Happy birthday, Craig Leon!
The force behind the expansive, outer limit music of Nommos and Visiting, and so much sound of Downtown NYC in the late ’70s. May your music continue crossing time and space for years to come ~
Pictured here in 1998 via Sound on Sound Magazine.
Described as “a collection of aural garments that have or could have been commissioned as soundtracks” on a catalog advertisement doubling as an LP jacket in an early volume of Made to Measure, Crammed’s vision for their longstanding series was made for wide mind projection.
Beyond the adventurous, innovative music of Made to Measure is a real sense of collaboration and community. Some musicians are provided a platform early on in the series, and then a dozen or two volumes later. Other musicians appear in the credits across several volumes, or are thoughtfully paired with other musicians over multiple collaborations. Having someone like Marc at the helm of Crammed, a musician himself who speaks the language and lives the process, gives Made To Measure creative integrity, cohesion, and limitlessness.
Made to Measure is hands down one of the biggest inspirations on our record label, and you can see its influence wide out in the open in our FRKWYS series. This mix includes a piece of music from volumes 1 through 31 of the series, and is truly a soundtrack to the expansion of my listening mind.
Listen back on NTS Radio here, alongside mixes from Christina Vatzou & JAB, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Marc Hollander, Stubbleman, and Yasuaki Shimizu.
Rena Anakwe’s music first came into view for us with her Sound Bath Mixtape Vol.1, shared in part with the ever-inspiring PTP. While dreaming of artists to help reenergize Commend‘s space with new music as part of our storefront’s THERE series, A Space for Sound felt like a natural, and nurturing, fit and force ~
In Kiana Mickles’ words, “channeling a bereavement into a transcendent soundscape, A Space for Sound’s Sometimes underwater (feels like home) asks us to sit in stillness with sound in hopes that it will inspire new avenues for self-healing.”
This picture by Cindy Trinh documents Rena’s sound bath this past October, the first event hosted at Commend in nearly two years. We’re grateful to have a spirit like Rena’s present in RVNG + Commend worlds, and worlds beyond ~
Pauline Anna Strom ~ otherworldly, intellectual and imaginative, perceptive and opinionated, beloved artist, friend + sister…
On the occasion of her one year passing, a small group of friends, new and old, gathered on the coast of California to share our separate but similarly magical experiences with Paula. She led a mysterious life by design, but not opaquely so. All of the stories shared of Paula were rich in the glow of her warm, passionate personality, and ultimately, her uncanny love.
Paula’s love flowed deep for her many pet reptiles over the years. Sadly, Ms Huff passed away a few months ago, in her tender 40s (lizards can live up to 70 years!). Joining us at the gathering was Little Soulstice (pictured here), the younger of the two lizards that kept Paula companion in her San Francisco home of the past four decades.
Also joining us was Paula. She was seen and felt everywhere — in the trees, the ground, the sky, and she was heard. Paula left an astonishing amount of music that we took this communal occasion to catalog, and revisit under Paula’s direction before she passed, for future editions / explorations of her work.
Thank you Loretta, Jeremy, Amy, Aubrey, Euan, Suzanne, and Marta for such a beautiful week. We miss you so much, Paula ~
Pete first connected with Tiziano Popoli in 2017 while sniffing out deadstock copies of Scorie, an Italian minimalist classic from 1985 that we were hoping to reissue on Freedom To Spend.
We had no idea what floodgate of music would hit our inbox; one that we could barely keep up with, and one that expanded our understanding of Tiziano as a tireless creator.
We ultimately culled the collection down to these fourteen tracks of Burn the Night / Bruciare la Notte: Original Recordings, 1983–1989, all reflecting a sort of pop sensibility rare in the avant-garde.
Sure, it’s great to push the envelope, but shouldn’t it also be a bit playful?