photos by David Andrako

Ecstatic Music Festival Day 3 -- 02/08/12

The 2012 Ecstatic Music Festival, which hosted Sxip Shirey and friends one night earlier, continued at Merkin Hall last night with performances by Richard Reed Parry (of the Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre), Son Lux (aka Ryan Lott), and yMusic, along with special guests Bryce and Aaron Dessner (of the National). As advertised, this happened:

"[Richard Reed Parry] takes on the role of composer, presenting a series of works for yMusic and its members utilizing the organic processes of the human body -- heartbeats and breathing -- to articulate the works' progress. Son Lux will likewise have his yMusic compositions (from their debut album, Beautiful Mechanical) performed, and will also present new arrangements from his album We Are Rising ("shamefully good," Seattle Post-Intelligencer), which used yMusic as source material for its electronic compositions. Parry and Lott will also each write new works that incorporate each other into the process, as vocalists, instrumentalists, or even as providers of source material for the new compositions.

It was also "A New Sounds Live Presentation Hosted by WNYC's John Schaefer" which means it was streamed live and will be archived online if you mised it. and there are pictures in this post.

This Will Destroy You play the Ecstatic show tonight (2/9), or more specifically:

"The unique, "brilliant" (Boston Globe), self-conducted string orchestra A Far Cry joins forces with post-rock powerhouse This Will Destroy You and renowned composer Christopher Tignor, with his band, Slow Six, for an evening of music that is large-scale in every sense."

Tickets are still on sale.

Pictures from last night with a video that was made before the show, below...

Continue reading "Richard Reed Parry, Son Lux, yMusic & Dessners got 'Ecstatic' @ Merkin Concert Hall (pics) "

yMusic at Castle Clinton in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Six-piece ensemble yMusic released their debut LP this past September, Beautiful Mechanical, with compositions by Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond (whose new album yMusic played on), Annie Clark, Son Lux, and others. They'll celebrate the album with a record release show in NYC on Sunday (12/4) at Rockwood Music Hall. Tickets are on sale now.

They'll perform in NYC again with My Brightest Diamond when they open for The National at Beacon Theater (12/16). Tickets for that show are still on sale.

yMusic are also play the Ecstatic Music Festival with album collaborator Son Lux (Ryan Lott) and Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry on February 8 at Merkin Concert Hall. Tickets are still available. Stream the Son Lux-composed track "Beautiful Mechanical" off yMusic's album here.

Speaking of Richard Parry, he was spotted in the audience of the Little Scream show the other day at Pianos. He also happened to co-produce the new Little Scream record (which he also contributed to musically). Maybe he'll be there at The Rock Shop in Brooklyn tonight (12/2) too.

My Brightest Diamond also has an upcoming show at Merkin Concert Hall, but hers is part of New York Guitar Festival. She plays on January 17, performing an original score for Buster Keaton's silent film Balloonatic, aliong with Keller WilliamsRedhooker, who will both also be performing scores of Keaton films. Tickets are still available. Shara is also one of the performers for David Lang's Making Music piece, along with Bryce Dessner of The National, Owen Pallett, Nico Muhly and others, which is being presented at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on January 27. Tickets are on sale now.

All dates below...

Continue reading "yMusic playing Rockwood & other dates w/ My Brightest Diamond, Richard Reed Parry, Son Lux, The National & others"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: yMusic - "Proven Badlands" (composed by Annie Clark) (MP3)

My Brightest Diamond at Prospect Park in August (more by Amanda Hatfield)

My Brightest Diamond (aka Shara Worden) is set to release her third full length album All Things Will Unwind on October 18 via Asthmatic Kitty. She's already revealed the excellent track, "Reaching Through to the Other Side," which you can grab HERE. Now she's got a video for another album track, "Be Brave," which you can watch below. The song's got backing vocals by DM Stith, was engineered and mixed by Pat Dillett (Laurie Anderson, The National), and features instrumentation by yMusic, who play on every track of the album. The video was directed by Murat Eyuboglu, who has directed other videos for Shara in the past, and stars Jessica Dessner as a dancer.

Shara's got some upcoming dates in the next few months including an album release show in NYC on October 14 at Littlefield with yMusic and DM Stith, who both appear on her album. Tickets for that show are on sale now. All dates are listed below.

Speaking of yMusic, they will release their debut LP Beautiful Mechanical on September 27 via New Amsterdam Records. The album features tracks composed by Shara Worden, St. Vincent (Annie Clark), Son Lux, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Judd Greenstein, and Gabriel Kahane. You can download the St. Vincent-penned piece, "Proven Badlands," above and check out the album's tracklist below.

All dates, video, and tracklist below...

Continue reading "new My Brightest Diamond video & tour dates, new yMusic LP info & Annie Clark MP3 too"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Rachel Kowal

Son Lux

Last summer at the Williamsburg waterfront, WHY?'s Yoni Wolf won me over with his over-the-top dance moves and compelling delivery, but I was curious to see him perform stripped down versions of songs in the swanky setting of Le Poisson Rouge on Friday night. First up, however, was Son Lux.

Following a week of listening to nothing but Son Lux's new album on repeat (thanks to NPR's First Listen series), I was thrilled to have the chance to see the material come to life so quickly. As part of The Wire magazine's annual RPM Challenge, Son Lux's Ryan Lott wrote and recorded the entirety of We Are Rising in just a single month (and the shortest one of the year at that), and the result is stunning. But he didn't stop there. As if all that wasn't strenuous enough, Lott quietly revealed that he would be performing even newer arrangements of the material.

With the help of Johnny Rodgers on guitar, Lott enthusiastically presented his songs with a grin on his face that seemed to reveal that he still couldn't quite believe that he had pulled off the challenge. With layers of synth riffs and hip-hop beats heavy in the mix, some of the new arrangements were a bit messy, but the sparse majesty of We Are Rising still shone through, and Lott's vocals were spot on. Stripped of Rodger's accompaniment, Lott concluded his all-too-brief set with the ballad "Stay" from his debut album.

the Wolf brothers

Following Son Lux's graceful set and more... conventional lyrics, Yoni Wolf's performance felt like quite a change of pace. (In his first song alone, Yoni referenced sex, titties, weed, and thugs). But as it turns out, sharing the bill isn't too much of a stretch for the two artists. As they each revealed over the course of their sets, Son Lux and WHY? toured Europe together a few years ago. (Their opinions of the experience, however, often contradicted humorously. To Wolf's consternation, Lott somehow had time to make pit stops at Greek ruins and the Eiffel Tower despite the long drives between gigs.)

Compared to last summer's show, Yoni's performance on Friday night may have been more restrained, but thanks to the unending stream of clever and provocative lyrics, it was no less irreverent and engrossing. This time, instead of egging on the crowd with his dance moves, Yoni spent the majority of the set seated behind a gorgeous piano, accompanied by just his younger brother Josiah (who also plays with WHY?) on guitar and backing vocals.

A showman at heart, Yoni has a natural ability to engage and entertain the audience with his free-flowing banter. Upon confessing that he'd love to move to New York if it didn't cost "a million" dollars, someone in the crowd suggested he move to Bushwick. "Bushwick?!" he exclaimed, his voice shrill with mock incredulity. "Is he trying to get me killed? Is he trying to get me murdered?!"

Whether rap is your thing or not, Yoni's madcap talent is readily apparent. The prolific artist pulled a Bradford Cox and wrote nineteen demos while staying at his parent's home this past winter, many of which he played on Friday night, in addition to a handful of older WHY? songs and a couple of covers (The Smiths' "Half a Person" and The Cure's "Close to Me").

Le Poisson Rouge may have been an odd setting for Wolf, but he had a good time with it, For one song Josiah jumped behind the keys which freed up his brother to exaggeratedly assume the pose of a lounge singer by leaning against the piano and serenading the crowd. The Wolf brothers concluded the evening with a three-song encore, ending with "One Rose."

More pictures from the show, below...

Continue reading "Son Lux released a quickly-made LP, played LPR w/ WHY?'s Yoni & Josiah Wolf (pics)"

Celebrate Brooklyn '09 (more by Chris La Putt)

The Celebrate Brooklyn series' 2010 schedule is out. Check out the free (or $3 suggested donation) shows that will be happening at Prospect Park this summer below.

There's the previously mentioned shows with Norah Jones, Konono No. 1, Sonic Youth (who have Talk Normal and Grass Widow opening for them), Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings with Budos Band, Swell Season and the Low Anthem, Metric, The Roots and Allen Toussaint, all for free. The ticketed benefit shows are Rufus Wainwright on July 20th, Dead Weather on August 3rd, and already-sold-out shows with Passion Pit and The National.

The full schedule is below...

Continue reading "Celebrate Brooklyn's 2010 Prospect Park concert lineup"

DOWNLOAD: David Byrne And Fatboy Slim - Please Don't (feat Santigold) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Basia Bulat - Go On (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: My Brightest Diamond - Inside A Boy (Son Lux Remix) (MP3)

My Brightest Diamond @ Dark Was the Night last May (more by Natasha Ryan)

Although Shara Worden hasn't performed as My Brightest Diamond in New York over the last year, she has been far from idle. She collaborated with David Byrne on his upcoming release, Here Lies Love, worked with Clogs on Lady Walton's Garden, due out in March, played the role of the Queen on The Decemberists' newest album, The Hazards of Love, and toured with them and found time to perform with Laurie Anderson, Bon Iver, The National and St. Vincent as well. My Brightest Diamond also contributed their version of Nina Simone's renowned classic "Feelin' Good" to the celebrated compilation Dark Was The Night. [PR]

In addition to being her first NYC in more than year, My Brightest Diamond's Bowery show on January 22nd is a CD release party for her new limited-edition remix album Shark Remixes. According to her website, "Shara had so much fun on the short European tour this last December that she, together with drummer Brian Wolfe and bassist Nathan Lithgow, decided to keep the glow alive by playing in New York and adding Butoh dancing and clowns for fun." The record, which comes out on Asthmatic Kitty on January 26th, collects four "remix EPs" put together by remixers Alfred Brown, DM Stith, Son Lux and Roberto Carlos Lange of songs from MBD's 2008 album A Thousand Shark's Teeth. Album art and tracklist are below.

Opening the show is Canadian singer and guitarist/autoharp player Basia Bulat, whose album Heart of My Own also comes out January 26th, on Rough Trade/Secret City. A track from that album, "Go On", is a free download above. Her other tour dates and the song "Gold Rush" off the new record are below. Tickets to the January 22nd Bowery show are still on sale. We also have a pair to give away. Details are below.

You can also catch Basia Bulat on Thursday, January 21st, at Professor Thom's on 219 2nd Ave (between 13th & 14th). It's her record release party and she'll be performing an "intimate live performance" at 8pm. $1.00 beers at 7pm (while they last).

Shara Worden and Nicole Atkins are two of the many collaborators on David Byrne's Here Lies Love project with Fatboy Slim. The song "Please Don't," featuring Santigold, is above. Byrne will be one of the speakers at "Stories in High Fidelity: An evening of storytelling" at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday, February 3rd. Also on hang will be Alan Light, Dan Kennedy and Jason Gordon, and music from Nicole Atkins. Tickets are on sale.

David Byrne has been speaking publicly a lot lately.Most recently at the Bell House on January 11th.

My Brightest Diamond's other upcoming shows include a performance with Clogs in Minneapolis on February 19th and 20th and Big Ears Festival, happening March 26-28 in Knoxville, TN.

All of the above-mentioned tour dates, ticket contest, and more info are below...

Continue reading "Basia Bulat, Nicole Atkins, My Brightest Diamond & David Byrne - upcoming shows (dates) & new music (MP3s) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Nadia Sirota

There were (more) strings at September 25th's inaugural show for the Archipelago music series, which happens at Galapagos one Friday a month through next May. Like the Undiscovered Islands fest in May, the shows will be featuring music that crosses boundaries between classical, indie, etc. (and like that fest, it's also being set up by the New Amsterdam label.)

The full schedule is below. It's full of treats (like a way-off show with music by Shara Worden aka My Brightest Diamond in April). The first show featured violist Nadia Sirota and percussion quartet Line C3. Coincidentally, Worden and Nadia will both be playing with the Dessner Bros.' BAM Next Wave show, The Long Count, at the end of October.

Both acts on the first night performed works by Nico Muhly (Line C3 did "Ta and Clap," written by Nico for them in 2004, and he joined Nadia for his piece "Keep in Touch," which features a vocal sample from Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons). Nadia & Nico actually discuss their collaborations in an episode of New Amsterdam's Podcast series.

Speaking of New Amsterdam, they also have a CMJ showcase coming up with Cantaloupe Records at (Le) Poisson Rouge on October 21st. Tickets are on sale. That will feature the music of David Lang and Julia Wolfe (Bang on a Can co-founders) and performances by NOW Ensemble, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society and more. Clips of the Lang-scored film (Untitled) will be screened between performances (the soundtrack of which will be out October 13th).

Full details on the Archipelago series below...

Continue reading "Archipelago music series to feature Shara Worden, Craig Wedren & more ++ New Amsterdam & Cantaloupe do CMJ"