Rare William S Burroughs and Brion Gysin recordings to be released

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By ( Prog ) published

Influential beat novelist and experimental artist go head to head on new vinyl

William S Burroughs and Brion Gysin in black and white
(Image credit: Press)

A selection of rare recordings made by William S Burroughs and Brion Gysin are to be released on vinyl on April 16 via Cold Spring. The album, William S Burroughs & Brion Gysin, comprises live readings in Liverpool in 1982, performances by Gysin of a selection of hispoems, plus home recordings made by them both in Paris in 1970. 

All recordings are taken from original tapes in the British Library collection and are officially licensed from the British Library, the Estate of William S. Burroughs and the Estate of Brion Gysin. 

Burroughs is best known for his novels The Soft Machine and Naked Lunch – the former inspired the band of the same name and Steely Dan took their name from the latter. Burroughs and Gysin popularised the cut-up literary technique that later inspired artists from David Bowie to Throbbing Gristle’s Genesis P-Orridge.