TAPESONGS by JOAN LA BARBARA

Tapesongs is the second of two crucial Joan La Barbara reissues on Arc Light Editions, following on 'Voice Is The Original Instrument'. The original artwork is an incredible shot: Joan buried to her neck in reel to reel tape. It includes two essential pieces: John Cage�s Solo For Voice 45, and a burning take-down of Cathy Berberian in �Cathing�.Originally released in 1977, Tapesongs makes use of early electronics, and multi-tracked tape techniques to manipulate La Barbara�s signature extended vocal techniques. In 1977, La Barbara was living in NYC, playing concerts internationally and performing regularly with John Cage, who she described as a mentor. �I began working with John Cage in 1976 and we had done several performances of his "Solo for Voice 45" from Song Books in concert,� says Joan. �Cage determined the 13-minute version for this version, overlaying all 18-pages of the score so that one hears the entire work in layers. Hearing it again after all these years is wonderful and brings back many memories.�