Wavelength
Wavelength is broadcast on Resonance 104.4fm, on Fridays at 2:30pm and repeats on Mondays at 5am.Post-nostalgic, future retro, ironic hommage; a new/old genre.
Artists’ (“artists”) records by the likes of Stan Douglas, Rodney Graham, Pipilotti Rist, Martin Kippenberger and Karel Appel. This programme launches a new/old genre of music discovered and now revealed. The definition is still fluid as is the genre. Prompted by recordings issued by Stan Douglas and Rodney Graham which purport to be rooted in the near past whilst carving a niche in the art world thereby elevating (?) the musical intervention. For example; Stan Douglas’s limited edition double vinyl LP “Luanda-Kinshasa” accompanying his video installation. “Accompanying” might be the wrong word. The video recreates a 1970s recording studio with a funky band performing in the style of Miles Davis (“On the Corner”). The band of distinguished musicians including Jason Moran, are dressed to look the part. Rodney Graham goes one step further by issuing a 10″ LP resembling a Deutsche Grammophon disc with a photograph of Graham on the front dressed like a university professor circa 1960 (?) holding an acoustic guitar, seated by a tree. Curiously, the image is at odds with the repertoire which is early 1970s including a cover version of “Feelin’ Alright” (Dave Mason, 1972) and music for “Zabriskie Point” (1970). Perhaps the image of Graham is deliberately dated to look like someone lost in time, he could be a folk singer from the late 1950s even, or perhaps those shoes didn’t exist until 1964…From the accompanying (that word again) booklet: “Graham’s work… …plays tricks with the concept of authenticity”.