John Zieman – New York City 1980-1984

For their inaugural release, CONFUSO editions (NYC / Rio de Janeiro) ventures into the furthest realms of outsider pop with this compilation of John Zieman’s archival tapes, ‘New York City 1980-1984’. A student of electronic synthesis at Hampshire College, Zieman’s interest in digital media brought him to NYC in the late 70s, where he worked with downtown artists including Nam June Paik, John Sanborn, and Dara Birnbaum — Birnbaum’s epochal 1983 video ‘Damnation of Faust: Evocation’ features Zieman’s song ‘Flying Nine (Dara)’, released in ‘New York City 1980-1984’ for the first time. In Birnbaum’s video, Zieman’s angular zolo rhythm and shadowy synth melodies soundtrack the quiet tragedy of a gentrifying SoHo playground. A still from Evocation is used as the cover for the ‘New York City 1980-1984’, a testament to the decades of collaboration between John and Dara.