Soliloquy for Lilith (Part 5 & 6)
NURSE WITH WOUND
“There’s a very special place in New York City called Dream House.”
No, it isn't related to any real estate agency or cheesy pink building. It is instead a sort of art gallery in TriBeCa, a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. I visited it with my wife a few years ago. When she proposed me to visit it I didn't have a clue of what to expect but since I love my wife's taste in general, I quickly agreed to go.
When we entered, I immediately got excited. The space hosts an exhibition based on sound and meditation. Founded in 1993 by experimental music icon La Monte Young and visual artist Marian Zazeela, the gallery essentially remained the same for the last 23 years, and it's a gem in the middle of the chaos of the city in which (some) New Yorkers love to isolate and meditate. Surrounded by incense smell and colorful visuals, you can sit (or lay) down on the floor and meditate or relax with the sound modulations coming from 4 huge speakers at the room's four corners. It is a very immersive experience.
This memory immediately came to my mind while listening to the drone/experimental/ambient album Soliloquy for Lilith, released in 1988 by British musician Steven Stapleton and considered one of the most influential albums in the genre.
Originally a band, Nurse With Wound formed in 1978 with Stapleton joined by John Fothergill and Heman Pathak. In 1981 only Stapleton was left from the original trio, and from that moment on, he started collaborations with a multitude of artists throughout the years.
Similarly to the music played at the Dream House, Soliloquy for Lilith, and especially Parts 5 & 6, is kind of an experiment. It is a human interaction between sound and electricity. In later years, Stapleton put the album down to an electrical fault of some sort in the studio it was recorded in. A later reissue even credits "our thanks to Electricity for making this recording possible."
Both Stapleton and La Monte Young's music have roots in concrete music. Because of their frequent use of creative tape loops and editing, putting them in the same musical scenario alongside concrete music pioneers like John Cage is effortless.
Soliloquy for Lilith was recorded by Stapleton and his wife, Diana Rogerson. They didn't use any instruments. The only sound source was several effects units he had set up to operate in a feedback loop. No original input signal was being processed, simply the feedback hum generated by plugging the original chain of pedals back into itself. When Stapleton went near the pedals, he found the sound changed by their proximity. The album reminds us that sound is a crucial part of our life, and despite being invisible, it continually interacts with space, time, and our bodies.
Stapleton spent his musical career releasing many works as composer and producer and collaborated with a long list of musicians like James Thirlwell, Tony Wakeford, David Jackman, Andrew McKenzie, Stereolab, and Jim O'Rourke among others, and most regularly with David Tibet of Current 93. He also founded his record label United Dairies which released records by Current 93, the Lemon Kittens, Volcano, the Bear, and several experimental artists.
More recently, Stapleton worked with the Krautrock band Faust. In 2005 NWW returned to live performance after a 21-year absence playing at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival organized by Sonic Youth founder Thurston Moore, ironically, one of the many experimental artists who, I found out, regularly visited the Dream House in NYC.
