Performances of Masculinity

by Yann Novak

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Brian Holman A beautiful, poignant listen. at only 8 minutes, it feels like a fleeting thought, lost in the bustle of the day. But maybe I'm projecting, as within those 8 minutes there is ample time to meditate on the subject of these tracks, and on your own expectations. A perfect set of songs to put on, wherever you are, and slow down for just a little bit, and let yourself feel. Favorite track: Stifling Sensitivity.

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	1.	Crushing Vulnerability 04:00		buy track
	2.	Stifling Sensitivity 04:00		buy track

about

An enthralling suite of music composed and performed by Yann Novak. These two recordings contain some truly exquisite sound organisation by Novak who is regarded equally for his concepts and his music. 'Performances of Masculinity' features a fascinating, fundamental blend of harmonic and discordant forces. Two beautiful renderings and some of the most absorbing recordings in Novak’s catalogue. Reserved but quietly optimistic. Gorgeous and essential.

For this pair of tracks Novak drew inspiration from his upbringing in the midwestern US—minutes from rural farmland—as a queer youth. 'Performances of Masculinity' ruminates on toxic masculinity, its influence on human development, and its broader presence in experimental music communities.

'Crushing Vulnerability' opens with a delicate drone that is slowly decimated by distortion and noise, mirroring a relationship to masculinity in which vulnerability is treated as a weakness in need of eradication. 'Stifling Sensitivity' follows with a dense, emotional drone that is slowly eroded until barely anything is left, reflecting masculinity’s doctrine of never revealing emotions. Sonically, both works reference noise and other aggressive forms of experimental music (or as close as Novak is able to get) with the intention of bringing awareness toward those spaces which still foster and sometimes celebrate toxic masculinity.

The cover features a photo by longtime friend and collaborator Steven Miller.

credits

released August 12, 2018

Champion Version, UK (CV201212)

Published by Touch Music/Fairwood Music UK Ltd.
Mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space.
Photograph by Steven Miller.

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about

Yann Novak Los Angeles, California

Yann Novak is a multidisciplinary artist and composer based in Los Angeles. His work is guided by his unique perspective as a queer autodidact. Informed by his partial color blindness and dyslexia, Novak uses sound and light to explore how these intangible materials can act as catalysts to focus our awareness on our own direct experience. ... more

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