Robert Millis presents INDIAN TALKING MACHINE

One of the earliest non-Western outposts of the "recording industry," India's first commercial recordings were made in 1902. The country's music is as beautiful as it is complex, as subtle as it is profound, and as divine as it is simple. From 2012 through 2013, Robert Millis was a Senior Fulbright Researcher in India–studying the Indian 78rpm gramophone industry through the eyes of record collectors and sound artists.

Please joins us May 20th as Robert Millis presents an illustrated lecture about the first recordings made on the sub-continent, about collecting old 78rpm shellac records in India, about the colonial shellac industry, about Indian music and musicians and about his recent book, Indian Talking Machine (Sublime Frequencies, 2015).

His presentation features several short films Millis made in India, rare music from 78rpm discs, glimpses of the city of Calcutta, the shellac industry, and 78rpm record collectors and collections. Millis will discuss Indian Talking Machine, his work as a sound artist and researcher, and his experiences with musicians, sounds, and collectors in India and elsewhere.

ROBERT MILLIS is an experimental musician, sound artist and a Fulbright Scholar who lives and works in Seattle. He is a founding member of Climax Golden Twins and a frequent contributor to the Sublime Frequencies and Dust-to-Digital record labels. He co-authored Victrola Favorites in 2008, made the films This World Is Unreal Like A Snake In A Rope and Phi Ta Khon: Ghosts Of Isan, and composed the score to the cult horror film Session 9. www.robertmillis.net

When: May 20th, 8pm
Where: RhizomeDC, 6950 Maple St NW DC
Cost:  $10 suggested donation