I once read a quote from Paul Klee, “Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.” I took it to mean that a true artist made you see in a new way, one that hadn’t occurred until you encountered their work. One aspect of David Toop’s artistry lies in writing about  music and sound in a way that changes the way you hear. It is not an exaggeration to say that reading his books Haunted Weather and Ocean of Sound changed my life. I lived in New York City at the time and much of what I had heretofore heard as noise pollution became a symphony of sound. So, I was chuffed, as they say on David’s side of the pond, to be able to converse with him at length about music and sound.

A performer as well as a writer (see Below), Toop has shared the stage with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Thurston Moore. A lifelong guitarist, Toop’s latest recording, Apparition Paintings,  combines his love of twang, his encyclopedic knowledge of sound art (a term he might not care for) and a wanton disregard for genre.

Thurston Moore and David Toop

Terry Day, Thurston Moore, and David Toop at Cafe OTO 

Tania Chen, Wobbly, David Toop and Thurston Moore at Cafe OTO 

Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Toop

David Toop at the Cafe OTO Ikon Gallery