LA’s incomparable Geneva Jacuzzi joins Meditations On Crime with Paz de la Huerta video…
Harper Simon’s ambitious and diverse collective releases Paz de la Huerta-directed video for Nagual following singles from Julia Holter, Sun Ra Arkestra and Gang Gang Dance
A 350+ page art book companions a self-titled nine-track album featuring Emin, Sherman, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Miranda July, Wayne Kramer, Laurie Anderson and many more
Meditations on Crime – Album & Art Book
Released Fri 23 September 2022 on AntiFragile Music
Pre-Orders via www.meditationsoncrime.com
Skirting the fringes of recognition in Los Angeles with cult renown for pulsing synth pop backed by elaborate visuals and uncompromised, live performance art, Geneva Jacuzzi’s colourful planet has a population of just one. Pulling the visionary artist momentarily to earth, Harper Simon’s Meditations on Crime collective releases Nagual, Jacuzzi’s contribution to the group’s nine-track album set for release on Fri 23 September 2022 with AntiFragile Music. Artwork for the single comes from celebrated ‘pop’ artist, Nate Lowman.
The track follows a run of mysterious teaser releases since spring, including the launch release of Heloise with Julia Holter and a tie-up with the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra ft. King Khan, prior to Simon and the group confirming the full extent of the project earlier this month. Nagual is released with the disquieting anti-glamour of its accompanying video, directed by and starring actress Paz de la Huerta.
Fiercely independent, save for a tie-ins with the influential Human Ear label and, more recently, the esteemed Mexican Summer to restore two, cult albums, Human Head (2003) and Lamaze (2010) to listener consciousness, Jacuzzi’s story of a committed Jehovah’s Witness childhood, an adulthood turn towards synthwave death-disco, income as a Hollywood make-up artist and a stint in rehab, is all set to a hard-wired, high-voltage soundtrack. Nagual, a term derived from ancient Mesoamerican religions for the belief in shapeshifting to become the tonal animal within, showcases that pulsing, electronic drive with Simon’s own vocal and writing contributions also front and centre.
Simon reflects on the creative process, saying: “I came up with the riff on the Wurlitzer and
overdubbed it onto a Rhythm King drum machine. It seemed kind of tough and I liked it. Geneva
wrote the melody and we came up with the lyrics together. A Nagual is a folkloric term that’s
sometimes associated with the debunked mystical writer Carlos Castaneda, and I liked the idea
of incorporating this into the character that Geneva inhabits with this sleazy Krautrock backing
track. Ariel Pink was in the studio and put down a low harmony on the chorus, but when I muted
Geneva, it made for a very unusual sounding melody, so I decided to keep it like that.”
After the launch further heated expectation with the additions of Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux, Washington DC punk legend, Ian Svenonius and Black Lips’ Cole Alexander to the line-up of as-yet unheard contributions, the Meditations on Crime album track listing was confirmed as follows:
1. Three That Bend Themselves – MoC w/ Marshall Allen and the Sun Ra Arkestra
2. Crime Seed – MoC w/ Gang Gang Dance
3. Heloise – MoC w/ Julia Holter feat. Geologist
4. Steal This Mug – MoC w/ Ariel Pink
5. (There’s Only) One Way To Love – MoC w/ Ian Svenonius
6. Nagual – MoC w/ Geneva Jacuzzi
7. Death – MoC w/ Jennifer Herrema
8. Youth in Asia – MoC w/ Cole Alexander
9. We The People Of The Myths – MoC w/ King Khan feat. Marshall Allen and the Sun Ra Arkestra
The full extent of the music, visual arts, literature and film who’s who, working to illuminate Simon’s initial ideas around crime, politics and simply wanting to make art with the people he admires, was finally revealed at the start of August. A short trailer released at that time offered a snapshot of Simon and contributing artist and co-curator, Jonah Freeman’s nearing-completion short film, narrated by actress Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice, Mid90s). Based on a Meditations on Crime essay by Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri, the project’s expansion into film came with hints of both future public screening and exhibition plans.
With full-colour reproductions of new and handpicked artwork spanning drawing, photography and collage, the 350+ page Meditations on Crime art book welcomes renowned artists not limited to Tracey Emin, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Cindy Sherman, Laurie Anderson, Mark Flood, Jessica Craig-Martin, Julian Schnabel and Gibb Slife to the fold. Raymond Pettibon, famed for iconic album covers for Sonic Youth and Black Flag, also features prominently in the book, as well as providing original artwork for the album cover in a new portrait of his favourite author, John Dillinger.
Published by Boo-Hooray and Bunker Basement, released with Hat and Beard Press/Ingram, and edited by Freeman and Johan Kugelberg, the book’s eleven solo and collaborative essays and interviews also include new words attributed to MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Kenneth Anger, Evan Wright, Hooman Majd, Jerry Stahl and multi-talented Miranda July.
The genesis of Meditations on Crime lies in the turbulence of the 2016 Presidential Election year combining with events in the UK and Europe and the confluence of several, collaborative ideas, including the pop culture obsession with true crime, the incredible legacy of murder ballads and political protest songs, refusing to leave Simon’s inquiring mind. Against that backdrop of unsettling political tumult, the lines of creative enquiry began to call for something politically charged, yet outside the realms of protest and overt, partisan provocation.
