52nd City to explore St. Louis' "Sound"

Aficionados of audio esoterica may want to keep an ear out for the next issue of 52nd City, the quarterly St. Louis arts magazine run by Andrea Avery, Thomas Crone and Stefene Russell. That's because this time the magazine, which organizes each issue around a single topic, will actually be a CD, themed "Sound".

The CD will feature an eclectic mix of contributions from performers drawn from St. Louis' music, art and literary communities, albeit with something of a lean toward the white, South Side hipster set. "The piece overall, is a mix of music, experimental noise assemblages, spoken word, the one interview and a piece of a live "radio play," says Crone (via email).

Saxophonist Dave Stone appears twice - once as part of "a long sound collage by Eric Hall," also featuring Jeremy Brantlinger, Fred Friction, Brett Underwood, Jeremy Kannapell, Sunyatta Marshall, Jason Hutto and Derek Mosely; and again backing poet K. Curtis Lyle on "Nut Check". "Also of note is a Josh Weinstein recording of Ornette Coleman, which is an interview on the notion of Sound, which runs about five minutes," adds Crone.

Other contributors include KWMU reporter Tom Weber, doing a spoken word piece; Tony Renner's latest ambient music project, Learn, Artist; Cloister; Julie Dill; Cold War; Robert Goetz; the Mad Art Radio Hour; Heidi Dean; James Weber Jr.; MC401(k); Aaron Belz; and the Private Sector.

52nd City is throwing a release party for the "Sound" issue from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 14 at the Royale, 3132 S. Kingshighway. The event is free, and copies of the CD will be on sale for $8. After that, you can order one through the magazine's Web site, or pick up a copy at Vintage Vinyl, Euclid Records, Dunaway Books, Left Bank Books, Subterranean Books or various other independent retailers and businesses around town.