Do you have a noisy office? Is your home theater not giving you the sound quality you were hoping for? Are you looking to improve the sound insulation in your home or office? If so, acoustic panels may be the perfect solution for you! Acoustic panels are panels that are designed to improve the acoustics of a room. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can be made from a variety of materials. In this blog post, we will discuss the different types of acoustic panels and their uses.
What are acoustic panels and where they can be used?
Acoustic panels are sound absorbing panels that are used to improve the sound quality in a room. They are usually made of porous material or insulation that absorbs sound waves, which helps to reduce echoes and reverberation.
Acoustic panels can be used in any room where poor sound quality is a problem, such as home theaters, recording studios, classrooms, and auditoriums. They are also commonly used in offices to help reduce noise levels and create a more productive work environment.
The different types of acoustic panels and what are they used for
There are a variety of acoustic panels, and each is used for a different purpose. Some panels are designed to reduce echoes and reverberation in a room, while others are meant to dampen noise pollution.
Some common types of acoustic panels include:
– Absorptive panels: These panels are designed to suck up sound and reduce echoes and reverberation. They are typically made from fiberglass, mineral wool, or foam.
– Reflective panels: These panels reflect sound waves rather than absorb them. This can help to control the directionality of sound in a room and reduce noise pollution.
– Diffusive panels: Diffusive panels help to break up sound waves and prevent them from bouncing around a room in a consistent pattern. This can help to create a more balanced acoustic environment.
How to choose the right acoustic panel for your needs?
When choosing the right acoustic panel for your needs, there are a few factors to consider. The first is the size of the room and how much soundproofing you need. Second is the type of noise you want to block out. The third is your budget.
There are two types of noise: broadband and narrowband. Broadband noise is made up of many different frequencies, while narrowband noise consists of one or a few specific frequencies. Acoustic panels work better at blocking broadband noise than narrowband noise.
The most common type of acoustic panel is the fiberglass panel. It’s affordable, durable, and effective at blocking both broadband and narrowband noise. However, fiberglass panels can be quite heavy, so they are only sometimes the best choice for small spaces.
Another type of acoustic panel is a foam panel. Foam acoustic panels are lightweight and cost-effective, but they don’t provide as much noise reduction as fiberglass acoustic panels. They’re also more prone to absorbing moisture and developing mold if installed in damp environments.
Where to install acoustic panels in your home or office for best results?
When it comes to acoustics, every room is different. The best place to install acoustic panels in your home or office really depends on the specific needs of the room.
Some rooms may require more dampening than others, and some panels may work better in one corner of a room versus another. Generally speaking, you’ll want to place acoustic panels as close to the source of the noise as possible.
That said, here are a few general tips for installing acoustic panels in your home or office:
– Try to avoid surfaces that already reflect sound (like windows and mirrors), and focus instead on walls and ceilings.
– Make sure the panels are securely attached to the wall or ceiling so they don’t move around.
– For maximum acoustic dampening, consider using multiple acoustic panels in each room.
Since ancient times until the present, art has been an essential component of society. However, over time, the value of art has diminished. Many students do not continue on to study the arts in college or university because subjects in schools like music, art, and drama have been marginalized.
What the world would be like without the beauty of paintings, music, dance, literature, and other forms of expression, however, should make us seriously consider the value of art. Many people ought to ask themselves, “Why is art important?” before dismissing the field as unimportant and irrelevant.
Why Is Arts Important For Humans
Don’t undervalue the value of the arts because without imagination and creativity, life would be rather dull and colorless. All forms of art allow us to express who we are and what we believe, and some even become a part of who we are. Even in schools where it is most necessary, many people do not take it seriously. Art is typically the first subject to be eliminated when budget cuts occur.
But is it wise to take this away, particularly at a time when young minds are developing and attempting to make sense of the world? Politics, linguistic, and cultural barriers are all transcended by art. It may be a means of nonverbal communication that unites people from various backgrounds.
Why Pursue A Degree In Arts, Culture, And Society
The degree program in Art, Culture & Society equips you to play a significant part in every aspect of the arts and culture industry, including theatre, museums, film, and festivals. Pursuing an art degree can expand your horizons and allow you to explore various forms of creative expression while gaining specialized skills. If you opt for an online program, you can expand your horizons and learn various forms of art. You can also use the power of the internet and equip yourself with study material and read notebanks for free.
The online arts degree program often uses an international strategy that incorporates contemporary modes of art and culture production, consumption, and distribution outside of and across national cultural boundaries. You receive training to use cutting-edge knowledge of policy, marketing, audiences, and education to establish new models for the management of arts and culture.
Importance Of Arts And Culture In Education
The demands of the modern world must be met by young people’s education because the world is changing too quickly. The arts and culture are essential components of comprehensive and intense training. The pandemic made people realize the value of life, and as a surprising change, people started getting more inclined toward learning arts and cultures.
While some reminisced about their old hobbies and took up new ones, a lot of people took it up a notch and enrolled for arts degrees. Recent research found that in 2020, 26.3% of EU students pursuing careers in the cultural sector were majoring in the arts, 9.7% in journalism and information studies, and 8.8% in architecture and town planning.
The strength of a top-notch education where the arts and culture are subjects is a prerequisite for America’s global structure, innovative culture, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Increased Student Engagement
Arts and culture are practical subjects with quick payouts because they emphasize positive changes. Education enables students to appreciate various aspects of society and comprehend how to interact with people in various contexts. Arts provide students with exceptional opportunities to demonstrate their abilities through genuine presentations and exhibitions.
These subjects aid students develop their ability to speak up for themselves and others and think critically. They offer platforms for connecting with others and using new knowledge, making learning interesting.
Encourages Students To Develop Positive Attitudes
In learning centers and elsewhere, the arts and culture help to promote positive attitudes, empathy, and more pro-social behaviors. It encourages students to develop positive attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles. Arts and culture help people from different backgrounds understand and appreciate one another’s differences. They promote comprehension.
Lessons learned in these areas can be used to develop consistent positive behaviors and lifestyles. Life improvement and advancement require time. Students who study arts and culture learn that success in these fields requires adaptability and persistence.
Boosts Creativity
In the twenty-first century, one of the top skills that employers seek is creativity. Connecting the dots to come up with unique, useful solutions is a valuable skill for every employee, no matter what field or country they work in.
Students who receive an education that is rich in the arts outperform their peers who receive a limited or no art education in terms of valuations. The subjects offer greater flexibility and adaptability by creating a setting that fosters creativity. It is a necessary skill in a world that is changing quickly.
In education, creativity is very helpful, especially when writing various essays. Because their essays lack originality, many students look for essay help. You won’t encounter any difficulties finishing other papers that require your attention once you develop your abilities in this area.
Improves Critical Reasoning Abilities
The arts encourage sophisticated thinking that can be applied to other academic fields and beyond. Students use the abilities they have developed in the arts to perceive, interpret, and create various points of view in order to examine and synthesize data.
Because of current technology, students are exposed to a lot of data that needs to be scrutinized, so this is helpful. It aids them in locating relevant information required for their research projects.
Enhances Leadership Skills
The capacity for leadership is enhanced by involvement in the arts and cultural education. Learners develop a variety of skills, including decision-making, tactic development, thinking, and forecasting, which are essential for leadership and living a fulfilling life.
Culture fosters the strong sense of identity that students need to put their newly acquired skills to good use. Students gain self-assurance and realize there are many meaningful ways they can influence the world.
Makes Students Understand The Importance Of Teamwork
Another crucial skill that students need to develop in school is teamwork. It can be difficult to communicate and advance when working with individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Students can respect everyone and cooperate for shared objectives by learning about the culture. The study also aids in dispelling untrue myths about various cultures. Culture offers learners the sense of community they crave.
The creation of art, however, involves students and transforms them into contributing members of society. It enables them to cooperate for the greater good. Students learn about teamwork when they collaborate to create an artistic project. Arts and culture foster community among students, enhancing school safety and improving learning environments.
Drinking alcohol is an extremely popular pastime, and that’s likely why there are so many pubs, bars and clubs across the globe. However; just because drinking alcohol is popular, it doesn’t mean it’s good for your body or mind in any way, shape or form. In fact, alcohol has so many potential side effects, and drinking regularly can actually put you at serious risk.
In this article, 4 different reasons why you should cut your alcohol intake will be discussed in detail. With any luck, this information will help you to make a smarter choice the next time you’re craving a glass of something, encouraging you to say no to alcohol for the sake of your well-being.
So, if you’re interested in learning about some of the adverse reactions that can occur as a result of regular drinking, then read on to uncover more information. You’ll be kicking alcohol to the curb before you know it!
Alcohol Is Terrible For Your Kidneys
It has to be said that alcohol can have a devastating impact on your kidneys, especially when you consume a high volume of alcohol in a short time frame. Your kidneys are there to filter out harmful substances from your blood, and one damaging substance that it actively attempts to filter out is alcohol. However, alcohol can actually lead to changes in the function of your kidneys, limiting their ability to filter your blood as is required. Besides filtering your blood, your kidneys perform a number of other important tasks. One such task is maintaining the right amount of water in your body, but alcohol can impact on their ability to do this. Alcohol dehydrates the body, which in turn can affect the normal function of all of your cells and organs, including your kidneys. It’s important to realize that drinking too much alcohol can also mess with your blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a common cause of kidney disease. It’s clear to see that alcohol and your kidneys just don’t gel, so if you want to look after your organs then you need to take steps to limit your drinking sooner rather than later.
Alcohol Causes Low Mood & Depression
Alcohol is a depressant, which means that it alters the balance of chemicals in your brain leading to symptoms like low mood, irritability and potentially even suicidal thoughts. Drinking heavily and regularly is associated with depression, as drinking more than the recommended limit of 14 units a week has a negative impact on your brain chemistry and subsequent mental health. Alcohol actually slows down many of the processes that take part inside your brain and central nervous system, and this is why you will initially feel less inhibited. Although you might feel more relaxed to begin with when you start out a drinking session, these effects will wear off fast leaving you with confusion and upset, likely leading you to drink more and more. If you use alcohol to mask any feelings of depression, then there’s a huge risk that you can become reliant on it. Alcohol dependence is almost always coupled with upsetting and difficult mental health issues, so it’s best to work towards limiting your intake before alcohol can impact your long term well-being.
Alcohol Limits Fertility & Worsens Gynaecological Health
Alcohol can directly impact on your fertility no matter whether you are male or female. For men, it can decrease their sperm quality, reduce their testicular size, decrease libido and even less to impotence – all of which can limit fertility drastically. For women, alcohol can have a more systemic response, affecting the reproductive hormones and causing abnormalities in the menstrual cycle as well as an increased risk of miscarriage and worsened gynaecological health. Alcohol disrupts a woman’s natural hormonal balance inside the reproductive system, which can in turn cause menstrual irregularities, and even trigger menstrual cycles where ovulation fails to take place. It’s important to note that period pain can be directly linked to how much alcohol you have consumed in the lead up to your menstrual cycle starting, and drinking alcohol can increase the intensity and impact of most gynecological conditions including extreme period pain. You might also be asking, can alcohol cause a UTI? The short answer is yes, so if you want to protect your fertility and overall reproductive or gynecological health, then avoiding alcohol is something you should no doubt consider.
Alcohol Causes Weight Gain
It’s common to see heavy drinkers boasting a particularly round beer belly or a swollen chin-neck area, but even those who don’t consume large amounts of alcohol can still be subjecting themselves to an increased likelihood of serious weight gain. One of the biggest reasons why alcohol can cause weight gain is the simple fact that it’s high in calories. Alcohol as a substance is a close second only to pure fat when it comes to calories, and you’d likely be surprised to find out just how many calories are in the average drink. Having a few glasses of beer or wine might seem like nothing, but in fact you could be consuming the same calories as an entire plate of food! Alcohol can also wreak havoc with your metabolism, as your body will begin to use all its energy to burn off the alcohol you’ve consumed rather than burning fat and sugar as it normally would. It also has to be said that drinking alcohol can make you feel more hungry than usual, which is exactly why so many city-center fast food outlets are open until the early hours of the morning. No matter whether you’re a heavy drinker or if you stick to one glass a night, the chances are you’re going to be gaining weight due to your drinking habit.
Cutting your alcohol intake will help to prevent all of the issues that have been mentioned in this guide. Removing alcohol from your diet and lifestyle isn’t always easy, but it is certainly more than worth it.
Ethel Cain has released a new song titled ‘famous last words (an ode to eaters)’. “can’t stop thinking abt bones and all,” Ethel Cain wrote on SoundCloud, referring to Luca Guadagnino’s new film starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalame as two hungry lovers. “this one’s for lee and maren <3.” Take a listen below.
Bones and All features an original soundtrack from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which came out last Friday. Ethel Cain’s debut album, Preacher’s Daughter, was released earlier this year.
Disney’s animated movie “Strange World” is set to be released this November, and it is already receiving a lot of buzzes. The film is about a family set to explore an unknown world and uncover its secrets. The movie will surely provide a thrilling adventure full of magic, mystery, and danger as they traverse this strange land. With the help of their magical friends, they’ll discover creatures and places they have never seen on Earth. But is this movie appropriate for kids? Read on to take a quick look at the content and decide for yourself.
Language
When it comes to the language used in the movie, it should be suitable for children of all ages. There is no profanity or crude language used throughout the film. This means your children can enjoy the story without worrying about hearing anything inappropriate. The strange world charactersare all family-friendly and cheerful, which makes the movie suitable even for the little ones. However, some scenes contain mild peril, so parents should review the film before showing it to their young children.
If possible, watch it with your children so you can explain any words or concepts that may be too advanced for them. For example, the words “anomaly” or “paradox” may be used in the movie. It can easily confuse younger viewers as their vocabulary may not yet be developed enough to understand these terms. Similarly, words such as “magical” or “transcendent” may be unfamiliar to your young viewers, but these can easily be explained in a way they will understand.
Plot and content
The movie’s plot revolves around a family discovering an unknown world full of hidden secrets and magical creatures. They explore this strange land with the help of some new and mysterious friends, encountering dangers along the way. They also learn essential life lessons about friendship and loyalty as they continue their journey. The movie’s overall tone is lighthearted, with plenty of humor and action to keep viewers engaged. When your kids watch the movie, they’ll be able to experience the excitement of exploration and the joys of friendship.
However, some scenes in the movie may not be suitable for young viewers. There is violence and peril in the form of wild creatures and other dangers, so parents should ensure they’re comfortable with their children watching it before showing it to them. If your child does watch it, talk about the themes and lessons presented in the movie so they can learn from them. Parents should be prepared to explain if they don’t understand why certain things happen in the film.
Violence and scary scenes
The movie does contain some violence and action sequences, but it should not be overly intense for children. For instance, wild animals chase and attack characters, as well as confrontations between characters. However, there is no excessive violence or gore, and the movie’s tone remains lighthearted. The scenes with peril should not be too distressing for young viewers, although they should prepare them for any danger they may encounter in the real world. It is a PG-rated movie, so parents must decide what they believe their children can handle.
Animation and visuals
The animation of “Strange World” is some of the most beautiful visuals Disney has ever created. The vibrant colors and characters are incredibly expressive, creating a visual feast for young viewers. Every scene is filled with detail and life, allowing kids to immerse themselves in the strange and magical world. Your kid’s imagination will be sparked and captivated by the movie’s incredible visuals. The film is visually stunning and a must-watch for anyone who loves animation.
But you need to be aware of the short spurts of flashing lights that may trigger seizures in some viewers. Parents should be on the lookout for these moments and ensure their children are safe if they decide to watch this movie. Be warned about photosensitivity, as it may affect some viewers, such as children with autism, people with epilepsy, or those who suffer from migraines. Rest assured that the scenes with flashing lights are brief, and the movie does not contain lengthy sequences that could cause discomfort.
Lessons learned
When watching a movie with your kids, it’s essential to talk about the presented themes and values. “Strange World” has many valuable lessons that can be discussed afterward, such as friendship, courage, loyalty, and adventure. These conversations will help your children understand the movie more deeply and learn to apply those principles in their daily lives. Furthermore, there is some product placement in the film, so pay attention to that. Kids are especially vulnerable to this kind of advertising, which can impact their purchasing decisions, so be aware.
The PG rating explained
The movie is rated PG due to some of the film’s violence, peril, and scary images. The PG rating is meant to provide parents with advanced information about a movie’s content so they can make an informed decision about whether or not it is suitable for their children. In this case, parents should use their discretion as there are scenes potentially distressing young viewers. For instance, children with autism could be susceptible to loud noises and flashing lights. But in general, it is a fun movie that should appeal to children of all ages.
PG stands for Parental Guidance and highlights films that contain material that may be unsuitable for children under 13. The rating also flags any themes or images that could be potentially disturbing, such as violence or peril. It is important to remember that PG-rated films may still contain content that young viewers would not understand or find uncomfortable. So parents should always supervise their children when watching a PG-rated movie and ensure they are prepared for any potential issues.
Overall, Disney’s “Strange World” looks like it will be an exciting adventure for adults and children alike. With its kid-friendly language, plot, and content, parents can rest assured that their children will be in good hands while watching this movie. So if you’re looking for an exciting family-friendly adventure, “Strange World” might be worth checking out.
Online casinos have rocketed in popularity in recent years. This, in part, has been fueled by greater developments in technology like mobile phones, and more investment in betting apps and websites.
However, part of this growth is down to the casino industry embracing cryptocurrencies, thereby opening up the market.
Now, there are scores of different crypto casinos which specialise in accepting bets and stakes using crypto coins.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at some key factors to consider when choosing a crypto casino. We’ll look at everything from deals and offers to user experience. But first, let’s start with a very important factor—withdrawal methods.
Withdrawal Methods
When it comes to crypto casinos, one thing to consider is the withdrawal methods available. Some may only allow you to withdraw your winnings in crypto coins, whereas others might allow you to withdraw in cash. Quite a few crypto casinos allow you to choose either cash or crypto coins.
Another thing to look out for is fees and charges when it comes to withdrawal methods. It’s an important thing to research. For example, Metaspin allows withdrawals in crypto free of charge. It also lets players buy and sell crypto directly on the site.
Deals And Offers
A very important consideration when it comes to choosing a crypto casino is the deals and offers available. Some betting sites don’t have the best offers for players, but others invest a lot of effort in attracting people to play with them.
One of the most popular bonuses offered by online casinos is the matched first bet or matched first deposit. The idea behind this is simple but hugely effective. When you make your first deposit into your account, or when you place your first bet after signing up, the crypto casino will match it.
This means that if you deposit $200 worth of coins into your account, you’ll be credited another $200. Likewise, if for your first bet you place a stake worth $30, the casino will match it, meaning if you win you get double the return.
Another popular offer made by crypto casinos is free spins on slot machine games. Some casinos have a wide variety of slots to play and every so often they reward players with free spins. This deal is sometimes offered to players when they first sign up for a casino too.
User Experience
With crypto casinos being a relatively new phenomenon, there’s always the risk of new casinos rushing to the market in an attempt to cash in on the boom.
It’s therefore important to do your due diligence when it comes to the user experience of a betting app or website. Apps may have bugs or worse still, lack the proper security to keep your personal and financial data safe and secure.
You also want a casino that’s easy to navigate. If you simply want to play roulette, you shouldn’t have to search through scores of pages to join a table.
The crypto casino market has the benefit of looking at the more mainstream online casinos for ideas and inspiration on user experience. Great investment has been made in recent years, accelerated by the global pandemic that forced all casino lovers online.
Again, a quick bit of research, such as reading reviews, can tell you a lot about how other users have found using the app or site.
Customer Service
When things go wrong, we may need help to fix them. Having that help there on standby can mean a lot to players. For example, if a player wins a bet but their payment doesn’t come through, they may feel aggrieved and doubly so if the casino won’t help or support them.
This is more applicable to traditional casinos. Crypto casinos utilise blockchain technology so that you can get immediate payouts without any issues.
Some casinos offer customer helplines, live chat services in all native languages and a 24/7 email inbox. Given how competitive the industry is, it simply doesn’t pay to have poor customer service.
Variety Of Games
When it comes to casino games, we expect all of the big hitters like roulette, pontoon and poker. Nowadays, casinos offer live versions of these games which have helped make them more immersive. But some players want more variety.
With crypto casinos, players can play unique games like Aviator and Plinko, as well as crash games. And some even offer betting on other markets, like esports such as FIFA 23, so you can be sure that you’ll never go bored.
Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith have shared a reworking of ‘Peradam’ by Brian Eno. It’s set to appear on The Perfect Vision: Reworkings, a remix album that will be released on November 25 (via Bella Union) as part of a deluxe reissue featuring their triptych of albums: The Peyote Dance, Mummer Love, and Peradam. Jim Jarmusch, Laraaji, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, and more also contributed to the release. Listen to Brian Eno’s remix of ‘Peradam’ below.
The group’s albums took inspiration from the writings of three French poets: Antonin Artaud, Arthur Rimbaud, and René Daumal. Each album retraces the poets’ footsteps through on-location soundscapes: The Peyote Dance was recorded in the Sierra Tarahumara of Mexico, while Mummer Love was tracked at the Abyssinian valley of Ethiopia, and Peradam at the Himalayan Summit of India.
The Perfect Vision: Reworkings Cover Artwork:
The Perfect Vision: Reworkings Tracklist:
1. Peradam (Brian Eno Remix)
2. Song of the Highest Tower (Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Rework)
3. Ivry (Laraaji Rework)
4. Bad Blood (Lotic Rework)
5. Indian Culture (Lucrecia Dalt Remix)
6. Song of the Highest Tower (AtomTM Remix)
7. Eternity (Jim Jarmusch Rework)
CAZIMI, Caitlin Rose’s first album in nine years, takes its name from an astrological term that refers to the fleeting moment in time when a planet is in such close proximity to the sun that it’s considered to be in the heart of it. The definition of a cazimi may vary depending on who you ask, but for Rose, it’s become a symbol of empowerment; rather than the planet being destroyed, its power is amplified, however briefly. The Nashville singer-songwriter has consciously refrained from divulging the details of what happened to her following the release of her sophomore LP The Stand-In, describing her absence in press materials as a “Sisyphean nightmare of false starts and career blocks,” not least the global pandemic that hit just weeks after recording CAZIMI. One of the people who helped push her through feelings of self-doubt and burnout, though, was her friend and collaborator Jordan Lehning, who co-produced the album with her. Making it also meant getting rid of any preconceptions about what a Caitlin Rose album signified. More than a rare, almost accidental occurrence in which enlightenment outshines the threat of combustion, Cazimi ultimately became a constant source of inspiration, something worth striving for.
Another term from the astrology lexicon that Rose fixates on and reframes is Vesta, an asteroid representing a person’s deepest cravings. Its symbolism is tied to the goddess of hearth and home, and in ancient Roman times, the cult of the Vestal Virgins was known to protect the city by keeping the sacred fires burning. It’s one of those things Rose latches on to and turns inward as a means of exploring what makes up her inner fire. Whether or not you relate to some of the specific concepts she carries through CAZIMI, it’s clear the different sounds she strings together are driven by that same fire, part of the same cycle. One implication of putting the spotlight away from the singer’s trauma is letting the music – sharp, radiant, poetically self-aware, and, by her account, a joy to make – speak for itself. It’s both fuel and armor, and Rose isn’t using it to hide but rather shed light on her own narrative.
We caught up with Caitlin Rose to talk about a nun figurine, Kids in the Hall, a novelty captain’s hat, astrology, and other inspirations behind her new album CAZIMI.
The 1996 anime Escaflowne
It was one of my favourites growing up. When I was in middle school, I kind of had a pretty big anime phase. They called me anime girl in like sixth grade, which, I don’t know if I love that. But it’s sort of this weird mixture of occult magic plus Gundam – no one’s gonna know what I’m talking about [laughs], but it has this very mystical quality to it. And it also just has this really wonderful score and theme song. I had the whole box set on VHS, which I could not find at the time, but for some reason, one section of working on this record, there was a week where I kept playing the theme song, and even playing the intro – Jordan has a big screen in the tracking room, so I kept putting that on. I listened to a lot of OSTs when I was growing up, so there is a sort of production value of the mid-90s anime, which is very specific. With Jordan, it’s like, “You put on whatever you want, let’s see where you’re going with it today.” And there was about a week where I was trying to binge that whole show again, I hadn’t watched it since I was 15. It kind of has everything that I like now; it bases itself off of taro and stuff like that.
I saw that it’s about a high school girl who has an affinity for tarot reading, and it takes her on this journey.
I’d forgotten that that was even a part of it. But I’m sure that maybe played into some – because I had a little bit of interest in that, which faded rather quickly, but I do enjoy it still.
Astrology
You’ve talked about what the title means for you, but I’m curious when you started thinking about the concept of Cazimi in the context of your life and how it took on that resonance, because the aspect of astrology that I’m interested in is more in the way that it provides a language for expression.
Yes, which is what I’ve tried to explain to a lot of people too, so I’m glad that’s something that you already have in your wheelhouse. I remember there were several cazimis that would happen over the course of this record and moments that actually were milestones. Let me see if I can find them… So, transit Sun conjunct Mercury, 11th of January, Saturn 14th of January 26, 26th of February – these were literally all the times we were recording. I remember one in November or October where I’d sent it to a publicist, who I told I wanted to call it CAZIMI, and she said that’s a great idea.
It’s funny, there’s a lot of them, especially the fact that the starting date of the session was the date of the Mercury cazimi. I was probably looking at the astrology for the day or something and I was like, “Oh, that’s kind of cool.” I really liked that concept and I’d write about it, and it was a word that started popping up in pop astrology. Every year there’s kind of a new introduction to the lexicon for people who don’t really read astrology so that they have a new fun thing to write about every month to get the clicks, but it works in that way.
There’s a part of me that was more afraid of using a buzzword, instead of thinking I was going to be embarrassed if somebody asked me about astrology. At that point, it was more like I was scared I was going to be passé or something in the pop astrology world, which is ridiculous. [laughs] But no, it just was a word – there’s a few words and concepts, like the concept of Vesta. Vesta became, you know, what is the missing fire – looking at my chart, there’s so little fire, what do I do with that? And it was more of just a way to push the narrative. Interestingly, kind of like that anime, where taro is a way to push the narrative. It doesn’t really make sense, the idea is that she does a tarot reading and she’s transported to another world. It’s ridiculous. But it’s how you can kind of timeline it. It’s a way to contextualize feelings and times and frames without having to be so scientific about it. I think that that’s poetic contextualization.
By it, you mean astrology in general?
I think it’s a good thing for that, yeah. There’s a lot of reasons I love it, but that is a big part of it, and that’s probably the big draw. That’s probably what brought me to it was, there’s so many artists who have used that in kind of a poetic manner. I mean, Françoise Hardy is an astrologer. I’m sure that the concept of it can open minds, but also, like you said, just the language of it can open a creative world that you didn’t have before, if it pleases. It’s just one more piece of symbolism in a collective unconscious that already has thousands of years of that built up already. I don’t see it as any different than mythology or anything else that people use for artistic inspiration.
Kids in the Hall
I grew up watching that show at like 10 o’clock at night when I was nine. [laughs] I kind of grew up on Boomer humour, and Canadian shows like that were popping up on Comedy Central late at night anyways. The theme song [by the band Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet], from the first time you hear this guitar riff, it’s like a surf kind of vibe but kind of gnarly, and it just gives me this instant hit of youthful dopamine, or “up at night watching TV when I shouldn’t be” dopamine. [laughs] For me and Jordan, I think I told him, “I want to make something that sounds like Kids in the Hall.” Sometimes that’s the way I explain things to him, it’s just a thread to follow, not like, “Let’s write a Kids in the Hall song. Let’s write Shadowy Men song. Let’s write a surf record.” That’s not what we did. But just for the weird energy of it, bringing that in, and bringing in some of that guitar tone in such a way where it’s almost kind of homage-y. I think ‘Vesta’ carries a lot of that, ‘Holdin’’ carries some of that. It’s not a major inspiration – it’s just one more thing I told Jordan that I liked.
I have a video of somebody recording a guitar track in the other room, and we had a Kids in the Hall video going on the big screen, and it’s just me and Jordan cackling in the control room, not really being able to be adults. [laughs] It’s silly ‘90s Canadian humour. It’s immature, it’s fun, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. And I think that was maybe an attitude as well that I was bringing into this kind of situation: irreverent, just having fun, nothing is really serious – you’re just doing it.
A Little Nun Figurine Given by Nicole Atkins at a Mercy Lounge Show
“Lil’ Vesta”, photo courtesy of Caitlin Rose
The Mercy Lounge is a venue here that has been around for forever. It’s this place where I musically grew up, it’s where a lot of the shows that me and all my friends played. It’s where I had shows that sort of shifted trajectories, like I think I won Road to Bonnaroo thing. It’s a place where we all grew up, and it’s also just a great venue. So, a) we were there, which heightens the experience of just being in a place where you all came up. And then at some point, it was so weird – Nicole Atkins is awesome, but she’s sort of this mythical character, she has this very strange magic to her. So when something happens around Nicole that’s different or interesting, it sticks with you.
She came up to me – and I don’t remember what was going on, it might have been right before we recorded or right before we planned the session – but she goes, “I just have this feeling, I think you need this.” And she handed me this little wooden Russian nun figurine. I don’t know when it was made. I don’t know, man, I just looked at her and tears came into my eyes, and I was like, “You don’t understand how important this is to me.” And it was, in a way, but obviously, explain that to someone in a bar that’s loud in a moment where she literally rushed back into the room and grabbed something out of her purse to hand to me – it wasn’t like an intimate, quiet hang moment it. It was literally in the madness of the show moving through.
‘Lil Vesta’ was one of the last songs for this record, but in exploring the Vesta imagery, it represents that inner fire. The Vestal Virgins, they kept the fires going. You know, what is the thing that drives you in the purest of heart way? And Vesta was just another, kind of like cazimi, like a glyph. Astrology has glyphs for everything – if it was a video game, it would be the thing you’re looking for. So, the missing fire line in little Vesta is a line I had in multiple songs in different ways, because it’s something that, astrology or not, if you spend a long time just feeling burn out or whatever, it’s hard to figure out what’s going to motivate you, what is it actually – why are you even here?
Vesta was sort of that, and it was just bizarre. [laughs] It was one of those weird Nicole Atkins moments, I don’t know how to explain it. But we brought her into the studio, she was there for every process. She was there for tracking, overdubbing, mixing, mastering. I have pictures of everyone holding it in their car when it’s moving from one place to the other. And now I feel like I should give her back, but part of me doesn’t, I don’t know. She’s literally little Vesta.
Guinness
I mean, it’s Guinness. [laughs] I feel like everybody had their coping mechs for 2020 and COVID and everything, but Guinness just became the staple of the studio. I just love Guinness, it’s an easy thing to drink. You’re not trying to get screwed up on Guinness, you know. But in general, it just was sort of the vibe in there, was proper pints and civilised conversations, I guess. My favourite part, though, is that at some point during overdubs, Jordan decided he was going to get his own keg of Guinness, because he was like, “If we’re spending so much money on Guinness, I think we should just do it ourselves. I think we should get a keg and get the whole setup so we can just pour our own Guinness like we’re in a bar.” He didn’t know how involved that was –you can’t just get a keg of Guinness, you have to get basically this entire setup. He might have spent like $1,000 trying to set up a Guinness keg.
It’s almost this record where it was much more of a journey than I think he was prepared for. [laughs] By the end of it, honestly, the last day of overdubs when we actually wrapped, it was sort of the tail end of the tank. And it’s just this poor keg of Guinness sitting on the porch, in the cold, in its own filthy, stagnant beer water, and it was just this really sad thing. [laughs] But it was a really funny part of the process. That’s one of the fun things about making a record, having some bizarre, stupid tale to tell. If you don’t want to talk about the music, you can talk about how fun it was to make it, you know?
Black Dragons
It’s so silly, but it’s reflective of the way I strive to explain my visual equivalent to a sound. It’s the way I learned how to talk hearing music; I didn’t read music, I speak in the way that some people find really obnoxious. And Jordan understands it, and can speak that way too, but plus a history in music composition and classical. He’s very skilled, he can compose music in a way that I will never be able to. But he can also hear me say something like, “I don’t know what this guitar is. I think it needs to be like a… like a black dragon?” and run with it. And it sounds so stupid, but I’m not afraid to sound stupid in front of the person I’m most comfortable working with, especially if I know that person is going to get it. And obviously, there were probably a lot of references – I think I like played him ‘Black Diamond’ by Kiss. His MO is not so much in that vein playing guitar, and it’s not mine either, but it’s kind of what certain songs I really wanted to feel. And so, yeah, black dragons.
I thought it would be more like one of those symbolic things.
That’s the other thing, it’s so vague and so dumb that it honestly doesn’t matter what it means. It’s a mood, maybe. He’s also a really big Lord of the Rings fan, so you know, Smaug, he could garner something from that. And literally, I described the scene where I’m like, “The black dragon is in the sky, and it’s coming down and it’s coming at you.” And it’s sort of dumb, but it makes it fun for me, it makes it easier to explain. And then he can tell somebody else what that actually means.
He can translate.
Yeah. [laughs] He speaks Caitlin, so.
Do you remember what song that was for?
It was ‘Gemini Moon’.
Non-Commissioned Officers
What’s fun is, he was in a band called Non-Commissioned Officers, which, that sound was very prevalent in those recordings. They did a soundtrack for a movie they all made in 2002 called Make-out With Violence. It’s a zombie movie, it went to South by Southwest when it premiered. It was really fun. You would actually hear a lot of this record in those records– I remember at some point I said, “I’d really love for you to bring some of that Non-Com vibe into this record, because it’s one of the things I always loved that you guys made.”
Joe Costa’s Novelty Captain’s Hat
Joe Costa in his captain’s hat, photo courtesy of Caitlin Rose
I bought a novelty captain’s hat for fun. I don’t even remember why, I think I bought like three of them. It was a weird COVID purchase. I gave it to Joe Costa, who engineered and mixed this record, who I’ve known for probably 15 years. And it really did become kind of like the Robin Williams – we would all “Oh Captain, My Captain” him a lot. I just haven’t gotten to talk about Joe enough. He’s an amazing engineer. If you look at his AllMusic, he’s done so much. And he’s also just one of the best captains anyone could have. He’s very calm. If the ship was sinking, he wouldn’t be freaking out.
Jordan Lehning
You’ve obviously talked quite a bit about him, but can you share one thing that inspires you about Jordan, not just as a collaborator, but as a friend?
I just think that Jordan is one of the few people who really gets that vibe of – you know, some people are kind of annoying, but there’s so much behind an annoying person that it’s more fun to love an annoying person than it is to be annoyed at them. [laughs] It’s always been like that since I’ve known him, and it’s always been a very safe friendship in that way, where he’s not a resentful person. He doesn’t hold grudges. Things don’t really bug him very much. And if they bug him, they bug him in this very sort of logistical way. He loves weirdos, and I’m a weirdo, and I think that he helps me bring more weirdos around. It’s a fun vibe.
My friend Tristen, who’s another artist that I hope you do something with soon [Note: we have], she’s amazing. Her husband [Buddy Hughen] was one of the Non-Coms. She described it as the fact that I can really only be friends with whomp-whomps, which I honestly still don’t understand what she meant. But I know I’m a whomp-whomp, I know Jordan’s a whomp-whomp, I know a lot of people that worked on this record are total whomp-whomps. Part of me thinks it’s like a muppet, but mixed with – I don’t know what it is, but it’s big muppet energy.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
Nuha Ruby Ra has announced a new EP, Machine Like Me, sharing the new single ‘Self Portraiture’. Following last year’s How To Move EP, it’s set to arrive on March 3 via Brace Yourself Records. Check out a self-produced video for ‘Self Portraiture’ below.
“‘Self Portraiture’ is a raw portrait of myself right now, think of it like a painting,” she explained in a statement. “I think the song is lyrically revealing, to give anymore away would be to limit the imagination of the receiver. Don’t be fooled by the beginning, the middle, or the end.”
Ra played almost every instrument on the EP herself. “I come from a place where I’ve taught myself to do everything,” she said. “[When I first started playing in punk bands] I was often belittled for my contributions, whether for being a girl or not playing instruments in a traditional way. It was a fight for many years. I’m not saying I’m right and anyone’s wrong, but this is how I wanna do it!”
Machine Like Me EP Cover Artwork:
Machine Like Me EP Tracklist:
1. My Voice
2. Self Portraiture
3. 6 In The Morning
4. Slicer
5. Rise
6. You Never Know
A fifth person has spoken out against Win Butler, saying she had an “ongoing abusive relationship” with the Arcade Fire co-leader for three years. In a new report from Pitchfork, the woman, pseudonymously named Sabina, accused Butler of being “emotionally abusive, manipulative, toxic, and using his power dynamic to exploit my body at times that were convenient for him.”
Sabina claimed she met Butler in Montreal in the summer of 2015, when she was a 22-year-old student working at a cafe. “He met me when I was so vulnerable,” Sabina said. “In general, it was an abusive dynamic. It was really aggressive and I felt like I just had to do what he said. I was not really comfortable with some of the things he was asking me to do, but doing them anyway. And that is ultimately dehumanizing.”
The article goes on to detail how Butler expected her to be “available for sex in any form” as their relationship developed, making Sabina feel like she was “just a body.” Butler would frequently turn text conversations toward sex and requests for sexually explicit photos and pressured her to leave her boyfriend and her roommate to live alone “with the implication that they could more easily have sex that way,” Sabina claimed.
“If you are in an emotionally abusive relationship it makes you feel better to tell yourself that this was all for something, that their outbursts were mistakes and that you meant something to the abuser, that you still hold value in their eyes…” she concluded. “But the only value I ever held for him was performing sexual acts whenever he wanted.”
In a previous Pitchfork report published in August, four people accused Butler of sexual misconduct between 2016 and 2020. Three women claimed Butler used his status as a famous musician to pressure them into sexual encounters, and one gender-fluid person detailed two instances of alleged sexual assault involving unwanted kissing and touching. Butler, who has been married to Arcade Fire bandmate Régine Chassagne since 2003, admitted to having “relationships outside of [his] marriage,” but maintained that they were “consensual.”
