Ezekiel Honig is a NY based music producer, sound artist and founder of two respected labels – Anticipate and Microcosm – well known in the circles of music connoisseurs and art enthusiasts. Many people, including myself, have fully embraced his solo work with the beautiful and enigmatic “Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band” (Anticipate, 2008). Aside from having released six studio albums and an equal amount of singles/EPs and splits/collaborations since 2003, Honig has also been producing sound for picture as well as being a constructive audio thinker.
Ezekiel has generously shared his latest release with me on a rainy Thursday afternoon of April. From the first seconds of this recording I immediately sensed that I am entering a very private territory. It brought me to a place that was warm, organic, and, strangely enough, familiar. The sounds coming from Honig’s latest album blended exceptionally well with the moody cityscape outside my window as if they were the reflecting voices of the neighboring buildings or the sighs and the pulses of the passers-by. “Folding In On Itself” carries Honig’s signature sound but its textural palette tells a more personal story that ties the artist to the city he inhabits and the city respectively becomes the skin and bone of Honig’s aural canvas. A minor difference worth noting compared to his earlier offerings is that Folding In On Itself is released under the Type imprint, home to artists like Xela, Helios, Goldmund, Deaf Center, Mokira and Rene Hell among others.
Folding In On Itself Record Release Party is on May 12 at Littlefield. The bill also includes a DJ set by John Xela (founder of Type) as well as a set by Borne. More info about the event can be found here.
MP: Does “Folding In On Itself” summarize your personal soundprint within the collective memory of this city and its past?
Ezekiel Honig: Well, it’s a tiny sliver of that, an example of moving through cities. I wouldn’t feel comfortable calling it a summary, but more a version of it. Similarly, although New York City dominates the album, there are moments from Torun, Poland, and Milan, Italy as well. In a way, any city serves the purpose and the symbolism, even though the heart of it and the majority of the outdoor sounds do originate in New York. I recorded all the original sounds so it’s all remapping experience, wherever I was when the recordings happened. Continue Reading More »
Honig performing at "Happy Oasis" (Photo: Jenna Duffy)
Our guest contributor Ezekiel Honig is a composer of ambient music, a sound artist and designer, an electronic music producer, and founded the music labels Anticipate and Microcosm. He recently scored music for the film “Florent: Queen of the Meat Market” (2010). Last month Zeke performed at “Happy Oasis” a show that I produced, proved to be a smooth and yielding experience to work with a truly professional music artist. As we’ve been exchanging thoughts and philosophizing on art, music and life, I invited him to write a column focusing on just that–music. In the following words Zeke amplifies his thoughts and different takes as a music artist on the definition of “Genre.” Continue Reading More »
Last month, I curated and produced the first Artcards featured event entitled “Happy Oasis.” It was hosted by Culturefix Gallery in the Lower East Side. If you missed the performances, catch it here with photos by Jenna Duffy. Continue Reading More »
Next Tuesday, Sept. 21, I curated a one-night performance event to happen at the new multi-media culture space Culturefix, located close to the brim of the Lower East Side. The show entitled Happy Oasis is an interesting blend of Hi/Lo Fi instrumentals and electronics with live projections, featuring experimental noisicianlink (Thessia Machado), electronic composer Ezekiel Honig collaborating with visualist Joshue Ott (superDraw), and sound/visual artist Mikhail Iliatov. The percussionist Hyun Moraes opens the show with an intense shamanic beating of a taiko drum. I’m really curious to see performance artists Kristin Reger and Martha Moszczynski (part avant-garde, part punk) collaborating for the first time to do an entrancing act with attributes to Middle Eastern women. If you have an iPhone or iPad, please bring it for a real-time interactive audio/visual experience. Complete details at opalnest.com
This week’s featured artist is an extended interview focusing on the work of multi-media visual artist Joshue Ott.
Joshue Ott is one of those innovative artists who visualizes new media in a broader spectrum. Having created superDraw, a platform in which he customized to become his visual instrument, along with multiDraw and Thicket, both interactive projects, Josh is constantly at the forefront. Working with soundscapes, his distinct style of visuals experiments with the basic qualities of form, texture and movement. Since 2005 Josh has been creating live visuals for numerous musicians and various performances around the world. I first experienced Josh’s work live at the 2010 Unsound Festival in New York. We had this conversation in his studio in Brooklyn where he lives with his wife and two children.
Helen Homan Wu: Okay, let’s talk about how you started superDraw. How long ago was it?
Joshue Ott: It was…years ago. Morgan Packard and Ezekiel Honig released Early Morning Migration and I played at the release party. It was some sort of debut. The first time I did superDraw live in front of people and called it superDraw.
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