{"id":7609,"date":"2021-08-20T10:43:48","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T15:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coolgrove.com\/books\/?page_id=7609"},"modified":"2021-08-27T00:23:55","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T05:23:55","slug":"matt-marble","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/coolgrove.com\/books\/matt-marble\/","title":{"rendered":"matt marble"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Matt Marble, 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Matt was raised in Jackson, Mississippi by an Episcopal Bishop and a Jungian-inspired social worker. During his adolescence he walked away from the church and onto a mystical path,\u00a0a path he continues to walk today. While his parents instilled in him fundamental values related to social justice, dream awareness, laughter, and barbecue. Drawn to visual art and music he studied guitar for several years with master folk musician Tim Avalon, while playing in rock, jazz, and experimental ensembles in Mississippi. During his 20s (2001-2004) he lived in Portland, Oregon and fell into the vibrant arts community there, working with poets Joseph Bradhshaw and David Abel, musicians Jonathan Sielaff and Seth Nehil, filmmaker Orland Nutt, and many others. At first focused on free improvisation and electroacoustic instrument design, he would go on to stage \u201cFaces of Sound,\u201d a series of scored-improvisations for community ensembles in public spaces. The scores for these works employed Matt\u2019s concept of \u201csocial geometry\u201d\u2013inspired by his studies in biology, anthropology, and philosophy. These scores have been featured in various galleries as well as the Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona and the\u00a0Leonardo Music Journal<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cFaces of Sound\u201d social geometry ensemble music<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Among many other relocations, Matt spent part of 2004 enrolled at CalArts, where he studied music composition with Michael Pisaro, while performing the ensemble music of Cornelius Cardew and John Zorn. Seeking to understand the scientific basis of sound, music, and listening, he went on to receive his BA in Speech & Hearing Sciences from Portland State University and subsequently worked as a Sr. Research Assistant for the Portland Veterans\u2019 Hospital. During this time Matt also co-edited\u00a0Foarm Magazine<\/em>, a biannual arts and culture periodical. It was through\u00a0Foarm<\/em>\u00a0that he wrote his first notable essays, including a multi-author series on Philippine composer\/ethnomusicologist Jos\u00e9 Maceda. Also through\u00a0Foarm<\/em>, he would publish, \u201cTools of Mind,\u201d a collection of scores focusing on imaginal projection, featuring the work of Pauline Oliveros, Peter Ablinger, Dan Senn, Michael Pisaro, Yasunao Tone, and many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MEM-WS-Astramiral Patterns \u2013 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTools of Mind,\u201d a mini-anthology of artist scores and related models from literature, architecture, religion, medicine, biology, and more; 2007<\/strong><\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Seeking to fuse his creative and scholarly work, Matt next pursued a Ph.D. in Music Composition at Princeton University, where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the role of Buddhism in the creative process of Arthur Russell. Living in Brooklyn during this time, Matt also performed regularly as a singer-songwriter, while composing ensemble works for groups like JACK Quartet and NOW Ensemble, as well as staging multi-media performances at St. Patrick\u2019s Old Cathedral, Judson Church, and other notable venues.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMississippi Flame,\u201d a dreamsong from the album 2021 album \u201cOcean Island Altar Angel\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Since 2018, Matt has lived in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he has focused on visual art and archival research. In 2021 he staged his first solo exhibition, \u201cWondering Stars,\u201d at Greensboro Project Space. This exhibit featured musical installation, sculpture, painting, illustration, video, and found object works. And it brought to the foreground the role of Jungian-style dreamwork, divination, and intuitive geometry which have guided much of Matt\u2019s music and visual art over the last two decades.\u00a0Beyond the name of the exhibition, the term \u201cWondering Stars\u201d (aka Astramira) refers to Matt\u2019s dream-derived divination system, consisting of 81 geometric emblems with coded dream figures, which he uses for daily meditation and which feature prominently in his music, lyrics, and visual art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWondering Stars,\u201d virtual exhibition tour video, 16 minutes<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Matt has recently released two albums of \u201cdream songs\u201d and multiple albums of instrumental guitar music, notably \u201cWondering Stars\u201d and \u201cThe Seraphic Mirror.\u201d More recent compositions, such as \u201cNatural Magic,\u201d have explored composing \u201canimist karaoke\u201d music, inspired by Matt\u2019s dreamwork, for solo instrumentalist and pre-recorded soundtrack\u2013related works (\u201cArachnomancy\u201d) have been commissioned by Carl and Margery Abbot through Portland\u2019s Third Angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SECRET SOUND<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of Matt\u2019s ongoing preoccupations continues to be research, writing, and most recently podcasting. It was through his graduate dissertation on Arthur Russell,<\/a><\/strong> that he discovered his passion for archival research, while decisively embracing a metaphysical perspective on music. Looking back through American history, Matt next sought to find other forgotten gems of metaphysically inspired music-making, resulting in Secret Sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSecret Sound\u201d podcast site<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Secret Sound is a podcast and research project focusing on the esoteric history of American music, from the 18th century to the 20th century. For over 10\u00a0years host Matt Marble has been researching visionary and often marginalized American artists and\u00a0the esoteric traditions\u00a0that have empowered their work. From psychic pianists to prophetic instrument-makers, these artists have found inspiration from deep within\u00a0and far, far away,\u00a0often musically expressing\u00a0themselves\u00a0in experimental and imaginative ways. While through the inner affirmations and progressive social values operative across esoteric tradition,\u00a0this\u00a0history is also naturally diverse and inclusive of\u00a0women, people of color, and LGBTQ artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each episode focuses on a single artist\u00a0and explores their biography, creative process, musical works, and spiritual influences. Along the way, listeners are introduced to diverse esoteric traditions, such as Theosophy, spiritualism, Obeah,\u00a0Enochian Magic, and more. We\u2019ll also explore aspects of American history and society as broader contexts to these traditions and the artists drawn to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret Sound special for Dublab radio<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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OTHER WRITINGS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

GENERAL WEB LINK<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
ESSAY LINK: The Illusioned Ear<\/em>: Disembodied Sound & The Musical S\u00e9ances of Francis Grierson,<\/em> 2014 <\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Matt\u2019s writing is often in the form of person-centered spiritual biographies. His online essay \u201cThe Colorful Life of Daulby\u201d (Desert Suprematism<\/em>, 2017) looks into an obscure Theosophical composer, Edward Maryon, who\u2013among various infamous debacles\u2013went from a notable opera composer to developing his own tone-color meditation method or Marcotone. Matt\u2019s in depth online essay \u201cThe Illusioned Ear\u201d (Ear_Wave_Event<\/em>, 2014) explores the life, philosophy, and musical s\u00e9ance practice of metaphysical author and psychic pianist, Francis Grierson. \u201cThe Hermes of Harlem\u201d (Abraxas Journal<\/em>, 2014) is a print essay which reviews the role of African American esotericism in early 20th century Harlem before exploring the life of civil rights activist, metaphysical author, secret society founder, and WWII prisoner of war, Robert T. Browne. \u201cA Chirping of Stars is Tickling My Thin Ear\u201d (The Open Space<\/em>, 2009) focuses on the auditory imagination and creative process of Russian poet Osip Mandelstam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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