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Posts tagged Albany
Shout Outs from Metroland: Best of the Capital Region 2010
Aug 2nd
Metroland Best of the Captial Region 2010; Cover photo by Alicia Solsman
Metroland’s Best of the Capital Region for 2010 came out last week and I am surprised and pleased to be included as the Best Retro-Futurist. Sure, it’s a made-up category, but it’s a good fit. Here’s what they have to say:
Composer and instrumentalist Holland Hopson has been a contributor to the region’s avant-garde music scene for the better part of 20 year—whether it’s vocal excursions that meld Gregorian chant and Dada, or soprano sax forays that come pretty close to “straight-up” jazz, the breadth and range of this iconoclast’s musical journey has always been intriguing, albeit way outside of the box. Hopson’s recent blending of traditional tunes (performed with vocals and banjo) and subtle electronics has turned him into one of the area’s most mesmerizing and memorable live performers. Catch him if you can, as his local shows tend to be few and far between.
Metroland has identified plenty of other (probably more deserving) best-of recipients including such friends and colleagues as Jason Cosco/Grab Ass Cowboys (Best Noise Wrangler); EMPAC (Best Music Curation) — this ought to read Micah Silver, in my opinion, since he is the Music Curator at EMPAC; The Sanctuary for Independent Media (Best Activist Community Arts Center); and Emily Zimmerman (Best Emerging Curator).
These accolades come on the heels of a conversation with a friend at the latest show presented by the Albany Sonic Arts Collective. We were talking about how important it is for a community of artists to receive some recognition from the local press and the concomitant pitfalls of letting it go to your head. A timely conversation for the former and hopefully we’ll avoid the latter. The ASAC event was a great set of performances, by the way, particularly from Fossils from the Sun (Ray Hare) and Family Battle Snake (Bill Kouligas).
Related PostsASAC Presents Pine Smoke Lodge, Cruudeuces, Grab Ass Cowboys, Jefferson Pitcher
May 27th
Albany Sonic Arts Presents Pine Smoke Lodge, Cruudeuces, Grab Ass Cowboys, Jefferson Pitcher
Saturday May 29 @ 8pm
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
Albany NY
$5 suggested donation
More about the artists after the break… More >
Related PostsASAC Presents Defragmented: Marko Timlin and thenumber46
Apr 8th
Albany Sonic Arts Collective presents Defragmented: A concert of emergent systems featuring Marko Timlin and thenumber46 (Suzanne Thorpe + Philip White).
Saturday April 10th
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
Albany, NY
8PM
Suggested Donation $5 (all proceeds go to touring performers)
This concert features Finnish- based composer/sound artist Marko Timlin alongside thenumber46, the collaborative effort of electro-acoustic flutist Suzanne Thorpe and electronic musician Philip White. Both Timlin and thenumber46 employ improvisation and non-linear analog systems to create music in which a delicate balance exists between the human and machine. A music at once intuitive and mechanical. Explosive and subdued. Violent and meditative.
More about the artists after the jump.
Related PostsATU Preview of Lucre/Chen
Mar 12th
The Albany Times Union has a preview of Sunday’s Albany Sonic Arts Collective concert featuring Lucre and Jonathan Chen.
Related Posts
ASAC Presents Lucre and Jonathan Chen
Mar 7th
Albany Sonic Arts Presents Lucre and Jonathan Chen
Sunday March 14 @ 8pm
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
Albany NY
$5 suggested donation
- Lucre is the improvising trio of Chris Cogburn , Bryan Eubanks, and Vic Rawlings who perform with exposed circuits, extended ampli?ed cello, low-? modular synthesis, and stripped down percussion.
- Jonathan Chen will perform a solo set of music for electronics, viola and violin.
Chris is a good friend from my Austin days and does great work with the No Idea Festival. I’m very excited he’ll be playing in Albany. And I’m equally excited that local artist Jonathan Chen is finally getting a chance to present his work.
More information about the artists after the break…
Related PostsASAC Presents MILLER/WESTON DUO, CRESPO/PITCHER DUO, SOWYDRA, CRUUDEUCES
Oct 21st
Albany Sonic Arts Presents Miller/Weston Duo, Crespo/Pitcher Duo, Sowyrda, Cruudeuces
Saturday October 24 @ 8pm
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
Albany NY
$5 suggested donation
- Ben Miller plays sax, guitar, and analog electronics and was formerly in legendary Michigan group Destroy All Monsters.
- Matt Weston lives in Albany and is the newest member of the Albany Sonic Arts Collective. He’s an amazing percussionist and if you haven’t seen him play yet, you’re in for a treat.
- Andy Crespo is from Western MA. and plays in Barn Owl with Matt (and Chris Cooper). he plays bass in ways that will expand your mind.
- Jefferson Pitcher lives in Troy and is an accomplished guitarist who has released albums on a variety of labels with collaborators Christian Kiefer, J. Matthew Gerken, and others.
- Sam Sowydra recently moved to Albany. He is a percussionist and multi-instrumentalist who also performs as part of Baltimore musician Dan Deacon’s ensemble.
- Cruudeuces is the solo project of Nathaniel Brennan of North Adams, MA. He has also recorded with Twin Beds and has a slew of new releases out soon on a variety of labels.
ASAC Presents Eli Keszler & Ashley Paul, Peaking Lights
Aug 11th
A last-minute announcement for tonight’s Albany Sonic Arts show featuring Eli Keszler & Ashley Paul along with Peaking Lights. Also on the bill are Black Chalk.
Tuesday August 11 @ 8pm
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
$5 suggested donation
Eli Keszler & Ashley Paul
and
Peaking Lights
(plus mystery band, Black Chalk)
Bios after the jump.
Related PostsASAC Presents The Synapse Brothers, Matts Weston and Davignon
Jul 18th
Albany Sonic Arts presents an evening of percussive-driven electronic music featuring The Synapse Brothers (Bob Gluck, John Myers), Matt Weston and Matt Davignon.
Saturday July 25 @ 8pm
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
$5 suggested donation
If you’d like to study up for this show, check out Davignon’s Some Notes on Drum Machining.
Artist Bios:
The Synapse Brothers fuse together elements of electroacoustic music with improvised jazz and funk. Bob Gluck on the keyboard and electronics and John Myers playing guitars and MIDI-guitar will play live. They will be virtually accompanied by sound designer Pat Gleeson’s lustrous beats and sounds. Bob is well known for his presence on the local jazz scene. His repertoire spans jazz performance both acoustic and with electronics and free improvisation, avant-garde concert music and music for electronic expansions of acoustical instruments, including the ram¹s horn, Disklavier (computer-assisted piano) and Turkish baglama saz. Bob Gluck is Associate Professor of Music and Director of the University at Albany Electronic Music Studio.
Matt Weston has recently relocated to Albany, and we couldn’t be luckier to have such an incredible musician in our midst. Matt plays percussion and electronics, and has performed throughout the US and in Europe. He has appeared on CNN, VH1, and CBS TV. He has studied and/or collaborated with Arthur Brooks, Bill Dixon, Kevin Drumm, Milford Graves, William Parker, Jack Wright and others. He has recorded for the Tautology, Sachimay, Breaking World Records, Imvated, Crank Satori, BoxMedia, and Drag City labels. He currently records for the new 7272music label. In addition to his solo work, Weston is a member of Barn Owl (with guitarist Chris Cooper and bassist Andy Crespo); and is guitarist with Thrillpillow (with guitarist/vocalist Plum Crane, bassist/vocalist Maggie Nowinski, and drummer James Z).
Matt Davignon is an experimental musician living in Oakland, California. Since 1993, he has developed his own unique style of music, which focuses largely on textures, arrhythmic patterns and musical imperfections. Since 2004, he has been working almost exclusively with a drum machine. Instead of using it as a rhythm device, he plays the pads manually while processing the sounds through an array of effects devices and samplers, improvising music made of organic-sounding textures, hums, gurgles and crackles. Matt is also a member of the Crank Ensemble, and is the founder of the Pmocatat Ensemble. He’s active in organizing experimental & unusual music performances in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to being responsible for such events as The San Francisco Found Objects Festival, and regular DroneShift concerts, he’s one of the curators for the Luggage Store Gallery Experimental Music Series.
Related PostsASAC Presents The Human Quena Orchestra, Grab Ass Cowboys and More
Jul 16th
Much more…so much more. Albany Sonic Arts pulls out the noise stops for tomorrow’s show.
Firday July 17 @ 8pm
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
$5 suggested donation
The Human Quena Orchestra – Punishing duo from PA/CA on Crucial Blast Records.
“like having your face ground into a brick wall” -Signal to Noise Magazine
Grab Ass Cowboys – Albany freeformnoiserock cheapskates
Requiem – 1/2 of Human Quena Orchestra…sweet drone shindig
Derealize – (also known as Worlds of Sh*t) – a one man harsh noise mugging
Related PostsASAC Presents Sublime Frequencies
Jun 15th
The Albany Sonic Arts Collective presents Sublime Frequencies, film screenings and rare 78rpm records from around the globe from Ian Nagoski and Robert Millis.
Saturday June 20 @ 8pm
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
$5 suggested donation
Ian Nagoski (Black Mirror/Canary Records/Mississippi Records)
Robert Millis (Climax Golden Twins/Victrola Favorites/Sublime Frequencies)
Rare and unseen Sublime Frequencies (www.sublimefrequencies.com) films will be screened, with the director in attendance. This very special night will appeal to music lovers, film buffs, world scholars, those interested in South Asia, history fiends, and anyone with an eye for the beauty of uncovered cultural treasures from around the globe.
I wrote about Ian’s last visit to the Capital Region here and look forward to hearing him again. Sublime Frequencies’s releases have provided consistent inspiration and enjoyment, particularly Radio Sumatra.
Program:
India at 78rpm
Folk and classical music in India through the lens of the largest private collection of 78rpm records and dusty ephemera on the sub-continent.
My Friend Rain
Decay and rebirth and death through the endless Asian monsoon cycle. A collage of musical segments and tropical ambiance from Robert Millis and Alan Bishop.
Phi Ta Khon: Ghosts of Isan
A traditional Buddhist ghost festival from Thailand’s Isan province that features beautiful handmade masks, outrageous wooden phalluses, ceremony, ritual, dancing, and endless music.
