Megan Plunkett – “GOTCHA” – Do rather like this, it isn;t as obvious as you might think it is going to be, well worth spending some time with –   “Emalin Gallery is pleased to launch the first of an ongoing series of mixtapes inviting artists and friends of the gallery to publish a compilation of songs that hold meaning or relevance to them”. The first mixtape is GOTCHA by American artist Megan Plunkett, available to listen to here

“Leo and Angelina asked me to write a bit about my mixtape, which is turning out to be harder than I imagined. I will say that I am flattered/honored/excited to be the first. In some ways music is a part of my practice, although I don’t “make” it, unless you count the time I was asked to do a sound-based performance where I just played a bunch of harsh noise while simultaneously playing a recording of dogs barking even louder on top (it was called Woof Eyes and was unanimously hated). I often steal misheard lyrics and titles for my own works and shows. In 2017, when I was preparing in Los Angeles for my first show with Leo and Angie, I made a playlist to help bring a form to the tone I was trying to find with that work, a way of trying to define a feeling that made intuitive sense for me and the work (an old studio habit I still rely on).

I was a bit surprised at how strong my pull was to include so many anarcho-punk songs, although I don’t know why considering it has historically taken up a lot of my airtime. Speaking of surprises, I didn’t have “being quarantined” on my 2020 bingo card either but here we are!

The band Mommy advocates, in part, for not having children — think about it! I like to dance to “The Crusher” by The Novas, a lot of opportunity there.

As for the image I chose: like many greats before me, including Pee Wee – who my mom could have dated in high school but didn’t – I keep a pair of binoculars at home because you never know.

Leo asked me if I thought there was a part that might be “too intense”, to which I agreed, although we quickly realized that we had differing ideas about what our “intense” parts were. For me, it was the existential TKO of Iggy Pop’s “Mass Production” and Swans’ “Failure”. I won’t spoil what Leo’s was and will let everyone guess (but, hint: its probably around where you think it is!)

I’ll sign off looking forward to my second edition, hopefully something with a little more sun, maybe even a visit to the country, but like I said before, here we are.”

– Megan Plunkett, April 2020

Emalin Gallery