Footnotes and Appendices

Legomancer — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:00:20 -0800

The Books were a two-piece band consisting of Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong. Their albums (Thought For Food (2002), The Lemon of Pink (2003), Lost and Safe (2005), and The Way Out (2010)) consisted of a mixture of found audio, constructed sounds, languid vocals, and traditional instruments, but with a warm, solid feel to the proceedings despite the amount of audio manipulation. The band broke up earlier this year, but Nick Zammuto has released a new album from his new band, the self-titled Zammuto. (The music here definitely shares DNA with The Books, but there's a more electronic feel to them.) When The Books' final album, The Way Out, debuted, the band discussed the genesis of each track on their blog (discussed on MeFi), which was a fascinating look into the creative process. This look continues as, over on a new Tumblr blog, Nick Zammuto has begun telling the story of The Books from the beginning (part two, part three). If you're a fan of The Books, of music creation, or of just how art is inspired, the three parts to date are great reading, and promise more to come.

The Books, Annotated

carsonb — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:21:35 -0800

The Books is a collaboration between musicians and found sound archivers Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong. If you're not familiar with their music, allow me to recommend giving their newest album, The Way Out a listen over at NPR (where you can no longer stream the album in its entirety, but individual tracks are still available for your listening pleasure). Two videos are already available—the summer camp hit A Cold Freezin' Night and We Bought The Flood, which was 'directed' by archival image researcher Rich Remsberg. Since The Way Out's release Nick has been proceeding track by track through the album, explaining and annotating the techniques, instruments, and ideas used on each song—and resulting in a collage of thoughts as powerful and varied as The Books' collage of sound. Group Autogenics I - on reorganizing the sound library, what makes a good tape?, and autogenic training. IDKT - on sampling orchestras and the Hammond M-100 organ. I Didn't Know That - on cymbals, hi-hats, Hebrew stenography, and a new definition of the word 'funky'. A Cold Freezin' Night (and again) - on Home Alone 2, the Talkboy, dueling siblings, and how to make a rhythm generator using a 3" speaker, a plastic mirror, and a ballpoint pen (hear a sample). Beautiful People - on the twelfth root of two. I Am Who I AM - on the names of God, preacher rhythm, and IDM. Chain of Missing Links - on the age of Aquarius, the limitations of expression in science, and meditation. All You Need Is A Wall - on autism, hiking the Appalachian Trail, and using Nigel Godrich's guitar. Thirty Incoming (first half) (second half) - on answering machine tapes, thrift stores, Nick's dad, polyrhythm, and using drones to build sound. A Wonderful Phrase by Ghandi - a short interlude on Ghandi's voice. We Bought The Flood - on synesthesia, Rich Remsberg, the Liberty Bell, and album track order. The Story of Hip-Hop - on Hip Hop's origins (with the obligatory reciprocal link), Nigel's eBow, and Lymbyc Systym. Free Translator - on machine translation and The Purpose of The Books. Group Autogenics II - (tomorrow) Bonus tracks: An hour-long session from dublab studios, recorded November 2009 - A Collage Crystallization and A previous dublab session from a few years back - Found Sound

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Footnotes and Appendices

The Books, Annotated