Read & Listen: Ursula Le Guin’s ‘Weird & Enjoyable’ Electronica Album
Ursula K Le Guin (1929-2018) died this January after gifting the world dozens of wide, lyric, deep, and densely imagined books. But, as Geeta Dayal recently pointed out in The Guardian, few knew her “deeply weird and enjoyable” music.
Le Guin put together her album, “Music and Poetry of the Kesh,” in concert with composer Todd Barton. It was conceived as a companion to Always Coming Home (1985) and was re-issued this March 23. You can listen to a bit on SoundCloud:
University of California Press has also published an excerpt from the novel online. They call it an immersion in the “culture of the Kesh, a peaceful people of the far future who inhabit a place called the Valley on the Northern Pacific Coast.” Ideally, read the excerpt while listening to snippets from Barton and LeGuin’s weird, wonderful music.
