Thursday, June 25, 2009

Novi_Sad + Colin Andrew Sheffield

8:00 PM; $5 - $15 sliding scale donation at the door.

Novi_sad (Thanasis Kaproulias, b. 1980) lives and works in Athens, Greece. Influenced by the pioneers of audio assault, his artistic output displays a high level of technical ability, as well as a sensitivity to the nuances of location. Amplified environmental recordings, drone manipulations, ambient soundscapes, microtones vs overtones, all come together in a hyper structure of iconoclastic form. Every sound that occurs is treated with a sculptural integrity. His approach is similar to cinema pour l'oreille (cinema for the ear) and in turn would like to donner à voir (lead to seeing) by means of sound. Being immersed in his sonic environment offers an absolutely visceral experience, described as "a transcedent departure from the sense of space," "emotionally charged noise texturing," "haunting streams of consciousness on the edge of clinical abduction," and "thunderous deep ambient drones." Novi_sad has performed in cinemas, industrial spaces, theatres, churches, museums, galleries, squats, and in festivals like Ultrahung [Budapest, Hungary], Observatori [Valencia, Spain], Field recordings festival [Berlin, Germany], Full-Pull, [Malmö, Sweden], etc. His latest project, Sirens, is based on various methods of audio analysis to explore the aesthetics of information in sound by using quantitative and numerical data from major stock market crashes in history. Novi_sad’s audio works have been released by Sedimental [U.S], Touch [U.K], and the newest will be released on Staalplaat [NL].

Colin Andrew Sheffield (b. 1976, El Paso TX) currently focuses on the strict re-contextualization of other commercially available recordings. Using only use a turntable, a nearly 20-year-old sampler, and a portable 64-track digital workstation, his aim is to distill the essential qualities of these works and to then utilize that essence for new recordings. Usually only very brief sections of the original works are selected. These raw components are then contracted, expanded, layered, and/or otherwise processed until something new is forged. The resultant music is an atmospheric soundscape, gradually shifting and unfolding, offering subtle nuances and quiet restraint. Sheffield's recordings often seem to have much in common with ambient electronic music, though are equally akin to "plunderphonic" audio collage. In 1998 Sheffield founded the Elevator Bath recording label which has continually issued experimental works from a variety of artists from the United States and abroad. He has released a number of solo recordings since 1998, including 2005's First Thus, his debut long-player, as well as 2009's Signatures (via the Invisible Birds label).

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Harold Budd & Keith Lowe

To celebrate the release of Colorful Fortune, his first book of poems and drawings being jointly published by Heavenly Monkey Editions (Vancouver) and MoonLiner Books (Seattle), Harold Budd will play 9-foot concert grand piano in his singularly elegant style in duos with Seattle bassist/MoonLiner proprietor Keith Lowe.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Deep Listening Band

The Deep Listening Band - Pauline Oliveros (accordion, electronics), Stuart Dempster (trombone, electronics), and David Gamper (keyboards, electronics), all pioneers of new/experimental music since the 1960s - celebrates the 20th anniversary of their historic first recording in the "Cistern Chapel" at Pt. Townsend's Fort Worden with two concerts in the intimate space and gorgeous acoustics of the Good Shepherd Chapel.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Olivia Block

Chicago composer/sound artist Olivia Block presents new and recent works with an ensemble of ace local musicians, including Tiffany Lin, piano; Paul Taub, flute; Jesse Canterbury, clarinet; Lori Goldston, cello; Tari Nelson-Zagar, violin; Sarah Bass, viola; and Julia Tai, conductor. Stupid Afternoon for chamber ensemble explores the complex timbral qualities of acoustic instruments through extended techniques and carefully blended combinations between players. Untitled for piano and electronics is a loosely scored/partially improvised piece for prepared piano and electronic sounds which uses the complexity of overtones and rich timbres from low amplified piano tones.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Sarah Cahill, piano pieces for peace

Bay Area pianist Sarah Cahill performs new music selected from her commissioning project A Sweeter Music, inspired by this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King’s Nobel Lecture: "We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody that is far superior to the discords of war." Program: Terry Riley, Be Kind to One Another (Rag); Meredith Monk, Steppe Music; Frederic Rzewski, Peace Dances; Kyle Gann, War Is a Racket!; Larry Polansky, B'Midbar; Jerome Kitzke, There Is a Field; Mamoru Fujieda, The Olive Branch Speaks.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Fred Frith: Guitar Solos

Best known world-wide as an improvising guitarist, Fred Frith was co-founder of the British underground bands Henry Cow (1968-78) and Art Bears (1978-81). He moved to New York in the late 1970s and came into contact with many of the musicians with whom he’s since been associated, including John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Tom Cora, Zeena Parkins, and Bob Ostertag, and groups like Massacre (with Bill Laswell and Fred Maher), Skeleton Crew (with Tom and Zeena), John Zorn’s Naked City, and Keep the Dog. In the 1980s Fred began to write for dance, film, and theatre, and this in turn has led to his composing for Rova Sax Quartet, Ensemble Modern, Arditti Quartet, Asko Ensemble, and many other groups, including his own critically acclaimed Guitar Quartet. He is currently Professor of Composition at Mills College in Oakland, California.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Yvonne Lee, solo piano

Presented by Washington Composers Forum, Nonsequitur, and Jack Straw Productions.

Boston-based pianist and composer Yvonne Lee performs music by modern masters: Anton Webern's Variations, Opus 27; Elliott Carter's Retrouvailles and 90+; Morton Feldman's Palais de Mari; and Helmut Lachenmann's Ein Kinderspiel and Serynade. Also, Unsound Grounds by young composer Trevor Gureckis.