Free City Radio 293, Artist Richard Skelton on “Imperial Valley” albums, looking at era of US internal migration
/freecityradio/293-musician-richard-skelton
On this edition of Free City Radio we hear from musician Richard Skelton @corbelstonepress who shares reflections on both the creative process surrounding a four part soundscape and music project called Imperial Valley.
The project is connected to a set of photos taken in California during the Great Depression, one of the largest periods of internal economic migration in the United States. This is a meaningful and important reference point because it points to the historical conditions of migration that informed the family history of many Americans at a time when the Trump administration is pushing to criminalize migration as a process and specifically migrant peoples.
I first heard about Richard’s work through @acloserlisten
This interview program is supported in 2025 by the Social Justice Centre at Concordia University. The music track is Passage by Anarchist Mountains.
Free City Radio is hosted and produced by Stefan Christoff and broadcasts on:
CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal - Wednesdays at 11am
CJLO 1690 AM in Montreal - Wednesdays 8am
CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg - Tuesdays 8am
CFRC 101.9 FM in Kingston - Wednesdays 11:30am
CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria - Saturdays 7am
Met Radio 1280 AM in Toronto - Fridays at 5:30am
CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa - Tuesdays at 2pm
CJSF 90.1 FM in Vancouver - Thursdays at 4:30pm
CHMA 106.9 FM in Sackville, New Brunswick - Tuesdays at 10am
The Long Before by Autumn Richardson
We're delighted to announce the second instalment of the Correspondences Series, which continues the poet’s chthonic descent and return through acts of reclusion and immersion within wilderness environments.
‘The Long Before’ dwells on time spent in Ontario, Canada, vividly conjuring encounters with the vibrant other-than-human life of its fields, woods and rivers.
‘The Long Before’ is beautifully presented in our Hyphae Series of limited-edition artist-made, thread-sewn pamphlets produced in-house using the finest papers and materials.
#autumnrichardson #corbelstonepress #hyphaeseries #smallpress #devotionalwriting #esotericpoetry #naturepoetry #thresholds #transmutation #theurgy #herpetology #ontario
'light gone quiet' by The Desert Natures, from the EP 'Rays'.
This film was made in Mississippi, along Highway 61 and the delta backroads. We were there in 2019 - it feels a lifetime ago. Since then, some close friends and family have passed on, and the world feels irrevocably changed...
The music was inspired by that road trip, and has taken a good while to come together. Releasing music today feels altogether different than when we began, with *AR, all those years ago. Your support means more to us than ever.
Buy the cassette here:
/product-page/rays-cassette-the-desert-natures
And the digital here:
/album/rays
Watch the film on Youtube here:
/watch?v=6QhaHUPQG_s
#thedesertnatures #autumnrichardson #richardskelton #corbelstonepress #mississippi
Some photos of the beautiful lathe-cut 10inch vinyl edition of Rays by The Desert Natures. These sold out on launch day.
Cut by the wonderful Michael Lawrence at @bladudflies .
#thedesertnatures #autumnrichardson #richardskelton #corbelstonepress #lathecut
We’re thrilled to finally unveil the first collaboration between Autumn Richardson & Richard Skelton in over a decade. Released in honour of the Spring Equinox, ‘Rays’ presents a collection of recordings seeded during a pre-Covid road trip down that myth-laden artery of American song, Mississippi’s Highway 61.
‘Rays’ is available as a beautiful antique gold cassette with white silkscreened artwork in an edition of just 50 copies. It’s only available directly from us, and comes with a free download code:
/product-page/rays-cassette-the-desert-natures
A digital-only edition is also available from Bandcamp:
/album/rays
Many blessings for the Spring Equinox!
#thedesertnatures #autumnrichardson #richardskelton #corbelstonepress
FINISSAGE : RICHARD SKELTON - ESCHATOLOGY, Saturday 14 march 16 - 21h @ mi - so (Berlin)
Sadly, we need to let go of the beautiful Richard Skelton exhibition that has been hanging on our walls since November last year. Join us this Saturday for a last look and a possibility to grab a unique work by Richard. We´ll offer some drinks and play good music. The store will also be open for normal shopping (with new Sonic Pieces works in stock!). We look forward to see you!
More info in bio or here :
/exhibitions#/eschatology-by-richard-skelton/
.
Eschatology is a series of collages reflecting the desolation wrought by Storm Éowyn in January of 2025. Many of the text fragments come from a single volume: a theological treatise on the Revelation of St. John the Divine. The book itself was found in a disused book repository on a lonely country lane in Northern Ireland. Its discovery seemed like more than chance, as Richard and his wife Autumn had evacuated to the area following the widespread power cuts and water shortages that followed in the wake of the storm. As J.G. Ballard once wrote, ‘deep assignments run through all our lives; there are no coincidences.’
.
Richard Skelton is a British artist, writer and composer. His work often evolves from sustained immersion in specific environments and wide-ranging research incorporating toponymy and language, archaeology and geology, folklore and myth.
