Sonnenzimmer and Hometapes are teaming up to produce Free Jazz Bitmaps, Volume One, a process-based publication in the form of a series of lathe-cut 7" records culminating in a 12” vinyl release. The architecture of this inaugural volume is provided by Nick Butcher: songs created by Butcher will come to life on extremely limited edition lathe-cut records throughout 2011. The collection will then be featured on 12" LP alongside reinterpretations of those songs by renowned Chicago improvisers Jason Adasiewicz, Tim Daisy, Keefe Jackson, Mike Reed, Jason Reobke, and Jason Stein.
Free Jazz Bitmaps: Volume One will roll out in two phases, embracing the neighboring sonic and visual art processes that have defined Butcher's career. Sonnenzimmer and Hometapes will co-release a series of limited edition lathe-cut 7" records in 2011, beginning in February and continuing bi-monthly for a total of six releases. These hand-cut 7” records will be housed in screen printed sleeves featuring cover art by Nadine Nakanishi. They will also include a screen print specific to the record by Nakanishi and Butcher. These releases are limited to just ten copies per release, providing a direct window into Butcher's creative process throughout the year: the music will be made one release at a time. The final collection, paired with the song-reinterpretations of Adasiewicz, Daisy, Jackson, Reed, Reobke, and Stein, will take on new (and more widely-available) life in its compiled form of February 2012's Free Jazz Bitmaps: Volume One LP. The artwork will have a similar function, as the LP art will be a composite of the art created for each 7” release. The end of the road will merely be the beginning of a new one.
"With the music for Free Jazz Bitmaps 4, my intention was to explore both house music's and free jazz's ability to stretch our perception of time. Each genre achieves this in different ways, house music with it's endless repetition and condensed pallet and free jazz with its blurred tones and bending and collapsing measure. With these songs, i've taken elements of each to achieve very different results." -Nick Butcher
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