by Andrew Frisicano

Tonight (7/6) is the first of three chances you'll have to check out Noveller, the guitar-based soundscapes project of Sarah Lipstate, over the next two weeks. The show is at Public Assembly, where she's on a bill with JACK Quartet (who've been playing around town quite a bit, including a set at the BoaC marathon) and Zs (performing as a trio). After that, Noveller plays Thursday at Coco 66 and next Tuesday (7/15) at Shea Stadiumwith Zs-related Diamond Terrifier (video below).

Noveller recently released a new record, Glacial Glow, which you can hear-- along with the rest of the Noveller catalog--on Bandcamp. The disc takes a different approach than 2010's stellar Desert Fires, swapping its broad, meaty textures for a more spare, melodic sound. That same approach carries over into Matt Kleiner's video for new song "Alone Star," which captures the urban landscapes of Sydney and Melbourne in stark black & white. That video and all tour dares are below....

Continue reading "Noveller released 'Glacial Glow' (stream), playing shows (dates at Public Assembly, Coco66 & Shea Stadium)"

by Andrew Frisicano

IX. 17 - Study for Terretektorh (distribution of musicians), 1965

Iannis Xenakis: Composer, Architect, Visionary will explore the fundamental role of drawing in the work of Greek avant-garde composer Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001). A leading figure in twentieth century music, Xenakis was trained as a civil engineer, then became an architect and developed revolutionary designs while working with Le Corbusier. Comprised of nearly 100 documents created between 1953 and 1984, this will be the first North American exhibition dedicated to Xenakis's original works on paper. Included will be rarely-seen hand-rendered scores, architectural drawings, conceptual renderings, pre-compositional sketches, and graphic scores. Iannis Xenakis: Composer, Architect, Visionary is co-curated by Xenakis scholar Sharon Kanach and critic Carey Lovelace and will travel to the Canadian Centre for Architecture (June 17 - October 17, 2010) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (November 7, 2010 - February 13, 2011).

The show is currently at the NYC Drawing Center through April 8th. That picture above is a diagram for an 88-member orchestra scattered among its audience (aka the squiggly lines). More works on display are below.

There are also concerts and events to go along with exhibit. JACK Quartet, who put out a CD and DVD of Xenakis's string quartets last May, already played in conjunction with showing earlier this month (videos from their DVD are below). JACK do have shows coming up, but those are mainly comprised of new material; they play March 3rd at Merkin Concert Hall. Their upcoming schedule also includes the Look & Listen Festival 2010 (coming up May 7th-9th); So Percussion are on the bill for that too, playing music by Morton Feldman, John Cage, and their own Jason Treuting (So Percussion are also at Carnegie Hall this March). Advance tickets for Look & Listen are available by phone.

If you'd like to learn more about the Xenakis show, co-curators Sharon Kanach and Carey Lovelace, who both worked with the composer, discussed the show with Art International Radio - that's streaming.

More drawings, videos, and Drawing Center info and events are below...

Continue reading "(avant-garde composer) Iannis Xenakis exhibit at Drawing Center + related shows (JACK Quartet, So Percussion, more)"

Doveman @ LPR in June (more by Fresh Bread)

Miller Theatre joins forces with the Wordless Music series to present a week of specially curated concerts highlighting the best of each organization's aesthetic and mission. For five nights, indie-rock and electronic-music performers share the stage with artists from the classical- and new-music world, for a week of unorthodox and unconventional musical meetings.

Of those five nights, four lineups at Columbia University's Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th Street) have been confirmed. Those will take place as follows...

Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The 802 Tour:
Nico Muhly + Sam Amidon + Doveman

Thursday, September 10, 2009
Do Make Say Think
Charles Spearin's "The Happiness Project"

Friday, September 11, 2009
Tim Hecker
Grouper
Julianna Barwick

Saturday, September 12, 2009
Dan Bejar (Destroyer)
Loscil
JACK Quartet

Ticket information HERE.

Those concerts are an addition to Wordless's upcoming schedule, which currently includes the Alarm Will Sound show tonight (July 22nd) at LPR, the Liquid Liquid & Rhys Chatham "200 Electric Guitars" performance on August 8th at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center, and the Warp20 NYC series in early September.

The original "802 Tour" (the Doveman date above) took place in 2008. No word on whether they are actually going on tour again, or if this is just a one-off date with the same name.

Do Make Say Think and The Happiness Project also have a bunch of other tour dates scheduled, including two other NYC shows. Grouper is also playing ATP NY. Destroyer is going on a very short tour at the end of July that brings Dan Bejar to Bowery Ballroom on the 30th. All dates and a video from Doveman's June 18th show at LPR, below...

Continue reading "'Wordless Music' @ Miller Theatre w/ Doveman, Grouper & Destroyer ++ other tour dates"