Today, Meditations on Crime has announced the eponymous collaborative new album and art book, due out September 23. The multimedia project includes a Harper Simon produced & co-written album of musical collaborations with a sweeping range of contributors including Julia Holter, Cole Alexander of Black Lips, Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux, King Khan, Animal Collective’s Geologist + Sun Ra Arkestra. Adding Cindy Sherman, Nate Lowman, Julian Schnabel and Laurie Anderson and more to the range of image-makers andMiranda July, Hooman Majd, Jerry Stahl and MC5’s Wayne Kramer to an enviable list of essayists, the book forms a heavyweight companion piece to the eclectic nine-track album. The album is released via AntiFragile Music while the book is published by Boo-Hooray and Bunker Basement, released with Hat and Beard Press/Ingram, and edited by Johan Kugelberg and Jonah Freeman, who also acted as co-curator.
Renowned for creating classic Black Flag and Sonic Youth album covers, the project also features American artist Raymond Pettibon, both within the folds of the book release but also in the original portrait of John Dillinger, specially commissioned to adorn the first Meditations on Crime album cover.
“Everyone is fascinated by crime,” says Harper Simon. “When you look at the history of song, romantic love songs may be the dominant mode of songwriting, but second would probably be songs involving crime—murder ballads, political protest songs; crime is a major theme in all songwriting.” Simon offers a new and expansive contribution to this legacy with Meditations on Crime.
The genesis of Meditations on Crime came in 2016 as the confluence of several ideas. Simon was interested in collaborating with musicians he knew and admired, to create a vinyl LP with an accompanying book. Given what America was going through during that particular election year, though, he also thought it was a time that called for something more politically charged. For example, his essay Dispatch from Medyka – published by SPIN and appears in the book – describes his experience traveling to the border of Ukraine and Poland with tactical gear and medical aid supplies.
“This project allowed me to explore different worlds other than the music world,” he says. “To have different platforms for different audiences, and to do a whole bunch of things that people don’t normally do when they make an album.”
Meditations on Crime is already expanding into other areas, as Harper Simon and Jonah Freeman are completing a short film based on Booker Prize winning novelist Ben Okri’s essay, narrated by actress Katherine Waterston. Details on art shows and benefit concerts coming soon.
Meditations on Crime album pre-order, via AntiFragile Music
Meditations on Crime book pre-order, published by Boo-Hooray & Bunker Basement
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Meditations on Crime album tracklisting:
1. Three That Bend Themselves – MoC w/ Marshall Allen and the Sun Ra Arkestra
2. Crime Seed – MoC w/ Gang Gang Dance
3. Heloise – MoC w/ Julia Holter feat. Geologist
4. Steal This Mug – MoC w/ Ariel Pink
5. (There’s Only) One Way To Love – MoC w/ Ian Svenonius
6. Nagual – MoC w/ Geneva Jacuzzi
7. Death – MoC w/ Jennifer Herrema
8. Youth in Asia – MoC w/ Cole Alexander
9. We The People Of The Myths – MoC w/ King Khan feat. Marshall Allen and the Sun Ra Arkestra
