At the Sparrow & Serpent

211 Washington street, Eugene

Free show, 21 and older

EtherAir is the solo project of John Hardin. Hardin blends Theremin and electronically-processed didgeridoo with found sounds and field recordings to conjure psychedelic sci-fi dreamscapes populated with odd cultural and environmental artifacts.

John Hardin lives Off-Grid deep in the forest in Northern California where he produces original music in a solar powered studio. He makes many of his own instruments from recycled materials and found objects. He seeks to transcend civilization through music, so he rejects musical traditions born of civilized culture and instead cultivates wild, feral, and untamed musical impulses.

https://electricearthmusic.wordpress.com/

Don Haugen is an American experimental musician and multidisciplinary artist from Eugene, Oregon. Haugen creates sounds categorized as electro-acoustic, noise, ambient, abstract, avant-garde, experimental, field recordings, drone, and minimalist music. His music ranges from whispering quiet to densely loud. The sound sources of his music are wide ranging and diverse. They include manipulation of acoustic and electronic instruments, field recordings, feedback noise, test equipment, synthesizers, and effects pedals. The work focuses on experimenting with location specific sound and room dynamics.

https://donhaugen.bandcamp.com/

Karl Benedek lives in Eugene, Oregon and makes music as Woke-Ass Messiah, using a modular synth and a small family of semi-modular desktop synths. His focus is on building playable patches for live performance. His influences include kosmische drones, drifting vaporscapes, industrial squelch, and the ever-present swirling psychedelic maelstrom of chaos.

https://wokeass.bandcamp.com/music

K O T A is EDME’s bass trombonist, lead performer, and admin superstar!

https://soundcloud.com/k-o-t-a-971390106

Debates about whether or not musical works should have narrative identities or be imbued with worldly themes have gone on for centuries, perhaps most famously with the 19th century War of the Romantics, the largely Austro-German divide between the conservatives and “new German” schools of thought which championed non-extramusical and extramusical ethos’ respectively; broadly it seems the latter has won out historically. This divide is not one I am concerning myself with deeply as part of this piece, but it does help establish the longstanding concerns about whether music as an art form should establish a dialogue between itself and other disciplines the same way literature, screenplays, film, and visual arts have historically responded to developments in one another.

It is important to keep this issue of extra and non-extramusical works in mind because not all music that may include themes of climate or environment are attempting to challenge anything through them: this is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s important to recognize when contemporary discussions surrounding music about climate change or environmental justice so often includes works I think fit into that description; this kind of music is mainly what I focus on here for my first work in this series. Rather than trying to decide an artist’s intent in utilizing climate and environment in their music, I aim to look at the artistic contexts where they appear and what they tell us about how different genres, periods, and forms influence how those stories are told.

Vietnamese-American author and professor Viet Thahn Nguyen posits the idea of “true war stories” in his book Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War. Analyzing a vast array of literature, film, and photography depicting the Vietnam War from different vantage points and lived experiences, Nguyen arrives at a most brilliant conclusion about how different war stories create narratives challenging or reinforcing cultural norms:

“A true war a story ultimately challenges identity because war challenges identity, from the soldier who must confront himself as well as the enemy on the battlefield to the civilian who discovers she is less than human when she becomes a refugee. Blown up, dismembered, wasted bodies on the battlefield also fundamentally disturb human identity for those who killed them, witnessed their demise, or buried them… The false war story ignores this challenge to humanity by owing its allegiance to war or national identity. The false war story affirms its sentimental, selective, and dishonest ways that ‘we’ - its protagonists and its audience - are human… A good or great war story forcefully articulates war’s challenge to identity and humanity in content and form, balancing the tension between war’s degrading nature and the need to make the grade as a war story. (Nothing Ever Dies, p.245)

What might it mean to look at stories of climate and environmental justice in this way? What might denote a true or false climate or environmental story in the same ways Nguyen does for war stories? I believe looking at what I am going to refer to going forward as “climate stories” effectively interrogates many of the same questions and challenges to identity of a war story: like war, the destructive might of climate change and environmental disasters challenges our identities through destruction, displacement, and loss of life human and nonhuman; poets such as Patricia Smith and her Hurricane Katrina-informed collection Blood Dazzler are remarkable in how they utilize poetic form to present not only the personal toll of such environmental disasters but the ways systems of power and government failed their citizenry in the immediate and in the aftermath (Smith’s poems “34” and “Ethel’s Sestina” are fantastic examples of this). Just as war changes identity as one becomes a soldier, civilian, or refugee, so does climate for these identities as well as ones we form through homes, community landmarks, and environmental habitats that can be utterly wiped out by wildfire, tsunami, earthquake, hurricane, drought, species extinction.

In looking at challenges to identity through climate stories in music, more particular questions have to be asked towards individual works alongside bigger ones about artist responsibility and platforms; different genres come with tropes and conventions that influence how an artist creates climate story; form, particularly in instrumental-focused genres, dramatically reshapes how a climate story is told; the lived experiences and relationships to climate of different artists invariably changes their relationships to using it as a part of their music. Where Nguyen’s focus on literature, film, and visual arts allow him the advantage of written language and visual representations, the lack of such direct embodiment in most music makes us instead look at things like lyrical content (the closest analogue to what Nguyen focuses on); the compositional content and form of a piece wherein climate can be depicted through more ambiguous elements like harmony, timbre, and instrumentation, or through more direct ways such as data sonification and field recordings; and the ways in which music intersects with other disciplines such as film through soundtracks and accompaniments to visual art installations or galleries.

I’ve chosen to start with genre, in particular vocal-focused genres first, as not only do they currently encompass the most popular genres, but through songwriting we find some of the most direct and indirect ways that musicians create climate stories. In starting with genre, the challenges to identity presented through the idea of a true climate story are greatest exposed, allowing me a foundation to build future works on climate music as part of my larger project studying music and climate.

A famous contemporary primer is Billie Eilish’s “all the good girls to go hell,” often cited as a modern example of climate-pop in the mainstream: she directly references California wildfires in the pre-chorus, and the religious symbolism could be read as an allegory for corruption or “sinfulness” complicit in the effects of climate change. Whether this is an effective piece of climate music is a different matter: the crisp R&B production and Eilish’s hushed vocals convey a sense of subtle dread that works quite wonderfully for her devilish vision of climate, but the song doesn’t meaningfully challenge identity in the way we are thinking of “true” climate music doing. Climate in this song is almost entirely thematic, best embodied in the music video where carefully-placed fires burst in time to the chorus and female dancers are superimposed over an oil-slicked, black-winged Eilish walking towards the camera. I don’t aim to make a value judgement on the song’s quality - in fact, I think it’s a pretty decent pop song - but what I want to emphasize is this diffusion of theme and presentation which defines the vast majority of popular climate music: though it may have clever imagery, “all the good girls to go hell” does not effectively challenge systems that create the conditions for the burning hills and destruction she sings of or the identities effected by them. For Eilish, who has used her popularity multiple times now to advocate for and make donations to climate-focused organizations, climate is not solely an artistic affair, but in her music climate is little more than a thematic conceit.

Other pop approaches to climate are not all too different from Eilish’s, utilizing it more as theme or emotion rather than a challenge for the themes or songwriting. Grimes’ Miss Anthropocene is ostensibly about the album’s titular goddess of climate change, with each song representing other demons or goddesses in relation to her. In an interview about the album, Grimes stated her decision to personify climate change was a way to “...make climate change fun,” embracing it as part of her craft. But this fantastical response to climate change is not one that challenges it through speculative means; Miss Anthropocene is an escape from that responsibility: one could argue songs like “Delete Forever,” written the night rapper Lil Peep died of an opioid overdose and inspired in part by her other friends who have died from opioid-related overdoses, to be a subtle intersectional nod toward the relationship between addiction and climate crisis, or “New Gods” an attempt to find meaning in crisis through spirituality (she was raised Catholic), but the lyrics of both have nothing to say about how addiction or spirituality are challenged or changed by climate. For an album whose billboards touted “GLOBAL WARMING IS GOOD,” it is remarkably unconcerned with seriously or satirically challenging climate outside of what it provides her cyberpunk fantasy.

Similar disconnect can be found throughout the pop world, such as Lorde’s Solar Power and “The Greatest” from Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell!, which, though more overt in their use of climate change lyrically nonetheless utilize it as emotive material rather than a challenge to their artistic identities. In both Eilish’s “all the good girls...” and Del Rey’s “The Greatest” the apocalyptic destruction of Los Angeles wildfires is not connected to any call to action or change in place, identity, or existent; rather Del Rey’s rosy Americana allows her a romantic angle that embraces this loss (”The culture is lit and I had a ball / I guess that I’m burned out after all / If this is it, I’m signing off”). What’s notable about these different depictions of climate change in contemporary pop is how near-nonexistent a challenge of identity is found within the songwriting, one that asks it audience to consider their own relationship to climate and the factors that influence it even as these artists have integrated climate into their lives and work in other ways.

I argue a contemporary example of this missing kind of climate story in pop can be found in the introductory track to The 1975’s 2020 album Notes on a Conditional Form, a spoken-word piece by Greta Thunberg, one of the youngest new voices in climate activism at the time. It is an especially striking example of what a true climate story can look like in pop: sprinkling neoclassical piano and synth ambiance underscore five minutes of Thunberg’s pointed speech denouncing the lack of material change in fighting the climate crisis injected into what is otherwise a grab-bag of alternative pop and electronic. Perhaps in the larger context of the album’s genre detours and relative lack of climate messaging across its twenty-one other songs, this clear-eyed piece of climate music is softened as just the album’s opener, as well as the listener’s ability to simply skip past the song in the streaming age compared to a physical format. Still, no other pop contemporary of theirs has taken similar efforts to allow a climate story so much space in a genre where it seems to constantly be floating the margins.

We can find examples of storytelling and messaging similar to this one more commonly in the worlds of experimental rock and punk. These genres, whose marginality allow more aggressive and unyielding music, have continually been a source of effective climate music. Looking at early examples, songs like Dead Kennedy’s “Moon Over Marin,” which envisions the titular county destroyed by an oil spill among other environmental harms, and Earth Crisis’ “Ultramilitance,” which became an ecoterrorist anthem, present early precedents for modern climate stories. Take the work of Chat Pile - named after the gravely waste of Midwestern mining operations that spread lead- and zinc-contaminated dust into soil and water - where violence underscores the impact of climate change on poor and rural communities. “Why,” if overly polemic in its messaging, presents a clear challenge to humanity in relation to dehousing, poverty and climate: ringworm and scabies contracted through unclean environments and living in both extreme heat and extreme cold. a “Real American horror story,” as vocalist Raygun Busch puts it; other stories come in the form of gun violence (”Anywhere”) and drug addiction (”grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg”). If the songs of God’s Country don’t always call out climate change specifically as a factor in these red-blooded American acts of violence, their condemnation of capitalist industry and challenging of identity by putting the listener in close quarters with American horror stories real and fictitious puts the album in good company with other works of alternative climate music.

A much older genre than any previously discussed, vocal music presents an attractive space for new kinds of climate music, its propitious history as a genre able to tell all kinds of stories an exciting place for climate ones to be told; Lisa Neher’s compositions provide numerous such examples. Neher’s musical works about climate extend out into instrumental music, too, though those works I am saving for a later piece about musical form and composition in relation to climate. There is a mix of more didactic and poetic libretto that make sense for the way each piece might sound: the rich, romanticist harmonies of Sonnet at the Edge of the Reef match the Craig Santos Perez poem performed by both vocalists, while a more direct climate narratives from Perez and poet Felicia Zamora comprise the ten fantastic movements of No One Saves the Earth from us but us with its tenser, darker piano and electronic accompaniment. There are hundreds of other choral and chamber voice works dealing with climate we could approach (and at some point I would like to dedicate an article or two to them), but it is again interesting that in these smaller artistic spaces composers and performers are much more expressive and pointed in their experiences and messaging on climate; there is solidarity in the climate stories of Neher and Chat Pile through that reminds me of the strong environmental and political solidarity of popular artists in the 60’s and 70’s than anything going on in popular music today. Where in prior decades the popular zeitgeist arguably shaped public perceptions of issues like the Vietnam war, nuclear technology, and environmental activism, today’s fights are now rarely confronted in the popular sphere, relegated to smaller scenes and genres such as the punk or contemporary classical looked at here where speaking out about these issues is more accepted (and, perhaps more importantly, less influenced by the gears of industry and capital than major-label pop artists).

This piece is intended to be only the first in a much longer period of me exploring relationships between music, climate change, and environmental justice; in focusing on just a few genres for this first piece alone I still did not touch upon many genres, nor different time period of the individual genres discussed here (most especially the pop music of the 1960’s and 70’s, as the political analogues I find particularly prescient). There are hundreds of different angles you could study the relationships of music and climate from, and knowing I cannot get to all of them I am most interested in first approaching it from the macro - genre, form, technology, industry, intermedia and multimedia - then piercing definite points in each of them as I try and craft a larger argument around the ideas of “true” and “false” works of climate stories in music I am building off Nguyen’s work on war and memory; even the putative binary of true and false I presuppose here through is blurry and features many works sidling those lines. My primary effort with this article and all I may do after is to provoke other musicians and artists to think about their relationships to climate and climate stories in their work, and the ways in which our disciplines and lived experiences shape how we make them. As environmental injustice continues to worsen in parallel to a societal failure to produce revolutionary shifts in government, production, and lifestyle in response to climate change, I believe it is even greater the responsibility of artists to tell challenging and interrogative stories about climate if we are to have any impact on the minds and memory of climate and environment through our art. Taking the time to look at how such efforts have played before and around us allows one to respond critically in the present and reshape the future of what climate stories can look like going forward.

- dakota z.

GABIE STRONG

is a conceptual artist exploring spatial constructions of sonic degeneration, drone and decay as a means to improvise new arrangements of self-reflexive meaning. Strong uses sound, radio broadcasting, performance, environmental installation and video as mediums for experimentation.

Strong teaches undergraduate and graduate level art, with an emphasis on embodied placemaking and community art strategies. Strong additionally works as a community arts organizer creating accessible spaces for community radio broadcasts, festivals, and exhibitions. Strong holds a MFA in Studio Art from UC Irvine, a M. Arch from Sci-Arc, and a BA in Art from UCLA.

Her work has been presented by Lines of Flight NZ, Dragon’s Eye Recordings, EPOCH Gallery, The Tapeworm, LAMOA DS#3 at Commonweath & Council, LAND AND SEA OAKLAND+BAMPFA, The UCLA Hammer Museum, MOCA, amongst others. Strong has recently been awarded sound artist residencies at The Space Program SF and Bemis.

http://www.gabiestrong.com

http://www.crystallinemorphologies.com

D.S.P. MYSTIC

is a new project by Portland-based artist Begonia.

D.S.P.M. uses site-specific techniques like field recording, spatialized feedback, audience participation, and network devices to access a mystical space of creation and co-creation; exploring what it means to be an artist, a technologist, and an audience. DSPM is the evolution of a set of technologies assembled to create an on site experimentation toolkit capable of cracking the third wall and enabling the listener/viewer to transcend time and space. DSPM aims to build instruments and experiences that bring the power of creation to everyone. Begonia is known as a world renowned dance music artist and dj, as well as a fixture in the diy american noise scene. She is honored to debut this project at this years’ Ambient Ecology festival! To learn more check out her blog at begonia420.substack.com

JAKE CHAFFEE

is a bassist, visual artist, and ambient producer based in Eugene, OR. With roots in Southern California and Texas, they have performed widely as a freelance musician and released several projects under the name JEC. Known for their immersive ambient livestreams and a joyful, expressive stage presence, Jake blends technical skill with a deep love of musical exploration. JEC’s most recent project is titled “three days and.” and features tracks from previous livestreams as well as tracks produced for the EP itself.

“That all sounds amazing,” you say, “Tell me more, Administrative Assistant.”

Well, okay, since you asked:

EDME’s Ambient Ecology Festival seeks to create a dialogue between music, nature, and human experience by presenting calming soundscapes within Maurie Jacobs Park. Works by the deeply influential 20th century composer Pauline Oliveros will be a throughline for all shows in this series. Oliveros’ concept of Deep Listening serves as inspiration for this project. According to Oliveros, “Deep Listening explores the difference between the involuntary nature of hearing and the conscious nature of listening. The practice includes bodywork, sonic meditations, and interactive performance, as well as listening to the sounds of daily life, nature, one’s own thoughts, imagination, and dreams. It cultivates a heightened awareness of the sonic environment, both external and internal, and promotes experimentation, improvisation, collaboration, playfulness, and other creative skills vital to personal and community growth.”

We hope to introduce intentional audience members and passers-by both to unique musical styles outside a traditional concert hall, including an array of composers and performers from diverse backgrounds, such as non-white, LGBTQ, female, and gender-nonconforming individuals. Performing at Maurie Jacobs near the Willamette River, we invite people to listen to both the music and the environment it is placed in, including its anthropocentric setting. We hope people will hum, sing, move, or otherwise participate with the music. We will provide programs at each concert to help people learn more about the music, the park, and the Willamette River.

The Ambient Ecology Series seeks to create a cultural exchange through music that inspires dialogue and wonder. These qualities are fundamental to experimental music. We hope that stumbling into the outer edges of musical performance -- such as ambient, drone, and contemporary classical -- on a Saturday afternoon in the park will introduce Eugene’s many flâneurs to new musical styles. Folks who already know these genres will have the rare treat of hearing them performed live amidst the beauty of one of Eugene’s loveliest parks. One of our goals is to create a vibrant atmosphere, transforming Maurie Jacobs Park into a space where people can relax and enjoy curious musical experiences–a distinctive atmosphere that cannot be replicated in a concert hall, let alone through speakers or headphones.

K O T A is our trombonist Dakota, who has crafted a wicked set of long tones and effects to lull you into that special Maurie Jacobs frame of mind. How lucky are you‽

Josh Hydeman is an Oregon-based interdisciplinary artist recognized for his photography and sound art. His creative journey began at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University in the early 2000s, where he developed a foundation in experimental media.

Initially focused on sound performance, Hydeman spent years touring the United States and recording albums. His transition to photography was sparked by a transformative moment while recording sounds in a lava cave in Washington.

Today, his practice centers on the hidden landscapes of the underground and the wildlife that inhabits them. Hydeman photographs and records the sounds of bats, abandoned mines and caves, blending scientific fieldwork with a distinct artistic lens.

New Agency is an Oregon-based trio made up of Ranier Collins,Evan MacFarland, and Henry Rahe. Formed in 2024, the group draws on a shared classical background alongside influences from sound collage to indietronica. Their work combines synth-heavy soundscapes with viola, French horn, guitar, and vocals. Their releases include the EP Radio Saints (2024) and the album Camp Miracle (2025), which lean toward a more energetic, electronic pop sound.

“That all sounds amazing,” you say, “Tell me more, Administrative Assistant.”

Well, okay, since you asked:

EDME’s Ambient Ecology Festival seeks to create a dialogue between music, nature, and human experience by presenting calming soundscapes within Maurie Jacobs Park. Works by the deeply influential 20th century composer Pauline Oliveros will be a throughline for all shows in this series. Oliveros’ concept of Deep Listening serves as inspiration for this project. According to Oliveros, “Deep Listening explores the difference between the involuntary nature of hearing and the conscious nature of listening. The practice includes bodywork, sonic meditations, and interactive performance, as well as listening to the sounds of daily life, nature, one’s own thoughts, imagination, and dreams. It cultivates a heightened awareness of the sonic environment, both external and internal, and promotes experimentation, improvisation, collaboration, playfulness, and other creative skills vital to personal and community growth.”

We hope to introduce intentional audience members and passers-by both to unique musical styles outside a traditional concert hall, including an array of composers and performers from diverse backgrounds, such as non-white, LGBTQ, female, and gender-nonconforming individuals. Performing at Maurie Jacobs near the Willamette River, we invite people to listen to both the music and the environment it is placed in, including its anthropocentric setting. We hope people will hum, sing, move, or otherwise participate with the music. We will provide programs at each concert to help people learn more about the music, the park, and the Willamette River.

The Ambient Ecology Series seeks to create a cultural exchange through music that inspires dialogue and wonder. These qualities are fundamental to experimental music. We hope that stumbling into the outer edges of musical performance -- such as ambient, drone, and contemporary classical -- on a Saturday afternoon in the park will introduce Eugene’s many flâneurs to new musical styles. Folks who already know these genres will have the rare treat of hearing them performed live amidst the beauty of one of Eugene’s loveliest parks. One of our goals is to create a vibrant atmosphere, transforming Maurie Jacobs Park into a space where people can relax and enjoy curious musical experiences–a distinctive atmosphere that cannot be replicated in a concert hall, let alone through speakers or headphones.

And stay tuned for the third and final (for 2026) show in the Ambient Ecology series:

June 13th, 5:30pm

GUEST MUSICIANS

Featuring Performances by

Gabie Strong (LA) - D.S.P. Witch (PDX) - JEC (EUG)

EUGENE DIFFICULT MUSIC ENSEMBLE

Featuring Works by

Pauline Oliveros - Aphex Twin - Matti Weisberg - Luis Fernando Amaya - Adrian Cervantez Mendez - Jayne Cronin - Ellie Jakes - Gia Margaret - C418

Whoa! So exciting! It’s that time of year again, time for our 2nd Annual Ambient Music Festival! This year EDME perform on May 30, with a wild line-up of familiar and unfamiliar songs passed through our chamber music ambientizer, a machine of the imagination that can transform any sound into ambient music.*

“Curious,” you say, “Tell me more, Administrative Assistant.”

Well, okay, since you asked:

EDME’s Ambient Ecology Festival seeks to create a dialogue between music, nature, and human experience by presenting calming soundscapes within Maurie Jacobs Park. Works by the deeply influential 20th century composer Pauline Oliveros will be a throughline for all shows in this series. Oliveros’ concept of Deep Listening serves as inspiration for this project. According to Oliveros, “Deep Listening explores the difference between the involuntary nature of hearing and the conscious nature of listening. The practice includes bodywork, sonic meditations, and interactive performance, as well as listening to the sounds of daily life, nature, one’s own thoughts, imagination, and dreams. It cultivates a heightened awareness of the sonic environment, both external and internal, and promotes experimentation, improvisation, collaboration, playfulness, and other creative skills vital to personal and community growth.”

We hope to introduce intentional audience members and passers-by both to unique musical styles outside a traditional concert hall, including an array of composers and performers from diverse backgrounds, such as non-white, LGBTQ, female, and gender-nonconforming individuals. Performing at Maurie Jacobs near the Willamette River, we invite people to listen to both the music and the environment it is placed in, including its anthropocentric setting. We hope people will hum, sing, move, or otherwise participate with the music. We will provide programs at each concert to help people learn more about the music, the park, and the Willamette River.

The Ambient Ecology Series seeks to create a cultural exchange through music that inspires dialogue and wonder. These qualities are fundamental to experimental music. We hope that stumbling into the outer edges of musical performance -- such as ambient, drone, and contemporary classical -- on a Saturday afternoon in the park will introduce Eugene’s many flâneurs to new musical styles. Folks who already know these genres will have the rare treat of hearing them performed live amidst the beauty of one of Eugene’s loveliest parks. One of our goals is to create a vibrant atmosphere, transforming Maurie Jacobs Park into a space where people can relax and enjoy curious musical experiences–a distinctive atmosphere that cannot be replicated in a concert hall, let alone through speakers or headphones.

And to make the experience even more exciting, our notes here on this site will explore the works of the composers and musicians featured at the upcoming show.

Tuesday we will post notes about Pauline Olvieros and her Sonic Meditations; & C418

Wednesday we will post notes about the Aphex Twin & Gia Margaret tracks we are performing

Thursday we will post notes about the Matti Weisberg & Ellie Jakes tracks we are performing

Friday we will post notes about the Luis Fernando Amaya & Jayne Cronin/Adrian Cervantez Mendez tracks we are performing

And stay tuned for these follow-up shows in the Ambient Ecology series:

June 6th, 5:30pm

GUEST MUSICIANS

Featuring Performances by

K O T A - Josh Hydeman - New Agency

June 13th, 5:30pm

GUEST MUSICIANS

Featuring Performances by

Gabie Strong - D.S.P. Witch - JEC

*It is similar to our earlier vapourwaver, but without the horrifying consequences of that machine.

In discussions about creating this new iteration of our zinewsletter, we talked a lot about WHY anyone might want another source of words and links and images in their life. Because, seriously, WHY? Aren’t you already overwhelmed by not just your community, but this digital world all around you? Did your species really need a second world, a psychic world, a digital world, when you already seemed pretty overwhelmed by the real world, the physical world you already inhabited? Were not you already experiencing myriad new forms of mental and physical breakdown related to the unprecedented, incomprehensible, chaotic, and unrelenting change ceaselessly occurring all around you in your physical mediated world before blindly exploding into a new virtual world?

No, really, that is not a rhetorical question.1

Well, you built it, this additional world and now you are trapped inside both, divided and dissolving, a new interstitial species evolving uncontrollably. Good luck with that, humans.

So, given the above, WHY humans would you want more “content” from anyone at all in your lives?

And even if we want to ignore that question, who are we to believe we have something to add to this complicatedly tangible2 hivespace you are accidentally exuding?

On what world does it make sense for us to share anything with you?

Well, as humans, you would think we would answer those questions before expelling our sick all over you and your interwebs, but, nope, as humans, nope, we’re just sicking up all over. And, like, totally, megasicking, because Living Life On Shuffle will be a regular, hopefully DAILY (maybe even multiple times a day) series of notes (after today, I promise no more posts, I will spare you because I love you3) sharing songs that have come up on shuffle in my life. Like, I am taking this being human thing so seriously, that I am going to overshare tens of thousands of songs in the coming years. Some. like today’s. I will delve a little deeper into, but most, nah, I won’t, I promise.

El Jardín de la Presencia Divina from Via Lactea by Via Lactea aka Carlos Alvarado

This album was so good! I was a teenager when it came out, and somehow a copy ended up used (or just inexpensive?) at @!#$%!&@*++ in [redacted] around 1982. I obsessively bought unfamiliar used music as a youth, and this stood out for the incredibly thin sleeve and lightweight vinyl. It was more like an envelope than an album cover, as I understood them at that time. I had never encountered such an inexpensively (by which I mean cleverly) made package and release, not even from the punk bands I saw on tour. It felt different. And that my rudimentary Spanish could barely penetrate any of the words on it? That was even cooler. The song titles on the back were so scifi! It was utterly unfamiliar, a quality that scratched my curiosity about all the ways humans musicked.4

And then the music on it — interpenetrating swathes of electronic bird song, aetheric imagined voices, drones and dribbles of unknown instruments, reverbating bass tones rumbling up from inner Earth, freaky church organ bordering on feedback, flute electronic or processed uncertain, ghostly winds of synthesis. It was sparse and slow and was maybe the first spiritual music I ever heard. Spiritual as I could comprehend the word, the feeling, the experience. The album felt a whole, a story, a journey; a universe unto itself. So amazing. It was almost certainly the first ambient, the first truly electronic5 music I ever really listened to.

After EDME decided we would have a zinewsletter and I was volunteered to be one of the writers, I thought, “I have nothing to say, I have chosen not to write for most of my life because this world the humans inhabit needs not another single word or thought, certainly not from the likes of me.” Then this song came up on shuffle on my music server, and I realized, I could share what I am listening to. That has no value. It is as far from commercial as conceivable. I will not write reviews or delve into histories (not too often, at any rate), I will merely share. That is what I love most about interacting with humans, sharing. Nothing is ever more inspiring than when we share.

For this inaugural sharing, I did do a little poking around online. Your machines which translate helped a lot. There is criminally little written about Carlos Alvarado in English (that I could find.)

“Vía Láctea, formed in 1976 by Carlos Alvarado, was the first synthesizer-only group in Mexico, featuring Miguel Ángel Nava and Arturo Mesa. They recorded what is considered the first electronic music album in Mexico in 1980 on the label Discos Momia. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Vía Láctea distributed several cassettes through Eurock magazine throughout Europe, North America, and South America, pioneering electronic music in Mexico.”

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_de_M%C3%A9xico

Alvarado was also in the much bigger band, Chac Mool6, too.

“Chac Mool is a Mexican rock band, pioneers of progressive rock in Mexico along with Decibel. They emerged in 1979 and disbanded in 1985, and since then have been reorganized with different members…

“Chac Mool was one of the few groups whose music represented the ancient civilizations that inhabited Mexico. Their discography is extensive, and their albums have become collector’s items and part of the Mexican avant-garde. Currently, Chac Mool has become a cult band.

“Chac Mool’s emergence on the scene coincided with the beginning of the boom decade of Mexican rock. One of the group’s main characteristics was the creation of atmospheres through profound lyrics that transported the listener to a fantastical world.

“"Chac Mool’s instrumentation was also pioneering in Latin America, incorporating elements such as the cello, mandolin, timpani, synthesizers, Mellotron, flute, and pre-Hispanic instruments. Unlike other progressive rock groups, Chac Mool never sought to create a competition between instruments, and they imprinted their personal stamp on the music, creating their own unique style.

“The first release, in 1980, was ‘Nadie en Especial’ (Nobody Special), an album featuring fantastical and socially critical lyrics such as ‘Un mundo valiente’ (Brave New World) by Jorge Reyes and Armando Suárez, which explores the theme of a world of perfect beings born in a laboratory (based on Aldous Huxley‘s novel of the same name ), or ‘El visitante’ (The Visitor) by Armando Suárez, which can be interpreted literally, where an extraterrestrial being is introduced to the very peculiar way of life of humankind, but a second interpretation suggests that the extraterrestrial could be anyone visiting another country. ‘Aymara’, composed by Carlos Alvarado, is the only ethno-rock, electronic track, which takes us on a cosmic journey, while ‘Bienvenidos al fin del Mundo’ (Welcome to the End of the World) is an apocalyptic vision. Also noteworthy is ‘El día que murió el Rey Camaleón’ (The Day the Chameleon King Died), which tells the story of a fantastical and bizarre kingdom that has just lost its leader. ‘Nadie en Especial’ is a song that deals with the impersonality of modern life…

“In 1981, their second album, ‘Sueños de Metal’ (Metal Dreams), was released. It retained the characteristics of their first album in terms of instrumentation, lyrics, and the length of the songs…

“Between 1999 and 2000, two of the original members of Chac Mool, Carlos Alvarado and Armando Suárez, reunited with other musicians to perform some shows and release the album “El Mensajero de los Dioses,” returning to their Progressive Rock roots with longer pieces, synthesizers and violin…

“Carlos Alvarado performed with his band, interpreting “Nadie en Especial” with symphonic arrangements, releasing a CD with a new mix using mellotron, and touring several states of the Mexican republic.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chac_Mool_(banda)

So, obvs, you want to go hear those Chac Mool albums, but first, hit up this label for a hard copy of Via Lactea:

Or hit up the interwebs to listen to it:

Here is some text from the folks releasing the vinyl in Spain:

“Carlos Alvarado’s Via Lactea (Milky Way) is now reissued on vinyl 35 years later. Eurock was especially interested in electronic Cosmic Music exploring both the inner and outer spaces of sound and consciousness. Of all the great music I had heard from Germany’s Klaus Schulze to Tangerine Dream & Spain’s own Neuronium, the album by Carlos stood apart from the rest.

In a sense, it combines the best of worlds, celestial sonic exploration and deeply emotional spiritual listening. A concept album, the track titles convey the musical journey Carlos undertaking - The Structure of the Universe, Garden of the Divine Presence, Into the Light, Man in Eternity, Meditation Post Atomic & The Lark and the Virgin. He employs a vast array of classic electronic instruments - ARP, Korg, Yamaha, synthesizers, Crumar Orchestrator, Mellotron, Piano, Flute & Tapes. The album also features notable guest musicians such as Jorge Reyes and Arturo Meza.

The music you encounter upon listening is not easy to describe. Simply listen, close your eyes and imagine yourself in a majestic Holy Shrine. The sound of the earth’s heartbeat is slowly pulsating in different rhythms; solar winds from out of the sky are alternately wafting then gusting through the open spaces. In accompaniment, elemental sounds of nature fill the air, commingling with melodies from the cosmic spheres and the warm tones of exotic analogue electronica. All of these elements ultimately alchemize into an immaculate creation, a galactic symphony of Birth, Life, Death & Eternity.

Via Lactea is a masterpiece, fusing the technological magic of early electronic tone colors with the spirits of the ancient ones beautifully. Since 1980, Carlos has continued making music as well as running his own label Momia Records. To date the label has released 12 albums by various groups, as well as projects documenting his various other diverse musical incarnations. Carlos’ latest release in 2013, entitled La Musica de los 7 Chakras, offers yet another transcendent musical listening experience.”

Here is the text from the site where I found the youtube link (translated poorly by your machines):

“Around 1980, two parallel projects were launched between heavyweights of the Mexican prog, Carlos Alvarado and Jorge Reyes. The first was Chac Mool, with a more progressive-psychedelic root. The second, Alvarado’s creative vehicle, was Via Láctea.

“Totally immersed and influenced by the Germanic kosmische, Via Lactea is an unique album, because it was the first time that this genre (as I know) was tested in Mexico.

“Actually the thing already came from further back, with previous films self-released marginally. That they would see the light of day in the triple box-set, ‘Recordings 1977 - 1982’. And then culminated in this highly respected private press album on Carlos Alvarado’s own label, Momia Records.

“For its creation, a good electronic arsenal was indispensable to the use: Crumar Orchestrator, ARP Odyssey, ARP Axxe, Moog MS20, Korg Vocoder, prepared piano, flute and ribbons. It was recorded on 8 channels as early as 1980.

“It was logical to expect such an artifact in Aztec and Mayan lands, where the supernatural and ufological seems to be a real theme park.

“Thus, ‘The Structure of the Universe’ (6’59) began in a reign of absolute electronic onirism, led by Carlos Alvarado. Instant references could be Cosmic Jokers, Klaus Schulze or Peter-Michael Hamel. Final melodic delicacy with sensitive line Vangelis style. It illustrates the moment very well, and serves perfectly for a current introspection.

“Everything is personalized and subject to its geography with the flutes, tambura and kalimba of the illustrious guest, Jorge Reyes (partner in Chac Mool), in ‘The Garden of Divine Presence’ (8’26). It really captures essences of another dimensional plane with its intervention. Something that exudes spirituality and mysticism. He is not far from lyrical hits by Jade Warrior or Yatha Sidhra, for his sensitivity to the crossbar.

“‘Vía Lumiere’ (3’52) also contributes the ARP Odyssey by Herminia S. Alvarado (I suppose Carlos’ wife). Enter fully into bubbly analog experimentation. A space-avant wave process worthy of a Brain or Ohr production.

“For the second face they project ‘Man in Eternity’ (4’38). Full space lung kosmische. Without denying a human feeling through a soft, cadentious and even sentimental electronic pulse.

“The nuclear concern of the time is reflected in the warning of ‘Post-Atomic Meditation’ (6’30). Shadow reflection of threatening radioactive sound, of throbbing dronic boiling, which achieves the effect sought.

“It clears darkness and darkness ‘La Alondra y la Virgen’ (8’19), in a lavish journey onironauta and with the participation of the guitar of Arturo Meza. Crumming weaves as background and a center possessed by a delay in the heart of Manuel Gottsching/ Ash Ra Tempel. In a ‘planant’ state that traps psyche and massages it into an ocean of cosmic surrealism at the height of the first Popol Vuh. And a theme that had already appeared, fires with his nascent sobs this legendary record called the Milky Way.

“Worthy of twinning with any of the names compared.

“In my recording they provide 20 more minutes of bonus, with the same objective psi-cosmic (and even riskier), which I imagine were included in the box “Recordings 1977- 1982”. Wah Wah Records reissued the album in 2015.

“An esteemed kosmische piece, from the land of the Astronaut Gods. Your place, go.

“J. J. CHURCHES”

aka J.J. Iglesias

Hell yeah, what a great album! Thank you, Carlos!

— The Administrative Assistant

EDME at manyworlds in Corvallis for the Corvallis Experiments In Noise Festival. From L to R: Zoe Oda, Dakota Zitterkopf, Ellie Jakes, Rainer Griffin-Collins, Owen Atlansky, Sierra Freeman

What better way to reboot our zinewsletter1 here on Substack than to share with you a little about a conversation the admin team had last night.2

I am going to integrate it with the first drifting text from our Manifesto-in-progress. Why a manifesto? Because we are artists, that’s why. Let’s start there, because the sentiment says a lot about who we are.

From a bare bones first skeleton of our Manifesto, I draw these words, which have been a part of every press release we have sent out over the past years:

“EDME believes that music is a primary form of identity creation. We build our personal communities (which is to say ourselves) around music, and we find our belonging in those communities. Music is innate to who we are as humans. Music is fundamental to life. We strongly espouse that composed music should be an artistic experience that everyone can enjoy and perform, regardless of background. These principles are foundational to who we are and how we create programming within our community. They define the makeup of our ensemble.

“We are dedicated to exploring the world of new music and bringing its thought-provoking beauty to a larger audience in Lane County. Beyond this, our mission as an ensemble and 501(c)(3) nonprofit is to exhibit a diverse range of underrepresented composers and musicians to the Lane County community. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are founding principles within EDME. As well as embodying this in our ensemble’s membership, we endeavor to also reflect our ethos in the pieces we select to perform. We want to highlight music that may otherwise be ignored due to the composer’s or performer’s personal background or the originality of their compositions. We frequently perform works from underrepresented groups, including female-identifying, LGBTQ+, and non-white individuals.”

I believe those paragraphs pre-date our nonprofit mission statement, and could be the stock from which it was boiled down:

“The Eugene Difficult Music Ensemble performs and commissions underrepresented experimental works in order to open ears and minds. We work to expand the definition of what music can be and what music is capable of achieving, as well as who is capable of achieving it.”

Now, some history:

EDME was founded in Spring 2019. We thought it would be a one-off goof. Then when it wasn’t, we thought it would be a weird experimental band, indulging in Oliveros, Cardew, Sogge, Cage, Figgis-Vizueta, and other extreme chamber3 composers. We were an extreme chamber ensemble, but even moreso we were a performance troupe deeply invested in audience engagement and participation. We co-curated new music nights at venues not normally associated with composed music. We bridged the worlds of trained and untrained musicians, demonstrating the ways music unites us. These shows diligently provided program notes about composers and scores to audience members, whether performing in yoga studios, dive bars, game shops, or concert halls. Our Graphic Score Evocations, involving collective music-making through non-traditional notation, began drawing a following before COVID struck.

Then, as we approached our second year, there was the lockdown. Our group maintained a commitment to music as a medium for all throughout the disembodied enmaskment. We started a YouTube channel (now hosting 103 videos) and performed at outdoor events like LAC’s Open Air Studios, three ArtCity BEAM events, and First Fridays. We provided the soundtrack to a video installation at the Gordon Hotel’s Dimensions Between exhibition in June 2021. Our 2021 and 2022 Porchfest concerts featured the works of non-white and LGBTQ+ composers. Our livestreamed performance for Seattle’s New Works Project in September 2020 invited audience participants to a Zoom-style Graphic Score Evocation.

EDME gathering garbage for our Eugene Garbage Project. L to R: Founders Kathie Hseih, JP Lempke, and Milton Fernandez, with one of our very first members (and a guest performer in the 2026 NMF), Rebecca Keller

In May 2021, our Eugene Garbage Project livestreamed to a global audience. This event turned local residents into artistic contributors. We collected trash from the community and recorded sounds4 and visuals with it. This media became a concert-length work for voice and electronics broadcast from Eugene Contemporary Art on YouTube, and rebroadcast as part of BrainRave in July 2021. In October 2021, we converted the work into an interactive installation for BEAM. Audience members controlled the sounds and visuals on their own through motion-capture technology. We participated in BEAM again the following year, this time with a prepared illuminated piano, programmed and installed with lights by EDME.

When we came out the other end of this unexpectedly long era of estrangement and isolation, we were a surprisingly tight extreme chamber ensemble, performing a delightful array of experimental composers. Through many discussions during this time, we came to the conclusion that the most effective way to bring the edges of composition to a wider audience was to broaden our palette; instead of performing exclusively at the margins, we needed to integrate in more accessible works, to create programs that included works of extreme chamber music, noisy blasts of composed chaos, set amidst much more melodic and tonal works, trying to create comforting context for the strange and unfamiliar to which we naturally gravitated.5 This was our mindset when we launched our New Music Festival.

An upshot of this is that we have moved away over the last few years from our initial mission of promoting scored music as a community engagement6 to a practice of performing scored music as an entertainment.7

Now we are in the throes of reinvention again. We are crazy busy. We work with the City of Eugene on projects. We release albums. We perform ~20 shows a year. We write and receive grants. Things we only joked about accomplishing in our first year.

🤯

That is the past we are reckoning with as we move forward.

At the NMF25. From L to R: Grace Kuo, Fedor Chayka, Victor Lawton II, Dakota Zitterkopf, Jayne Cronin, Ellie Jakes, Nathan Juarez

Now, the now, perhaps best illustrated by these lines from a grant we finished this morning:

“EDME connects the Eugene community to unique, seldom-performed musical experiences through free concerts open to the public. We feature a diverse program of women, LGTBQ+ people, and people of color, including local musicians, as well as regional, national, and international voices.

In the first four months of 2026 we have performed free chamber music at an art gallery in Salem, a dance studio in Portland, and a dance club in Eugene; collaborated with the Chicago composer Ro Lundberg to present their eco-acoustically engaged score by-passing-upon at Pacori Coffee; accompanied #instaballet at Lane Arts Council’s First Friday; participated in an arts festival in Corvallis; presented an instrument petting zoo as part of the Hult Center’s You’re Invited program; and performed at Adventure Children’s Museum with several interactive scores and activities for young children.

In May and June we will again perform at LAC’s First Friday. We will also present our second Ambient Ecology Festival, a free engagement across three weekends presenting ecologically engaged and ambient chamber music alongside ambient artists from across Oregon.

In October we will present our fifth annual New Music Festival, giving Eugene (and often Oregon) premieres to scores from ~40 living composers across four concerts and hosting an experimental fifth concert at Kesey Square with musicians from around the US. We will also be part of Eugene’s Halloween Downtown celebration. And we will score and accompany a silent film in November.

In 2027, we will

• Host our third annual Ambient Ecology Festival at Maury Jacobs Park across three weekends. With this series we hope to introduce intentional audience members and passers-by both to unique musical styles outside a traditional concert hall, including an array of composers and performers from diverse backgrounds, such as non-white, LGBTQ, and female-identifying individuals. Performing at Maurie Jacobs near the Willamette River, we invite people to listen to both the music and the environment it is placed in, including its anthropocentric setting. We hope people will hum, sing, move, or otherwise participate with the music. We will provide programs at each concert to help people learn more about the music;

• Host our sixth annual New Music Festival in downtown Eugene, a celebration of composed sound works, with a special focus on those that push composition’s boundaries. These scores explore the visions and sounds of both established and emerging artists. These artists engage with the world as we live it now; sonically diverse, politically charged, and forever changing. The shows will include a concert by guest artists from across the US performing at Kesey Square during First Friday; guests Impulse Ensemble performing at the UO’s Berwick Hall; and EDME performing three concerts at venues around downtown Eugene;

• Continue our mission to bring contemporary scored music to unexpected venues throughout Eugene, through concerts and film accompaniment;

• Continue our fortnightly radio show, available to Pacifica stations, interviewing contemporary composers and challenging our listeners with quality experimental music performed by highly trained musicians;

• Launch a participatory concert series, performing graphic and text scores where all of the members of the audience can join us in interpreting the scores to create a communal music.”

In the now, we are obviously really busy. The admin team is swamped. To address this we expanded from three members to five a couple of weeks ago. All of us are unpaid volunteers. Most of us also must learn and perform the repertoire. And work day jobs. And navigate families (though no children, as yet.)

WHICH IS GREAT! We could not be happier.8 The past and the present elucidated above are something that we are incredibly proud of, a journey that is incredibly rewarding. We count ourselves among the blessed.9

Having said that, we are kicking off this zinewsletter rebirth with the past and present only as beacon to guide you in preparation for sharing the discussion of our future which we had last night. We were discussing two related and approaching changes:

1. In September, we are hosting our first Gala, which we hope to leverage as part of a move away from a working Board Of Trustees (currently three members of our admin team are also our Board) to a fundraising board, and

2. Hiring our first part-time employee (PT), and trying to understand how we might reach that stage financially, what the responsibilities would be, and how far off is this next milestone, realistically?

These questions can only be answered, we believe, after we deeply interrogate who we are now and who we want to be in the future as an ensemble/organization.

We think we understand (as outlined above) who we were and who we are.10 So then, who do we want to be in the next five years? What do we want a fundraising board to raise funds for? What do we want a part time employee to prioritize in their labours? What are we comfortable sacrificing to get to a place where we can make that hire?

Some feedback suggests that much of our value to Eugene is how we work with both “town and gown”, particularly how we are unique in trying to create a path from the UO School Of Music and Dance to the Eugene community. Our inclusivity with graphic scores is also something we receive positive feedback about. These qualities mesh nicely with how much our musicians love opportunities to perform. However, our core mission is promoting underrepresented composers, which, last night, raised the question of whether our mission and our perceived value to the community clash.

A fellow Eugene Nonprofit told us that in order for them to make the shift from an all volunteer organization to a first PT employee (and eventually several full time employees) they prioritized the admin fundraising process for three years, doing considerably less programming. We wonder then what is fundamental if we have to make similar sacrifices? And, again, is there a clash between our mission and what it will take to grow the ensemble as an organization capable of surviving long term?

How do we honour our mission while also rewarding our musicians and respecting our community? Can we be both an extreme chamber music ensemble and a nonprofit corporation? Can any corporation ever be capable of prioritizing actual biological lifeforms over its own well-being as a concept masquerading as something more? Can a corporation actually be the community it would have you believe it is?

Should our 2027 focus be more on financial and operational aspects, including our approach to grants, rather than so much on programming? Realistically, the New Music Festival (NMF) and Ambient Ecology Festival (Æ) are enough to justify the organization. Should we focus on the events that draw crowds and are associated with us already, and decline the opportunities that come our way to play odd venues and join different line-ups, aiming for more consistency in venue and timing? Would playing less shows dissatisfy our members, who are professional musicians because they WANT to perform regularly, not just at marquee events?

We could not give up NMF or Æ, but perhaps could we add a third series or “temporally distributed festival”11, such as an audience engaged graphic score event (GSE) every second Saturday of the month at a church or gallery, or perhaps alternating monthly between the GSEries and Silent Movie accompaniment nights?

These are questions we discussed and did not answer last night. This is where we are today as an ensemble: asking not just big questions of music history, but of ourselves.

Do we perform fewer shows, focusing on our Spring & Autumn festivals? Keeping perhaps the occasional Silent Movie accompaniment night, our spooky concert for Eugene’s Downtown Halloween celebration, and an annual collaboration with #Instaballet, our three best attended programs? Do we reimagine our current grab bag of monthly shows, as a more regular series, at a single venue on a consistent evening of each month throughout the year? Do these engage more with our old practice of audience participation in graphic and text scores? Do we do less now in hopes of doing more later? Who will be later if we choose to do less now? How do we serve our mission, our members, and our community? Have we ceased to be a band and become an organziation?

For a first post, what better than a little history and a lot of questions? If nothing else, it looks like EDME remains curious!