The Red Barn is a small book of short fiction originally released by Calamari Archive, Ink in 2017. The audio version was recorded 5 years later, co-released by Calamari and Tripticks Tapes. The recording features excerpts from the text, four of the longer stories, each alongside two panned tracks of double bass improvisations. All performances are first and only takes without edits.
“In The Red Barn, Nat Baldwin decomposes narrative's safe spaces. The symbols in the nightmare landscape are nothing other than themselves. Nails. Boards. Tubs. Chains. Buckets. Teeth. A story of boys is stripped sentence by sentence. What's left is the brutal music of language laid bare.”—Joanna Ruocco
“The blades, the rust, the dirt, the mouth, the meat, the blood, the sun, the glass, the skin, the word, the lake, the graves; it’s a pristine and elemental form of fiction that Nat Baldwin renders, distilling language and image to its most primal animation. Like seeing slides of color pass before your face in darkness. Like remembering how to read.”—Blake Butler
credits
released May 13, 2022
Nat Baldwin: double bass, voice
Recorded on February 25, 2022 in Greenfield, MA
Mastered by Weasel Walter
Copyleft--all rites reversed. This book-on-tape may be freely reproduced, adapted, repurposed, etc., as long as it is under these same copyleft conditions (not to be copyrighted or reproduced for profit or commercial gain).
Simply amazing to hear a new album with Wadada and Ewart!! ...And Reed rounds out this trio beautifully.
Just gave it my first spin. Absolutely magical. jeffrey maurer
A fearless cult figure from New England's underground scene, Sawyer's no-fi experiments with everyday objects and body sounds are greatly rewarding to those who have the patience and curiosity to give them a chance. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jan 20, 2017
The new album from electroacoustic composer Jeremy Young is draped in a sense of mystery, tones flickering gently, like an old home movie. Bandcamp New & Notable May 9, 2021
There’s room for improvisation in the style of “Perfect (Every Time)” – focused, with broken vocals and bow strokes. But also for a direction in the style of “Open Winded” – a film-like, emotional melody with beautiful harmonies. This is an open, light, and bold album; spontaneous music, full of fantasy and intriguing details.
More: http://noweidzieodmorza.com/14428-the-best-of-astral-spirits/ Jakub Knera