The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

September 1, 2026
The full moon cast shadows of trees upon the camp. Where the canopy was broken, the ground was painted in white moonlight as if covered in a gossamer veil of snow. Roused in the night by unknown cause, Andromache emerged from the tent. By this pure light, it seemed to her that all things should be revealed. She intuited now that the band had once before made an attempt to travel to Massalia but had, for some reason, turned aside. At that time, she did not understand why her presence among them had prompted the band to try again.

written while listening to:  Emanuele Cisi - The Age of Numbers (AUAND, AU9016, 2009, Italy, cd, discogs.com)

September 2, 2026
That morning the rising sun appeared reticent to banish the moon and recast the wilderness in pink light. It lingered first behind the mountains themselves then clouds hovering over the peaks. When rays of sunlight finally broke through, the band of travelers had already packed up their gear, hitched the donkeys and resumed their progress along the mountain path for several hours. However, the insight of the night before remained lodged in Andromache. She attempted indirectly to get her companions to speak about their earlier visit to these lands.

written while listening to:  Burton Greene & Guillaume Gargaud - Magic Intensity (Chant Records, CR1909BU, 2019, United States, cd, discogs.com)

September 3, 2026
Andromache skipped ahead to walk beside Papa. "Are we still in Aetolia?" she asked. "I think not," he replied. "Then where are we?" He shrugged, "I'm sure the people here have a name for it, in fact many names. Each local tribe calls it after their own liking in an attempt to lay claim over the mountains." Andromache's curiosity was kindled. "We haven't seen any people in a week. Where are they all?" The villages were situated closer to the coast. Papa promised they would visit one before too long, if only to please an audience and replenish supplies.

written while listening to:  Magda Mayas & Jim Denley - One Another (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1218, 2025, United States, cd, discogs.com)

September 4, 2026
Andromache fell back a few paces until she walked beside Megaera and Exekias. "What are the people like here?" she asked. The giantess cast a curious glance at the flutist for such inquisitiveness was unusual in her. "You're asking the wrong person, Synder" she said. "I'm just as new to these parts are you are. Exekias and I hadn't joined the band when the others were last here." This response surprised Andromache; she continued to imagine the band as an immutable object and had not constructed a clear timeline of its historical changes in personnel.

written while listening to:  Derek Bailey, Han Bennink & Evan Parker - Topographie Parisienne, disc 4 (Fou Records, FR - CD 34-35-36-37, 2019 (rec. 1981), France, cdx4, discogs.com)

September 5, 2026
That night, after everyone had gone to bed, something bothered Grandpa's stomach. Andromache left the tent to empty the bedpan. The moonlight had returned, scarcely diminished from its apex of the night before. She was immersed in the nocturnal chorus of insects and bathed in white light as she rinsed the earthenware pan. Even this mundane chore took on an unworldly aspect, as if she had been whisked away to a magical realm. She scanned the surrounding shadows for woodland nymphs and curious satyrs, spying upon the stranger in their midst.

written while listening to:  Keiji Haino, Merzbow & Balázs Pándi - Become The Discovered, Not The Discoverer, sides C & D (RareNoise Records, RNR111LP, 2019, United Kingdom, lpx2, discogs.com)

September 6, 2026
No fantastic creatures emerged to greet her, but she supposed it was hard even for their kind to match the magnificence of the moon and the organic orchestra it conducted. She slowly spun about, two or three times, then bowed her head to the forest and the spirits of the mountains, who chose not to reveal themselves. When she returned to the tent, Grandpa Dumpling remained awake. He tilted his head, then shielded his eyes with a hand. "You brought the light in with you," he remarked, as if moonlight was a sticky thing that clung to her skin.

written while listening to:  Joëlle Léandre & Pascal Contet - Area Sismica (We Insist! Records, CDWEIN 12, 2020, Italy, cd, discogs.com)

September 7, 2026
"Grandpa," said Andromache, lying beside him, "you were with the band when they came this way before, weren't you?" He grunted softly, a wordless affirmation. A silence followed as Andromache waited to see if he would respond further. A minute passed, then another. At last his voice whispered in the tent, "Yes, two of us traveled with Krokodeilos even before he found the joy of his life in Chloë. We witnessed it all, the courtship, her radiance on the day of their wedding. Of course, I was part of the band when we all first tried for Massalia."

written while listening to:  Tomomi Kubo - Calima (self-released, no catalog #, 2020, Spain, digital files, discogs.com)

September 8, 2026
Grandpa Dumpling quieted, lost in a memory that he did not share. Andromache was left to wonder to whom the old man referred when he spoke of early years with only three in the band. "Was it Triballos?" she asked. Grandpa's eyes were closed but he was not asleep. "No," he eventually answered, "Triballos showed up a few winters after Chloë." "Then who was first with you and Papa?" she persisted. Grandpa drew a long breath. "I suppose you have a right to know," he finally conceded. "It was Synderesis, my friend and your namesake."

written while listening to:  Jeremiah Cymerman, Evan Parker & Nate Wooley - World Of Objects (5049 Records, 5049-004, 2014, United States, cd, discogs.com)

September 9, 2026
She bore the name of one unknown to her, an homage to someone beloved but now gone, a gift bestowed with hope that she would share traits of another cherished in memory. To be so named was a great honor, not lessened for the tradition being commonly employed. Andromache, who had never appreciated her stage name, now found herself drawn to it, for it gave to her a history in which she was entwined in past lives, when Mama and Papa were young and the bloom of their love brightened the days of those in the band whom they called family.

written while listening to:  Dave Douglas - Secular Psalms (Greenleaf Music, GRE-CD-1090, 2022, United States, cd, discogs.com)

September 10, 2026
The band followed the mountain path as it wound between the foothills of the mountains looming to their right. Grandpa got out his clappers and Andromache the old wooden flute. They played a walking song for a stretch, while the others listened. Although the music of this duet had surely arisen previously in the course of their travels, Andromache heard it anew, as she imagined Papa's perspective. It was a rendition of a pairing from an earlier time, the same two musicians, Grandpa and Synder, though one had returned in a new form.

written while listening to:  Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh & Tyshawn Sorey - Compassion, sides C & D (ECM Records, ECM 2760, 2024, Germany, lpx2, discogs.com)

September 11, 2026
During the day Mama Chloë sensed something stirring in their flutist, though she could not put her finger on it. In the evening, she withdrew her lyre and bade Andromache join her, saying, "Synder, my songbird, come play a little tune with me." She thought to use music as a channel to coax the secret from her. While they played, the sky darkened as the sun sank below the horizon then lightened with the return of the moon. Mama extended the song until the others in the band retired and only the two of them remained seated around the campfire.

written while listening to:  Dave Burrell - After Love (America Records, 067 867-2, 2004 (rec. 1970), France, cd, discogs.com)

September 12, 2026
It pleased Andromache greatly to be the focus of Mama Chloë's undivided attention. She was in no hurry to bring their performance to a close. When the strings of the lyre grew still, the flutist blew a few more wistful notes, hoping to induce her partner to resume playing but Mama had something else on her mind. Soon Andromache's instrument too fell silent. Mama allowed the faint reverberations of the music to dissipate and the forest song to fill the camp before speaking. "Synder, my darling, there is a heavy weight on my heart."

written while listening to:  Jandek - Brooklyn Sunday, disc 2 (Corwood Industries, CORWOOD 0859, 2023, United States, cdx2, discogs.com)

September 13, 2026
The moonlight cast Mama as a sculpture. Silver strands wove through her black tresses and the charms dangling from her ears glowed as if possessed of their own luminescence. Her flesh was made pale; the lines creasing her brow and the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes were dark grooves in sharp relief on new marble. Although she had rehearsed her lines, Mama seemed to search for the right words, met now with an expectant face, which grew more anxious with each passing moment. "You, whom we love as Synder," she began.

written while listening to:  Anthony Davis - Hemispheres (Gramavision, GR-8303, 1983, United States, lp, discogs.com)

September 14, 2026
"While it's true that we offered you succor and warmth when we found you distressed in the depth of winter," Mama said to Andromache, "you owe us nothing beyond what you have already given. The pleasure of your company these past months has repaid tenfold whatever debt you may have incurred. Besides, the charity we offered was not given with expectation of recompense. We travel now into wild lands with neither sanctuary of cities nor government to secure safe passage. You have no obligation to risk your life on our account."

written while listening to:  Christiane Bopp - Rêver, Murmurer, Dire (Relative Pitch Records, RPRSS055, 2026, United States, cd, discogs.com)

September 15, 2026
Andromache made as if to speak but Mama silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Let me say my piece, sweetheart." She drew a deep breath and continued, "It's wrong for me to lead you into wilderness just because you so eagerly return my affections. I can't allow my own selfishness to imperil you any longer. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if the evils that we encounter on this road caused you to come to harm." Unspoken was the memory haunting Mama of another named Synderesis who had perished on this same road.

written while listening to:  Steve Lehman & Sélébéyone - untitled (Pi Recordings, PI66, 2016, United States, cd, discogs.com)

September 16, 2026
"It's not too late," urged Mama. "Papa can take you back to Molykreia and the ferry to Patras. We'll leave you with enough coin to hire safe passage to Arcadia. In those mountains, music is loved. The people are simple and kind. You'll be safe there. You'll make one lucky man a wonderful wife and bear him beautiful children. Happiness will find you, living a long life surrounded by loving family." The words had rushed from Mama Chloë in a flood and drew abruptly to a halt. Her eyes were rimmed with tears, glistening in the moonlight.

written while listening to:  The 52nd Street Experimental Planet Ensemble - Broken Jazz Volume 1 (Ramble Records, no catalog #, 2022, Australia, digital files, discogs.com)

September 17, 2026
Andromache smiled wanly. "What need have I to find a husband and make another family," she asked, "when fate has given me more than I could ever have dreamt of? Mama, haven't you listened to my music? Don't you hear my patient song?" Rising to her feet, she set down her flute and moved the lyre from Mama's lap. She lifted her up and, enfolding Mama in her arms, embraced her tightly. Andromache put her lips to Mama's ear and whispered words with such confidence it seemed to the older woman as if they were a prophecy uttered by a sybil.

written while listening to:  Charles Ives - Remembrance (Koch International Classics, 3-7182-2H1, 1993, Austria, cd, discogs.com)

September 18, 2026
"One day I shall be mother of the band, though not a drop of blood be shared between us. If my life is composed of waiting for such an eventuality, I dare not wait in dread. Rather, I feel the joy of it already in each moment. Eagerly, I settle into this future. One day I shall be mother of the band, and I will dress just like you, Mama Chloë, and in all I do, I shall mimic your ways—your kindness and your music that belongs to everyone—and in that mimicry honor you. Should that day come to pass, I shall consider myself the most fortunate woman of all."

written while listening to:  John Zorn - New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands (Tzadik, TZ 7311, 1997, United States, cd, discogs.com)

September 19, 2026
Of parting no more was said, neither by mother nor daughter. The following day found the same eight musicians traveling the same path north. Their store of provisions grew slimmer but Papa's unconcern on the matter reassured Andromache that she need not worry. After a long day of hiking, when the donkeys had been tended to and the evening meal finished, Mama Chloë drew forth her instrument. To the surprise of everyone except Andromache, she began her first lesson, teaching their flutist how to play the lyre.

written while listening to:  Hank Mobley - Thinking of Home (Blue Note, LT-1045, 1980 (rec. 1970), United States, lp, discogs.com)

September 20, 2026
They came to the Arachthos River, flowing from the mountains toward the Ionian Sea. Where they stood, the river spanned more than a hundred feet in width, bounded by forested slopes on both banks. During winter, water roared through this channel but in summer, Andromache found the faces of many smooth stones exposed on the riverbed so shallow was the water. They forded with ease. Here the path was broader, bearing tracks of shepherds who brought their flocks to drink, though the band encountered no locals that day.

written while listening to:  Various Artists - In Memoriam Gilles Deleuze, disc 2 (Mille Plateaux, MP CD 22, 1996, Germany, cdx2, discogs.com)

September 21, 2026
With the Arachthos behind them, the band resumed their winding path. In places their way was lined by a hedge of brambles bearing blackberries, which they sampled and collected as they walked. Later they came upon an explosion of wild rosehip. The flowers had withered leaving bundles of the small red fruit. These they gathered but did not immediately eat. Mama Chloë espoused patience, promising that she would make a jelly. Papa agreed with relish, saying, "Mama's rosehip jam is worth waiting for." He salivated at the prospect.

written while listening to:  Joe Morris - No Vertigo (Leo Records, CD LR 226, 1995, United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

September 22, 2026
Over the past two nights, the moon had borne witness to revelations, unexpected but welcome. Andromache therefore looked forward to its return. When Grandpa was settled and the rhythm of his breathing steady, she crept from the tent. In a clear sky, the glow of a panoply of stars joined the waning moonlight. She sat beside the fire, now a fragile ashen form recalling the shape of logs. She held her flute but did not play for she felt no need to summon anyone to join her. The moon was conductor of the music and she ceded control to its tempo.

written while listening to:  Lê Quan Ninh - Song Lang (included with The Negative Way) (artderien, 2024, 2024, France, cd+book, discogs.com)

September 23, 2026
When Triballos emerged from his tent, Andromache's imagination ran wild. She immediately assumed that he would provide the next piece in the patchwork history of the band. She wanted very much to know about his own arrival. How long had he overlapped with the first Synderesis? She knew only that she shared a name with her predecessor and wanted to learn something more about his personality. What instrument had he played? Oblivious to the many pending questions, the dwarf trundled off into the darkness to urinate.

written while listening to:  Sonny Rollins - The Complete Prestige Recordings, disc 7 (Prestige, 7PCD-4407-2, 1992 (rec. 1956), United States, cdx7, discogs.com)