47 +0000

Leave to Remain

Chapter 1

Janus at a Chinese Restaurant in Paris

written by Thalia Field & Abigail Lang

this episode is performed by Shannon Tyo and Stephanie Weeks

designed and produced by Ben Williams

original music by Billy Martin aka illy B

Carol Emanuel (harp), Dana Lyn (violin), Jane Scarpantoni (cello), Kenny Wollesen (vibraphone), Billy Martin (additional percussion)

Leave to Remain is a faux spy-novel in 6 parts possessed by the spirit of Janus: doubleness, duplicity, two-facedness – written by two authors (one French, one American) and performed by two narrators (with special guests).

published by Dalkey Archive Press

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2022

Used by permission of Dalkey Archive Press

BETHLEHEM STEEL (RADIO EDIT)

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 17:05:54 +0000

written by Christina Masciotti

performed by Joel Perez, Paul Boocock, James Himelsbach, Maggie Hoffman, Linda Mancini, and Ben Williams

designed and produced by Ben Williams

dramaturgy by Jody McAuliffe

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC. 2021

Personhood - Glancing Backward

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 22:51:31 +0000

Personhood

Chapter 10

Glancing Backward

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by Shannon Tyo

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

(image by Joan Wong)

Personhood - Irrational / Situation

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 18:09:17 +0000

Personhood

Chapter 9

Irrational / Situation

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by Ben Williams and Shannon Tyo

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

(image by Joan Wong)

Personhood - Patients

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 14:49:51 +0000

Personhood

Chapter 8

Patients

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by April Matthis

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

(image by Joan Wong)

Personhood - The Health of My Stream or The (Most) Pathetic Fallacy

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 16:22:04 +0000

Chapter 7

The Health of My Stream or The (Most) Pathetic Fallacy

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by Shannon Tyo

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

(image by Joan Wong)

Personhood - Liberty / Trees

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 08:51:35 +0000

Personhood

Chapter 6

Liberty / Trees

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by April Matthis

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

Personhood - Unseen

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 14:27:21 +0000

Unseen

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by Ben Williams

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

Personhood - True Crime / Nature Fakers

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 16:45:48 +0000

Personhood

Chapter 4

True Crime / Nature Fakers

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by Shannon Tyo and Ben Williams, with April Matthis

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

sampled audio includes themes from Scene of the Crime, The Racket, Conspiracy, Eyes in the Night, Jigsaw, Murder at Glen Athol, Philo Vance: The Benson Murder Case, Shadow of the Law, The Mystery Man, Force of Evil, The Killers, World for Ransom, and a few others….

Personhood - Turns Before the Curtain

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 17:58:22 +0000

Turns Before the Curtain

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by Shannon Tyo, with April Matthis and Ben Williams

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

sampled audio includes:

Runenae Papa (I Want a Lot of Love) by Zutty and his Band

Personhood - Happy / That You Have the Body (The Mirror Test)

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 01:41:02 +0000

Personhood

Chapter 2

Happy / That You Have the Body (The Mirror Test)

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by April Matthis, with Shannon Tyo and Ben Williams

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

Personhood - Hi Adam!

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 12:48:28 +0000

Hi Adam!

written by Thalia Field

this episode is performed by Shannon Tyo, with April Matthis and Ben Williams

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Personhood moves radically through genres and conventions, taking the listener on a design-driven experience into the psychic spaces and logical conundrums that we have created around our non-human relatives.

published by New Directions

Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC in 2021

2020

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:10:32 +0000

Written and performed by Michael Wiener

Produced and designed by Ben Williams

special appearance by the ghost of Tom Murrin*

recorded at The Collapsable Hole NYC 2020

*recorded by Ben Williams at Alias on October 14, 2010.

Sound Texts (Teaser)

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 17:52:01 +0000

a preview of new work by Rafael Sánchez and Ben Williams

based on the sound texts of Kathleen White

designed and produced by Ben Williams

featuring “Preachin Blues” by Mendi + Keith Obadike from the UNITY-GAIN project

D'Arc-Ness

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 17:51:45 +0000

written by John Jesurun

performed by Anna Kohler

designed and produced by Ben Williams

Created during a previous epidemic, this text returns to us in a new medium to shine a light simultaneously backwards and forwards on a moment of rage, humor, and loss, with a sound design that keeps everything floating just on the edge of madness.

recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC. 2020

Essays in Idleness - Part 3

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 17:51:41 +0000

designed and performed by Tei Blow

Essays in Idleness is a collection of short writings by Yoshida Kenko, a poet and Buddhist priest living in the 14th century. Living in monastic isolation within the confines of Kyoto, he set himself to writing 243 short observations, which he pasted to the walls of his house. The writings were later compiled into a book after his death. Much credit is given to this book for its contribution to the Japanese aesthetic, as it focuses on the beauty of nature, social rules, Zen Buddhism, and the concept of impermanence.

On the Trail with Dwayne & Courtney

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 17:51:33 +0000

Strap on your binos and lace up your boots, ‘cause you’re about to set out On The Trail with Dwayne & Courtney. Take a walk through time and encounter the sounds of the McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area, refracted and magnified through multiple layers of consciousness. A friendly day of birdwatching entwines with a journey (or two?) of reflection. In this audio time capsule, natural and artificial worlds overlap and memories unfold in the space between your ears.

This episode was recorded live in Poolesville, MD on May 1, 2020, and in Kingston, NY on Aug 23, 2020, by Sarah Blush and John Gasper. Both are unscripted.

Created and produced by Sarah Blush and John Gasper

Engineered and edited by John Gasper, with additional music by John *Dwayne*.

Only When It's Dark Enough Can You See the Stars

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 18:52:51 +0000

Composition/Sound Design
Justin Hicks

Additional Music
Meshell Ndegeocello

Performance
Okwui Okpokwasili + Paul Pryce + Justin Hicks

Direction/Script/Co-producer
Charlotte Brathwaite

Inspired by and including texts by
Eric Roach, Frank B. Wilderson III + Martin Luther King Jr.

ONLY WHEN IT’S DARK ENOUGH CAN YOU SEE THE STARS was originally presented as part of the performance installation Empire State Works in Progress at the Whitney Museum of American Art as part of Calder: Hypermobility (2017) with sculptures by Abigail DeVille and Conceived and Directed by Charlotte Brathwaite.

other collaborators on the installation:

Director of Photography
Herman Jean-Noel

Artistic Facilitation
Mo Geiger

Video Editing
Inspiraacoes/Clara Soria and Hugo Resende

Assistant Camera/Field Audio Recorder
Alvin Dollow

Video Creative Collaborator
Felipe Morozini

Essays in Idleness - Part 1

Sat, 04 Apr 2020 22:20:24 +0000

designed and performed by Tei Blow

Essays in Idleness is a collection of short writings by Yoshida Kenko, a poet and Buddhist priest living in the 14th century. Living in monastic isolation within the confines of Kyoto, he set himself to writing 243 short observations, which he pasted to the walls of his house. The writings were later compiled into a book after his death. Much credit is given to this book for its contribution to the Japanese aesthetic, as it focuses on the beauty of nature, social rules, Zen Buddhism, and the concept of impermanence.

Essays in Idleness - Part 2

Sat, 04 Apr 2020 21:39:00 +0000

designed and performed by Tei Blow

Essays in Idleness is a collection of short writings by Yoshida Kenko, a poet and Buddhist priest living in the 14th century. Living in monastic isolation within the confines of Kyoto, he set himself to writing 243 short observations, which he pasted to the walls of his house. The writings were later compiled into a book after his death. Much credit is given to this book for its contribution to the Japanese aesthetic, as it focuses on the beauty of nature, social rules, Zen Buddhism, and the concept of impermanence.

Decoder Duo

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 16:34:01 +0000

Lightbulb - from Decoder Duo

G Lucas Crane and Jim Findlay

If you break a man open what spills out? blood, muck and viscera, or words?

G Lucas Crane and Jim Findlay high-jack each others bodies with DECODER DUO, reveling in the soup of mind and sound that exists when you stumble through the dense and viscous media jungle and find a looming cut-up machine, gleaming in a clearing, moonlight glinting off electrodes and stirrups. Strapping in, they escape inward through the hiss and spit of no-wave New York noise punk, curling out short explosion tracks whose lyrics arrive in a seance of junk media. Jim spits the ghost words and Lucas hacks the broken tapes.*

We're now singing the bladerunner omen year 2020 blues. Each year we pass is a patchwork mask of all the years that came before. How many animated gifs does it take to crush a lightbulb or explode a toilet? Strap in and find out.

excerpt from a live recording at The Collapsable Hole, NYC, Jan 11, 2020.

performed by G Lucas Crane and Jim Findlay

directed by Mallory Catlett

engineering and sound design by G Lucas Crane

video and systems programming: Keith Skretch

Saint Joan

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 13:22:02 +0000

recorded and directed by Mallory Catlett

sound design by Ben Williams

performed by Black-Eyed Susan

This adaptation of the Joan of Arc story was written for Black-Eyed Susan by the legendary Ethyl Eichelberger in 1987. Some 30 years later, Black-Eyed Susan revisits this text in a hallucinatory new medium.

Lighthouse 40°N 73°W

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 20:22:00 +0000

Music/Sound/Voice: Christina Campanella

Mixing/Dramaturgy: Jim Dawson

Song Lyrics: Stephanie Fleischmann

Lighthouse was funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature via NYSCA’s Independent Artist Commission in Film, Media, and New Technologies.

2015 New York Electronic Art Festival – Produced by Harvestworks, Curated by Carol Parkinson

2015 HERE Arts Center, Culturemart – Curated by Kim Whitener and Kristin Marting

photo credit: Benjamin Heller

Revolve For

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 22:00:00 +0000

Revolve For is a sonic meditation on spinning.

Spinning is a key feature of the cosmic movement. It is very present in global weather and water movements, but it is largely absent from the plant and animals kingdom. Humans have tapped into spinning to harness and redirect power.

This is the first part of a study - where it will lead I don't yet know. But this version mixes a range of revolving sounds that I find evocative of moving around an axis.

- JD

created and designed by Jim Dawson

Songs of Speculation

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 21:30:00 +0000

“Special thanks to the Songs Brain and Body Trust who’ve helped me think about this work at its various stages: Mei Ann Teo, Susan Heyward, Jess Applebaum, Dominique Rider, Tuce Yasak, Kris Sidberry, Brandon Webster, Stephanie Weeks, and Sara Stern.”

-JW

Songs of Speculation (excerpt) is a lecture that explodes into multi-form performance, calling on the body, time, and the power of music to reclaim histories forgotten or lost. It is performed with a black feminist instrument known as a looper pedal. This pedal allows for the recording, layering and amplification of live vocal composition channeled through spirit of ancestor and muse.

This instrument (much like the black feminist), is meant to be taken seriously and handled with great care.

Songs happens in:
~A lecture space
~Ancestral spaces
~A ripple through dimension beyond the playing space

Songs of Speculation has been embodied in various physical forms at Dixon Place, The Bushwick Starr, JACK (world premiere), Judson Memorial Church, Park Avenue Armory and is now here on the inter-webs forever (?).

written and performed by Jillian Walker

designed and engineered by Ben Williams

recorded at The Collapsable Hole NYC 2019

Q&A

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 05:14:00 +0000

from the novel Queer and Alone, by James Strahs
adapted and performed by Greg Mehrten
directed by David Schweizer
sound design and engineering by Ben Williams
recorded at The Collapsable Hole, NYC 2019

Alva and the Laundromat Cosmology

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 01:12:00 +0000

Alva and the Magnetic Resonance was published in Michigan Quarterly Review

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Alva and the Vanishing Woman

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 02:27:00 +0000

Biopsy Beast appears for the first time in category : other

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Alva and the Asteroid

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 00:59:00 +0000

Alva and the Magnetic Resonance was published in Michigan Quarterly Review

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Biopsy Beast

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 07:07:00 +0000

Biopsy Beast appears for the first time in category : other

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Alva and the Magnetic Resonance

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 00:52:00 +0000

Alva and the Magnetic Resonance was published in Michigan Quarterly Review

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Lonesome Beast

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 00:51:00 +0000

Lonesome Beast first appeared in Fusion Magazine

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Alva and the Online Fishermen

Sat, 14 Mar 2020 00:49:00 +0000

Alva and the Online Fishermen was first published in New Madrid

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Alva on Getting Dumped in the Desert

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 00:47:00 +0000

Alva on Getting Dumped in the Desert was first published in New Madrid

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Alva and the Mockingbird

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 00:45:00 +0000

Alva and the Mockingbird was first published in: Birmingham Poetry Review

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.

Alva and the Complex Pool (episode 1 of The Alva Album)

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 01:02:00 +0000

Alva and the Mockingbird was first published in: Birmingham Poetry Review

Meet Alva, the protagonist of writer L.S. McKee’s series of poems exploring a woman’s experience across various landscapes, including the contemporary American South. Made in collaboration with sound designer Ben Williams, McKee takes us through a series of psychic spaces – dreams, doctor’s offices, online dating platforms – finding beauty and horror along the way.

recorded September 2019 at The Collapsable Hole.