The Journal of Popular Noise Vol 1 issue 4-6

The Journal of Popular Noise, Vol. 1 Issues 4-6. Based in Brooklyn, New York, The Journal of Popular Noise is a semi annual audio magazine featuring experimental music and sound art. The journal is beautifully designed and packaged in a letter-pressed clamshell casing that unfolds to reveal three 45-rpm records, each featuring a different artist—each record is considered a different issue of the magazine. These particular issues feature the work of Teflon Don (Devin Welch), Copy (Marius Libman), and Pontius Pilots (Victor Noriega and Robert Nelson).

The Journal of Popular Noise was created by Byron Kalet as a response to the current state of the music industry, particularly its rapid digitalization. The journal seeks to reinforce, all the while challenging, the coupling of design and the visual arts with recorded sound as it has traditionally been found in commercial LPs. In its most basic form, the concept of the magazine is to apply the structure of a pop song to that of a magazine, and vice versa. As such, The Journal of Popular Noise maintains a standard form both visually and musically; specifically, each volume comes in the same clamshell style package with three records, all of which contain five tracks. The editors have set varying guidelines (style, dynamic, structure, etc) for the construction of each song.

Teflon Don is multi-instrumentalist Devin Welch. He has performed with the Chromatics and Shoplifting and is based in Seattle, Washington. Copy is Marius Libman, a DJ and producer based in Portland, Oregon. Pontius Pilots is celebrated jazz pianist Victor Noriega and experimental electronic music producer Robert Nelson, also based in Seattle, Washington.

The Journal of Popular Noise can be purchased at www.printedmatter.org