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From The Desk Of Thalia Zedek: Anna Kavan

ThaliaZedekLogo It can be daunting, being in a band that winds up one of the influential acts of its day. If Boston’s Come, one of the most acclaimed groups to emerge from the early-’90s indie scene, had released nothing but debut album Eleven:Eleven, its importance for musicians in that scene would likely have been established anyway. Hard, noirish, frequently violent in its approach to blues patterns and styles slowed to a molasses-drip pace, few bands hit as heavy as Come. And few musicians, in Come or elsewhere, came as hard to the stage and the studio as Thalia Zedek. Now comes Via (Thrill Jockey), a record that finds her striking off in new aesthetic and collaborative territory. Zedek will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on her.

AnnaKavan

Zedek: I discovered Anna Kavan through Lori Green, a writer and my former bandmate in the Dangerous Birds. Who in turn discovered her from a list that Patti Smith made for Trouser Press (or maybe it was Creem; I guess it doesn’t matter now) of her favorite authors. A collection of her short stories called Julie And The Bazooka is my favorite, but all her books are amazing. Sleep Has His House was the inspiration for the album Sleep Asylum by my old band UZI .She writes dreamscapes, of being lost in a fog in a country where you don’t understand the language. Kind of like William Burroughs but much more linear and narrative. It’s hard to find her books but well worth it!

Video after the jump.