Steve Roden
Twenty-four seven-inch records trace a personal route through African funk, garage psychedelia, soul and traditional music, with worn grooves and unexpected affinities giving distant recordings an intimate scale.
Listen to the mix
The creator, Steve Roden (27 April 1964–6 September 2023), was an American visual and sound artist from Los Angeles, whose body of work spanned painting, drawing, sculpture, film/video, sound installation, and performance. Over more than a decade, Roden released numerous records on notable labels like Line, 12k, Fällt, Korm Plastics, and others. His creative process often involved using specific notations (words, musical scores, maps, etc.) as starting points, which he then translated through his own inventive systems into scores that shaped his paintings, drawings, sculptures, and sound compositions.
Records from his own collection
STM 049 is a priceless music selection that connects 24 vinyl (7″) records from the 1960s to the 1980s. It is a magical and slightly kaleidoscopic journey through time and cultures, featuring expressive tracks from 15 diverse and often distant regions like Thailand, Ethiopia, Angola, Malaysia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Turkey. The music holds a special place in Steve’s personal life, as he explained, “this set is a selection of some of my favorites: records I would play for you if you visited my home.”
This mix is a meticulously curated and invigorating compilation, brimming with the rich essence of ethnographic music, ’60s garage psych, African funk, ’70s soul, and beyond. It is anchored by powerful elements like rhythmic groove, resonant guitar, syncopation, funk, and a strong undercurrent of melancholy. The occasional soothing surface noise adds warmth, conveying the love and life imbued in records played countless times. Steve’s selection would enrich any passionate music lover’s collection with beautiful, timeless recordings.
Records and connections
STM 049 evokes the mystery of Richard Pousette-Dart’s abstract painting, Bird in the Wind, where archaic fragments and entrancing symbols intertwine to narrate a story of life’s discoveries, meaning, and the beauty of our world.
Remembering Steve Roden
Justinas / S13 / 12 October 2026
Steve Roden’s passing on September 6, 2023, leaves a deep void in the realms of art and music, where his presence will be profoundly missed.
This 2012 mix carries a particularly personal part of that legacy: records from his own collection, offered with the warmth of an invitation to his home. The music ranges far beyond the quietness commonly associated with his own recordings. Surface noise, rhythm and song all belong to the same attentive listening.
That breadth is also visible in the performance pictured here. At Human Resources in 2012, Roden was performing with his father’s guitar for the first time. Returning to this contribution in 2026, his willingness to let familiar materials open new possibilities feels as important as any stylistic label.
Steve left an indelible impression on me. He gave me his book, I Listen to the Wind That Obliterates My Traces. His way of sharing music felt like another language, and this selection, drawn from his own collection, carries that same sense of sharing.
Sources and image credits
- Steve Roden — archival performance photograph. Digitally restored.
- Steve Roden, Pasadena, CA, 2009. Photo: Wayne Shimabukuro. Digitally restored.
- Original release artwork: El Rego — El Rego Et Ses Commandos.
- Original release artwork: Detroit Emeralds — You Want It, You Got It.
- Original release artwork: STEVE RODEN — Forms of Paper (remastered).
- Original release artwork: STEVE RODEN — Proximities.
- Life dates: Steve Roden obituary.
- Institutional remembrance: Otis College — Steve Roden.
- Steve Roden performing at Human Resources, Los Angeles, 2012. Photo: Robert Crouch. Sound Propositions. Robert Crouch / Sound Propositions.
- Steve Roden’s book and collection: Dust-to-Digital — official release.
