Fourth Ocean

For reasons known only to old Angus MacLise, unlike First, Second, and Third Oceans, which follow the 12th, 24th, and 36th day of Childwinter, Fourth Ocean does not follow four dozen days.  In fact, Third Ocean was a mere three days ago. But here we are, the 40th day of the year, which MacLise has chosen to call Fourth Ocean.

Today also marks the first new supermoon of the year. New moons, of course, occur when the alignment of the Earth, moon, and Sun leaves the side of the moon that faces Earth in darkness, also known as a conjunction or syzygy. New moons always rise at dawn and set with the Sun, making them difficult to see due to the daylight.  When a new moon occurs when the moon is near its closest approach to Earth, the perigee, it is called a new supermoon. This year, there will be three new supermoons in a row, with the other two taking place on Day of the Lamb (March 10) and The Long Dim Under (April 8).

Composer Éliane Radigue's Occam Ocean 4 consists of three works, Occam Delta XIX, Occam XXII, and Occam River XXII. In keeping with Radigue's naming convention, Delta is a trio piece, Occam is a solo, and River is a duet. All three are performed by Carol Robinson, a frequent interpreter of Radigue's music, Bertrand Gauget, and throat singer Yannick Guédon.

The solo, Occam XXII, posted below, was recorded in March 2021 at the Kubus of the ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany during an artist residency.  It is a masterful demonstration by Guédon not only of throat singing but also breath control (just trying humming along with him), that builds to incredible levels of intensity. As Frank Zappa says near the end of his Burnt Weenie Sandwich album, "You'll hurt your throat, stop it."