ALGA MARGHEN

Established in 1996, the Alga Marghen Label specialises in twentieth-century composers, avant-garde artists and ‘experimental historical obscurities and outsiders’. The still relatively recent catalogue of this Italian-based record label represents an impressive collection of highly diverse musical genres and sonic art spanning a period of seven decades. Led by Emanuele Carcano, Alga Marghen is a highly subjective archive, a catalogue compiled on a purely personal basis that contains both sound poetry (Henri Chopin, Bernard Heidsieck, François Dufrêne) and prototypical noise (Robert Ashley, Philip Corner), atypical contemporary classical music (Walter Marchetti) and the work of Ghédalia Tazartès, which is often described as ‘extraterrestrial world music’. In short, the Alga Marghen catalogue represents a collection of highly individual figures who, particularly when viewed retrospectively, exercise a great deal of influence in strengthening the links between music, sonic art, the visual arts and mixed media, including primarily performance, video art and literature.