Perhaps it’s a remnant of my earlier forays into the music industry, but I felt like I really needed some good press photos for the release of When Everything Wanted More. I know the trend now is to try really hard to seem like you’re not trying really hard and that irony is king to the absurdity’s throne, but fuck it.
I hit up my homey Chris, Chris Kuhn if you want a surname, and explained my intention for the shoot. I wanted the photographs to be representative of the album, more than just a chance for me to be uncomfortably vain on the wrong side of the camera. The photos, like the album, were supposed to represent the finite realm of infinite possibilities in which we find ourselves.
Sample based music, or at least good sample based music, is about the recombination and reimagining of that which already exists. It is simply the artist’s attempt to create a sum that is greater than its parts. It’s not just a taking loop and adding drums, well it is for some folks. For me, sampling is that famous William Blake line…
“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
Auguries of Innocence by William Blake
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour…”
But the powers that be and their incessant pursuit of absolute profit and power would love to see that destroyed, I’m looking at your Spotify and WhoSampled. Fuck y’all. As usual, I digress. I really do sampling as the art of recycling and creation as the perfect example of the spiral path. A constant wave of dying and rebirth. The same material, but not the same moments.
So here are a few of my favorite photos from the day of shooting. I’m super happy with what Chris did and can’t wait to collaborate again. If you’re looking for a creative force, not just an incredibly talented photographer, hit up Chris.
