Welcome to the world … Julian Calendar’s Speaking A Dead Language

Jul·ian Cal·en·dar noun
1 calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., superseded by Gregorian calendar in 1582.
2 alias of multimedia artist born in Berlin in 1989.
3 the name of the band she formed.

 

Sleeping Pill

 

COS-PLAYING A BAND

“In my early twenties, I had a hard drive full of musical and lyrical ideas that I wanted to turn into songs,” Julian Calendar explains. “The problem was that I didn’t want to be in a band or play live.” So she hit on the idea of putting together a group who could flesh out, perform, and record her material. “I was looking for new ways to collaborate and subvert the traditional idea of a band. Most pre-fab acts are all about image and style, so I purposefully chose people who were older than me to front the band.”

Julian assembled the group while living in Charlotte, N.C. “There’s an amazing local music scene there,” she says. “Everything fell together quickly.” She recruited multi-instrumentalists JEREMY FISHER and SCOTT THOMPSON and paired them with two non-musicians as the band’s singers. HANNAH HUNDLEY was selected for her cinema background and novelist JEFF JACKSON (whose work has been praised by Dennis, Don DeLillo, and The New York Times) was chosen to help shore up the lyrics.

They became the public face of the band. Over the years, Julian has added and subtracted members to this core line-up to keep the project fresh, most recently introducing tape manipulator and multi-instrumentalist SEAN ROBINSON and percussionist and drummer NATHAN MATTHEWS.

Black Moon
Video by Robin Doermann

 

NO STYLE

Julian Calendar purposefully zigzags between styles. “Everybody listens to different genres,” she says. “Why should a band be bound by a single sound?” The band’s early series of Crimson Static EPs (2020-2021) range across post-punk, disco, noise, new wave, and folk. Their most recent EPs employ loops and sampling, drawing on everything from Drum n Bass breakbeats to string arrangements.

“Every musical possibility is on the table,” Julian insists. “We’re trying to serve the song, not build some fucking brand.”

 

THE DEBUT ALBUM

Julian Calendar’s debut Speaking A Dead Language is based on songs from their live set. It’s more rock-oriented – imagine Sonic Youth mixed with The B-52s – but still eclectic. “It never stays in one place for long,” Julian confirms. There are garage rock rave-ups, hypnotic grooves, new wave anthems, and ambient lullabies. There’s even a cover of Green Day’s “Longview” that reinvents the song’s feel and meaning.

 

WORKING WITH PRODUCER JOHN AGNELLO

“John’s a legend for a reason. He’s worked with so many favorite artists like Dinosaur Jr, Kurt Vile, Mary Timony, Waxahatchee, The Breeders, Alvvays, etc. It was a dream to collaborate with him and watch how he gave the songs a muscular sound with so much detail and dynamics.”

Sleep Together

 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “SPEAKING A DEAD LANGUAGE”?

“Look, we know rock doesn’t have much cultural currency these days,” Julian says. “It isn’t a hip musical language, but there’s still beauty there and plenty of interesting things that can be done with its sonic vocabulary without resorting to nostalgia.”

I Need A Hole

 

ABOUT THE SONGS ON THE ALBUM
Comments by Julian Calendar

Black Moon
We thought there weren’t enough garage rock songs about premature ejaculation.

I Need A Hole
A love song about (w)holes and not settling for less. And it’s an answer to the Bee Gees immortal question: “How deep is your love?”

Longview
We wondered what happened if you stripped the giant chorus out of Green Day’s “Longview” and left Billy Joe Armstrong’s carefully observed character study. And how do the words change their meaning when a woman sings them?

Keep Yr. Secrets
They don’t need to know.

Sleeping Pill
Sometimes you don’t want to wake up.

Our Poison
The air we breath is polluted with all sorts of hate and it can work its way into your bloodstream. How do you undo the damage? “Do you still want me like this?”

My Treachery
Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t have? Don’t fall for fascists. But still: “My politics won’t rhyme with my love for you.”

Conjure Me
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, music can become a form of possession.

Knife Party
This used to be titled “For Your Own Safety.” It’s about radical body autonomy and how authorities think they know what’s best for you.

Sleep Together
A climate chaos booty call song. Insisting on connection in a catastrophic environment.

 

 

BUY THE VINYL RECORD –

It’s available as a very limited edition from Suah Sounds – and stock is already running low. It comes with download code for the album, PLUS our last five (5) EPs. More on those below. So it’s, you know, a good deal. And it makes a nice holiday gift.

GET IT HERE: https://juliancalendar.bandcamp.com/album/speaking-a-dead-language

 

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There Is No Radio

 

THE FIVE EPs

In the dark days of the pandemic, we had no drummer and no place to rehearse. Reinvention was the only option. We threw away our usual tools and started from scratch. Negativland whispered in our ears: “Copyright Infringement is your best entertainment value.” And we listened. These five EPs were the result.

Softer Than Bombs: https://juliancalendar.bandcamp.com/album/softer-than-bombs

“Pump Up the Jam”

Hushed and minimalist tunes about how to navigate life during wartime, hoping that it’s possible to talk with the dead, and a lost in the K-hole cover of the once ubiquitous “Pump Up the Jam.” Yes, that “Pump Up the Jam.”

 

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More Songs About Class Resentment and Surveillance Capitalism: https://juliancalendar.bandcamp.com/album/more-songs-about-class-resentment-and-surveillance-capitalism

“3 Teens Kill 4”

“3 Teens Kill 4” is a David Wojnarowicz tribute in a few different ways. There’s also a dance song about how algorithms shape our daily lives and a hot-wired New Wave tune about shooting your way across the class divide. Dedicated to Shoshana Zuboff and Liz Pelly for their revelatory books “Surveillance Capitalism” and “Mood Machine.”

 

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Swimming Lessons: https://juliancalendar.bandcamp.com/album/swimming-lessons

“The Deep End”

A swan dive into unknown waters. Some days it feels impossible to tell the difference between waving and drowning. “The Deep End” is powered by furious Drum n’ Bass rhythms. “The Drowned Boy” is a swoony New Wave ballad and string quartet, a mix of sugar and poison. “No Kingdom” mixes vintage Drum ‘n Bass beats and woozy synths, plus cut-up with lyrics from King Lear’s mad monologue on the windy heath.

Dedicated to Reza Abdoh and Arthur Russell.

 

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Severed Tongues Speak: https://juliancalendar.bandcamp.com/album/severed-tongues-speak

“Dekadenz”

“Language Lessons” is an electro rocker about how every new form of resistance is its own start-up business. “The World Won’t Listen” offers a clattering groove, booming bass interludes and cut-up trumpet licks. “Dekadenz” is a glam ballad about giving up on society, with nods to Berlin in the 1930s and 1970s.

 

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Forgeries of the Future: https://juliancalendar.bandcamp.com/album/forgeries-of-the-future

“Property Is Theft”

These songs swap studio atmosphere for cut + paste aesthetics. Guitars for samples + keyboards. Unusual textures + rhythms that push the music into fresh territory. The idea: Weirder + catchier. Dedicated to Ian Curtis’ copyright lawyer.

 

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Thanks for listening.

xo Julian

 

 

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p.s. Hey. This weekend’s blog entertainment is provided by the colorful, brainy, hyper playful band Julian Calendar whose primary members include the acclaimed novelist/writer Jeff Jackson, with whom I suspect you are already familiar. And the occasion for this post is the release of their first album, which is generously described and sampled therein. Your fun is virtually guaranteed, so do have said fun. And great thanks to Julian Calendar for selecting this venue for their launch. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi. No, the actual start and end dates are coincidental. I just wanted them to be long gone. You must have some idea as to why that vermouth is Italo Disco flavored? ** Lucas, Hi, Lucas! Wow, how nice to see you. It’s been, yes, ages. HNY back to you. Yeah, I was sick, but I’m bettering rapidly at long last. Glad you’re returning to yourself too. Those minecraft arg videos sound really interesting. I don’t know of them. I’ll go see what their deal is. Thanks for sharing their existence. What are your immediate ’26 plans? xoxo. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Yes, as someone who almost never gets sick, being actually sick was quite a shock. But I’m getting back to normal, and my back got worked on yesterday and is notably better today. That would be a nice job: going missing for $$$. Better than escorting even. Love wondering if the phrase ‘conking out’ is the ultimate way to describe falling asleep, G. ** jay, Hey. Agreed. It’s so boring (to me, at least) how people always want to eroticise everything they can’t solve. Thanks, good to know about ‘Expedition 33’. Any clue as to why it’s become such a thing? It’s pretty cold here, but not painful. More like brisk with a bit of extremity mixed in. Happy snow tromping. We got a little on the roofs here late last night, it looks like, but just frosting. ** Laura, Hi. Ginsberg was too much of mixed bag to characterise easily. Did he possess kindness? Yes, I would say so. Was he also a manipulative letch? Yes, I would say so. My back’s much improved today and only barely painful atm. I have to be careful for the next day or two though. I haven’t seen Yury since yesterday, but I’ll catch him and ask before he sets off today. My weekend will be better than my previous weekend, and I’ll take that. I hope you get to fully investigate yours. ** Uday, It’s possible that at least some of those missing kids discovered a happy, parents-free world and thrived. Blake as in William, I’m guessing? ** Jack Skelley, Yeah, my fucking lifelong back bullshit reared its whatever, but I’m bettering now. Urgent care, shit. You flying a little higher now? Rather desperate to hear your Disneyland report, so get your thoughts in order. Lurve, D-man. ** Steeqhen, I ran away a few times as a kid only to always eventually realise my parents had all the power and surrendering. Orly is almost fun now, but the 14 line stops right next to my apartment, so … First ’26 goal is to finish the new film script then start the process of getting it made. And continuing to give RT a theatrical life through the spring before letting it loose on the streaming services. Otherwise … waiting for the year to amaze me. ** alex, Hi, alex! Really good to see you. I’m upswinging, heath-wise, yes, thankfully. Me too, about those posts obviously. There used to be, and may still be, a number of TV shows focused on those sorts of cases, mainly a big one called ‘Unsolved Mysteries’. They were super addictive. To me. If your aunt has any info, pray tell. Maybe you can Zoom with the cat at least? Enjoy home. ** Florian S. Fauna, Hi, F. I think I know what you mean by those super uncanny mock-ups, and yes, if so. I was sick mostly in bed for the whole holidays, so they were nothing, which was fine, I guess. An uncertain Christmas album? Whoa. I’m trying to imagine but I guess I don’t have to, do I? I’ll seek it out. Everyone, the very fine artist and composer Florian S. Fauna made a Xmas album under their moniker uncertain, and I can assure you that their notion of Xmas-y will surprise and dreamify you. Don’t let Xmas get too far away without listening here. My pleasure about ‘Eusect’. It’s a very beautiful book. ** Carsten, Hi. My back is significantly better today, thank everything. It was so much easier to disappear before there was DNA. And it was a serial killer utopia. A second pool is more than a bit ridiculous and transparently greedy, for sure. Hopefully they’ll accidentally unearth ancient ruins when they start digging, although I suppose that would only jack the rent up even higher. ** Charalampos, HNY to you. Thank you for thanking me for the post. I’m gradually returning to my normal healthy state, I think. I’m always writing, it’s just a matter of what. I want to finish the script. That’s my goal. After that, who knows. Happy for your strawberry occasioned promising vibes, man. High five from here. ** Jeff J, Thanks for your no doubt significant part in building that post up there. I don’t actually think I’ve ever seen Solomon’s films projected. He doesn’t seem to be known much at all over here. Uh, I think I found a couple of the missing younguns and then searched further until I’d found a bunch? Here and there, in other words. No, I don’t know Ann Scott. Zac might, I’ll ask him. And I’ll look for that book. No, I haven’t seen the new Reichardt. I’ve never been 100% into her films, but maybe this one will break the ice or whatever. ** HaRpEr //, Yeah, especially these really old cases where there’s little telling physical evidence to be had and the imagination has to do the ‘dirty’ work. Portrait Artist of the Year, that’s it. I remember not knowing any of the celebrities except Nile Rogers was the poser for one episode, which seemed very odd. Oh, it’s at the ICA. That does sound very interesting and promising. Huh. Luck galore. ** Steve, My back has been doing this to me two or so times a year since I was a kid, and I’ve never figured out what triggers it. Anyway, it’s much improved as of this morning. Like I said, the pre-DNA world was capable of such richer mysteries in these situations. Benson Boone is truly the pits. He even makes YungBlud seem like Captain Beefheart. ** Right. Rock out to Julian Calendar’s new album, you guys, and I’ll do the same, and we’ll converge again on Monday, okay?