Louis Prince releases Friends, a collaborative audiovisual zine
Today Louis Prince (aka Jake McMullen) shares the audiovisual zine “Friends”, a collection of 120 sounds and 100 images from 80 different contributors. Driven by McMullen’s desire to connect with friends during social distancing, the zine serves as a collective digital time capsule of life during the COVID era. The goal, explains McMullen in further detail below, was “to illustrate how sound ties us all together.” Louis Prince’s debut album Thirteen, which saw its release on Friday, March 13th just as the world began to shutter itself, is out now on Last Gang Records. Among other praise, Exclaim! lauded the album for “a feel for space and texture that leads to some impressively lush arrangements.”
**Watch/Listen to the “Friends” Zine on YouTube.
***Purchase “Friends” on Bandcamp. All proceeds donated to the NAACP.
Louis Prince on “Friends”…
In the midst of quarantine, social reform and several other personal things, I felt the need to do something to make sense of the world the only way I know how, of course, through music. But I wanted to be outside of myself–not make my own music. I was inspired by seeing some other artists doing similar projects like this, and seeing as everyone’s world is different and no two people are going to do the same thing, I set out to create my own.
So, a few months back I started messaging everyone I could think of who is near and dear to me asking for any sounds and visuals they felt like sharing. No rules. Just had to be from them. I didn’t play anything on this, merely pieced it all together. The goal was to illustrate how sound ties us all together. My friend and wonderfully talented collaborator, Kevin Clark, then helped me sort through the visual piece that accompanies it.
My desire was to have this all to act as a time capsule of sorts; to find the joy in the midst of so much confusion and pain, or at least try to scrape at its surface. I hope it meets you and finds you wherever you are and in what you need. Thanks.