As we approach the horizon of the 2011 Unsound Music Festival NY, I can feel the anticipation building up. If you are a fan of electronic music and sonic arts, like I am, you probably know that Europe (particularly Germany) is the place to be. Beginning April 1st, New York folks will be in for a treat.  It was only until a few weeks ago that the 2011 program has been announced, but it was well worth the wait.  Last year’s line-up was amazing, but this year’s will not disappoint. The Festival officially opens on April 6th, with a preliminary week of screenings and lectures opening on April 1st under Unsound Festival NY Labs.

View full program and artists here.

Photo: HW

When I saw “The Reader” for the first time, I gave in to it completely, and undeniably, I was in tears. Little did I know that the subtle orchestra, which provoked my emotions, was music composed by one of America’s youngest classical composers, Nico Muhly. He also lives right here in New York City. Although his work is based on classical traditions, his renditions and variations in rhythms are highly contemporary, which makes it compatible with a broad genre of music. Nico has worked for Phillip Glass from 1999 to 2008. His collaborators include Bjork, Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Grizzly Bear, and Anthony and the Johnsons. Besides “The Reader” (2008), he also scored for the film “Joshua” (2007). I recently saw his latest piece “Tell the Way” at St. Ann’s Warehouse, which is “loosely based on medieval and colonial English travel narratives, the work draws from American folk sources, prayers for the Royal Navy, early colonial diaries, Mandeville, Herodotus and Marco Polo”.  Commissioned by Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the ensemble included an eclectic mix of talents: a 45-member choir, guitarist Bryce Dessner, British singer Bishi, the unexpected appearance of a sitar, Nico’s sense of humor, and of course, him playing the piano throughout. His full length albums include Speaks Volumes (2007) and Mothertongue (2008), both released under the artist-run label Bedroom Community.  In the midst of writing two operas, I was fortunate to get a brief interview with the artist. Continue Reading More »

Photos: Gabriella Radujko

In an extraordinary performance of “Inuksuit” at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, composer John Luther Adams turned noise into “site-determined” music.  Describing the Armory as an environment like no other, Adams accepted the challenge of scaling a performance, which originally premiered outdoors at the Banff Centre in the Canadian Rockies, for the “pristine emptiness” of the 55,000 square foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall. Continue Reading More »

Artcards Featured Event: Low Tide Chorus is tonight! We will all be there, so come say hello.

7-10PM at The Invisible Dog
$12 / pay at door

(indigo poster editions: HatnDesign)

Photo: Javier Cambre

On a chilly December evening in Williamsburg, I stepped into Momenta Art, with audiences huddled around a solo dancer, trancelike, swaying her body as if she’s a tree. Her gazeless eyes told us that she moved according to the music, the surroundings, and her intuition. It was a dance movement which I haven’t seen since my days in Japan — Butoh. The minimally dark installations by Nina Lola Bachhuber provided a surreal universe to the performance artist/dancer Pamela Herron. Continue Reading More »

Opening tomorrow is a very special series of sound art performances and installations entitled Dead of Winter Works #1-6 presented by Splatterpool Artspace.  The project, which is curated by renowned avant-turntabalist Maria Chavez, envisions garnering a collective of multi-media talents for individual and collective introspection (basically to be entranced) during those “dead of winter” months. As we are already being wrapped in to the winter’s darkness, a series of experimental multi-media performances curated by an avant-garde sound artist already sounds pretty amazing. Kicking off tomorrow night is Richard Garet and until the end of February the line-up of artists include Shelley Burgon, David Linton, Byron Westbrook, Thomas Dexter, Future Archeology, Sarah Lipstate. And of course Ms. Chavez herself will be present throughout the performances. Complete details and the entire schedule is up on Splatterpool.

Photos: Paula Reissig. Courtesy of Goethe-Institut New York

At precisely 8:07 PM I was led through a pair of ornate doors into a subdued lobby of the Hotel Savoy, a reincarnation of the original Goethe-Institute of New York. Standing completely alone in the lobby, the air thick with nostalgia, I could hear the sound of a clock ticking. Perhaps time is going backwards? Hotel Savoy, inspired by Joseph Roth’s novel, is a site specific performance piece conceptualized and produced by Dominic Huber in collaboration with director Bernhard Mikeska, along with a whole production crew. Continue Reading More »