Dorothy Carter “Why would you want to own all of this stuff? Doesn´t it burden you?”

Heldinnen-Installation (von Danielle de Picciotto, 1995)
Thomas Venker, the publisher of Kaput Magazin, invited me to do a series of interviews with impressive female artists after reading various posts I had written on Facebook about women I admire. I am an interdisciplinary musician /artist myself and I know very well how, even today women struggle to be recognized or taken seriously in any area of life and whenever I checked I was always astonished at how few articles or interviews can be found featuring contemporary female musicians and artists. So I agreed to send him monthly interviews in German and English although it was to be pro- bono and a lot of work.
Although art is much more than just entertainment or a sales pitch, I often think that sitting alone in your studio working on a song or painting is a little to self-centered and feel I should be doing more for my community. This then was my way of supporting the amazing international female community I have met over the years. and have done about 85 interviews of which every single one has been rewarding. The honesty, courage and dedication of each woman is so impressive, that it helps me to continue walking my own stony path with joy in my heart. I would like to thank every single interviewed woman and the many others I have not yet met or managed to speak to. You have given me so much!
Because of this I think it is time that I speak about the musician that was the greatest inspiration of all to me: Dorothy Carter.

Dorothy Carter mit Alexander Hacke in der Galerie Das Institut von Danielle, gesponsert von Dimitri Hegemann (Tresor) (Foto: Pico Risto)
Dorothy was born in NYC in 1935 and started playing piano when she was six. She grew up in an old manor with her stepmother and a huge amount of books which she devoured, mainly out of boredom. After studying music at Bard College, The London Royal Academy and the Guildhall School of Music she set off to live a life of wild adventure.
I met Dorothy in the mid 90ies in the legendary Berlin bar Exn Pop, a favorite dive of the Bad Sees, Depeche Mode (if they were in town), Einstürzende Neubauten (whose members also worked behind the bar), and any other musical existentialist dressed in black. Dorothy in comparison was dressed in cotton dresses with floral patterns, wispy shawls and was about 30 years older than most there. Inspite of being a tiny, blond little lady with wrinkles she garnered respect from this wild lot almost immediately. I remember vividly the first time she walked over to the small stage, unpacked a huge suitcase full of antic instruments and started performing. Her music was not the usual early industrial music that poured out of the battered loudspeakers or the popular experimental Australian ballads. Originally, in the early 70ies she had started collaborating in a hippy commune in Maine. Later on she would tell me how everybody would pitch in together finding food, making baskets to sell and remake old children’s clothes into new ones for the children. She herself was mother of two. She enjoyed the quiet life for a couple of years, founding the Central Maine Power Music Company (CMPMC), with new age/minimalist luminaries such as Constance Demby and Robert Rutman, who would remain a lifelong friend, learning and performing ancient folk songs and traditionals.
Dorothy Carter mit Bob Rutman vor seinen Gemälden in der von Danielle betriebenen Galerie Das Institut (Foto Danielle de Picciotto)
But Dorothy discovered she had wild side when she met an anarchistic priest and left everything to go off an live with him in a monastary in Mexico. When she spoke about that time her eyes shone and she would ruminate about the religious rituals she experienced there, wrapping her into an obssessive spell she only fell out of when the priest was excommunicated for his unusual interpretation of Christianity. Mystesicem, folklore and fairy tales fascinated her for the rest of her life and when she moved into my Berlin appartment, which we shared for over two years at the end of the 90ies, I could hear her hammering away on her old typwriter, putting together a collection of recepies, old lore and stories about her unusual instruments.
Dorothy played the zither, hurdy-gurdy, psalterie, Irish harp and her favorite instrument: the dulcimer. She once mentioned a student of hers, specializing in ancient traditional instruments, had died of aids, and left her all his instruments, hoping she would appreciate them as much as he had. “It was a heavenly sign that these instruments were placed into my lap and I have been learning and playing them ever since” she mused, whilst checking her kambucha mushroom in our kitchen. Dorothy was the most eclectic mixture of mystic hippie, zen rebel and talented musician I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. On one hand she would sing in a beautiful whispy soprano, filled with magic and charisma; always spoke in a polite quiet voice and was very interested in natural remidies against rhumatism and a cough she was plagued by. On the otherhand she could outdrink any of the underground extremists, puffing on huge joints whilst sipping wine or whiskey. She was completely fearless and had no interest whatsoever in worldly belongings. After she had moved into my appartment, she would stand infront of my book shelf or paintings and ask wonderingly “Why would you want to own all of this stuff? Doesn´t it burden you?”

Foto Pico Risto
The only belongings that Dorothy owned in her ten years of Berlin was a battered suitcase full of instruments, and two shawls and three simple dresses. She was just not interested in owning anything else.
After leaving the monestary in Mexico she moved to New York City collaborating with Bob Rutman in his Galery “ A Bird Can Fly But a Fly Can´t Bird” until once again she became restless and joined a Mississippi Steamboat, working as the ships boy until it sank. Later on she would tell me that there was nothing creative about the job but she loved the constant traveling.
Bob Rutman heard about her predicament and contacted her from Berlin where he had located to saying “what the hell are you doing? Come and visit me in Berlin and we can record music together”. She did and that was when I met her at the Ex n Pop and we became friends and later roommates.
Inspite of her age Doroth was active and curious, she was always busy. Together with Bob they usually had a group of musicians half their age hanging out in their factory loft or having free drinks in most of the bars in Berlin. Everbody loved and admired them. Alexander Hacke, of Einstürzende Neubauten, then introduced Dorothy to Katherine Blake from London. He respected and admired both women for their dedication & love of ancient madrigals. They clicked and immediately started brainstorming. Not much later a classical version of the Spice Girls was founded: The Mideavil Babes.
At the beginning Dorothy would sit on a little stool, in the middle of a half circle of thirteen incredibly beautiful women, and play her instruments. This mixture of gorgeous women and Dorothy´s instruments was an instant hit and the band toured the world, was signed by Virgin Records and John Cale produced their third record, the last one Dorothy participated on. During these exciting years Dorothy was either heading off to tour with the girls or packing her bags to busk in Italy. She loved busking..”It’s the best way to meet really interesting people, its not expensive and you never know where you will end up next”. Bear in mind she was in her mid sixties all the while and still roaring for adventure…

Dorothy mit Bob Rutman am Steelcello und Moritz Wolpert an den Drums (Photo: Pico Risto)
But inspite of the success and excitement there was one thing in Dorothys life that grew to irritate her more and more. She had been trying to get her solo albums released for decades. Her 1976 album Troubadour had recived only small recognition and her 1978s recording Wailee Waille had not been released at all. She had made a couple of promo tape recordings of her songs and set out regularily, trying to find a lable, but everytime she came home after she was more despondant than before.. “They all say I am too old”, she would sadly whisper, wiping her brow with a tired hand. “What does it matter what age I am if the music is good”?
I felt terrible for her but there was not much I could do. Those were times before crowdfunding or social media. DIY productions only entailed cassette tapes and even that was expensive, besides Dorothy wanted a proper release and PR.
On top of everythiing else Virgin started putting more emphasis on Mediavel Babes pretty girls and Dorothy felt neglected and ignored. Her depressions beame worse and she would stay at home in her nightgown trying to figure out what to do until one day she announced she was moving to New Orleans to be closer to her beloved grandchild. Within weeks she was gone. The last time I saw her was in London where she had just signed papers saying she had quit the Babes, at Camdon Markert, where we had a coffee together and I gave her a purple shawl as a going away present.
She loved being back in the states and spoke about the huge factory loft she had found and that she was recording music again. She had always loved Mardi Gras and Alexander Hacke often quoted her saying ”I am just a little old lady from New Orleans and I play that plinketyy plonk music. I parade on Mardi Gras and throw my bra into the crowd. What more can you want from life?”

Dorothy mit der Schauspielerin Dorothea Gädecke (Foto: Danielle de Picciotto)
I missed her terribly after she was gone and then heard that she had suddenly died a couple of years later in 2003. The fact that her music still had not been released bothered me for decades after. I understood her rage. What does the age of a musian have to do with the quality of her work? Ageism is one of the last discriminations that still has not been resolved and one, that needs to be faced head on.Especially nowadays, where many live to be 80, 90 or even 100 years old, being written off as irrelevant at 60 just does not make sense. Artists are a curious, cheeky bunch that never stop experimenting, researching or making their visions come true unti they keel over dead and their work should be taken as seriously as that of a twenty year old. Even more so as they are the ones that have proven dedication and perseverance. From the thousands of twenty year olds I have seen and heard claiming that they will go on following the artistic life forever only a handful remain in the end. Dorothy was one of them.
But her story was not over.
Imagine my surprise when in 2022 I was contacted by Putojefe Records and they told me that they were releasing “Waile Waile” together with Palto Records and if I could write something for the booklet. Nineteen years after her death her recordings had been found in Bob Rutmans apartment and her dream was coming true! What a wonderful ending to the open story of a women so charismatic she touched all she met. In 2024 her album Toubadour was released by Drag City and I could hear Dorothys voice rejoicing in the heavens.
It feels as if there is some kind of justice in this universe after all and I would like to recommend you listening to her albums. Even if you prefer techno, metal or electronic music there is a good chance that her songs will touch you as deeply as it did me. I´d like to thank her for being such a wild and independent female inspiration and teaching me to live minimally, never compromise and always be ready for an adventure.
Her songs has never left my heart.

Interview mit Dorthy für die Ausstellung “Heldinnen”