Steve Roden, pioneer of 'lower case music', dies at 59

Steve Roden, an influential American sound artist celebrated for his role in developing 'lower case music', has passed away. Throughout his career, he released over a dozen albums and engaged in various exhibitions and performances. His artistic approach included field recordings of serene environments or moving objects, transformed through low-fi technology into what he termed 'possible landscapes'. Inspired by John Cage, Roden dedicated a year to privately performing Cage's silent piece 4'33 once each day. He also drew inspiration from Walter Benjamin, particularly his notebooks' aesthetic and the use of graphic, color-coded 'theme symbols', which shaped more than ten years of Roden's works. In 2010, the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena showcased a 20-year retrospective titled 'Steve Roden / In Between'. His art was exhibited worldwide, including solo shows at venues such as the Creative Media Center in Hong Kong, Pomona College Museum of Art, and the Chinati Foundation.