#8: Keith Rowe & Jon Abbey (Erstwhile Records): ”A Response to Treatise”

(This episode was previously broadcast on August 14th, 2020, however, the interview was recorded in October 2018)

 

On the show today, I’m joined by Keith Rowe, who was a founding member of AMM, a free improvisation group from the mid-1960s. With him is Jon Abbey of Erstwhile Records, who over the last 20 years has seen his label closely intertwined with Keith’s work. Since the late 1990s, Erstwhile Records has been releasing some of the most exciting and challenging recordings within this area of music, many of them involving Keith.

Keith Rowe is a musician and visual artist, perhaps best known for popularizing the “prepared guitar” — that is, an electric guitar, laid flat on a table and played with various objects- motors, springs, toothbrushes, you name it. Keith is also well known for his use of the radio as a musical instrument. This interview was recorded in October 2018 while Keith was in New York performing what was likely his last American show following a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.

Keith was kind enough to give us an unreleased piece to accompany this podcast called “A Response to Treatise”. It’s available for a free lossless download at our Bandcamp with accompanying notes and annotated pages of Treatise.


credits for A Response to Treatise (2002):

recorded Feb 8, 2002 in Austin by Tom Carter
mastered by Toshimaru Nakamura

thanks to Rick Reed, Richard Pinnell & P.G. Moreno/Epistrophy Arts

dedicated to Sherrie Lynn Streeter (1959-2010)

(Please see the .pdf included with this download on our Bandcamp download of this episode, signifyingsomething.bandcamp.com, for further notes by Keith)