Art Basel Music: Dark Night of the Soul Reception at OHWOW Tonight

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You can't buy it anymore, so don't even bother trying. Not only has EMI Records prevented it from being officially released to the public, but a site-specific offering of book and (blank) CD-R sold out before the grouchy label heads could even sic their mouthpieces on the culprits. And while there does appear to be a poster and CD-R still available for purchase, clicking the link leads nowhere.

That means you've gotta take to the Internets, where its audio has been streamed for MP3 on NPR and its visual can only elusively be Googled up and witnessed. But no speaker, regardless of its performance capacity, and no screen, no matter how highly defined, can even come close to the sheer thrill of hearing and seeing this great good thing up close and personal. 

And what is this of which I speak? Why Dark Night of the Soul, of course. The metaphysical collaboration between Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse and David Lynch. 

No, that is not a typo. Danger Mouse, who broke big with the precedent-setting mash-up The Grey Album and broke bigger with Gnarls Barkley, has teamed up with Sparklehorse, a "band" led by singer/multi-instrumenalist Mark Linkous, to create an LP so utterly beguiling it could cause the whole world to stop in its tracks and listen. And if the whole world stopped, everybody would witness the accompanying imagery from no less a visualist than David Lynch, who's never been anything short of utterly sublime.

Indeed the photographs that Lynch provided for the project evoke a surreality so stunning the 5000 books the group unleashed upon its release have now become most hallowed collectibles. That leaves you no choice but to head over to OHWOW this Basel and see what the deep, dark fuss is all about. 

What you will find should transport you to an ethereal plane, where whispers seep beneath the skin and dreams steep deep into the heart of secrets best shared by those who speak in hieroglyphs. In other words there are no words, and once you see it you'll still never believe it. 

How can you dare not go? 

Dark Night of the Soul opening reception. Wednesday, December 2. O.H.W.O.W., 3100 NW 7th Ave., Miami. Event runs from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., admission is free. 305-633-9345; oh-wow.com/upcoming/dnots