William Burroughs
Break Through In Grey Room
LabelDais RecordsGenreSound Art
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Inspired by the original Industrial Records release of William S. Burroughs’s Nothing Here Now but the Recordings, Belgian record label Sub Rosa worked with Burroughs to release another album: Break Through In Grey Room. Originally compiled in 1986 by producer Bill Rich, the album features Burroughs's experimental recordings from 1961 to 1976, featuring field recordings by Burroughs of the Master Musicians of Jajouka, experimental collaborations with mathematician Ian Sommerville and painter/cut-up originator Brion Gysin.
Break Through In Grey Room documents William S. Burroughs during his time in Europe and England, working with Ian Sommerville on recording with the 'cut-up' technique. Sommerville's technical background enabled him to contribute to the early development of sound-and-light shows in London, leading to work with gear provided by Paul McCartney in an apartment owned by Ringo Starr. Experimental in nature, the record is as much an exhibition of studio and composition technique as it is a document of underground culture at that time.
For the 2023 reissue, Dais Records has collaborated with the Estate of William S. Burroughs on reissuing the album on vinyl and compact disc, fully remastered by mastering engineer Josh Bonati.
Format
Gatefold LP
Release notes
Track A1: Early cut-up tapes made by Ian Sommerville and WSB around 1965, probably in New York and London. Track A2: From a lecture given by WSB at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa Institute, April 20, 1976. Track A3: Excerpt from tape made in 1960 by Brion Gysin at BBC Studios in London, using BG's permutational technique. Track A4: Tape made in early 1960's by Ian Sommerville and WSB, using the "drop-in" method. Track B1: Excerpt from a radio talk by WSB in 1961…
| A1 | K-9 Was In Combat With The Alien Mind Screens | 13:29 | |
| A2 | Origin And Theory Of The Tape Cut-Ups | 3:43 | |
| A3 | Recalling All Active Agents | 1:25 | |
| A4 | Silver Smoke Of Dreams | 4:50 | |
| B1 | Junky Relations | 2:56 | |
| B2 | Joujouka | 1:30 | |
| B3 | Curse Go Back | 1:12 | |
| B4 | Present Time Exercises | 2:18 | |
| B5 | Joujouka | 0:42 | |
| B6 | Working With The Popular Forces | 2:37 | |
| B7 | Interview With Mr. Martin | 2:59 | |
| B8 | Joujouka | 1:26 | |
| B9 | Sound Piece | 2:14 | |
| B10 | Joujouka | 2:39 | |
| B11 | Burroughs Called The Law | 1:34 |
- Bill Rich
- Compiled By [Selections Assembled], Producer
- Frédéric Walheer
- Design Concept, Design
- Guy Marc Hinant
- Design Concept, Design
- James Grauerholz
- Liner Notes [Introduction Text]
- Harold Chapman
- Photography By
