Lonnie Holley: Just Before Music
A visionary debut of improvised soundscapes from one of America’s most original artists.
Description
Just Before Music introduces the world to Lonnie Holley’s boundless sonic imagination. Recorded in 2012, this album marked the first time Dust-to-Digital brought an artist into a recording studio. Holley’s music is entirely improvised—layers of keyboards and voice unfolding in real time into meditations on history, struggle, and survival. Fans of Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, and outsider visionaries will find an American original here, hailing from Birmingham, Alabama.
What’s Included
- 7 tracks: extended improvisations, recorded and produced in 2012
- View the complete tracklist here: [Insert hosted PDF link]
- 20-page illustrated booklet (PDF) featuring:
- Complete lyric transcriptions
- Holley’s original artwork and visual pieces
About the Artist
Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1950, Lonnie Holley is a self-taught visual artist, sculptor, and musician whose work is rooted in improvisation and transformation. His found-object sculptures are celebrated in museums worldwide, while his music channels the same restless creativity—songs built in the moment, never performed the same way twice. With Just Before Music, Holley expands his practice into sound, delivering a debut that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Praise & Reviews
“A pair of mesmerizing records.”
— Pitchfork, The Out Door feature (on Just Before Music and its follow-up).
“One of the 101 strangest records on Spotify… improvised songs that feel raw, searching, and otherworldly.”
— Andy Beta, The Guardian.
“From awe-inspiring curators Dust-to-Digital… a video for Holley’s ‘All Rendered Truth’ that hints at the album’s uncompromising spirit.”
— The FADER.
Dust-to-Digital later released Keeping a Record of It (2013), Holley’s second album, which featured collaborations with Bradford Cox (Deerhunter/Atlas Sound) and Cole Alexander (Black Lips).
