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THE 1Oth ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Cubist blues is considered as one of the best recordings Alan Vega ever did. The combination of 3
great talents, Alan, Alex Chitlon and Ben Vaughn, who deicided to spend 2 nights in a recording
studio and just follow their instincts, their inspiration, and combine the experience they acquired
during their impressive careers gives a surprising and amazing result.
After its critically acclaimed release, there was a huge demand for concerts. Unfortuantely, it was
impossible to have those 3 busy guys available the same day, except fro the Transmusicales festival
in Rennes, Brittany, in decmeber 1996. It was an incredible night. Thanks God, it was recorded, but
never released. Her it is, at last. Alex, Alan and Ben gave an outstanding performance, in front of
an eccstatic audience. Enjoy!
Beyond the superhighways of the commercial music business, there remain backroads and byways where ramblers and explorers can explore.
These alternate routes have been separately traveled for decades by three extraordinary artists: Alan Vega, Alex Chilton and Ben Vaughn. With this album, their paths converge.
For two nights, they met at the dusk at a building a block and a half from City Hall in lower Manhattan. Dessau Studio occupied the second floor. (It was named for an earlier tenant, The Harold Dessau Manufacturing Company). Each session went until dawn and proceeded practically in the dark.
Interviewer: “How could you see what you were doing ?
Alan: “ We couldn’t
The control room was a dead ringer for the office of Philip Marlowe, private investigator,
complete with smoke provided by chainsmokers, alan, Alex, and engineer Drew Vogelman.
Reformed smoker Ben was the odd man out.
Ben: “ is this bass in tune?”
Alex: “Is that a rhetorical question?
”The idea was to capture the moment, to let it happen, to trust in their combined years of experience to record without a net.All the songs were created and performed a they were performed in the studio.For precedents, one must look to the tradition of jazz improvisation or the films of John Cassavetes, who allowed his actors the freedom to portray life in all its unpredictable unfolding.With this album, it was taken to the point of controlled chaos. Alex and Ben played and recorded all the instrumental tracks in whatever manner they pleased…to hell with perfection.(Listen for example, to the drum sound the inadvertently innovated on” Lover of Love”…cal it compressed leakage through a piano lid).But the centerpice of the project is the voice of Alan Vega. It’s a unique instrument…The moer you listen to it, the more you’re going to hear.So dim the lights, sit back and inhale the atmosphere of “Cubist Blues”.
Dan Marcus
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