Eternal/Return is a project that combines a non-specific recording label, a radio stream, and, eventually a print publication dedicated to music.
Becoming originally started as Crossdressing Diogenes, a record label and fanzine for rave culture in Cyprus, which kept growing until it outgrew its own capacity, at which point it was all melted down, and reforged into Becoming.
We wanted to initiate a project that bridged the gap between the creative and critical sides of music, which are very often separated. The triad of Radio, Magazine and Label allows us to pursue our vision of how music could be handled, to release music critically. There need be no separation between music production and critical awareness of how music exists today, its entanglements in capitalism, its role in distraction, and its ability to control populations through identity.
Swerve Magazine (a.k.a παρέκκλιση) follows on from what Becoming established in its earlier years. After rolling out some prototypal prints, Becoming developed an online platform that provided a virtual space for all sorts of editorials and publications, including articles, essays, interviews and more. It was in this period that the editorial line of Becoming was developed towards its current position, as many topics could be explored easily. This platform continued to grow like a tree, until, like a ripe fruit, the first book of Becoming, fell from its branches. It was here that Becoming transformed into a publishing house. Now, after several further convolutions, we decided to bring that platform back, by dedicating an online magazine to it, which granted editorial space to the books, the label and the films. Everything under Becoming is intertwined, but Swerve acts as the undercurrents of it all, a free and accessible ground upon which we can communally develop Becoming’s editorial spiral.
The project’s name, in both the English (swerve) and the Greek (Parekklisi) refers to the work of the Mytho-Poetic great, Lucretius.
*coming soon* is the result of an unexpected turn whilst we were primarily operating as an online publishing platform. We had never imagined that people would ask us about hosting films; but they did. We began hosting and publishing films before our first book came out, and we have slowly been adding things to the playlist over time.
When Becoming split into several domains, we were left with a question about what to do with these films: was it enough to simply hold them online in a “screening room”? We spoke with the filmmakers and a new idea came about, that we would set aside some energy and develop a platform that would become a machine that we could use to simply take a deeper interest in the future of internet film and video art.
The platform is currently still under development, and we are in the process of bringing together some writing that will inaugerate the platform. For now, you can view the films we are hosting on our vimeo.