Aaron Owens

Close/Far Recordings is thrilled to announce its first vinyl edition.   The album Lead & Coal: A Sounding, is one part of a larger, eponymous sound art and critical spatial practice project by NNN Cook, Nokosee Fields, Gavin Kroeber, Josh Levi and Aaron Owens, exploring mining landscapes in St. Louis’ constitutive hinterlands: the Old Missouri Lead Belt and Southern Illinois Coal Belt.  19th-century St. Louis could arguably be understood as an extractivist war machine: digging up coal from Illinois, melting lead from Missouri, producing armaments for the St. Louis Arsenal, and provisioning the genocidal military forces at Jefferson Barracks. Over the past year, artists NNN Cook, Nokosee Fields, Gavin Kroeber, Josh Levi, and Aaron Owens have been visiting these post-industrial territories and performing “soundings”—sonic experiments conducted on, in, at, with, and for the land. This album collects recordings from this artistic fieldwork. Album editions available at two upcoming performances:  October 23rd in St. Louis, MO at the William A. Kerr Foundation Presented by Tulsa Artist Fellowship in collaboration with Counterpublic November 7th in Tulsa, OK at the Tulsa Artist Fellowship Presented by Tulsa Artist Fellowship NNN Cook — synthesizers, oscillators, ocarina, tapes, voice Nokosee Fields — violin, electronics, bowed towel rack, conch shell, voice Josh Levi — synthesizers, electronics, tapes, voice Rick Wilson - field recordings Gavin Kroeber and Aaron Owens — research, landscape choreography, geomancy Signed and numbered artist’s multiple | Edition of 100    Includes a printed Obi strip and full-color booklet designed by Josh Levi featuring research and fieldwork photos by Aaron Owens and an essay by Gavin Kroeber.    Funding for Lead & Coal: A Sounding was provided by The Luminary’s Futures Fund, a regional regranting initiative made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Tulsa Artist Fellowship, a place-based, durational award dedicated to supporting visionary arts practitioners.   Close/Far Recordings | c/f 042 | MMXXV    $35  US shipping: $6 Intl shipping: $22 #FuturesFund #regionalregrantingprogram