Thursday, April 22, 2010

Catharsis



Catharsis is an anarchist collective bent on the total liberation of ourselves and our world through creative self-expression and self-determination, the annihilation of capitalism, hierarchy, morality, ideology, and human misery in all its other forms, and--above all--the transformation of life into a joyous, carefree game, to be played for the highest of stakes. We release all our music ourselves and distribute it exclusively through a network of friends and colleagues. We organize all our performances ourselves or through friends, working to establish a cooperative network of autonomous individuals rather than relying on and thus reinforcing the chains of corporate control that presently constrict the arts in particular and modern human relations in general. We refuse to compromise with these assembled forces of selfishness, apathy, and violence, and insist that every day of our lives be an adventure unfettered by external controls or internal inhibitions. So can you. We struggle for a day when art will no longer be just another commodity to be exchanged for other sterile consumer goods, when both the means of production and all the products therefor will be shared openly so that everyone will be free to be an artist and live based on the pursuit of desire rather than ever-increasing standards of mere survival. In the meantime, we do what we can to lead lives outside this merciless system of domination and exploitation as we plot its downfall, and hold in revolted disdain all those who apparently believe it is enough just to sell things and go through the motions of traditions long dead and dry (and thus hostile to all living things). Real life involves more than a beating heart and a functioning liver, of course. It is something that must be chosen, chased, created by those who would find it. Yes, we are idealists, hopeless romantics (both hopeless and romantic), but this idealism enables us to act while others are paralyzed by their despair, by "realism" and jaded cynicism. We think we do better to cast our lot with the quixotic madmen, the poets of revolution and absurdity, whatever the odds of success or survival may be. This is a statement of purpose, and all such statements oversimplify, as do declarations and expressions of every kind: but the important thing is to speak, to act, to do something, and let the consequences sort themselves out. So if we live, let's live to tread on kings, to break our bodies and our hearts to keep ahead of death, to dance right through our lives.

1995 – Catharsis (EP)
1997 – Catharsis & Gehenna (Split)
1997 – Samsara
1999 – Catharsis & Newspeak (Split)
1999 – Passion
2001 – Catharsis & Newborn (Split)

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