Randall Dunn and Charmaine Lee, photographed by Ebru Yildiz.
This fall, Blank Forms will open its new home on the sixth floor of 151 Lafayette Street in SoHo. The move to Manhattan is a major milestone that affords numerous opportunities. While our programming will remain faithfully dedicated to the artists and audiences who defined the organization’s first decade, we also have an exciting chance to expand our reach. In that vein, we are excited to announce that Kou Records will come aboard as our founding affiliate-in-residence, curating monthly live events throughout the season at Blank Forms’ new space.
Kou Records, which takes its name from the Chinese word for “mouth,” is dedicated to artists who have developed singular musical languages. Founded in 2024 by Charmaine Lee and co-directed by Randall Dunn, who also serves as Head Producer, Kou has built an intergenerational roster of artists, issuing records from contemporary luminaries including Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney, David Torn, and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, alongside a new generation of artists whose practices are no less formidable. Every Kou release is made in the studio in close collaboration with artists whose practices are rooted in performance and presence, treating the studio itself as a creative instrument.
Alongside their work as a label, Kou has been curating live events at various venues around the country. Now, these events will have a permanent home at Blank Forms, bringing together two havens of creative and experimental music. To support this new chapter, Kou has established Kou Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to the programming and curatorial work that will unfold at 151 Lafayette.
Learn more and see upcoming events at Kou’s website.
