Someone suggested that Suss Müsik repost our contributions to the weekly Disquiet Junto projects, because they enjoy reading the explanations of the tracks. While you’re reading the original post, make sure you check out the other contributors’ works as well.
In his book Tales of Beatnik Glory, Beat writer and former Fugs co-leader Ed Sanders combines elements of classical Greek literature with the avant-garde bohemia of 1960’s New York City. Sanders poem, “Sappho on East Seventh,” constructs an East Village fantasia where the poem’s protagonist is haunted by visions of the Tenth Muse.
Sanders’ poems are visually inventive, with their creative use of tab-indents and double-spacing. His lines appear to sing from the page, with the occasional sketch or handwritten word to be found in the poem’s margins.
For this short piece, Suss Müsik studied the composition of a single page to detect three distinct patterns. The vertical margins create the body of major-scale notes, which are split between two diagonals at the lines “There was a near-sob tremble” and “The wall cleaved apart.” The two capital O’s signify two percussive hits that repeat in a phased loop.
The piece is titled Sappho and was recorded on piano and prepared mbira fitted with piezo pickups.