Zendik (1972)



Wulf Zendik to postać wielce zajmująca i znacząca dla amerykańskiej kontrkultury - wokalista jazzowy cieszący się sporą popularnością w latach 40. i 50. minionego stulecia, porzucił show buisnes i zasłynął jako pisarz, konstruktor instrumentów i bitnikowski filozof (spadkobierca Jezusa, Freuda i Reicha) oraz charyzmatyczny twórca komuny artystycznej Zendik Farm. Przez wiele lat prowadził też improwizujące (głównie na bazie bluesa), psychodeliczne combo Wulf Zendik Orgaztra (zbieżność nazw z Arkestrą nie jest przypadkowa!), którego dzieje i dzieło to temat na osobną opowieść. Zendik - twórca itaru (czyli sitaro-gitary) i bluesowy pieśniarz o ekspresji wokalnej bliskiej wokalizom Beefhearta, pozostawił po sobie licznych uczniów i współpracowników oraz szereg utworów wykonywanych przez Orgaztrę na koncertach. Po śmierci artysty jego towarzyszka i muza, Arol oraz członkowie Farmy zarejestrowali improwizowany jam, mający upamiętniać osobę i dzieło Mistrza Wulfa. Szczerze polecam. --- Dariusz Brzostek



"The Artist, the free-flyer, the person that dares to be mad can always go back to that madness. You cannot corner that person. That person has an instrument, has a piece of paper, has a pencil, has two dollars worth of dime store paint, has some sand on the beach... That person can always go for Truth. You cannot corner that person. You can lock them in solitary and they'll scratch it on the wall, and if you cut off their hands, they will scratch it in their mind."

"So long as one desires to escape Pain, or pursue Pleasure, or evade boredom, or to be excited (just so long as these desires, to be or not to be, prevail), just so long are we Cosmically useless; powerless. There is only one cogent, power-generating aspiration: It is Truth: Truth in any form discernible and any form discoverable. Yet Truth comes to the Seeker like a thrust in the Pineal Eye and a kick in the Chakran Gut."

"The only political design that will work, would ever have worked, is one for an open-ended society established on a philosophy that declares that each member of the Human Family must accept absolute responsibility for the health and welfare of all things within its comprehension; you see, accept responsibility for all the stuff within the scope of its expanding objective consciousness. This is what I've termed Cosmic Responsibility and it's the basis of Ecolibrium."



What is Zendik Farm?

You deserve a bit of background information:

Below is taken from the Editors’ letter of this “zeen” (issue #47 in case you’re curious – I couldn’t find a date anywhere on the publication):

For those of you who have never heard of Zendik farm, we are a community of physical, psychic, psychological, and cultural mavericks. Our Zendiculture is founded on dealing openly and honestly with all aspects of life. Now located on 300 acres of fertile farmland along the banks of the Colorado River near Austin, TX, the community was started 24 years ago by Arol and Wulf Zendik. We’re learning to create a viable way of life based on cooperation, not competition – a life where each individual’s contribution is essential to the health of the entire community. This is one of the basic principles of the governmental philosophy of Ecolibrium, upon which the farm operates.

Actually, they are now located in West Virginia. Sounds like a typical communal lifestyle, right? You also may be curious to hear the following from the same page:

For those of you who don’t live in one of the 15 cities where you can watch our ZTV shows on cable television, there is an excerpt from Arol’s weekly series called Zendik news.

An eco-friendly commune with TV shows? Yep. Well okay, they no longer use TV as a media outlet for their cause. They do however, have a radio show. There’s more!

The zeen includes sections called “Life on Zendik Farm”, “Deathkulture and the Ecolibrium Alternative”, “Metaphysics & Art” (which includes “The ABC’s of Enlightenment”), and of course some classifieds at the end. The part that I’m interested in sharing here is related to the very last inside page. You see, Zendik Farm also produces their own music, and therefore fabricates their own musicultural experiences.

Of their music, the zeen says:

“The lyrix actually promote thought, rather than escape. Best of all we’ve been producing our own sounds, in our own recording studio, totally independent of the music industry. So you get pure musik, not commercial garbage.”

There have been several albums produced at the farm, and you can purchase four of them on the Zendik Farm website. Several of them incorporate the sounds of world fusion as well as grounded folk styles, and experimental works. The two founders, Wulf (d. 1999) & Arol, have very different musical styles. Arols’ music is very vocal, earthy, and gutteral. Wulfs’ music tends to slant toward tone-poems and/or spoken word, often with instrumental accompaniment. On the album I’ve been given, all of the instruments are homemade on the farm.

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