Mudboy ( Raphael Lyon) is an American experimental musician and artist from
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
.
Career
Mudboy began recording experimental noise and electronic organ music in 2000 while a resident of
Fort Thunder and continues to do so today. Over twenty albums have been released on a variety of labels since then. His compositions have been related to early
minimalists such as
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...
, though he has identified
dub music
Dub is a musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p.&nb ...
as an important influence in interviews.
As an installation artist, Mudboy builds mysterious landscapes that hearken back to the ambient noise-filled landscapes which fill his music. A residency at the art and book store in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
"Family" produced "a large-scale, touch-sensitive, dark-activated, 3-dimensional, 6-oscillator spellcasting diorama and crystal cave. This installation is a meditation on the potential of fractal topography, fungal biota, and the productive necessity of decay." Other installations in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
,
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and Providence also use darkness, micro LED lights, kaleidoscopic mirrors, fog machines and organic cardboard creations to create illusions. He is represented by The Mountain Fold Gallery in New York City.
The following is an excerpt from his artist statement: "My own intellectual affinity is with a time when the role of the artist, the priest and the doctor were not separated by contemporary conventions of specialization. Indeed, the operative metaphor for my work is derived from occult histories of magic and spellcasting, and from variations on the shamanic tradition. I lean heavily on the theoretical writings of authors like Ursula Le Guin and Philip K. Dick, both of whom argue that the production of "fantasy" and "miracle" is a critical, anti-fascist, and ultimately utopian occupation. It is wonder then, that I use my work to create"
References
External links
Mudboyofficial website
Raphael Lyon'sofficial website
{{Authority control
Musicians from Rhode Island
American experimental musicians