Reader, has folk music gotten a little too “down to earth” for you? Are you tired of hearing about the same old heartbreak and the same old glass of whiskey over the same old set of chords give or take a capo on the neck of the guitar? Do you ever wish your folk music was a little more… interplanetary? You know, space aliens, light speed travel, asteroids, futuristic outfits, futuristic hairdos, the whole shebang?
Well, RVNG Intl. has heard your pleas and mine, reader, and on June 24 they will deliver in the form of a fancy-pants double LP reissue of Craig Leon’s 80s solo work under the title Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 1. Interplanetary Folk Music gathers together Leon’s two ambient synth releases from the 80s, Nommos and Visiting. You see, in the 80s, after contributing production to seminal debut releases from the likes of The Ramones, Blondie, Suicide, and Richard Hell, Leon used the money he’d saved to visit the stars. He came back and was all like, “Listen, y’all, I went to a space alien hootenanny and they don’t really use acoustic guitars in space!” but no one would listen. So, in 1980 he put out Nommos on John Fahey’s Takoma label, and Visiting in 1982 on his own Arbitor. But still, everyone was like, “Come on Craig, you didn’t take one picture of all these aliens to prove it?” and Leon was bummed because he had! NASA had just confiscated them!
All made-up shit about outer space aside, as you may or may not know, this is the first totally authorized reissue of these albums since their release. Last year, the California-based Superior Viaduct put out Nommos, but Leon was maybe not totally on board with the whole enterprise. So, and to return to the made-up shit about outer space, if you want Leon to take you on his space ship, you’re maybe a little better off pre-ordering this 100% authorized version of the reissue right here. You can also catch Leon playing Nommos live at two upcoming dates. The first is at Asheville, North Carolina’s Moogfest on the RVNG Intl. showcase alongside Holly Herndon and Blondes. That’ll be on April 26. The second date is on April 30 at La Poisson Rouge in New York with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble and Bill Kouligas. Check out “One Hundred Steps” off Visiting below for a little preemptive taste of something he will probably not be playing at either of these dates.
• Craig Leon: http://www.craigleon.com
• RVNG Intl.: http://igetrvng.com
More about: Craig Leon
