Ben Frost releasing 'A U R O R A' (feat. Greg Fox & Thor Harris), contributing to Unsound Fest + more (dates, streams)

Avant-garde composer Ben Frost will release his new album, A U R O R A, on May 27. Like his previous work, it’s ambient but you’d be hard pressed to call it mellow. There’s a lot of tension here, which cracks open into bursts of noise. The record features former Liturgy drummer Greg Fox, Shahzad Ismaily (who both just played Ecstatic Music Fest with Colin Stetson), and Thor Harris of Swans/Shearwater. You can stream “Venter” from the album, as well as an LP trailer, below.

While Ben hasn’t announced any A U R O R A performances in North America yet, he does a have a few projects happening on our shores. He contributed sounds to an installation called “Ephemera” that will be on display at NYC’s Audio Visual Arts Gallery in the East Village from March 31 – April 6. Part of the Unsound Festival, the project from artist Geza Schoen, also features sonic contributions from Tim Hecker, and Kode9’s Steve Goodman:

Bringing together scent and sound in startling new ways, the first phase of Ephemera is an installation that will present olfactory compositions based on musical resonances and reverberations…

…Three musicians — Ben Frost, Tim Hecker, and Steve Goodman (aka Kode9) — created sonic raw material which Schoen then reinterpreted to create three different scents: Noise, Drone, and Bass, respectively. Schoen’s scents were then used to guide the development of further sounds to fit an installation-style environment.

Ben also provided the music for FAR, which features choreography by Wayne McGregor and jaw-dropping visuals, including a computerized pin board of 3,200 LED lights. FAR will be performed at Pittsburgh’s Byham Theatre on April 26 (more info), and at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center from May 1 – 3 (more info).

All dates are listed, along with LP trailer and “Venter” stream, below…

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Ben Frost – 2014 Tour Dates
Tue Mar 25 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Espace des Arts, Chalon-sue-Saône, FRANCE
Sat Mar 29 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Théâtres en Dracénie, Draguignan, FRANCE
Tue Apr 01 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Théâtre des Salins Martigues, FRANCE
Wed Apr 02 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Théâtre des Salins Martigues, FRANCE
Sat Apr 05 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Sava Centre (Belgrade Dance Festival), Belgrade, SERBIA
Wed Apr 23 2014 – ‘FAR’ (music by Ben Frost) @ National Arts Centre, Ottawa, CANADA
Sat Apr 26 2014 – ‘FAR’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Byham Theater, Pittsburgh, PA, US
Sat Apr 26 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ Village Underground (Convergence Festival), London, ENGLAND
Thu May 01 2014 – ‘FAR’ (music by Ben Frost) @ The Kennedy Center, Washington DC, US
Fri May 02 2014 – ‘FAR’ (music by Ben Frost) @ The Kennedy Center, Washington DC, US
Sat May 03 2014 – ‘FAR’ (music by Ben Frost) @ The Kennedy Center, Washington DC, US
Thu May 15 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ The Button Factory, Dublin, IRELAND
Fri May 16 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ Triskel Arts Centre, Cork, IRELAND
Sat May 17 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ CLICK Festival, Elisinore, DENMARK
Sun May 18 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ STUK, Leuven, BELGIUM
Tue May 20 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ Muziekgebouw at Trouw, Amsterdam, HOLLAND
Wed May 21 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ UT Connewitz, Leipzig, GERMANY
Thu May 22 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ Berghain, Berlin, GERMANY
Fri May 23 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ MeetFactory, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
Sat May 24 2014 – Ben Frost live (solo) @ Žedno Uho Festival, Zagreb, CROATIA
Thu May 29 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ Mutek Festival, Montreal, CANADA
Tue Jun 10 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Sadler’s Wells, London, ENGLAND
Wed Jun 11 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Sadler’s Wells, London, ENGLAND
Thu Jun 12 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Sadler’s Wells, London, ENGLAND
Thu Jun 12 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ Sonar Festival, Barcelona, SPAIN
Fri Jun 13 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Sadler’s Wells, London, ENGLAND
Sat Jun 14 2014 – ‘iTMOi’ (music by Ben Frost) @ Sadler’s Wells, London, ENGLAND
Fri Jul 11 2014 – Ben Frost AURORA live @ ATP Festival, ICELAND