From the Kitchen Archives: New Music NY 1979 / Various

Founded in 1971 by video artists Woody and Steina Vasulka, the Kitchen is world renowned as a leading centre in the contemporary performing arts. Focussing exclusively on the cutting edge, this institution continues to be a powerful force in shaping contemporary culture. Over the past 30 years, the Kitchen has recorded all performances staged there. In 1999 an initiative was undertaken to catalogue and re-master the entire archive. During this process, an additional trove of recordings from the seventies was discovered featuring the likes of Cage, Laurie Anderson and David Tudor. A collaborative partnership with the Looking Glass Studios and Philip Glass's label Orange Mountain Music has led to the restoration of these tapes, resulting in the release of the first in a series of CDs from this fascinating source. This initial release features performances from the ground-breaking New Music, New York: A Festival of Composers and their Music, staged from June 8-16 1979.