The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

July 1, 2026
The band was roused early, while it was still dark, for the site where they were to perform lay a half day march westward. They left Grandpa in the care of the innkeeper's wife. Their escort was two young soldiers, who knew the road well and seemed eager to arrive, for they frequently encouraged Hektor and Triballos to pick up the pace. Along the road, the travelers passed a deep ravine known as the Chasm of Kaiadas. Here Spartans executed enemies by throwing them into the pit, where their remains were left unburied. Eyes averted, Andromache hurried by.

written while listening to:  Massimiliano Milesi - Oofth (AUAND, AU9082, 2019, Italy, cd, discogs.com)

July 2, 2026
Upon the slopes of Mount Taleton, they encountered many signs of the army until finally they found themselves in the midst of hundreds of men. The soldiers were garbed in crimson tunics and cloaks, which caught the cool, mountain breeze. An anticipation was in the air, as if it were a holiday. The musicians were led to a raised platform, upon which the officers would observe the proceedings. Before them a field, trampled by many feet, spread out. The band set up beside the stand then were led to the mess tent for a meal and to rest their legs.

written while listening to:  Guillaume Gargaud - AARDE: Desperate Islands (dirtydemos, DirtyCDR 037, 2008, United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

July 3, 2026
Fires, fueled by pitch-soaked logs, were lit at regular intervals along the perimeter. The series of dances began while the sun hovered above the ragged horizon of the mountains. After two or three renditions of the pyrrhichios, shadows crept across the clearing, with more than a dozen enomotiae waiting their turn to perform. Papa had instructed all to play their instruments at maximum volume so that every soldier, spread across the field, heard the music. For the percussionists, this tested the strength in their arms and, for the flutists, their lungs.

written while listening to:  Magda Mayas - Chant (Unsounds, U92, 2026, The Netherlands, cd, discogs.com)

July 4, 2026
The band repeated the piece without variation. There was a monotony to it but also the professional challenge of rising to a standard of excellence and demonstrating, as much to themselves as to the audience, their mastery of the discipline of their trade. In the flickering light, Andromache tried to discern differences in the execution of the dance, for she had been told that the event was a competition, at the end of which officers would announce a winner. She proved unable to appreciate slight gradations in synchronization from one unit to the next.

written while listening to:  Derek Bailey, Han Bennink & Evan Parker - Topographie Parisienne, disc 2 (Fou Records, FR - CD 34-35-36-37, 2019 (rec. 1981), France, cdx4, discogs.com)

July 5, 2026
When the performance had concluded, the officers opened many large amphorae of wine to the troops. The band was invited to partake as well. A boisterous revelry lasted deep into the night. Though Papa quietly urged temperance among his musicians, Triballos declared that he would drink the share of any who abstained. To the cheers of Spartan soldiers, the dwarf proceeded to make good on his promise. Mama Chloë kept the wide-eyed Andromache close by her side, eventually retiring to a spot removed from the field to get what sleep they could.

written while listening to:  Keiji Haino & My Cat Is An Alien - Cosmic Debris Volume III (Opax, OPX LP10, 2007, Italy, lp, discogs.com)

July 6, 2026
Returning to the city on the next morning, Papa wrongly supposed that their obligation had been met. A high-ranking polemarch found them at the inn. He announced his satisfaction with their participation in the ceremony and noted that both wheels of their cart, and the axle as well, had been replaced. Before they left, he bade the musicians gather their instruments and return with him to the local training ground for one more job. There the band found a group of soldiers waiting for them and a crowd of boys, aged seven to ten, lining the walls.

written while listening to:  Joëlle Léandre - Live at the "Ulrichsberger Kaleidophon", disc 1 (Leo Records, CD LR 594/595, 2011, United Kingdom, cdx2, discogs.com)

July 7, 2026
The enomotia of men demonstrated the dance to the students. Then a schoolmaster ordered a group of children to form ranks. Each time a boy erred in the intricate steps of the pyrrhichios, the music was halted. An officer-in-training violently dragged the offending child from the ranks, threw him to the ground and pronounced his sentence: no rations for a day and no blanket tonight. The boy remained silent, eyes forward. This scene played out repeatedly. To Andromache, the string of punishments seemed endless. She sorely regretted her role in the affair.

written while listening to:  Copenhagen Clarinet Choir & Anders Lauge Meldgaard - Jeux d'Eau (År Og Dag/conatala, AD17/009, 2025, Denmark/Japan, lp, discogs.com)

July 8, 2026
The musicians left the lesson in subdued spirits, though they could not share their feelings openly for the polemarch accompanied them back to the inn. He summoned Papa, Mama and Andromache to him. To Papa he said, "All of you have fine instruments to play save your daughter. The condition of her flute is not fit for the quality of her playing." He handed an object bundled in cloth to Andromache, who unwrapped it to discover a pristine, new instrument." Mama nudged her out of silence, "Where are your manners, Synder? Thank the kind man."

written while listening to:  Evan Parker & Jean-Marc Foussat - Insolence (Nashazphone, NP-54, 2025 (rec. 1980, 1981 & 2023), Egypt, lp, discogs.com)

July 9, 2026
Two unrelated thoughts swirled as if borne by a tempest inside our heroine. The army man had called her Mama and Papa's daughter, and they had not corrected him, which pleased her to no end. At the same time, she wanted nothing to do with his gift. The music of Sparta was not at all to her taste and she hoped to put it behind her soon enough. No less in her thoughts was a strange attachment to the old flute. It was the tangible connection to her legacy of the labyrinth. Her choice was not so perverse, for many cling tightly to mementos of hardship.

written while listening to:  Tomas Fujiwara - Pith (Out Of Your Head Records, OOYH 022, 2023, United States, lp, discogs.com)