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Steal Green Things

by Levon Henry

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1.
B 03:21
2.
B1 01:28
3.
B2 01:30
4.
B4 01:35
5.
C 00:22
6.
D 01:04
7.
E 02:16
8.
EJ 01:22
9.
H 02:17
10.
N 02:34
11.
P 01:56
12.
R 02:04

about

information is immaterial. the line between influence and theft are only as clear as the continuity of the law, which is of course invented, and subject to revision. information is constantly given new bodies as technology and culture bend in time, and the materiality of information is highly relative along that line. Debussy was influenced by much music from colonized areas. unlike many of his contemporaries, he didn't condescend to it, and was very critical of European music by comparison. he was nonetheless an orientalist about it. i'm grateful he took what he did, still pointing at the source, though of course the question of who has actually been able to profit through the breathy exchange of influence is deeply troubled and troubling, and is not historically or contemporarily "fair" by any means. i'm not so sure i believe in copyrighting music or reproducible media, because we absorb and steal from it in subconscious ways just as often as we consciously study to emulate. also, what can be copywritten vs not is full of contradictions that historically privilege certain modes of production. if music isn't worth the paper it's printed on, so to speak, which it isn't at the moment, it's because it's relationship with paper is highly unstable. the digital doesn't require paper any more or less than it requires electricity. it doesn't need any fixed body. meaning slides off matter. the value of music is unstable because its status as an object is unstable, because objecthood is relative to materiality. online "content creators" are constantly utilizing the work of others to develop their persona or brand. whether someone's exposure/analysis of isolated vocals on a Marvin Gaye track, or someone's list of their 5 favorite albums, it's all "use" of some kind. even though it's often not a directly monetized lift, it's nonetheless always a maneuver to grow one's audience = further one's reputation = increase the price one can later put on their own name and the output that is "original". is that not monetary? value creation? none of us can fully escape the tradition of this conundrum, long as we continue to make public any of our output (work=play). and in that case, i don't want to sneak around the fact that i am not original! thief from thief. i believe the immaterial should always be free. everyone is an artist. everyone deserves to make a living beyond "earning" it because the collective social practice of influence is what makes the world go round.

credits

released August 22, 2023

compositions by Claude Debussy
performances by Walter Gieseking
recompositions by Levon Henry

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all rights reserved

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about

Levon Henry New York, New York

saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Los Angeles, now living in New York City. In addition to recording and performing his own music, Levon works as a saxophonist+ for the ~likes of others.

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