Hyperdub is launching a new spoken word-focused sub-label called Flatlines.
The label’s first release will be an audio essay by sound artist Justin Barton and the late theorist Mark Fisher, called On Vanishing Land. The piece, a press release explains, "evokes a walk along the Suffolk coastline in 2006, from Felixstowe container port (‘a nerve ganglion of capitalism’) to the Anglo-Saxon burial ground at Sutton Hoo." It also takes in newly-composed works by the likes of Gazelle Twin, Raime, John Foxx and Ekoplekz. Sleeve notes for the release have been handled by Barton while the vinyl release also features photos taken by Fisher.
Flatlines was born out of the monthly Ø events that Hyperdub has been running at London’s Corsica Studios for over a year. The nights frequently see the label combining music from label signees and affiliates with installations and exhibitions by artists and theorists. On Vanishing Land was initially presented in 2013 having been commissioned by The Otolith Group and London gallery The Showroom. It later formed part of the February 2018 edition of Ø.
Flatlines will release On Vanishing Land on July 26, 2019.