Valeska Gert – Baby 7″ (signed)

25,00

Description

Valeska Gert (1892-1978) was a german dancer, actor, model, and performance artist. This release is curated by Wolfgang Müller. Limited edition of 400 copies only, signed by Müller.

“In 1962, Valeska Gert got her first opportunity to realise one of her visionary music concepts from the 1920s on vinyl. ‘Baby’ simply had to be on it. Her demand met with horror, dismay and strong resistance from Deutsche Grammophon’s head of literary productions, Pali Meller Marcovicz. “Said acoustic performance would only contain ‘slurring’, ‘giggles’ and ‘drooling’ rounded off with an evocative ‘burp’ at the end!” So, Marcovicz managed to prevent inclusion of this particularly vocal work of art on the 7″. Yet again, Valeska Gert’s ideas had proved too far ahead of their times: her laryngeal sound sculptures pre-empted the subsequent “New Improvisational Music” by a few years.

In 2009 – and out of the blue – a previously unknown video recording of ‘Baby’ resurfaced. Performed by Valeska Gert in 1969, it remains the only known sound recording of this work. It is thus my great pleasure to reverse Deutsche Grammophon’s successful prevention of Baby’s release in 1962 with this single. Long live the revolutionary art of Valeska Gert!” – Wolfgang Müller