Published
Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 14:00
- A compilation of music from the Pennsylvania-based synthesist is out on RVNG/Freedom To Spend this fall.
RVNG Intl. and its sister label Freedom To Spend will dive back into the catalogue of Michele Mercure with Beside Herself, a 19-track retrospective due in November.
For Beside Herself, the labels looked to cassettes Mercure issued between 1983 and 1990: Rogue and Mint (1983), A Cast of Shadows (1984), Dreams Without Dreamers (1985) and Dreamplay (1990). The press release notes the self-released cassettes were "circulated through tape-trading networks assisted by insightful reviews in Eurock, a seminal music magazine covering progressive rock and electronic music scenes."
Mercure explored synths, sequencing and sampling far outside the limelight. Raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, she'd eventually move to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital. There, she was asked to score an unorthodox performance of Waiting For Godot, which was "pivotal in marrying music and image," say the labels. She dove into electronic music after a period spent in the Netherlands, where she discovered the music of Komische legend Conrad Schnitzler, who she'd stay in touch with over the years. She currently lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Beside Herself follows Freedom To Spend's reissue of Mercure's sole vinyl album, Eye Chant, which launched the label in 2017.
Watch the video for Michele Mercure's "An Accident Waiting To Happen."
Tracklist
01. A Little Piece
02. Ghosts Before Breakfast
03. Dreamplay 2
04. Beside Myself
05. Liberation Day
06. The Sky Is Falling
07. Beginning
08. No More Law In Gotham City
09. Time Piece
10. A Void Dance
11. Mother
12. Beside Herself
13. Dinosaur Dancing
14. An Accident Waiting To Happen
15. Reverie
16. De Dunk
17. Night Music
18. Antigone
19. Antarctica
RVNG Intl. and Freedom To Spend will release Beside Herself on November 9th, 2018.
