CD + booklet – Editions Basilic, Luna Bisonte Prods

John M. Bennet was born in Chicago in 1942 and is an iconic figure of the American underground scene. An activist, visual poet, sound artist and publisher, Bennet has been releasing work through Luna Bisonte Prods since the 1970s. He is also the curator of the Avant Writing Collection, William S. Burroughs Collection and the Cervantes Collection at the Ohio State University Libraries. As a musician and poet, he has worked with many artists, including Jorge Luiz Antonio, Jim Leftwich, Andrew Topel, Scott Holmes, Kommissar Hjuler and Mama Baer – both of whom were members of the NO! Art Movement co-founded by Boris Lurie. Bennett began his musical experimentation in the 1980s using homemade equipment. He borrowed techniques from William S. Burrough and was also influenced by Kurt Schwitters, Dadaism, Fluxus and Genesis P. Orridge. During this period of experimentation, Bennett combined his poetry with improvised music to make his work even more surreal. Many of the experiments featured on A Flattened Face Fogs Through were previously distributed through self-dubbed tapes – this release is a selection of materials recorded mainly between 1986 and 1995. The recordings focus on the manipulation of voices and tapes, FM synthesis, keyboard samples, experimental percussion and other sounds, all brought together to document a truly unconventional approach by a singular artist. This collection was compiled and produced by John Also Bennett and mastered by Jack Callahan. It includes a full-colour 21-page booklet of photographs, poetry, artwork, liner notes and other materials, along with Blaster Al Ackerman’s original introduction to the rare 1986 work Ax Tongue, also released on Luna Bisonte Prods.

 

John M. Bennett – A Flattened Face Fogs Through