photos by Greg Cristman

Lustmord

"Rumbles, thunderclaps and a baleful reading from the Old Testament prophet Amos -- "I will slay the last of them with my sword" -- opened the set by Lustmord on Sunday night at the Abrons Arts Center, the finale of the Unsound Festival of electronic and contemporary music and video. It was an extraordinarily rare live performance by the British musician Brian Williams, who has been recording as Lustmord since 1980 but has given only a handful of public concerts during his career, emerging for the Unsound Festival in Krakow, Poland, last year.

Lustmord has been a pioneer of what is generally called dark ambient music. It is textural rather than melodic, ultra-slow and submerged in bass and sub-bass frequencies, merging natural reverberations -- Lustmord has recorded in crypts -- with electronic ones. It opens abysses and lingers in them. When Lustmord got started it was associated with post-punk industrial music. Mr. Williams was a member in the 1980s of the Australian industrial group SPK and more recently has collaborated with the Melvins and Tool. While recording prolifically as Lustmord he has worked extensively as a sound designer in Hollywood, bringing ominous resonances to movie soundtracks."
[NY Times]

Lustmord played two Unsound Festival shows in a row, both presented by the Blackened Music Series, at the Abrons Arts Center in NYC on Sunday (4/10). Polish experimental musician Robert Piotrowicz and Void Ov Voices (aka Attila of Mayhem) also played both shows. More pictures from the late one (Lustmord's second USA show in 25 years), below...

Continue reading "Lustmord played rare US shows @ Abrons Arts Center w/ Robert Piotrowicz & Void Ov Voices (pics)"

photos by Lori Baily

An excellent show! Silver Apples was just Simeon with oscillators and synths and beats and it was incredible. -justinpaszul

Silver Apples: chillwave originators??!? -WIZARDISHUNGRY:

Oneida joining Silver Apples for "Oscillations" was the most entertaining thing I've seen since...Silver Apples joining Grails for "Silk Rd" -TRL_Mailorder

Oneida jamming with Silver Apples. Lower East Side is ready for liftoff. -MaxBurke

Silver Apples @ Abrons Arts Center

It's not every day you have the opportunity to step into the 5th dimension (and hitting up one of those smokey Chinatown mall raves that are all the rage lately doesn't count.) However, if you happened to find yourself at Brooklyn's Coco66 last night to see electronic-psych pioneers the SILVER APPLES, chances are you felt like you were visiting the other side...

Before a fawning and awe-inspired crowd, esteemed godfather of experimental electronics and surviving member of legendary psych duo Silver Apples, Simeon Coxe III greeted us with waves and smiles. And then came the oscillations we had all been waiting for! Promptly making the magic happen on his historic, eponymously named, personally devised synthesizer, The Simeon, Coxe performed a handful of Silver Apples/Contact-era favorites ("A Pox on You," "Seagreen Serenades," "Oscillations"), as well as a healthy dose of newer, nerve-perking vibrations. Transcendental, dance-inducing, and euphoric, last night's mystical Silver Apples set truly had us seeing stars. [Opening Ceremony]

That's a review of Silver Apples' show on Sunday, May 16th at Coco66. It was one of two shows for the legendary project, the other being a Friday, May 14th gig as part of the Joshua Light Show Fest at Abrons Arts Center. At that show he shared a bill (and stage for a few songs) with BK psych-rockers Oneida. Behind them, Joshua Light Show projected trippy visuals, which you can see for yourself in the pictures and videos below.

Other bands that played the four-night Joshua Light Show fest at Abrons included Dean & Britta (video below), Steve Moore (video below), Woods (NYC Taper taped it) and MV & EE (NYC Taper taped it).

Pictures and video below...

Continue reading "Silver Apples played Coco66 & the Joshua Light Fest @ Abrons Arts Center - pics & video (and live Woods recording)"

Joshua Light Show behind Yo La Tengo @ Roseland Ballroom last September

The iconic Joshua Light Show, led by multimedia artist Josh White, remains one of the most visible proponents of the psychedelic lightshow discipline popularized in the 1960s as a means to enliven the experience of live music -- an experimental cinematic medium that is also essential to the visual culture of rock. Artist and curator Nick Hallett has selected four evenings of incredible musical artists, including Silver Apples aka Simeon Coxe (who performed with the original Joshua Light Show at Bill Graham's Fillmore East on a bill with no less than The Fugs and Norman Mailer) and pioneering English electronic musician Sonic Boom and his band Spectrum, sharing an evening with Dean & Britta. Younger talent, culled mainly from Brooklyn's ultravivid music scene, rounds out this mini-festival, focusing on visionary, visual music.

Besides those bands, the four-night mini-fest at Abrons Art Center, which runs May 12th-May 15th includes MV+EE on a bill with Woods, Oneida with the aforementioned Silver Apples, and itsnotyouitsme with Steve Moore.

Tickets to all four shows are on sale.

A video of Joshua Light show at work and the schedule are below...

Continue reading "Joshua Light Show in residence - 4 NYC nights w/ Oneida, Silver Apples, Steve Moore, Dean & Britta, Woods & more "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Opsvik & Jennings - Windswept (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Opsvik & Jennings - Anchor Lane Parade (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Opsvik & Jennings - September and Starry-eyed (MP3)

Dave Douglas...

FONT (Festival of New Trumpet music) hosts Forward Flight, a four-night fest of diverse cross-genre jazz, chamber pop and classical, at Abrons Arts Center from Wednesday, January 13th to Saturday, January 16th. Last night was the opening benefit night which featured brass innovator and composer Dave Douglas, trumpeter and fest honoree Wilmer Wise and "a gathering of special surprise guests."

Tonight (1/14) Wise leads new chamber arrangements of Ornette Coleman works. Then Friday (1/15), the fest hosts an eclectic bill: chamber pop group Opsvik & Jennings pairs with electro-acoustic trumpeters Ignite a Noise Trumpet Trio (who also use iPhones, Wiimotes and more), Thrill Jockey jazz from Chicago Underground Duo (Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor, whose new album Boca Negra , just came out on the label), and folk group The Low Anthem with special appearance by Dave Douglas. Full fest passes and individual tickets are on sale.

The tracks above are from Opsvik & Jennings's latest, A Dream I Used to Remember, which came out on the Loyal labelin 2009. A stop-motion video of Low Anthem's song "Charlie Darwin" is below.

Drummer Chad Taylor and another of his groups, Circle Down (with pianist Angelica Sanchez and bassist Chris Lightcap), will be at Jazz Gallery for two sets on January 14th. Tickets are on sale. The band plays again at The Stone on January 29th.

A full schedule and videos are below...

Continue reading "FONT Music's Forward Flight Fest is underway (Dave Douglas, Opsvik & Jennings, Low Anthem, & more)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Mode Records has etched its name in the annals of music history, producing the avant-garde and modern classical music of influential composers such as John Cage, Morton Feldman, Iannis Xenakis, and Harry Partch. In its twenty-fifth year, they are hosting a six-hour benefit concert featuring very special performances by Philip Glass and John Zorn and a rare performance of John Cage's "Concert for Piano and Orchestra" with "Aria." This marathon of experimental music luminaries in the intimate Abrons Playhouse helps Mode Records to continue producing the best of New Music into the 21st century.

The Mode Records "Marathon" will happen this Saturday, November 21st at the Abrons Arts Center with a 6pm early show and a 7:30pm late show. Glass, whose opera Kepler makes its US debut at BAM this week (Nov 18, 20 & 21 at 7:30pm) (tickets are still on sale), will be at the early show only, performing solo piano work. That'll also feature a John Zorn-directed performance of his piece "Cobra." The later show will run four hours (the marathon part) and includes Respect Sextet playing music by Sun Ra and Stockhausen, John Cage's Concert for Piano and Orchestra with Aria (performed simultaneously) and The Jack Quartet with a performance of Iannis Xenakis' Tetra. Tickets are still available.

Thanks to the recession (and the other more nuanced factors we can lump in with it), the Mode concert is neither the only benefit nor the only marathon happening this week. Another benefit marathon this week (also with John Zorn) is happening at the Clemente Soto Vélez (CSV) Cultural Center (dubbed "The Suffolk" for CMJ this year) on Friday, Nov. 20th and Saturday, Nov. 21st. The beneficiaries of the 28 hour marathon are non-profit Arts For Art and the annual Vision Festival, which is going into its 15th year. Night one acts include Sex Mob, John Zorn solo, pianist Connie Crothers and her quartet, Sam Hillmer's Regattas and $KELETON$ Big Band (who are also at the Stone in December). Night two includes Milford Graves & Marshall Allen Duo and a cast of rotating musicians and groups. A full schedule is here. Tickets are on sale.

Yet another (!) benefit marathon comes from WFMU, who is currently holding a 24-hour benefit that runs until Wednesday, November 18th (today) at 7pm. More details on the fundraiser and why it's needed are below. Donate here.

A poster, the full Mode Fest lineup and relevant videos and info are posted below...

Continue reading "Mode Records benefit w/ Philip Glass (whose opera is @ BAM tonight) & John Zorn (who plays the Vision Fest marathon)"

Billy Bang, Fred Anderson, William Parker, Kidd Jordan @ Vision Festival 2008 (one_dead_president)

The annual avant-jazz blowout known as Vision Festival started Tuesday, June 9th with a set by violinist Billy Bang as his "Brass Bang" band at the Abrons Arts Center. That'll be the fest's venue for six of its seven days, through Sunday, June 14th. The final Vision gig will happen at Angel Orensanz Foundation, and will feature a closing set by bassist William Parker and his "Quartet + 2."

Attendees at the fest's Wednesday, June 10th show will get two tastes of Sun Ra saxist Marshall Allen: first in a special quintet, then leading the Sun Ra Arkestra (with guests that include Bang).

Tickets for all nights are on sale, as are VIP passes. Full Vision Festival schedule below...

Continue reading "Vision Festival is underway (June 9-15) - full 2009 schedule"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Colin Stetson - Letter to HST (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Colin Stetson - Time Is Advancing With Fitful Irregularity (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Erik Friedlander - May It Please Heaven (MP3)

Erik Friedlander

As previously mentioned, Saxophone player Colin Stetson and cellist Erik Friedlander get together for a night of music Friday, June 5th (tonight) at Abrons Art Space Recital Hall (466 Grand Street, NYC). Tickets are on sale.

The show is being put on by the Manhattan New Music Project, which works to connect new-music artists and the community "by reaching out to adult audiences through performance and recording, and to children through residencies in New York City public schools."

Credits for Friedlander include collaborating with John Zorn, Mountain Goats, Sting, Yoko Ono (on her new EP) and others. Stetson has played with the Arcade Fire, Antibalas and Bell Orchestre, and opened on tour for The National.

At the gig, Friedlander will be playing selections from his Zorn disc Volac, Book of Angels, Masada Book II. Speaking of Zorn, Erik will also be playing The Stone (where Zorn is artistic director) on Sunday, June 14th.

The above recordings are from Friedlander's 2005 Brassland album Maldoror, and Stetson's 2008 disc New History of Warfare, Vol. 1, on Aagoo Records.

Live solo videos of both performers, below...

Continue reading "Colin Stetson & Erik Friedlander - MP3s, video, a live show "

DOWNLOAD: Iron & Wine - Belated Promise Ring (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger (MP3)

Iron & Wine @ Abrons Arts Center in NYC - May 18, 2009 (Philip Pissas)

"This tour, which found Sam Beam playing the relatively intimate Abrons Arts Center on the Lower East Side, made for an odd starting point: the set list abounded with rarities, and Beam would occasionally pause mid-song if a line or chord hadn't gone as planned. The overall effect, though, was charming, and I was reminded of exactly why I'd been drawn to Beam's music from the beginning. And given just how forceful his vocal delivery was on many of the songs, it looks like my "well, maybe I won't get tickets for the show at the Bowery Ballroom/Webster Hall/etc" mindset was, in fact, completely wrong. Highlights included "The Trapeze Swinger" and "Sodom, South Georgia," both of which were searingly played and sung." [Tobias Carroll]

The NYC shows were May 17th and 18th (last night). "Around the Well", a new Iron & Wine 2-CD rarities comp, is out today via Sub Pop. You can download two of the songs for free above.

Iron & Wine's upcoming shows include the Newport Folk Festival, ATP NY, and an Other Music in-store... today (5/19). They'll also be on Jimmy Fallon tonight. All dates, and some videos from Abrons Arts Center, below...

Continue reading "Iron & Wine played Abrons Arts Center, playing Other Music & Fallon today (record release day) & other places"

Tickets will be HERE on Friday for Iron and Wine's upcoming NYC shows.

Iron and Wine @ Terminal 5 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

On May 19, 2009 Iron and Wine will issue Around the Well (Sub Pop), a 2-CD/3-LP collection of rare tracks ranging from out-of-print to never-before-released. In support of Around the Well, Iron and Wine will be performing ten intimate shows in five cities. Each individual show will be wholly unique, as Iron and Wine will turn the set list over to the fans to create.

Beginning March 6th and running thru March 30th at www.ironandwine.com, fans can vote by city and night for the songs they'd like to see performed each evening. For those who can't attend, the shows will be made available after the tour is completed, in some cases days after, on Iron and Wine's official live recording site Played Last Night. Tickets for all these shows go on sale February 20, 2009.

The tracks collected on Around the Well span from Iron and Wine's earliest sessions which yielded the band's debut (2002's The Creek Drank the Cradle) through material recorded for 2007's The Shepherd's Dog. The double-disc collection is broken up into two sections. The first half is an assortment of hushed home recordings, unedited and raw, and the second highlights moments captured in the confines of proper studios with the help of other musicians, friends and engineers.

The album's title comes from a line in the song "The Trapeze Swinger," a fan favorite which was written for and included in the movie In Good Company. Three more songs written and recorded for the film finally make their appearance here as well: "Belated Promise Ring," "God Made the Automobile" and "Homeward, These Shoes." Around the Well also brings together hard to find covers such as The Flaming Lips' "Waitin' for a Superman" and New Order's "Love Vigilantes," along with one of Iron and Wine's earliest originals, "Sacred Vision," which appeared on a compilation for Sound Collector magazine..

In addition, Iron and Wine have begun work on the follow-up to The Shepherd's Dog and plan to release a new album in spring, 2010.

Tickets for all the shows are will-call only, and some of them are starting to show up on Ticketmaster. I'm not sure though, if that's where tickets will be for the NYC shows at Abrons Arts Center on May 17th & 18th. All dates, and the new album tracklist, below...

Continue reading "Iron & Wine playing fan-driven intimate shows (dates), releasing 2-CD rarities comp on Sub Pop"