The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

July 1, 2021
The pervasive odor of decaying vegetation surrounded Periboea as she walked. She found herself thinking fondly of the fragrant incense in the house of the oracle. Foraging through a grassy patch of shallow water, a flock of ibises attempted to welcome her back to the wilds by ignoring her, as if she were a natural part of the scenery claimed by the swamp. She paused to admire the iridescence of their dark feathers. Several birds emitted appreciative, throaty murmurs as they waded past her.

written while listening to:  Lynn Cassiers & Alexandra Grimal - hybrids / hi birds (self-released, no catalog #, 2021, France, digital files, discogs.com)

July 2, 2021
Wandering north, Periboea supposed that she traveled into the heart of the swamp, for the air grew still and stale. A breeze no longer carried the scent of the sea nor shifted the listless leaves. A dense humidity occupied the shadows between the soft floor and canopy. As the day progressed, the temperature steadily rose. Moisture collected on her face as she pushed along the path. The absence of all movement save her own imbued the environs with a preternatural lethargy, as if the energy of those organisms dwelling therein had been sapped by an insatiable appetite lurking deeper in the mire.

written while listening to:  Éliane Radigue - Œuvres Électroniques, disc 2: Chry-ptus (Version 2006) / Biogenesis / Arthesis (INA-GRM, INA 6060/74, 2018 (rec. 1996, 2003 & 2006), France, cdx14, discogs.com)

July 3, 2021
Eventually, she came upon tree trunks marked by the cultists. Having been warned by Raoul that the symbols possessed multiple meanings, she chose to study one while she paused to catch her breath at a fork in the path. At first glance the sigil appeared only as a natural pattern in the bark, useful to no one but the tree who bore it. With concentration, she perceived familiar, tortured figures in its contours. Next, she deduced the direction in which the marker pointed her. She searched for some additional interpretation. Despite her attention, she extracted no further meaning. She continued in a direction other than that suggested by the sign.

written while listening to:  Tomeka Reid, Kyoko Kitamura, Taylor Ho Bynum & Joe Morris - Geometry Of Caves (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1068, 2018, United States, cd, discogs.com)

July 4, 2021
Spending the day walking proved an appropriate exercise for the body. Periboea supposed that she needed to cultivate an analogous strength of mind and spirit if she hoped to prevail against the beast. She had not received instruction in meditation, nor was she given to prayer. Thus she devised her own mental training to achieve a higher state of vigilance by focusing on individual elements in the panoply of information that reached her through her senses—sight, sound, smell and the palpable touch of the swamp on her skin as it closed its grip about her.

written while listening to:  Susan Alcorn arranged by Janel Leppin - The Heart Sutra (Ideologic Organ, SOMA038, 2020, France, lp, discogs.com)

July 5, 2021
A light rain fell in the afternoon. Individual drops collected on the leaves overhead before conspiring with gravity to devise a path to lower altitude. These rivulets created a particular dull impact as they struck the yielding mud. Among this smudged percussion, Periboea's ears detected a rhythm of sharper strokes. For right or wrong, she attributed her ability to distinguish this subtle difference to the attenuation of her senses brought about by her mental drills.

written while listening to:  Pauline Oliveros - Electronic Works (Paradigm Discs, PD 04, 1997 (rec. 1965 & 1966), United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

July 6, 2021
She traced the source of the sound to a steady drip of water upon a flat stone. The trees were apparently in the habit of allowing the rain to fall at that spot, for the velvety coating of moss was worn clear in a circle centered about the point of impact. The size of a brick with rough edges, the exposed surface betrayed evidence of working by human hands. This stone had not originated here. Periboea deduced that, many years ago, it had fallen from a load of rock being transported. By this chain of logic, she took heart that she approached the temple.

written while listening to:  Illegal Crowns (Taylor Ho Bynum, Benoît Delbecq, Tomas Fujiwara & Mary Halvorson) - The No-Nosed Puppet (RogueArt, ROG-0087, 2019, France, lp, discogs.com)

July 7, 2021
Although no point in the swamp climbed more than a foot or two above sea level and thus any depression of significant depth was filled with water, it proved difficult for Periboea not to think of her journey as a descent. The tree cover grew more dense and her path continued through shadows unbroken. Snakes hung in loops from branches without inhibition. The darkness did not disturb Periboea for she had navigated in much greater gloom while confined to the labyrinth. Nor did the presence of serpents strike her as cause for worry; the howling echoes of the minotaur had tempered her ability to fear without cause.

written while listening to:  Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey - And Other Desert Towns (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1018, 2014, United States, cd, discogs.com)

July 8, 2021
Periboea's ears detected a moaning carried in the stagnant air. She froze mid-step and attempted to identify the creature by sound alone. The wailing call was too low in register to emanate from the beak of a bird. She imagined the throat sac of a frog expanding to send a resonating boom through the swamp but the plaintive murmurs that reached her now bore little in common with such demonstrative reverberations. Dusk fell on the swamp before Periboea was able to ascertain the origin of the anguish in the air.

written while listening to:  Zlatko Kaučič, Lotte Anker, Artur Majewski & Rafał Mazur - Diversity, disc 4: Anima (Not Two Records, MW 969-2, 2018, Poland, cdx5, discogs.com)

July 9, 2021
After falling into the pit, Periboea had resolved not to travel by night but the mystery of the persistent moaning lured her onward despite her better judgment. She moved cautiously, her progress incremental. Taking a few steps from one tree to the next, she pressed herself behind each trunk and thought nothing of leaving a residue of the natural oil of her hands on the bark. The trees, for their part, gave no signal at this nocturnal caress, which might have betrayed her presence.

written while listening to:  Kanon: Aki Takase, Kazuhisa Uchihashi & Axel Dörner - Beauty is the Thing (doubtmusic, dmf-141, 2011, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

July 10, 2021
The chill that ordinarily fell upon the swamp after sunset did not arrive that night. The warmth and humidity were trapped by an impenetrable dome of sluggish air, held in place by the pillars of the trees and the canopy that they supported with their many arms. In the eerie light of a veiled moon, Periboea half expected to see the green flickering flame of the will-o'-wisp. However, no such creature appeared. There were borders, unknown to outsiders, which delineated territory within the swamp. Even faerie-kind avoided land claimed by the beast and its minions.

written while listening to:  Leila Bordreuil & Michael Foster - The Caustic Ballads (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1034, 2016, United States, cd, discogs.com)

July 11, 2021
The first indication of its arrival was an odor. A dank, moldy scent preceded it, warning Periboea to cling to the shadow of a nearby trunk. The air itself seemed to grow clammy, as if the moisture borne by the atmosphere condensed in a sticky film on her skin. Somehow, she knew before it arrived that the creature which she sensed was not a cloaked cultist like those she had seen at the pit. Something else moved through the swamp, its breath labored and its gait uneven as it was drawn to the same moaning which called to Periboea.

written while listening to:  Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble - Black Unstoppable (Delmark Records, DE-575, 2007, United States, cd, discogs.com)

July 12, 2021
Nor was it the beast that limped into her presence, for Ridibundus had described a god-like being as tall as an oak while the creature not fifty feet distant was strictly man-sized. It moved on two legs and two arms hung from its sides, swinging in the motion of ambulation, but the rhythm was entirely wrong. It appeared not to be injured so much as malformed—one leg withered, the opposite arm excessively muscular, the spine jagged as a wayward branch. Periboea found it painful even to watch the creature shuffle through the underbrush.

written while listening to:  Aly Keïta, Jan Galega Brönnimann & Lucas Niggli - Kalan Teban (Intakt Records, Intakt CD 338, 2020, Switzerland, cd, discogs.com)

July 13, 2021
As for the face of the creature, Periboea did not manage a clear view due to the darkness and distance between them. However, the head seemed out of proportion to the body and the silhouette of features deformed if not inhuman. She thought the figure would pass without noticing her but it paused and inquisitively sniffed the air. She held her breath for a long minute. Apparently unable to confirm a presence, it resumed its awkward progress. Only then did Periboea recall the words of Ridibundus when he had deemed her lucky to have his blood spilt on her, claiming it would mask her scent.

written while listening to:  Company (Derek Bailey, Alexander Balanescu, Brian Carroll (Buckethead), Paul Lovens, Vanessa Mackness, Yves Robert, Paul Rogers, Pat Thomas & John Zorn) - Company 91 Volume 1 (Incus Records, CD16, 1994 (rec. 1991), United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

July 14, 2021
She followed at a distance. Her quarry seemed simultaneously intent on a particular destination while listless in its sluggish pace and peculiar, meandering path. Perhaps it was avoiding pitfalls unknown to her. Not once did the creature peer over its shoulder to check if it was being tracked. The moaning grew steadily louder. At one point, the creature emitted a strangely dove-like coo, which elicited a similar response from somewhere ahead. Periboea kept her wits about her, doing her best to take stock of her surroundings should she find herself in need of a hasty retreat.

written while listening to:  Paul Panhuysen & Johan Goedhart - Long String Installations 1982-1985, sides E & F (Apollo Records, AR 088502, 1986, The Netherlands, lpx3, discogs.com)

July 15, 2021
They arrived at the source from which the moans emanated, the creature first, then Periboea, who remained hidden in shadow. To call the place a temple was accurate only in that the builders had intended it to honor their dark lord. The structure before her bore no resemblance to the splendid, marble architecture within which Athenians praised their own gods. No tree had been cut to make way for the temple. The stones had been laid, intentionally she supposed, in a combination of irregular angles and uneven curves that skirted trunks and the tangle of buttress roots that spread about them.

written while listening to:  Harry Bertoia - Experimental I / Mechanical I (Sonambient, F/W 1035, 2019 (rec. c. 1970), United States, lp, discogs.com)

July 16, 2021
She had arrived at what appeared to be a gully, lined with stone to form a rudimentary canal. The leafy coverage from trees on both banks nearly spanned the waterway, though a gash of moonlight was captured in the middle of the still, dark water. To her right, the canal rounded out of sight. To her left, it stretched a hundred yards or more until it disappeared in a culvert leading into the temple proper. Periboea could not decide if she viewed the grand entrance to the edifice. If so, it was an entry fit only for an amphibious congregation.

written while listening to:  Henry Threadgill Zooid - This Brings Us To Volume II (Pi Recordings, PI36, 2010, United States, cd, discogs.com)

July 17, 2021
From her vantage point, the source of the moaning became immediately apparent to Periboea. Reclining along the stone walls of the canal were dozens of creatures. They were separated at irregular intervals leading off to the temple. Their languid poses reminded her of turtles arranged along a river bank, warming themselves in the morning sun, though with obvious differences. These creatures were man-sized and must have drawn sustenance not from sunlight but from shadow. Individuals seemed to emit effortlessly a keening wail, which collectively produced a mourning drone that penetrated into the surrounding swamp.

written while listening to:  Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp - Efflorescence Volume 1, disc 4 (Leo Records, CD LR 866-869, 2019, United Kingdom, cdx4, discogs.com)

July 18, 2021
The creature, which had unwittingly (or so she supposed) led Periboea to the temple, sprang with surprising agility from the near stone wall, diving into the channel with barely a splash. Its silhouette broke the surface only once as it silently crossed the water. Pulling itself onto the far ledge, it settled into place among its fellows, not a one of which took a human form without some gross deviation. To Periboea's eyes, the bodies in this assemblage were molded by the same artist's hand but the details of their divergence from human anatomy varied greatly from one individual to the next.

written while listening to:  Joe McPhee, Dave Rempis, Tomeka Reid, Brandon Lopez & Paal Nilssen-Love - Of Things Beyond Thule Vol. 2 (Aerophonic Records, 026, 2020, United States, cd, discogs.com)

July 19, 2021
She scrutinized several near bodies at length. Each form had been blended with a denizen of the swamp waters. Reclining prostrate at the edge of the canal, one corpulent creature bore the unmistakable aspect of a bull frog with splayed feet, a mouth cut as wide at its head, bulging eyes, mottled flesh that glistened beneath a liquid film and a ponderous belly that spread out around it. All these features had been seamlessly merged into a being that was unmistakably and regrettably a man. It too moaned, in a muted celebration of its abased incarnation.

written while listening to:  Fred Van Hove - At 80, disc 2 (Dropa Disc, DD#006, 2019, Belgium, cdx3+book, discogs.com)

July 20, 2021
Another individual adopted the traits of a salamander. A long tail extended behind it, flat but for a ripple of muscle running down the center. The entirety of its body—none of the creatures were garbed in so much as a scrap of clothing—was covered in a film of transparent mucus. The figure seemed feminine, for as it lay supine on the stone ledge, speckled breasts drooped to either side of its ribcage. Like the others, it seemed wholly in the grip of a perpetual indolence.

written while listening to:  Lawrence "Butch" Morris - Testament: A Conduction Collection, disc 6: Conductions #28 & #31 (New World Records/CounterCurrents, 80478-2, 1995, United States, cdx10+book, discogs.com)

July 21, 2021
Not only were amphibians represented in these creatures, many animals, which dwelt in the waters of the swamp, had been realized in the figures stretched along the canal wall. One with eyes on stalks and a hardened hunchback recalled a snail. Another lay along the length of a tree that had fallen into the water, tethered by a few roots to the bank. It bore the features of a prawn, its chin and jaw bristling with antennules. Periboea did not, at this time, understand the relationship between this menagerie and the cult of the beast.

written while listening to:  Eyvind Kang - Ajaeng Ajaeng, sides C & D (Ideologic Organ, SOMA039, 2020, France, lpx2, discogs.com)

July 22, 2021
Absorbed in the inspection of the swamp-dwellers, Periboea allowed one of their number to approach her from behind. She felt rather than heard its presence by its breath on the back of her neck. She whipped about, drawing the knife from her belt as she turned. The creature stood but two feet from her. Periboea could not retreat lest she step from the shadows into the view of all the others. Strangely, her would-be assailant neither moved to attack nor raised an alarm. Instead, it studied the intruder with eyes that bore the black pupils and red irises of a turtle.

written while listening to:  Jean-Jacques Birgé - pique-nique au labo, disc 2 (GRRR, GRRR 2031-32, 2020, France, cdx2, discogs.com)

July 23, 2021
In its torso and face, the creature possessed the shape of a woman, melded with the attributes of a turtle—a rounded beak, an absence of hair and a splotchy coloration across its body. Its abdomen was covered in segmented plates, forming a kind of plastron, and, though largely hidden from Periboea, its back was protected by a hard carapace, emerging from the shoulder blades and reaching to the tailbone. In the pacing of its movements, the creature also resembled a turtle, for it took one step with deliberation toward Periboea then paused.

written while listening to:  Joëlle Léandre & Rafał Mazur - Beauty / Resistance, disc 3 (Not Two Records, MW 1013-2, 2021, Poland, cdx3, discogs.com)

July 24, 2021
Periboea could not interpret the ambiguous movements of the turtle-woman. Did it mean to attack? She was reluctant to strike first, fearing a replay of the regrettable wounding of Ridibundus. "I don't want to hurt you," she whispered. In reply, the turtle-woman took another step forward so that their faces were separated by inches then slowly reached out and grasped Periboea's left wrist with cold, dry stubby fingers. Again, Periboea could not decipher the intent of the gesture until the grip tightened painfully and the turtle-woman began to moan. Its kin, scattered along the canal, craned their necks toward the disturbance.

written while listening to:  Tyshawn Sorey - Unfiltered, Parts 2 & 3 (self-released, no catalog #, 2020, United States, digital files, discogs.com)

July 25, 2021
Periboea struggled unsuccessfully to free herself from the grasp of the turtle-woman. She stepped back only to draw her foe forward until the force of the creature's body pushed her first from the shadows then further onto the stone ledge of the canal and into the view of every creature arrayed along its winding length. Periboea soon realized that the strategy of the turtle-woman was to drive her into the dark waters. There, its amphibious accomplices would have the advantage over one who had intruded upon their nocturnal reverie. Drowning her would prove no great feat.

written while listening to:  Evan Parker, Barry Guy & Paul Lytton - Live At Maya Recordings Festival, sides A & B (NoBusiness Records, NBLP 60/61, 2013, Lithuania, lpx2, discogs.com)

July 26, 2021
Anticipating prey in the water, the observers slid from their perches into the canal. From the corner of her eye, Periboea caught this movement. Balanced precariously over the edge, she saw but one course of action to save her life. She struck with her knife at the side of the turtle-woman, aiming for the gap between the plastron-like belly and carapace. The creature reflexively shrank into its protective skin. With all her force, Periboea's blade slammed against the hardened back of her foe, numbing her hand. One swat proved sufficient to send the knife spinning through the air to disappear with a splash in the black depths of the canal.

written while listening to:  Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel - Halocline (Stickfigure Records, stick072cd, 2020, United States, cd, discogs.com)

July 27, 2021
Periboea had no time to lament the loss of her knife, for the turtle-woman threw all of its weight against her, sending them both off the stone ledge. The grip of the creature on Periboea's wrist was broken as the two fell into the water. Periboea knew well that she stood no chance against a horde of aquatic foes in their element. She scrambled madly for the bank. In one fluid motion, she hoisted herself up against the stone wall but before she could lift her legs from the water, she felt the same cold hand seize her by the ankle.

written while listening to:  Michel Edelin's Flute Fever Orchestra with Nicole Mitchell - Kalamania, disc 2 (RogueArt, ROG-0070, 2016, France, cdx2, discogs.com)

July 28, 2021
She clutched the stones as the turtle-woman attempted to pull her under. Thrashing about in the water she fought like an animal for her life. The commotion accelerated the approach of the other creatures in the water. Dozens of pairs of eyes, reflecting the moonlight, slid across the surface. As the others arrived they jostled the turtle-woman. In that moment of distraction, Periboea gave a violent kick and broke free. So forcefully had she been pulling against the stone that the sudden release caused her to spring face first over the ledge and into the undergrowth.

written while listening to:  George Lewis - The Recombinant Trilogy (New Focus Recordings, FCR284, 2021, United States, cd, discogs.com)

July 29, 2021
Jumping to her feet, Periboea glanced backward only long enough to see various misshapen hands emerge from the water and grasp the stones. She did not wait for the creatures to haul themselves onto land. She raced headlong into the shadows of the swamp, heedless of hidden hazards. She thought that she heard sounds of pursuit, rustling through the reeds and brush, but perhaps her mind played tricks on her. Within a few minutes, she slowed her pace and proceeded briskly but with greater caution, lest she fall prey to a trap, where she might easily be collected.

written while listening to:  Yongzhang Guo - Zhuizi Selections (Old Heaven Books, OH 16, 2019, China, cd, discogs.com)

July 30, 2021
She continued to rapidly put distance between herself and the canal that led to the temple of the beast. When a stitch in her side prompted her to consider pausing to catch her breath, she sought a safe haven. Having ventured far from the custodian's territory, she found no closet in which to hide. As she searched for a refuge, a feeling of triumphant relief swept over her. She was spared the ignominy of having to be rescued again, or so she reckoned. From now on, she would be responsible for her own fate.

written while listening to:  Peter Kowald - Was Da Ist (Live) (Free Music Production, FMP CD 147, 2011, Germany, cd, discogs.com)

July 31, 2021
Nestled in a high crook of an oak tree, Periboea passed the remainder of the night. She leaned against the pack, reassured that she had managed to keep it strapped to her back during her plunge into the canal. However, she dearly regretted the loss of her knife and not only because its absence left her weaponless. It had been a gift from Andromache. Since she had surrendered her shift and sandals to the oracle, the knife had been her last physical connection to those whom she had left behind in the labyrinth. She possessed nothing now but memory to steel her against the temptation to forsake her friends.

written while listening to:  Don Pullen - Evidence of Things Unseen (Black Saint, BSR 0080, 1984, Italy, lp, discogs.com)