It would appear to me that resurrection has been something of a constant within the historical narrative of both the arts and the spiritual. A mixture of undiscovered gems & reinterpreted messages, or possibly the original intent and acceptance of such concepts only arise at later dates. One thing is for sure though and that is De Stijl's reintroduction of the Poety Out Loud series plays into each of these possibilities while while bringing to back to light some of the experimental art worlds most under recognized recordings.
"Ocean" possibly best represents the set and the intensely hypnotic performance. The strongly rhythmic vocal workout builds itself in a whirling drone of crashing voices. Each bringing with it their own sonic momentum which sways in the give and take that never really fully relieves the tension. Even at it's most forceful there are always moments of intimacy and perhaps personal fears. "You're too old byyyy the ocean."
Strange that even with something like a high profile feature in Rolling Stone Peter & Patricia B McGarry (Harleman), the two principle factors of the "magazine", have not been acknowledged with reissue status sooner. "Turn Me" in particular resonates with the particular moment far too well. Suddenly appearing as a precursor to a group such as Excepter whose futuristic poetry dance-rants reached marathon proportions. The thematic element of psycho-domesticity is another shared element between the two groups as evidence in lyrical & visual content.
Then again perhaps "no written words are going to prepare you for the experience of hearing" these recordings, as the series press release will have us believe. Maybe they are right for doing so, after all resurrection in both artistic and spiritual cases happen for a reason.
Poetry Out Loud is available digitally now via De Stijl Records.
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