Editor's Picks (June 6, 2024)

木 mù and 水 shuǐ by Anonymous — 木 mù and 水 shuǐ are two art books by a studio based in Singapore and Thailand that playfully explore two of the most ubiquitous substances in our daily lives: wood and water. We cherish the thoughtful and imaginative meditations on materials we often fail to appreciate. Lovely. ($33)

Thingpower debut album — Thingpower are lifelong friends and artists Troels Abrahamsen and Peter Albrechtsen who have previously scored film projects together, and here on Metalabel are debuting their first-ever album. The music is loose and fluid, a feeling of open boundlessness. Congrats to them on their first release and we’re honored they’re dropping with us. ($35)

Highbrow Housekeeping by eyesbreakers — Here at Metalabel HQ a red phone rings on everyone’s desk when eyesbreakers publishes a new drop. Each eyesbreakers release is a stream-of-consciousness series of physical paintings wrapped together in a surreal narrative and published as a PDF. As we said about their previous Metalabel drop — another brain-banger — we don’t know what it is but we know we like it. ($6)

The Great Way Is Not Difficult For Those Who Have No Preference by The “O” Piano — This very handmade release features a .zip download of three improvised duets for alto sax and piano paired with a document of palindromes printed in Shantell Martin’s Metalabel-released Shantell Sans font. Crossover joy. (Support how you want)

Newly reissued

On Making a Living as an Artist (digital edition) by The Creative Independent —Last week’s Creative Independent drop of “On Making a Living as an Artist” sold out all 50 copies in hours, then sold out an additional 50 copies a few hours later. Not to worry. The Creative Independent has published a digital-only edition that’s free or pay what you want. Grab a copy now and stay tuned for more TCI releases on Metalabel in the future. (Support how you want)

”The Post-Individual” (open edition) by Yancey Strickler — Earlier this year I released a new essay a .zip format, publishing both the piece and the backing research and context as one package. All 250 first editions sold out, but in the month since I’ve received requests from a half-dozen people wanting to explore it more. It’s been heartening to see the piece continue to spread. Thus this open edition. (Support how you want)