The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

January 1, 2026
In the darkness of the labyrinth beneath Knossos, Andromache discovered a crude, wooden flute abandoned in the remnants of a miners' camp. Despite the risk of attracting the attention of the Minotaur, she played the instrument until echoes of her song reverberated throughout the stone corridors. Listening to these plaintive, furtive notes, we are moved to reflect that the span from impatience to patience is the gulf between judging life intolerably long in the moment and vanishingly brief in retrospect. Such was the effect of the music of Andromache on her audience, then and now.

written while listening to:  Ermes Pirlo, Paolo Biasi & Emanuele Maniscalco - Bellow's Training (nBn Records, nBn 013, 2014, Italy, cd, discogs.com)

January 2, 2026
Daedalus, architect of the maze, had foreseen the volatile nature of the king who commissioned it. He had therefore included several hidden exits in anticipation of the day when he was made an occupant of the prison. Andromache survived a bleak year, wandering through subterranean passages. She subsisted on water dripping from cracks in the rock overhead and invertebrates who had sought safety in the caves. It was the flute that led her to freedom, for its music sounded differently in the clean, dry air near an unseen gap that opened to the world above.

written while listening to:  Guillaume Gargaud - Miniatures (self-released, no catalog #, 2019, France, cd, discogs.com)

January 3, 2026
With blinding brilliance Andromache was reintroduced to the surface world. Shielding her eyes, she turned away. Sunbeams filtered through the virginal gown in which she had been garbed for sacrifice to the beast of the labyrinth. While her body had escaped the prison, the lengthy incarceration had left its mark on her. Just as the earth of the tunnels had dyed the fabric of her once-white dress a smeared patchwork of umber, soot and slate, so too had blotches of shadow and gloom stained the furrows in her brain.

written while listening to:  Francesca Gemmo & Magda Mayas - Tides In The Mirror (Hat Hut Records, ezz-thetics 119, 2025, Switzerland, cd, discogs.com)

January 4, 2026
She had emerged from the cave on a mountain slope in winter. Wild hawthorn and maple stood as pillars of a roofless hall. Months earlier the trees had shed their green canopy. With her eyes sealed to the sun, her ears offered a sonic portrait of her surroundings. A tireless wind soughed through barren branches. Dry leaves scuttled over hard, rocky ground. Not far away, members of a flock of black redstarts sang to each other, repeating a burst of four measured then four rapid tweets.

written while listening to:  Derek Bailey & Han Bennink - Han (Incus Records, CD02, 1988, United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

January 5, 2026
Emotional by nature, Andromache had always been quick to laugh and just as quick to cry. There was nothing premeditated in her melodrama; rather the mental switch responsible for prompting others of a more reserved disposition to censure their outbursts was simply absent in her person. To be cast from the underworld onto the foreign soil of Crete with naught to her name but a dress, a pair of worn sandals and an old flute would once have induced a scene of sobbing despair. Now, however, protracted darkness had tempered Andromache's spirit.

written while listening to:  Keiji Haino & Charles Hayward - A Loss Permitted To Open Its Eyes... (ThirtyThree ThirtyThree Records, TTTT004, 2019, United Kingdom, lp, discogs.com)

January 6, 2026
She stood then on the slope and released a song that rose to weave between the bare branches of the forest. Her accompaniment was provided in gusts by the indifferent north wind. Her audience paused their birdsong to listen to the call of the stranger sprung unannounced into their midst. This music replaced her emotional outburst for it mixed within its melody the burning joy of her renewed exposure to the sun and the shivering fear induced by the chill in the air. Lastly, the flute expressed the defiance of one who had been marked to die in the maze.

written while listening to:  Joëlle Léandre - Lifetime Rebel, disc 1 (RogueArt, ROG-0137, 2024, France, cdx4, discogs.com)

January 7, 2026
She descended the mountainside, a lone woman ill-prepared for the cold season. The fullness of her isolation conjectured by the feathered bystanders was based solely on this instantaneous observation but Andromache refused to allow her history to be erased by her black tenure in the mines. As she walked, guided by the grade in the land, she drew forth images of her mother, father and elder sister. She had not dared to imagine them while trapped in the labyrinth for fear of contaminating them from afar with the miasma of enveloping darkness.

written while listening to:  Tomomi Kubo & Björt Rùnars - Utopirica (self-released, no catalog #, 2025, Spain, digital files, discogs.com)

January 8, 2026
Andromache could not ignore for long the fact that the wonder of her newfound freedom would kill her if she did not soon find the warmth of shelter. The sun crept along its ordinary path from east to west. The temperature rose and the winds subsided as she left the exposed heights of the mountain. In this age, tens of thousands of Cretans dwelt on the island. Even in this remote spot, it was inevitable that she encounter signs of human habitation. The remains of a camp with the last embers of a fire encouraged her not to abandon hope.

written while listening to:  Zlatko Kaučič, Agustí Fernández & Evan Parker - Diversity, disc 1 (Not Two Records, MW969-2, 2018, Poland, cdx5, discogs.com)

January 9, 2026
The two men were trappers, seeking martens, weasels and rabbits for their fur. They made no attempt to conceal their presence in the woods as they followed an unmarked circuit, checking their snares. The wind carried their voices through the forest. When the birds ceased singing, Andromache too became still. The tone of the trappers was gruff, their Doric dialect crude but intelligible to her. They spoke in blunt, irritated fragments, repeatedly cursing a trader who had, in their eyes, reneged on a deal. Andromache opted to remain silent until the men passed.

written while listening to:  Christoph Erb, Keefe Jackson, Fredrick Lonberg-Holm & Tomeka Reid - Duope (Veto Records/Exchange, 008, 2013, Switzerland, cd, discogs.com)

January 10, 2026
Her choice for the harsh sanctuary of the forest over the uncertain reception of the trappers revealed aspects of Andromache that had lain dormant prior to her confinement in the maze. She had formed a deep friendship with solitude. She recognized worse fates in the world than dying. The autonomy to choose the manner not only of her life but of her death was her most prized possession. She spared no words to express this thought but, late at night, she allowed the flute to share her secret with a pair of dormice hibernating in a nest high in the trees.

written while listening to:  Henry Grimes, Roberto Pettinato & Tyshawn Sorey - My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains (Sony Music, 88697931842, 2011, Argentina, cd, discogs.com)

January 11, 2026
Come midnight the winter wind bit viciously at her exposed cheeks and arms. She wandered in cloud-veiled moonlight, moving to stave off a frozen sleep from which she feared she would not wake. She stumbled over roots and stones until the ground leveled and the trees thinned. A dirt trail, worn by boots, bade her cast aside her misgivings and follow. At a fork, she paused. Her mind played a trick on her, for she imagined a faint strain of melody summoning her from the path to the right.

written while listening to:  Roscoe Mitchell & the Note Factory - Nine To Get Ready (ECM Records, ECM 1651, 1999, Germany, cd, discogs.com)

January 12, 2026
As she drew near, the music solidified from a dreamy enchantment to the recognizable strains of an aulos. The double-reeded flute was played very softly as if the performer hoped not to wake the creatures of the wood who slept at this hour. Beside a copse of pine trees, she spied a small encampment. Upon detecting the glow of a fire yet burning and the smell of its smoke, Andromache nearly broke into a run. She halted at a distance when she caught sight of the flutist, warming himself by the blaze.

written while listening to:  London Improvisers Orchestra - Brevity Velocity (self-released, no catalog #, 2020, United Kingdom, digital files, discogs.com)

January 13, 2026
The figure sat on a log with his back to her, a silhouette limned in orange flame. The frame was small, as if that of a child. Whether sentry or insomniac, his familiarity with the aulos was evident for he created a polyphonic sound with both melody and underlying drone. Andromache urgently desired the heat of the fire but her long isolation had dulled her aptitude at social etiquette. She struggled to find words of introduction. Instead, she put the wooden flute to her chapped lips and so responded to the night music.

written while listening to:  Sylvie Courvoisier & Wadada Leo Smith - Angel Falls (Intakt Records, Intakt CD 444, 2025, Switzerland, cd, discogs.com)

January 14, 2026
She first played notes following the lead of the aulos, generating sounds easily mistaken for echoes rebounding from the mosaic of pine pillars. The musician at the fire possessed a keen ear for soon an element of curiosity entered his tune. She replied with subtle flourishes, as if the wind had caused the branches overhead to creak and sway. The musical questions became more pronounced and her responses less attributable to the surrounding environment. In this way, she gradually announced her presence.

written while listening to:  Adia Vanheerentals - Taking Place (Relative Pitch Records, RPRSS050, 2025, United States, cd, discogs.com)

January 15, 2026
Soon there was no mistaking the duet that arose, though her partner did not turn to look upon his unexpected accompanist. The tone of their music refused to stay fixed, one moment lunging forward in a playful overture then retreating per the tentative meeting of strangers. The volume too must have risen for their playing roused grumbling figures, who sleepily emerged from several tents pitched in the leeward side of the pines. Four companions, bundled in blankets, gathered at the fire, their eyes searching the shadows for the second, mysterious flutist.

written while listening to:  Steve Coleman and Five Elements - Live At The Village Vanguard Volume II, disc 1 (Pi Recordings, PI91, 2021, United States, cdx2, discogs.com)

January 16, 2026
Andromache continued to play at the edge of the clearing, as she attempted to glean information from a distance. What appeared to be a middle-aged couple, wrapped within a single blanket, awkwardly shuffled a bit closer to the fire. Another man, warding off the chill, moved with a pronounced limp. The fourth was a woman of enormous stature; the blanket draped over her shoulders did not reach to her knees. At a sign from the older man, the aulos was silenced. Abruptly, Andromache was a soloist, her location immediately revealed.

written while listening to:  Kevin Miller - Natural Equations (Ramble Records, RAM-165, 2023, Australia, digital files, discogs.com)

January 17, 2026
The woman in the shared blanket cast her half aside when she recognized that the newcomer was a young maiden, garbed wholly out of season. She ran to her and, with an instant assessment, judged Andromache to be in dire need. She grabbed her by the shoulders and exclaimed, "Oh sweetheart, you are cold as ice!" She hurried her to the fire, where her husband cocooned her in their blanket. At the same time, the woman berated the figure on the log. "And you just kept blowing your pipes, like it's nothing to you if she freezes to death!"

written while listening to:  Charles Ives & Samuel Barber - Symphony No. 1 & Three Essays For Orchestra (Chandos, CHAN 9053, 1992, United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

January 18, 2026
As the blaze returned warmth to her body, Andromache gazed at the aulos player, who openly scrutinized her. He was not a child in fact but a dwarf. He snorted as if rendering an ambiguous verdict before he slid from the log and took his instrument with him to a tent. She was left with the impression that he was annoyed by the interruption of his nocturne. It had indeed been lovely. In a motherly manner, the woman shooed the other two back to their tents as well. "Nothing to do tonight. We'll sort things out in the morning light."

written while listening to:  The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet - Voodoo (Black Saint, BSR 0109 CD, 1986, Italy, cd, discogs.com)

January 19, 2026
Left in the care of the couple, Andromache was like a dazed child, helpless and obedient. Her gaze focused on the bright flame, which hypnotized her with its flickering dance. Exhaustion overwhelmed her. "She's falling asleep, poor thing," said the woman to her husband. They ushered Andromache back to their tent and nestled her down between them, sharing their warmth with her, as if she were a babe of their own or, at least, not the first orphan whom they had rescued in the nick of time from a cruel winter fate. She slept without knowing their names.

written while listening to:  Hank Mobley - Straight No Filter (Blue Note, BST 84435, 1986 (rec. 1963, 1965 & 1966), United States, lp, discogs.com)

January 20, 2026
The sun had already risen when Andromache woke. Its pale glow filtered through cloth of the tent. Her saviors were not present but they had left her snugly tucked in. She heard voices outside and caught snatches of conversation. "She's had a rough go of it, no doubt." "There's no meat on her bones," agreed the wife. "What's her name?" a man asked. "Sakes alive, she could play the flute," said another. "If she's going to have breakfast," announced the husband, "best go rouse her. She's overdue for a square meal."

written while listening to:  Boxhead Ensemble - Dutch Harbor (Atavistic, ALP85CD, 1997, United States, cd, discogs.com)

January 21, 2026
Inside the tent, the woman ordered Andromache out of her filthy gown, offering instead an ankle-length peplos of thick wool. Hunched over in the cramped confines, she changed clothes. Observing the girl swallowed within the bulky garment, the woman shrugged and surmised, "It'll have to do." To this she added fur socks and a scarf to wrap her hands in. "I've no spare boots," she said by way of apology. Emerging into the chill together, the woman pulled the hood of the peplos over Andromache's head, like a mother fussing over an innocent.

written while listening to:  Steve Lacy - Lapis (Saravah, SH 10 031, 1971, France, lp, discogs.com)

January 22, 2026
At a breakfast of warmed bread and cheese, Andromache was introduced to the whole group. There were seven of them. Two more men were present who had not come forth last night. She was the sole focus of attention. The husband remarked to his wife, "You've made a double," for the image of the newcomer in her spare outfit brought to mind his bride of more than twenty years past. The woman raised an eyebrow. "I was never so thin," she replied with a smile. "Now feed our guest before she blows away."

written while listening to:  Jean-Luc Guionnet & Lê Quan Ninh - Those Whose Dads Never Met (CCAM Éditions, VDO 2353, 2023, France, cd, discogs.com)

January 23, 2026
The eight sat close to the fire and a pair of donkeys trotted over to join them. The wind had relented. A rosy sun hinted optimistically at relief from the cold spell. When Andromache was handed a plate, a man said, "See if you can stomach the cooking." She spoke then her first words to the group. "It smells delicious. I've eaten naught but worms and beetles for a year." Intent on the food before her, she missed the embarrassed silence that followed, for they had not expected her frank admission of stark poverty.

written while listening to:  Camila Nebbia, Marilyn Crispell & Lesley Mok - A Reflection Distorts Over Water (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1248, 2025, United States, cd, discogs.com)

January 24, 2026
She was sick afterward, her stomach unprepared for the richness of the cheese after her long fast. She begged forgiveness so many times that the cook forbade her from uttering one more apology upon threat of a second helping. With a trickle of vomit at the corner of her mouth, we share an overdue description of the physical appearance of our heroine, as seen by the strangers who had taken her in. Tangles of light brown hair poked from inside the hood and framed the face of the daughter of an Athenian noble.

written while listening to:  Sakina Abdou, Toma Gouband & Marta Warelis - Hammer, Roll And Leaf (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1220, 2024, United States, cd, discogs.com)

January 25, 2026
A poor diet had robbed her lips of their fullness and dirt clouded her olive complexion but no grime could wholly hide the symmetry of her face or the intelligence lurking in her hazel eyes. Nor could her recent hardship conceal all indications of a well-nourished upbringing for her smile revealed a full set of teeth and her unconscious mannerisms had been instilled by parents who expected her to be at ease in high culture. Among more than one of the astute observers at the campfire arose the mistaken notion that they had in their midst a lord's runaway bride.

written while listening to:  Oscar Peterson & Joe Pass - À Salle Pleyel, sides A & B (Pablo Records, 2625-705, 1975, United States, lpx2, discogs.com)

January 26, 2026
Nor shall we omit sketches of the seven members of the company. Mama Chloë, as she was known to the group, was stout of frame, animated by a relentlessly cheerful pragmatism, for it fell to her to mother the group, a role she relished. Full black locks burst from under a knitted cap. Her woolen peplos and matching mittens were embroidered with lavender crocuses strung along vines. Leather boots rose to her knees. From each ear dangled silver charms in the shape of cockle shells, which bobbed gaily when she nodded her head.

written while listening to:  Lotte Anker, Craig Taborn & Gerald Cleaver - Triptych (Leo Records, CD LR 441, 2005, United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

January 27, 2026
Having arrived in the dark and been preoccupied at breakfast, Andromache had not closely examined the husband, though she had slept beside him in the tent. In daylight, she was shocked to find that what she could see of his face and hands was marred by a skin ailment. Roughly pitted, his flesh was bronze along the ridges and dark brown in the recesses. That he had shared his warmth with her to keep her alive made it all the easier for Andromache to ignore his disfigurement. They called him Papa Krokodeilos, which struck her as rather unkind.

written while listening to:  Anna Webber/Angela Morris Big Band - Unseparate (Out Of Your Head Records, OOYH037, 2025, United States, cd, discogs.com)

January 28, 2026
The dwarf who played the aulos so tenderly adopted a demeanor somewhat more gruff. In Andromache's private opinion, the bearded man spoke in a resentful tone as if the world had mistreated him his whole life long. She found this attitude at odds with his obvious good fortune in belonging to the present company, who accepted his churlish ways with equanimity. He said to call him Triballos, as he hailed from a wild tribe far to the northeast. Deep creases appeared in his face when he frowned, making him appear older than his thirty years.

written while listening to:  Oren Ambarchi - Live Knots (Pan, PAN 53, 2015, Germany, cd, discogs.com)

January 29, 2026
There also was a young man of slight build and pale complexion named Exekias. He wore his hair long, pulled back in a pony tail. His face was free of whiskers. Sunken cheeks and deep set eyes gave him a sickly appearance. Especially susceptible to the bite of winter, he wore two heavy peploi, one on top of the other. When speaking, his words were carefully chosen and his pace measured. He seemed possessed of an introverted nature. Andromache turned away when his gaze dwelt overlong upon her.

written while listening to:  Otomo Yoshihide - The Night Before the Death of the Sampling Virus (Extreme, XCD 024, 1993, Australia, cd, discogs.com)

January 30, 2026
Beside Exekias stood the giantess whom Andromache had seen the night before. The woman was a foot taller than anyone else in the party. Whatever the cause of her prodigious height, it had extended her bones both in length and girth. Ordinary skeletal contours were exaggerated in her oversized knuckles and ankles. The structure of her face was not exempt from this malady; her prominent cheek bones, jaw and brow set her outside any conventional notion of physical beauty. Andromache winced when, in a deep voice, she introduced herself as Megaera.

written while listening to:  John Williams - Star Wars Original Soundtrack, disc 1 (Polydor, 800 096-2, 1986 (orig. 1977), United States, cdx2, discogs.com)