This 2 CD set includes remastered recordings of Mike Kelley’s 55 minute performance poem, Plato’s Cave, Rothko’s Chapel, Lincoln’s Profile at Artists Space in New York on December 5th, 1985 and The Peristaltic Airwaves, a live performance that aired on KPFK Radio, Los Angeles, on September 30th, 1986. The two recordings are the only existing audio documentation of Mike Kelley’s groundbreaking performance work. Plato’s Cave Rothko’s Chapel, Lincoln’s Profile in Kelley’s words was the “longest and most elaborate” of the texts he’d written for solo performance. With Molly Cleator, incidental music by Sonic Youth and Adam Rudolph, this CD showcases Kelley’s humorous and profane text from the performance, a didgeridoo, and scorching noise from the band. The Peristaltic Airwaves—a live radio broadcast—draws on similar material and employs sound effects, a house band, call-ins, and other live radio staples to create a unique and jarring quasi-narrative collage. Featuring Jack Skelley and Nic Greene, Dave Childs and Nancy Evans. Co-produced by High Performance Magazine and Jacki Apple for “Soundings” on KPFK Pacifica Radio. Includes a booklet and text by Mike Kelley.

(The Peristaltic Airwaves and portions of Plato’s Cave, Rothko’s Chapel, Lincoln’s Profile were previously released on High Performance Audio in cassette form in 1987.)