Holidays Records / Italy / 2024 / 2LP, Black
Holidays Records, the Italian label known for its adventurous catalog of experimental and improvised music, has released Requiem for the Snake of Maidan, a rare archival work by German polymath Hartmut Geerken. Limited to 300 vinyl copies, this stunning release captures a six-hour solo percussion performance recorded in the 1970s on a remote Afghan ridge in the Hindukush mountains, distilled here into 90 minutes across two LPs.
Using a self-built “percussion environment” and a few stringed instruments, Geerken played in collaboration with the natural elements—wind, rocks, and ambient sounds—producing an immersive, intimate sonic landscape of textures and polyrhythms. The performance, inspired by a dramatic encounter with a venomous snake (which Geerken had to kill in self-defense, later naming the piece after it), was originally recorded for a German TV film about his life in Kabul.
Geerken (1939–2021), known for his work across disciplines—including collaborations with Sun Ra and Michael Ranta—remains an under-recognized visionary. This release offers a rare and essential glimpse into his singular solo practice, accompanied by photographs of the artist in action. A landmark in site-specific sound art and a must-have for fans of radical sonic exploration.