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DSR#235 | IIIrd Ear Blind: One Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty Two Phallic Sculptures From Patmos

by Flux in a Constant State

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1.
Bendin' @ The Pantheon Bar 05:58
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2.
Clinton Road Baalbek Portal 11:57
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3.
'Pon Schunemunk 07:21
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4.
Greenish Blue Fires of Peekamoose Valley 05:56
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5.
Ar Mesice 15:44
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about

Flux in a Constant State is an ambient guitar based improvisations/timbral fuckery/bast(u)rd brainchild of Matt Hurley.

"At long last, I am proud to finally present the first full length Flux release in almost exactly 2 years and the latest installment in the “Saec(u)lum” series - “IIIrd Ear Blind: One Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty Two Phallic Sculptures From Patmos”. Yeah, the album title is an intentional mashup of “Third Eye Blind” and “Third Ear Band”, but the real prize goes to whoever can guess what band/particular album Is being referenced with the Roman numeral spelling of “third”.

You may (probably not but indulge me a bit here) be asking yourself “why the wait?” and also “even compared to the older stuff this shit is nasty, who hurt you in the last year and a half?” Without getting into superfluous specifics, in the aftermath of Hypernormal/Hyponormal I had ideas for the direction I wanted to take Flux in that were never able to truly materialize for reasons beyond my control. Sprinkle on top of that a series of false starts in my musical and personal life and you get probably the most nasty, dissonant, noisey record I’ve ever cut. I guess I can take some solace in the fact that even now being well into my *early* 30s I not only still have yet to “lose my edge” but if anything am more edgy than ever before. Even the early Alcove stuff which was written when I was still young enough that people expected me to be perpetually pissed off is tame compared to this. Which is not to say there aren’t some more ethereal/tranquil moments of respite here as well, but yeah, being seemingly endlessly blueballed in every facet of life for a year and a half will ultimately strengthen your resolve to finally try to reclaim some sort of control over your circumstances, and for me this record is the manifestation of the headspace I’ve been in as a result.

I play (almost) everything on this record - guitars (electric AND for the first time in my recorded music history, acoustic(!)), loops, nouveau shamanic vocal incantations, drum machine and even some (proper) percussion instruments for another Flux/me in general first (tambourine and [technically Nepalese] singing bowls to be specific). The only sounds on here not created by yours truly are the drums on “Ar Meisce” (extracted from a field recording of a Chinese[?] lunar New Year celebration at the World Trade Center station not quite a year ago) and the various other atmospheric field recordings sprinkled throughout. To tie this back to the last paragraph, this record for me is about reclaiming self reliance and control to the greatest possible extent, as well as embracing rather than being stifled by limitations, alchemically converting negatives into positives, etc. Which is not to say I don’t still envision a future where I return to doing more collaborative work. So hey if you like what you hear here and feel similarly, consider this my audition.

The photo that I’ve used for the album cover was taken at a junk shop on Main Street in Somerville, New Jersey in the summer of 2021. I could say I was struck by the commodification of an art piece from a culture vastly different from my own, divorced from potential religious/spiritual and/or sociocultural implications I could never fully comprehend that it bears in its native land. I recall watching Jim Jarmusch speak about the inherently imperialistic nature of museums in relation to their prominence in what in my humble opinion is his most underrated film “The Limits of Control”, and it brought mind to this photo as it seemingly takes that notion a step further by blatantly being sold as a commodity. I could pretend like this was all going through my head when I took this picture, but the reality is I probably just thought it was funny to see an African penis sculpture for sale at a junk shop. Interpret it and how it relates to the title/music how you will regardless.

There's probably more to say but as is I've run my mouth enough. Enjoy if you're so inclined. More coming in the aftermath of this release needless to say."

- Matthew Hurley

Album co-released with Flux in a Constant State
Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
fluxinaconstantstate.bandcamp.com/album/iiird-ear-blind-one-thousand-three-hundred-and-fifty-two-phallic-sculptures-from-patmos

credits

released December 20, 2023

Previous albums on DSR:
DSR#156 | Hyponormal​/​Hypernormal
defaultstandard.bandcamp.com/album/dsr-156-hyponormal-hypernormal
DSR#128 | Saeculum II: Causa Sui Boogaloo
defaultstandard.bandcamp.com/album/dsr-128-saeculum-ii-causa-sui-boogaloo

Matt Hurley - Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Loops, Nouveau Shamanic & Spoken Word Vocals, Percussion, Drum Machine
A Chinese(?) Drum Ensemble - Drums on "Ar Mesiche"

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Default Standard Greece

Avant/Abstract
Collaborative
Noise Democracy
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| microcosm |

surreal present

Pushing sonic boundaries beyond the limits of the imaginable.

Founded & Operated by:
Dimitris Tsironis
(melophobia)

people (δήμος/demos) to rule the state (κράτος/kratos)

"in a truly free nation, no one has to tell you you’re free"

# : new submissions
- : reissues

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