I contributed to Wire magazine’s ‘Epiphanies’ book.
A new anthology of essays reveals music’s transformative powers
Epiphanies: Life Changing Encounters With Music is a new anthology of essays drawn from the monthly Epiphanies column which has been running in The Wire magazine since January 1998.
The book includes more than 50 essays in which a diverse cast of musicians, authors and critics detail their personal experiences of music’s transformative powers.
The contents include poet Ian McMillan on Captain Beefheart; singer Robert Wyatt on Ray Charles; Black Atlantic scholar Paul Gilroy on The Voices Of East Harlem; musician Jerry Dammers on Sun Ra; author Barry Miles on The Beatles’ hive mind; novelist Michel Faber on a Hungarian spontaneous music ensemble; film maker Chris Petit on the transcendental poetry encoded in disposable pop lyrics; and comedian Stewart Lee on the links between stand-up comedy and experimental music.
The book also boasts contributions from many of The Wire’s regular contributors, all acclaimed critics in their own right, including Ian Penman on Jimi Hendrix, Brian Dillon on Kate Bush, Nina Power on Fugazi, Simon Reynolds on Scritti Politti, Adam Harper on Cornelius Cardew, Geeta Dayal on the joy of drones, and Sukhdev Sandhu on fanzine culture.
Other essays describe sonorous encounters with South Africa’s World Cup vuvuzelas, noisy street protests, and the deathly silence inside an anechoic chamber.
The book has been edited by The Wire’s Editor-in-Chief & Publisher Tony Herrington and designed by the magazine’s Art Director Ben Weaver, with illustrations by Sculpture’s Reuben Sutherland.
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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