2020 has been difficult for everyone we know in some way or another. This month we are absolutely devastated by passing of our friend and supporter, Nari Salter Mann.
Nari was a writer, photographer and musician who had volunteered with COTFG since its earliest days. Many of us shared great times with her in Austin, Tx and elsewhere around the country. This post is named after her blog.
Nari’s friends may share their memories, events, vignettes, music, and photos relating to Nari on her Tribute page.
In the spirit of her generous way of life, her friend Chris Lilly has created this GoFundMe page.
Nari’s friends Joanna Thomas White andNed Raggett are working together to create a compilation album including some of her favorite bands and musicians she knew personally. The proceeds will go to charities she supported. If you would like to help in any way, please feel free to email joannatwhite@gmail.com.
Thank you Nari for all the lives you have touched with your wisdom, friendship and kindness. We would not have made it this far without you and we will never forget you.
Andrea Cortez, MM, MT-BC, is a board certified music therapist who uses the power of music to create positive change in the listener.
Her work focuses on how rhythm, harmony, and other elements of sound can help improve the health of our mind, body and spirit. She is also a sound artist, composer and sound meditation teacher. In addition to working individually with people, her work explores the relationship between the elements of music and the natural world. She incorporates playing music with both animals and plants demonstrating the presence of music as a fundamental structure found in nature. She is owner of Mind Body Music Center, a sound therapy studio, where she is based in Austin, TX.
COTFG – Do you think of yourself as a therapist or musician? Andrea Cortez – I definitely think of myself as a therapist first. I never really considered myself an entertainer, mostly because I have introverted tendencies. If it weren’t for my love of music, I wouldn’t put myself in performing situations.
Growing up music was always a personal and introspective experience and it was my safe haven from the world. I think this is why I became a music therapist, because it was part of my journey in learning how to navigate the world around me and in me. So I would say I really don’t fit into the music entertainment category although I am performing in a way as I play for groups of people. In this case I guess I don’t feel like a performer. I feel more like I am creating a space with the listeners, inviting them to participate, and connecting to what it is that they may need. I remember when I was studying music therapy my professor said something that really stuck with me. He said that we would need to be proficient at several roles, being a therapist, a musician, and a scientist. When you mix those together you are able to explore some very interesting perspectives on music.
What are your influences for your recent work? Connecting to Nature has influenced my work. This year I released recordings of harp and plant generated music. And the more I explored nature the more I could see that these are not separate. If you break down sound into its fundamental elements you find frequency, rhythm, melody, harmony, and silence. These are elements that are present everywhere in the living world. So there is music in nature and there is nature in music. I am seeing that many people want to connect more to nature, especially now during this difficult period of social separation. We are looking for ways to connect to life and to be hopeful. I think both music and nature help us to do that. And this is what I aim to do, to express the therapeutic qualities of music and nature so that others can feel relief from stressful times.
What have you been listening to lately? I guess it’s not surprising that lately I have been listening to nature sounds as well as capturing field recordings around my neighborhood. Behind my house is a pond that seems to be a lively ecosystem of insects and animals. The frogs there are my favorite. They have an interesting way that they synchronize their sounds together. I recorded them and they will be featured on my upcoming album.
All artists are missing the live connection but I would assume your practice has suffered even more so. What ways of expression and connection do you hope to explore using recorded video or live streaming? This year was a difficult transition of moving all my work to video recording and livestream. There is an added benefit of experiencing live vibrations and being in the same room as the instruments being played. But I have managed to still offer sessions and sound meditation classes online while maintaining a high quality of sound for the listeners which is very important for this work. I use instruments that produce a wide range of overtones and I want to transmit as much of that sound as I can online. I have received positive feedback that my live streams are helping people to feel less stressed, more grounded, less anxious, more peaceful, and calm. So I plan to continue to offer virtual sound therapy sessions and livestream events as a resource of wellness and mental health support for people. I also have had the opportunity to meet people outside of Austin, which has been a positive outcome of having more of a virtual presence online.Find out more at MindBodyMusicCenter.com or on Andrea’s Instagram.
Perseph One is “pursuing music and art as a remedy for daily life”.
COTFG – Tell us how you got started Perseph One – Beginning my music entanglement in Kansas City, Missouri in the rap group Ces Cru in 1996 birthed a young rapper that called herself 1st Lady of Ces Cru. Later in high school her mythology teacher introduced her to the name Perseph One and before even knowing the full story she immediately adopted the name as her rap alter ego.
She as a solo artist has opening for countless big name acts and releasing music on an independent level every since.
COTFG – What were your musical or general artistic influences for your historical work or current projects? Influences with music included for sure Ces Cru forever in my veins and heart Aesop Rock a big fan, Mick Jenkins I love his message and cadence I listen to a lot of Japanese synth minimalism as a soundtrack to life (Hiroshi Yoshimura, etc.) or producer influences of 14KT or Devante Swing instrumentals. Music clears out and charges energy so i choose what’s needed.
What does experimental/avant-garde mean to you? Expiremental / avante garde sounds like 2 people sitting on the floor amidst a jungle of wires and knobs, hair covering the eyes and letting loose the uncomfortable energy in the room. It’s usually something that isn’t of the norm of music barriers or rhythm. That’s just what i think anyway.
What other ways of expression do you hope to explore using recorded video or live streaming? Live Stream soon. Album being pressed and will successfully livestream a performance ie release party in boost of that. The new record is being released under the texas record label El Grande Records as vinyl, cassettes and merch are being handled at the moment.
What have you been listening to lately? Last night i listened to every jam i love by Bjork, i listen to a lot of my production in progress. A lot of 90s r n b cuz i like to sing a long.(Janet Jackson everything) Music to Study to girl be getting me. Documentaries and Lectures while i paint.
COTFG: We’ve been following Chorist online for a bit and decided to find out a little more about him. As usual, there’s always a lot more to know about someone than you can tell from their social media digital output!
Chorist: I’ve been making music here and there for about 20 years in various forms. It used to be playing guitar and songwriting. These days it’s mainly in the form of electronic music. I’ve released a couple of EPs as “Chorist” in the last couple of years.
Outside of releasing music, I’ve collaborated with friends on projects, such as “Wander” a sculpture/choose-your-own-adventure that you can see/experience at the downtown library. And I did sound design/music for Animal Facts Club’s live performances and videos over the past few years, with more performances to come post-pandemic.
COTFG: What were your musical or general artistic influences for your historical work or current projects?
I listened to a lot of Hot 103 KTFM (shout out to Sonny Melendrez) growing up in San Antonio, and the Miami Bass and Freestyle tracks they played are some sort of deep foundation of what I like to hear. A lot of the music from Warp Records in the late 90’s and through to today. Aphex Twin and Autechre are the big ones. Kurt Korthals (The Buddy System) was an inspiration as being the first person I knew to make music that I really liked and was in the vein of what I wanted to make.
And then various visual artists’ work and writings have influenced how I think about the creation process. Baldessari’s stuff regarding making up systems of rules and asking yourself interesting questions. Donald Judd’s woodcut prints. Robert Irwin’s biography “Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees”.
What other ways of expression do you hope to explore using recorded video or live streaming ?
So far I’ve completely avoided video. I don’t think I want to be on camera. If I did it, I would probably make something sort of didactic, or about showing process. Performance on video isn’t very engaging, but I’ll watch endless videos of people talking about how they work. I’ve thought about doing a podcast where I talk about making tracks. I’d like to do interviews with electronic musicians about how they work at a “bigger picture” level… not so much what gear do they use or where the sounds come from, but rather how do the larger elements come together to form a piece? That doesn’t get talked about as much.
Experimental work, in the sense that appeals to me, is about exploring a new idea, learning the aesthetics of it, and creating something beautiful from it. Like having an idea for some new unknown process for creating a piece. You make it up, try it out, and see if you like it or not. And you keep doing that and refining it until it’s something you like. What keeps it “experimental” is avoiding the habit of doing what you already know “works”. I find it hard to do. “Avant-garde” is a historical term.
You can find out more about Chorist music on his website and instagram.
