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Softcover, 56 pages
8 in. x 10 in. | 20.32 cm. x 25.4 cm.
Collages by Julien Langendorff
Foreword by T. Cole Rachel
Introduction by ANOHNI
NUL is a new project by American musician Matteah Baim. An album, a collection of lyrics and drawings, an art book featuring collage work by French artist Julien Langendorff. It is an audio-visual experience.
T. Cole Rachel writes in the foreword to the book, NUL is “a document of creative energy and thought. The collected imagery—a mix of Julien Langendorff’s wonderfully elliptical collages paired with Matteah’s drawings and lyrics—provide their own experience, one that is illuminated by hearing the songs in tandem, but also not dependent on it.”
The book traces the making of the album from the inspiration phase to the finished work. As the reader moves through the pages, photos, imagery, and lyrics tell the story. Langendorff's collages appear throughout, functioning as a kind of dream sequence (or subconscious) within the more linear storyline of the album. The record and the book can be enjoyed together, creating an enhanced experience, or on their own, as they are equally moving individual works.
Baim began working on NUL during a period of personal upheaval—a confluence of endings. In turn, it kicked off an era of new beginnings and new experiences. With the writing she was doing for NUL, she found synchronicity in the collages of friend Langendorff—fragmentation made whole in the end. Each song on the album meshes the life stories of several creative icons into one narrative. Baim sorted through interviews, articles, antiquated news reports, and their own works to create the composite audio portraits on the record. Through this process she hoped to offer a fresh perspective on the past, and on how we may view what is yet to come.
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Matteah Baim was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. She received her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. On graduating, Baim moved to New York. There, Sierra Casady and Baim formed Metallic Falcons, a ”soft metal” band. Their album Desert Doughnuts was released through Touch and Go Records. Baim went on to record her first solo album, Death of the Sun, for Revolver USA. Mojo Magazine described it as “an intense, moving communique from the edge.” Laughing Boy followed soon after. For her 2014 album, Falling Theater, Baim worked with arranger Maxim Moston and members of the NY Phil, MGMT, The boys and Girls Choir of Harlem, Au Revoir Simone and Antony and the Johnsons, to create a symphonic and rich atmospheric sound. Described as having “a romantic sense of fading opulence,” it was named as one of Pitchfork’s Contributors’ Top 10s. Tours with artists, including Perfume Genius, Devendra Banhart, Lower Dens, and ANOHNI, have taken her around the globe. Baim has also worked to create sound design and compositions, and on sound editing for television, film, and radio, as well as for a variety of multimedia projects and installations.
Julien Langendorff was born and raised in Paris, France. Initially a musician, he started experimenting with drawing, engraving, and video while attending the Duperré art school in Paris. His focus then shifted to mixed media collage. Described by Thurston Moore as “love songs, the signifiers flaring, flashing, flowing off paper pages of passion, romance, sex and grace,” Langendorff’s collages are like visual poems oscillating between sombre minimalism and haunted symbolism, tinged with psychedelic satanism. His work has been shown in galleries and museums, including the third Athens Biennale Monodrome, curated by legendary art theorist Nicolas Bourriaud. He has also directed music videos and created album covers for bands such as L.A. Witch, Grails, Thurston Moore Group, and Zombie Zombie. Additionally, he has collaborated with fashion designers agnès b. and Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent.
Design & typography by Sabrina Che
