HIST

Hist Soundtrack Complete by James belflower

I wasn’t sure if I would ever say this, but I have completed the soundtrack for my collaborative graphic novel HIST. I’m very proud of this album because it blends the rich and uncanny textures of intimate found sounds, such as the clicking of beech nut spikes, with spoken word, extending the digital materiality of the graphic novel into the sonic realm. Working with my coauthor and vocalist, Matthew Klane, over the last two years, he and I have recorded the full album, mixed it, and the mastering was recently finished by the wonderful Sam Torres at Polymouth Music. I am in the process of shopping this album to various labels and will update as soon as I place it!

Keep an eye out for updates on future performances. For now, enjoy these offerings below.

HIST at House Poets in Philly | 2/24/23 by James belflower

HIST Soundtrack Excerpts On ANMLY by James belflower

Thanks to the wonderful people at ANMLY mag who have an awesome hybrid creative blog, “The Markings of Music.” The editor, Olivia Muenz, was kind enough to publish excerpts from the HIST soundtrack, “Canoe Chase on the Horican,” and “Narra-mattah,” my audio/visual collaborations with Matthew Klane. Our recordings are accompanied with an interview diving in to the process behind the book and the reasoning behind a soundtrack for it. There are so many wonderful things on the blog so check them all out!

Hist Performance @ Endicott college by James belflower

The Center For Belonging was an excellent performance space.

Photos Courtesy of Michael Kilburn

Photos Courtesy of Michael Kilburn

We performed John Cage’s Musicircus with students from a course on Zen Buddhism, co-taught by Rocco Gangle, Daniel Sklar, and Michael Kilburn.

Randall Livingstone took us down to the ocean, which was across the street!

Photos Courtesy of Michael Kilburn

Photos Courtesy of Michael Kilburn