Monday, December 28, 2020
Music Projects
I am currently in the process of uploading twenty-three albums of music online to my YouTube channel.
The music is part of an ongoing project which I have been working on for the past decade, with more than a hundred musicians from around the world taking part thus far.
Many of these albums were already completed and just needed to be put online, while some are still being shaped with the song selection and the track order still being decided.
While I have been doing this, I have been inspired to finish some new compositions as well. These include a couple of favorites of mine: Station of the Cross, from the album: The Lugubrious Game, with tape loops by Mick Harvey (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), double bass by Rosie Westbrook (Kim Deal), analogue synthesizer by my son Ariel Lorca, vocal effects by Michael Johnson (Joy Division), and vocals, editing, mixing, and arranging by myself; and: Cage/Cunningham: Love Letter No. 4, from the Cage/Cunningham: Love Letters album, with Frippertronics by Robert Fripp (King Crimson), and editing, mixing, and arranging, by myself, under the direction of Yahweh via ruach hako'desh.
In addition to this, inspiration has flared up and I have also been writing a great deal of new material.
Pictured above is "Sea," the cover art for the Cage/Cunningham: Love Letters album, by Gerhard Richter.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Photo-Painting Work
A recent work from my Photo-Painting series, which was begun in Vienna in 2008, and is still ongoing...
This work is titled:
Alien Sunset with Biologic Spacecraft Trailing Mutant Tentacles In Its Wake.
I will be uploading more Photo-Painting works in the coming days and will be creating a website specifcally for them soon.
Sunday, May 12, 2019
My Music and Sound Art Works Exhibited at the 58th Venice Biennale
My music and sound art works are being exhibited at the 58th Venice Biennale.
31 of my own music works and 7 of my music works with texts and vocals by William S. Burroughs are being exhibited in Venice.
A heart-felt thank you to the musicians (and two writers, two actors and one painter (whose paintings were converted into sound)) who worked with me on the creation of these works: Ariel Lorca, Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno), David Van Tieghem (Laurie Anderson), Oren Ambarchi (Merzbow), Andrew Sterman (Philip Glass Ensemble), Jamie Saft (John Zorn), Hopek Quirin (ABQ), Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey), Jem Finer (The Pogues), Michael Blair (Lou Reed), Ulf Ivarsson (Beatundercontrol), Chandra Shukla (Xambuca), Elisa Faires (Xambuca), Joke Lanz (Sudden Infant), Eberhard Kranemann (Kraftwerk), Keith Fullerton Whitman (Hrvatski), Pauline Kim Harris (String Noise), Conrad Harris (String Noise), Bill Gilonis (The Work), Jeroen Visser (Trio Kazanchis + 1), Mark Spybey (Zoviet France), Bela Emerson (The Damned), Dean Hurley (David Lynch), Daniele Pagliero (Nurse With Wound), Reinier Van Houdt (Current 93), Julia Kent (Antony and the Johnsons), Ulrich Krieger (Metal Machine Trio), Stephen Vitiello (Joan Jonas), Robert Fripp (King Crimson), Chuck Hammer (David Bowie), Cor Fuhler (Sonic Youth), Jeffrey Zeigler (Kronos Quartet), Mick Rossi (Philip Glass Ensemble), Susan Stenger (John Cage), Philippe Nahon (Gaspar Noe), Daniele Pagliero (Nurse With Wound), Dieter Moebius (Cluster), Robin Storey (Zoviet France), AD Chivers (Peter Gabriel), RK Faulhaber (Nurse With Wound), Gerd Bessler (Tom Waits), Michael Giles (King Crimson), Ghazi Barakat (Pharoah Chromium), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), Rosie Westbrook (Kim Deal), Michael Johnson (Joy Division), Laurent Petitgand (Wim Wenders), Margot Petitgand (Wim Wenders), Christoph de Babalon, Heiner Muller, Alice Siil, Frank Cassara (Philip Glass Ensemble), Paul Beauchamp (Nurse With Wound), Ash Wednesday (Einsturzende Neubauten), Laura Bisceglia, Adi Newton (Clock DVA), BJ Nilsen, Jim Pugliese (John Cage), Kato Hideki (John Zorn), Marco Cappelli, Ben Holmes, Darryn Harkness, Chris O'Connor, Elliott Sharp (Kronos Quartet), William Winant (John Cage), Chandra Shukla (Xambuca), Elisa Faires (Xambuca), MS Waldron (irr.app.(ext.)), Jeanne Tripier, Gerhard Richter, Phil Minton, Wilfried Hanrath, and Matt Howden (Sieben). Thanks also to William S. Burroughs, James Grauerholz, and the Burroughs Estate.
Monday, November 5, 2018
My Sound Art Works Exhibited at the Museum Romeinse Katakomben
My sound art works will be exhibited at the Museum Romeinse Katakomben, in Valkenburg, the Netherlands, in April/May, 2019.
The exhibition will "(re)build a sound-environment that represents the 3rd/4th century in Rome: the daily life, the underground catacombs, the life in and around the temples, religion, science, and art."
The exhibition will "(re)build a sound-environment that represents the 3rd/4th century in Rome: the daily life, the underground catacombs, the life in and around the temples, religion, science, and art."
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Print Works Exhibited in the VVM7 Project at the TATE Liverpool
My print works being exhibited as part of the VVM7 Project at the TATE Exchange L'Pool at the TATE Liverpool, from the 30th of July to the 5th of August, 2018.
In 2007, a number of these works were also published in Static, the journal of the ICA, the Science Museum, and the TATE.
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
New Composition from the Paul Amlehn and William S. Burroughs Project
You can listen to the composition here:
David Lynch Provides Cover Art for My Album Blood of Union
Monday, October 16, 2017
My Photo-Painting Work Exhibited at the 57th Venice Biennale
My Photo-Painting work has been exhibited at the VVM5 Project, as part of the Seychelles Pavilion, at the 57th Venice Biennale.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
The Meta-Novel at documenta 14

Monday, August 22, 2016
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Amlehn/Fripp/Jeanrenaud: Saudade
From 2008-2012, I worked on an album project with guitarist Robert Fripp (King Crimson), and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud (Kronos Quartet). The project was to consist of a number of soundscapes with spoken word by myself. I wrote several texts which Joan responded to musically along with Robert's soundscapes. In the end, I decided the works functioned better as instrumentals without my voice.
The cover art for the album has been provided by artist Gerhard Richter.
You can listen to the album here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXDd9XG0glOaDFUockdut1EUpMEUNDXPJ
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Photo-Painting Work Exhibited at Luhring Augustine Gallery

One of my Photo-Painting works will be exhibited at Luhring Augustine gallery in New York, in the Postcards from the Edge show with art by Vito Acconci, Kiki Smith, John Baldessari, Catherine Opie, Ed Ruscha, Lawrence Weiner, and others. All proceeds from sales of the work go to Visual AIDS, an organization that raises awareness about AIDS and supports artists living with the disease.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Sound Art Works Exhibited at the 55th Venice Biennale


Earlier this year, two of my sound art works were exhibited on a lathe cut polycarbonate record at the 55th Venice Biennale. The work was presented as part of the Road to Nowhere panel discussion at the University of Venice.
The sound art works on the disc where: The Snow of Your Name, with music by myself, Ariel Lorca, Eleonor Sandresky (Philip Glass Ensemble), Mick Rossi (Philip Glass Ensemble), and David Crowell (Philip Glass Ensemble); and: Oannes (Reprise), with music by myself, Ariel Lorca, Julia Kent (Antony and the Johnsons), Jem Finer (The Pogues), and Andrew Sterman (Philip Glass Ensemble).
This is the second time my work has been presented at Venice. In 2005, one of my text works, Untitled, was exhibited at the Isola della Poesia, at the 51st Venice Biennale.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Gerhard Richter to Provide Cover Art for the Paul Amlehn and William S. Burroughs Album A Walk to the End of the World
Monday, July 15, 2013
Paul Amlehn and John Cage Project

Thursday, July 4, 2013
Paul Amlehn and William S. Burroughs Project: A Walk to the End of the World

In late 2012 and early 2013, I worked on a number of compositions of music which utilized the texts and vocals of William S. Burroughs. After a brief hiatus, I am back working on the project, which will be released as an album, titled: A Walk to the End of the World. The most recent compositions that have been completed on the project are: The Piper Pulled Down the Sky, with music by Mick Rossi of the Philip Glass Ensemble, and Jeffrey Zeigler of the Kronos Quartet, arranged and produced by myself; and Interzone, with music by Ulrich Krieger of the Metal Machine Trio and Stephen Vitiello, graphic score by John Cage, produced and arranged by myself and Ariel Lorca.
Cover art for the project has been provided by Gerhard Richter. Pictured above is the cover image, from Gerhard's November series: 3 Nov 2008.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
The Meta-Novel: The Reinvention of the Novel for the 21st Century




Thursday, June 6, 2013
The Tears of Eros Text Work Exhibited at Art 42 Basel with the Serpentine Gallery


Untitled Text Work Exhibited at the 51st Venice Biennale

Saturday, June 1, 2013
Blood of Union

I have recently completed the album work: Blood of Union.
Blood of Union features contributions from musicians from the bands of Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Laurie Anderson, and Leonard Cohen, as well from members of the Philip Glass Ensemble. Recorded over a three year period, the project utilized an aleatory process, whereby my texts and vocals were sent to musicians in various countries to use as a catalyst and point of departure for their own imaginings. The vocal material was used as a carrier for the intellectual, emotional, psychological, and psychic matter of the work. It was also a way of teleporting my nervous system across cyberspace, so that the nervous systems of the musicians could meet and fuse with my own. Each musician heard the same point of reference, the vocals, but, none of the musicians heard what any of the other musicians were composing.
In this way, the portal of chance was open to allow the magic to manifest in the work. Another methodology I employed on the album was the use of V-A Synthesis (Visual-Aural Synthesis). I used a specially written computer program to interpret the information in an image as a form of visual score. The program read the visual data and translated it into a series of values, which were then applied to the sonic material, color to stereo position, height to frequency, brightness to amplitude, etc. This radically altered the structure and nature of the sounds themselves and gave rise to startling and wonderful results.
Cover art for the album has been provided by filmmaker and artist David Lynch.
You can hear compositions from the Blood of Union album here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXDd9XG0glOZ8xG4Lm4L-N-bj7o-pJhcF
The Seven Words: Into Inner and Outer Space
In 2007, I created a series of recordings of spoken word with soundscapes by Robert Fripp (King Crimson), titled: The Seven Words.
These works were exhibited in galleries, museums, and festivals, around the world, and were also exhibited in a two part installation.
Part 1: The Inner
The Seven Words was installed in isolation tanks at Blue Light Floatation, in New York, and at The Floatworks, in London.
Participants were able to experience the sound art works in a sensory deprivation environment.
An isolation tank is a lightless, soundproof chamber in which subjects float in salt water heated to skin temperature. They were first used by neuroscientist John C. Lilly, in 1954, to test the effects of sensory deprivation on the brain/mind. While floating the brain slows down into theta waves, the brain wave state of tranquility, creativity and very deep relaxation. Theta brain waves, measured at 4-7 Hz, is the brain state of REM sleep (dreams), hypnosis, lucid dreaming. Theta is the twilight state just before sleeping and just after waking, the border between the conscious and the subconscious world. In this womb-like environ, the music works can, all the more effectively, penetrate and be absorbed, into the substrata of the consciousness of the individual.
Part 2: The Outer
One of the compositions from The Seven Words, Ophiuchus Improvisation / Queer Reflection Harmonic Minor, was transmitted off-world, 3-4 light years into space.
The sound art work was transmitted by a private organization located next the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This organization was formed specifically to communicate with outer-space by a group of broadcast engineers that regularly transmit from the space center. The engineers use state of the art satellite broadcasting equipment with high-powered klystron amplifiers connected to a parabolic dish antenna. The Seven Words transmission was carried trillions of miles beyond our solar system, a humanistic gesture towards other worlds and, conceivably, civilizations as yet unknown.


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