Art & Vinyl: Support Your Local Trash Musician
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"...after hearing the radio for a few minutes, 'Trash Music' might just be the palette cleanser that you need" - Alt77
"' trash music' is akin to a grand canvas, a symphony of musical mastery, where Chris Portka artfully wields his brush and adds hues of both vivid brilliance and haunting darkness, giving birth to a truly peculiar and dreamlike album." - Indie Boulevard
I'd always wanted to be a musician since I was a kid, I started out as a drummer - entranced by the strange splashes and slamming shuffles of grunge in the 90s. I picked up my father's guitar and practiced, but I could never sing. A crippling anxiety and panic attacks when I tried to sing Elliott Smith for my first girlfriend. I always jammed though, long hours spent spinning aural webs on acoustic or synthesizer or piano.
When I turned 31, I decided I needed to sing and I spent 5 years in Voice Movement Therapy pretending to be a Rhinoceros fighting to befriend an Elephant before I could properly make a peep in public. I'm happy to say I now sing with joy at shows both solo and in bands.. but my roots burrow in this impressionistic improv that reflects a fierce internal conflict.
I call this trash music. Screaming to be heard, oblivious of myself and having a rough go at feeling loved, mistaking beauty for wholeness, and touching the sparkling bit of debris within detritus of curled ash.
I love music. It's one of the few places I can feel any sense of control in life. The times we live and the collective shit we've experienced goes deep and, for the most part, we have very little say about what happens in this life. I accept the good with the bad as I hope to accept myself - the beauty within the trash.
Hello, I'm Chris Portka, a California bay-area based artist & musician. For over two decades, I've been crafting a unique sound that pushes boundaries, blending elements of harsh trash sounds with ethereal glitch rock & folk. My music strikes a delicate balance between raw & refined, experimental & grounded.
I am excited to announce my first vinyl LP "Trash Music" featuring 12 new tracks that dive into the worlds of dream and discord. Inspired by an eclectic mix of artists - from folk stalwarts like David Berman and Gillian Welch to the avant-garde vibes of Sonic Youth, Captain Beefheart, and Death Grips. The album is an invitation to hold true to yourself in these chaotic and beautiful times we live.
Your generous support will help bring "Trash Music" to life. Here's what you can receive for your donation:
$25: A copy of the vinyl LP (estimated delivery Nov/Dec 2023)
$100: Custom personalized digital artwork (as a jpg / mp4 / NFT)
$750: An original Trash Painting (as a physical painting)
The album cover features the evocative work "The Escape House" by glitch artist Tuukz. Mastered by Thomas Ryan and vinyl printing is in collaboration with Pirates Press.
Also known as djpants.eth in the NFT music community, my last album "The #NFTBlues" reported on the ecstatic highs and vacuous lows of the never-ending simulation which exploded in 2021. With this new project, I continue into the uncharted places of culture, spirit, and pop.
The LP will be released as a limited edition run of 250 vinyl copies, accompanied by a collection of NFT music videos in collaboration with notable visual and glitch artists, including Tuukz (superrare.com/tuukzs), KenjiXOP (foundation.app/kenjii), Iteration, among others.
Thank you for considering a donation. Your support will not only help to release "Trash Music" on vinyl but also contribute to the growth of experimental music. Let's make some noise ~
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The final song "Let's Go Play Today" on the album lives beneath a veil of reality, based on my dreams of friendship & childhood wonder:
Organizer
Chris Portka
Organizer
Berkeley, CA