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Daniil Kharms (1905-1942) was a Russian writer, poet, and playwright who composed short stories, poems, epigrams, plays, and children’s books. Kharms’ biography may actually seem like one of his stories; rather absurd and filled with terror. In the brief thirty-six years of his life, he was persecuted by the Soviet government and his adult works barely saw publication. His greatness and significance were only discovered in the 1960s, two decades after his death. Kharms was born under the name Daniil Yuvatchov. He invented the assumed name Kharms while still at school after he toyed with various options: Charms (“charm”) Harm (“harm”) etc. In the 1930s Kharms was no longer able to get his adult works published and was forced to focus on children’s magazines only. Nevertheless, he continued writing. It seems that this literary genre was perfect for describing the hardships and senseless day-to-day life in Communist Russia. Toward the end of the 1930s, Kharms stopped publishing children’s literature almost entirely and he and his wife were on the brink of starvation. In 1941, he was arrested again after supposedly speaking out against the conscription to WWII. To avoid death sentence, Kharms feigned madness and, as a result, died of starvation in a psychiatric asylum in 1942.

In his first album as a composer, Adam Chen еxplores the connection between 20th century absurdity and 21st century reality. It turns out that Kharms' texts are more relevant than ever.