Shane Lavalette

It was a pleasure working with Emily Cross of Cross Record to press her first full-length LP Be Good.

Be Good leaves the listener trembling. A myriad of sounds — strings, clarinet, flute, steel drum, bells, tape distortion, and other instrumentation — support Emily Cross’ enchanting vocals, which are so captivating that the silences are like black holes. Her raw, unadorned sound, perhaps most akin to young Cat Power or Jana Hunter, is a breath of fresh air. Like her music, Cross’ lyrics are striking in their simplicity, conjuring a dark beauty that is delicately realized by a musician beyond her years.

Listen to a few tracks and order the limited edition white vinyl LP or a digital download here.

Printed Matter is pleased to announce a launch for DUNE by Dutch photographer Misha De Ridder, published by Lay Flat. Starting at 6 PM, de Ridder will give a presentation about his practice, touching on his interest in connecting with the natural landscape through images, as well as considerations of publishing his photo works in book form. Joining de Ridder will be Diana Balmori who teaches at the Yale University School of Architecture, and is the principal of Balmori Associates, a landscape and urban design firm in New York. She will speak about de Ridder’s work in terms of the un/natural landscape and modes of representation.

De Ridder will also screen his recent film Asgard, 2011, shot in subarctic Norway, which consists of one single fixed unedited shot. The short film (about 8 min long) shows a forest on a mountain as a storm passes through. Bringing to mind the work of Peter Hutton, a “story” evolves as the fast moving clouds and dark shadows beneath them move across the landscape.

Book Launch and Artist Talk for Misha de Ridder’s DUNE
Printed Matter, New York, NY
October 22, 2011 from 5-7pm

FREE and open to the public.

RSVP at the Facebook event page

NOTE: If you cannot attend the event, signed copies of the publication can be purchased online.

During the month of June, Lay Flat teamed up with Flak Photo creator Andy Adams to preview a selection of images from Misha de Ridder’s forthcoming artist book DUNE. To wrap up this feature, we would like to give (yes, for free) prizes to three lucky winners!

1. One lucky Lay Flat Facebook fan will receive the following:

DUNE by Misha de Ridder
Lay Flat tote bag

2. One lucky Lay Flat Twitter follower will receive the following:

Visible Library by Sam Falls
Lay Flat tote bag

3. One lucky person who “likes” this note (in addition to being a fan or follower) will receive the GRAND PRIZE:

DUNE by Misha de Ridder
Visible Library by Sam Falls
Lay Flat tote bag

Of course, you can increase your chances by entering all three drawings.

Andy Adams of Flak Photo will be selecting the three winners on Monday, July 11th.

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UPDATE (7/11/11)

Congrats to the 3 randomly selected winners!

1. Facebook fan Grzegorz Jaworski will receive a copy of DUNE by Misha de Ridder and a Lay Flat tote bag.

2. Twitter follower Nikki Graziano will receive a copy of Visible Library by Sam Falls and a Lay Flat tote bag.

3. Note liker Mohammad Taheri will receive the grand prize: DUNE by Misha de Ridder, Visible Library by Sam Falls and a Lay Flat tote bag.

Thank you to all who participated! Winners, we hope you enjoy your gifts.

For those that did not win (we wish everyone could!), do consider supporting independent publishing by treating yourself to some books or a tote bag: www.layflat.org

Sign up for Lay Flat Newsletter to hear about future releases, events, calls for entry or other offers like this: www.layflat.org/newsletter