An “exquisite corpse” is a surrealist strategy for collaborative creation. An exercise in which individuals contribute to a concept blindly or with little knowledge of the other contributions. It requires both a surrender and a faith in one’s role/purpose/consequence in the collective whole.
In Los Angeles, late August 2022, eight artists had been learning, listening and creating together in a program called OVERTONES. During their eighth and final week together, they collaborated on a sonic exquisite corpse. No direction was given besides parameters for duration and bpm. The corpse contributors? Becca Lilia, brz, mrsebs, Neyva, Nicolás Jaar, Romeo Diablos, Umbra Abra and VORA.
“Xqst Corpz” is the result. Eight individual tracks simply layered together, complementing one another in a manner of “pure psychic automatism” — the foundation of surrealism. The majority of the final recording is the magic of that automatism. Upon the first collective listen, the group added a few elements to create more of a sense of completion, leaving the rest untouched.
It’s an exciting composition from a group of talented artists at the beginning of their careers. A peek into the coming vanguard of electronic musicians. In that regard, it pays homage to the sentence composed by the artists when they first developed this technique: “The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine.”
“Xqst Corpz” is the first single off Portals, a compilation featuring these artists that Other People will be releasing in early 2023. All profits will be split between the participating artists.
credits
from Portals,
track released November 30, 2022
This track was mixed by Nicolás Jaar and mastered by Kassian Troyer. OVERTONES is a program created in partnership with The Rising Artist Foundation.
supported by 7 fans who also own “Becca Lilia, brz, mrsebs, Neyva, Nicolás Jaar, Romeo Diablos, Umbra Abra, VORA - Xqst Corpz”
the floodwaters lower, the tower falls, the ground shatters, the sand shifts, the great soul of the earth rises through the cracks in the dust. the silken veils drape themselves upon the deserts, floating down from the sky. walls of stone emblazoned with golden symbols. the sun is rising over a new land.
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