Irida Records : Hybrid Musics From Texas And Beyond, 1979-1986

Description

Irida Associates U.S.A., an obscure and ephemeral label created by American composer and performer Jerry Hunt, offers a glimpse into the revealing world of new music and composition in the artist's homeland, the Gulf Coast of the United States. Initially based in Dallas and later at Hunt's home outside the rural town of Canton, Texas, Irida showcased the innovative and bold experiments—focused on random methods, environmental acoustics, improvisation, handcrafted technologies, and more—conducted by Hunt and his chosen collaborators, primarily working in Texas or nearby between 1979 and 1986. The brief and compact output of Irida—seven vinyl records released in unknown quantities—published the works of artists whose practices often challenged the limits of vinyl recording. Hunt referred to the label as a "vanity project" and often spoke of a tax shelter he could take advantage of if it all were to disappear, but during its short existence, Irida captured a formidable period of creative experimentation by the artist, his friends, and his collaborators. This box set gathers for the first time the complete discography of Irida. These records include Hunt's early attempts to record his generative and highly permutable scores and performances on vinyl in the 1979 album Cantegral Segment(s) 16.17.18.19. / Transform (Stream) / Transphalba / Volta (Kernel), as well as his only composition for piano, "Lattice," on Texas Music, also from 1979. The label also distributed solo and collective recordings by members of Hunt's entourage, such as Larry Austin, James Fulkerson, Dary John Mizelle, the improvisation quartet BL Lacerta, as well as Gene De Lisa, Robert Michael Keefe, and Rodney Waschka II. The box set is accompanied by a richly illustrated booklet, a detailed essay on the label by Lawrence Kumpf and Tyler Maxin, previously unpublished archival documents, newly commissioned reflections by Fulkerson and composer Jerry Willingham, as well as an interview with Hunt and ephemeral documents, including album and concert reviews, artworks, posters and flyers, and correspondence from the involved musicians and composers. Box set of seven vinyl records.