Nux Vomica Homepage
Nux Vomica is a Trademark of Alan Herrick and Auricular Records Who is Nux Vomica?
Nux Vomica is a sound art musical trio based in San Francisco, California. The present members of Nux Vomica have been performing together, as a unit, for the past five years. Each with a unique and active history within the experimental music field.
Nux Vomica utilize sound processing, electronics, found sounds, and aural sculpture to achieve a unique and trance like sound environment. The sounds travel from peaceful to terrifying containing elements from the ethno-influenced to industrial and create a personal soundtrack for the individual listener.
Nux Vomica members include:
Alan Herrick - Jenny Liang Herrick - Evan Sornstein
Nux Vomica has involved themselves in the recording of at least 12 releases within the US and three available on cassette labels within Italy and Sweden and the U.K. Their pieces have appeared on over 30 experimental music compilations.
They have contributed to sound tracks of films and have produced several experimental films themselves as part of their multi media performances. These performances usually include the utilization of sound and vision for the purpose of allowing the audience to drift beyond the performance space to become more involved mentally with the performance.
The current performance includes dual slide projection as well as full screen video projection designed by the members of Nux Vomica. It is a dreamscape painted before the eyes of the audience with both light and sound.
In the summer of 1995, Nux Vomica is beginning it's sixth year of sound art production as a team, in the Bay Area.
The members of Nux Vomica have been long active members in the experimental music community within San Franciso and beyond. Their body of work has included involvement in and collaborations with Concerto Infernal (A Bay Area experimental music collective), Big City Orchestre, Haters, Freeland, Voice of Eye, and Sense/Net. The members also have involved themselves in musical projects outside of Nux Vomica which include Curium, Battery, and Ultrasound and several more.
Alan Herrick and Jenny Liang Herrick have established and maintained Auricular Records since 1989. Auricular Records is a small independent music label dedicated to preservation and support, as well as distribution, of the works of world wide experimental music artists. The most notable of the Auricular Records projects would be the Auricular Audio Magazine compilations. Its 12 present volumes contain and chronicle musical pieces and the projects of experimental artists worldwide. They have been responsible for several experimental music series and soundart festivals within the Bay Area over the past 6 years. Their projects have included production of performances involving local artists as well as visiting artists from within the US and overseas.
Alan Herrick is the designer of the body of the visual presentation included within a Nux Vomica performance. These visuals include slide projection of computer generated graphics as well as manipulated imagery and original video works.
His history within the Bay Area experimental music community includes performing and recording with groups such as Santa Cruz's Big City Orchestre, Sense-Net, Concerto Infernal, Haters amongst many others.
Within Nux Vomica Jenny Liang Herrick is the curator and manipulator of found sounds as well as the primary rhythmatist. It is her delicate blending of "dry" sounds with the synthesis and soundscapes created by the other members that offers a unique and unworldy quality to their pieces.
In 1983 , Evan Sorenstein began working with electronics in the band Q.E.D., a duo with vocalist Christopher Evans. Evan continued to work on solo projects with film, and in 1985 began Stuff Bones Are Made Of with vocalist Katie McGee, and completed a 12 song album. In 1986, while attending Bennington College as an Electronic Music Major, he began scoring pieces for choreographer Eleanor Lynn and began collaborating with Shawn Brice in several performance art pieces involving music, dance, slides, film and video, and performed soundtracks for non-existing films. He continued to present solo work of several sound and video installations as well as a large scale suite for radio entitled "Wireless". He currently has 7 cassette releases on the dynamophone label. Evan is the founder of Curium design, a graphics design company as well as vehicle for music and soundart production and besides Nux Vomica is also presently involved in the band Battery as well as solo releases under the name of Curium.
Nux Vomica Discography
COMPILATIONS:
Auricular Records (USA) Auricular Monthly Audio Magazine #1 - Adrenicortico 12 - with Chemical Toybox Auricular Monthly Audio Magazine #4 - The Cats Have Come to Tea Auricular Monthly Audio Magazine #10 - Midnight in the Sprawl _________________________________________________________________
Waste Inc. (USA) Kakophonia #2 A Post Music Compilation - Hitzig's Kitchen Table _________________________________________________________________
Sound of Pig Music (USA) Northern California is a Noisy Place Indeed #3 - The Effects of a Bladder _________________________________________________________________
Plutonium Press (USA) Scrape #2 - Contaminated with Pathos ________________________________________________________________
Archaic Nightmare (USA) Archaic Nightmare Volume II - Not Peity _________________________________________________________________
Pointless Music (USA) Electricity Compilation - Ice Nine _________________________________________________________________
127 House (USA) International Benefit for Prisoners Legal News - The Forge ________________________________________________________________
Charnel House (USA) Wakened by Silence - Monism Part I _________________________________________________________________ Charnel House (USA) Wakened by Silence - Monism Part I _________________________________________________________________ Personal Soundtracks (UK) Cassettemusictwo - Passing a Stone _________________________________________________________________
Compulsory Overtime (USA) Compulsory Overtime #5 - - Kumico's Theme & - A Live Process (w/Freeland) _________________________________________________________________
Infected Productions (USA) Cybernetik Renassiance Compilation - No Field Release _________________________________________________________________
Biotope Arts Organization (Italy) Devastating Templaric Sounds #2 - Eruption in Form _________________________________________________________________
Borft (Sweden) Unlucky for Them - Kuhreihen _________________________________________________________________
Povertech Industries (USA) Accidents Have No Holidays - Palingenesis _________________________________________________________________
Psi Sex Magazine (USA) Psi Sex Magazine #4 - Word Salad Speech _________________________________________________________________
Spilling Audio (USA) Repercussion #3 - Collapsing Schemes I _________________________________________________________________
FULL LENGTH RELEASES _________________________________________________________________
Auricular Records (USA)
Nux Vomica - Augur Nux Vomica - Spindal Alpha Nux Vomica - Systematic Redux Nux Vomica - Mercurial Rite Nux Vomica - Epiphany Nux Vomica - Bythos Nux Vomica - Casting a Dream to the Sea Nux Vomica - The Tree of Alchemy Nux Vomica - 47th Proposition Nux Vomica - Metasomatism Nux Vomica/Freeland - Burning Starscapes _________________________________________________________________
Borft (Sweden) Nux Vomica - Casting a Dream to the Sea _________________________________________________________________
Biotope Arts Organization Nux Vomica - Bythos _________________________________________________________________
UBU-IBI Nux Vomica and Big City Orchestre - Tryst 6 - includes one side each of each artist _________________________________________________________________
Host-age Productions The Words and and Music of Nux Vomica _________________________________________________________________
SPECIAL PRODUCTS _________________________________________________________________
Nux Vomica - Soundtrack to the Yule Log Channel 1990 extremely limited edition in hand made box, given as gifts
Nux Vomica - Solstice 1991 extremely limited edition in hand made box, given as gifts
Nux Vomica - Tree of Alchemy extremely limited version of this release in handmade package, signed and numbered
Nux Vomica - For Every Cure There is an Ailment 3 cassette set containing first two releases and one cassette of unreleased material with original computer graphics art enclosed in vinyl box, given as gift _________________________________________________________________
FILM SOUNDTRACKS AND VISUAL WORKS: _________________________________________________________________
Eyesore: A Film by Leah Grossman Ice Nine: A Film by Francois Miron Desire: A Film by T2 Productions (appear as NU99.9X) Conditoning II: A Film by Alan Herrick Beauty and Ash: A Film by Alan Herrick Dreaming After a Fashion: A Film by Alan Herrick Answers to Odd Numbered Problems: A Film by Alan Herrick