“Proscenium” is a subtle and remarkably controlled collection of atmospheres. The air of mystery, deliberate pacing, the deep tones and unidentified sounds of Recchion’s 2006 album “Sweetly Doing Nothing” have been explored even further here. It’s a logical development but the results are unexpected and strikingly original, sounding wholly unfamiliar and yet like no one’s but Tom Recchion’s. Proscenium’s six pieces mostly began life as music for puppeteer Janie Geiser’s play “Invisible Glass,” an adaptation of Poe’s “William Wilson”. The play’s intricate beauty and the story’s moody confusion have been perfectly mirrored and expanded on by Recchion who used that inspiration as a leaping off point for Proscenium’s rich and surprising compositions.
Tom Recchion has been a sound and visual artist – composer – art director and graphic designer in California since the 1970s. He is the co-creator of the legendary Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) and has collaborated with David Toop, Christian Marclay, Oren Ambarchi, Keiji Haino, and Max Eastley, among many others. Though Proscenium’ is only his fourth proper album as a solo artist, Recchion has had many recordings released by labels such as Birdman, Touch, PSF, RRR, Idea, Staubgold, and the Cortical Foundation. He also occasionally writes for The Wire magazine. Tom Recchion lives in California.
“Proscenium” consists of one 180-gram virgin vinyl LP inside a black poly-lined sleeve, plus 7” record, each with five-color labels, housed in a full-color gatefold jacket. Included with each copy of this set is a full-color download card featuring access to high-quality MP3s of the complete contents of the vinyl records. This package has been issued in an edition of 500 copies.