Tellus’ next to last audio cassette was numbered issue 26, released in 1992 and titled Jewel Box. It is a survey of eight artists-in-residence in the Harvestworks program and was recorded at New York’s Studio PASS. The nine tracks are well conceived soundworks from the early 90s. The represented artists are all female, which I believe in itself made it a unusual collection for its time.

The album has a high variety of sound experiences. Anne LeBaron ’s two blue harp studies start and end the anthology. Bun Ling Lam’s “EO-9066″ is a elegy to the Japanese internment victims of World War II. At 15 minutes it is the longest of the pieces and one of the more interesting, although bleak, entries. Fascinating spoken text pieces include Laetitia Sonami’s “Story Road”, Sapphire’s “Boys Love Baseball” and Michelle Kinne’s “Coordinated Universal Time”. Mary Ellen Child’s “Ruler Etude” is totally played on a…what else?…ruler. I was es[ecially thrilled with “Smell”, a collaboration between Catherine Jauniaux and Ikue Mori which weaves an exotic spell between Jauniaux’s voice and Mori’s creative percussion. But the star attraction has to be “Navai”, an exquisitely beautiful accappela piece by Sussan Deihim. This is one of the better outings from Tellus and is available in 160kbps Mp3 format.

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