Pharmakon - Devour - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Pharmakon - Contact [COMPACT DISCS] date 03/31/2017

Black & White Marbled Vinyl / Insightful liner notes. CHARLY RECORDS present the first ever reissue of the sought-after, cult, New York, gospel street opera, Free The Black Man's Chains. The most intriguing, and certainly the most ambitious project on the city's GSF tag (see more stunning titles on GSF exclusively from Charly). The project had it's roots in a trio of singles released by the mysterious Broad Street Gang in 1971. The first, on the Cougar tag called InchFair Skin ManInch and it's two follow-ups InchL-o-v-e LoveInch and the title track from the album InchFree The Black Man's ChainsInch. Celebrated musicians on the sessions were Mitchell Rowe, Bobby Eli, Len Pakula, Daryl Hall, Ron Baker, Norman Harris, The Raelettes and strings arranged by Richie Rome. A project like Free The Black Man's Chains should have been perfect for the multi-media nature of GSF. The album could have led to a film in the way that it had for Jesus Christ Superstar, but instead like so many of the tag's releases, the album failed to make it's mark due to a lack of promotion. GSF would barely reach it's second birthday before it - and it's parent company - shut down. A Black Opera

Maggot Mass, the fifth full-length album by Pharmakon on Sacred Bones Records, marks theproject's return after a five-year hiatus. This album signifies a departure from the original rules andstructures established by Margaret Chardiet for Pharmakon, evolving into a new form. It retainsthe project's experimental roots in power electronics and noise while incorporating industrial andpunk influences.The album stems from a profound disgust with humanity's dysfunctional relationship with theenvironment and other life forms. It explores the loneliness resulting from this broken bond andchallenges us to acknowledge our personal and systemic responsibility.What peace can we make with privilege when the true cost of our comfort is not measured indollars but in death? How can we reconcile with death when we impose the same hierarchicalstructures on it that we do in life? Is life worth living in the isolation of this self-imposed speciesloneliness?Humans often measure worth by accumulation-money, assets, objects-mistaking this for powerand influence. Western heritage dictates a hierarchy, placing humans at the top, separate from thenatural world. This delusion turns bodies into objects, land into property, and people into expendable tools.If our value were instead determined by our contribution to the ecosystem, who could claim thata human is more valuable than a maggot? Maggots recycle death into life, breaking down matterand nourishing new growth. They transform into flies, pollinating plants and sustaining the Earth'sflora. In contrast, humans pollute rather than pollinate, with a select few profiting from exploitation at the expense of biodiversity and the well-being of many.In grappling with grief and loss on both personal and global scales, Margaret sought solace in theidea of rebirth through death, celebrating the beauty of regeneration through decay. However, shehad to c