Audiopile Review: Wolf Eyes has always been a weird collision of high and low culture. This is a band that collaborated with Professor Anthony Braxton on an album called ‘Black Vomit’, after all. So, what do you think when you hear that ex-Wolf Eyes noisemaker Aaron Dilloway has created a realization of John Cage’s rarely performed score for tape loops, ‘Rozart Mix’ (originally written for Alvin Lucier)? You might not be surprised, but you might, quite reasonably, be expecting an iconoclastic prank. Dilloway’s ‘Rozart Mix’ is, in fact, entirely respectful and officially sanctioned by the John Cage Trust. Probably a smart move. After all, you’re not going to out prank an iconoclast of Cage’s stature. Did you come up with the idea of composing a completely silent piece of music, bro? We think not. Instead, Dilloway went all-in with a project of startling ambition. As an album, his ‘Rozart Mix’ is culled from a six-hour performance, featuring assistance from the likes of Twig Harper and John Wiese. Even in its slimmed-down form, this is an ear-boggling sound collage of epic scope. Bursts of conversation, music, and electronic chaos pop in and drop out before your brain can fully process them. It’s too detailed, approachable, and downright fun to be considered noise. Instead, this is an ecstatic celebration of sound in all its forms. Something that Cage, who just wanted to show us any sound could be perceived musically, would surely approve of.

“So excited and honored to finally release the vinyl document of my realization of John Cage’s Rozart Mix. Back in the extremely strange year of 2020, I was approached by Wave Farm and John Cage Trust to stage a performance of this seldomly performed piece that Cage wrote for Alvin Lucier. The piece is comprised of 88 tape loops (one for each key of a piano), spliced together with multiple non-musical sounds played back on 12 reel to reel machines. In January of 2021 I spent a wonderful and intense week researching Rozart Mix at John Cage Trust at Bard College. It was the first place I had visited during the pandemic. On October 23, 2021, with the assistance of Rose Actor-Engel, Twig Harper, C. Lavender, Quintron, Robert Turman, and John Wiese, I presented a six-hour performance of Rozart Mix at the John Cage Trust. Six hours of 12 individually amplified reel to reel tape machines, placed around multiple floors of a house, playing 88 tape loops spliced together by 5 to 175 splices, created an overwhelming and joyous environment of cacophonous sound. The performance culminated with John Wiese touching a frog for the first time as the final sound croaked through the speakers. The frog contact was just one of many magical moments that occurred during the preparation and presentation of the piece. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed performing it. Special thanks to Galen Joseph-Hunter of Wave Farm and Laura Kuhn & Emy Martin of John Cage Trust for trusting me with this material.” –Aaron Dilloway, May 2024