Label
Ode to Gravity
Ode to Gravity, an experimental cassette label from the U.S. (1967-1979), uniquely captured avant-garde soundscapes and spoken word.
About
Ode to Gravity operated in the United States from 1967 to 1979, a cassette label sculpting the contours of experimental sound. Charles Amirkhanian, a central figure, orchestrated a dance with the avant-garde, capturing the ephemeral whispers of the era. Laurie Anderson's voice emerges from the reels, her 1979 interview a liminal moment frozen in magnetic tape. The label's catalog reads as an interdisciplinary narrative, weaving dialogue with sound, an odyssey through cassette hiss and spoken word. The June 21, 1978 release stands as a testament to collaboration, featuring the conceptual provocations of Guy de Cointet and the visual subversions of Ant Farm. Each tape, an artifact of process-driven inquiry, eschews the polished for the raw and exploratory. "Sinn-Gedicht" by Gerhard Rühm inscribes itself as a significant node in the label's fractal web, a sonic poem resonating with the era's experimental ethos. Interviews with figures like Philip Corner and Charles Amirkhanian underscore Ode to Gravity's commitment to dialogue, a symbiotic exchange of ideas and sounds. The label's years of activity mark a pivotal epoch in experimental music, a time capsule of interdisciplinary exploration etched onto 33 cassettes.
Artists
People
- Charles Amirkhanian — Music Director or KPFA-FM in Berkeley. hosted Ode To Gravity, a radio-program of music and interviews: Charles began the Program in 1970 and it is the longest running avantgarde program in the history of American Radio.