JG Thirlwell

JG Thirlwell’s Manorexia play a FREE concert this Sunday...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:59:00 -0400

JG Thirlwell’s Manorexia play a FREE concert this Sunday June 23 2013 at 7.30 pm on a triple bill with Pauline Oliveros and Susie Ibarra & Robert Rodriguez. Manorexia will be premiering a new arrangement of “Plastic Island In The Pacific”. Part of The New York Electronic Art Festival, presented by Harvestworks and River to River Festival. At Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts Pace University 3 Spruce Street, New York, New York 10038.The Manorexia ensemble this evening will consist of Peter Wise - percussion, Dave Broome - piano, Leyna Marika Papach - violin, Elena Moon Park - violin, Karen Waltuch - viola, Isabel Castelvi - cello and JG Thirlwell - compositions and laptop. Photo by Marylene Mey.

6/19/13 Annie Gosfield led a trio consisting of herself...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:50:00 -0400

6/19/13 Annie Gosfield led a trio consisting of herself (sampling keyboard), Roger Kleier (gtr) and the remarkable Ches Smith (drums) in a short, driving set that segued into a concert by Laurie Anderson, in which Annie’s trio also took part, along with Gerry Leonard (guitar), Doug Wieselman (horns) Eyvind Kang (viola) & special guests Steve Buscemi and Young Jean Lee. Laurie’s set drifted from her distincive story-telling accompanied by drones and effects to exotic improvs and interliudes, and Buscemi told a story of three men’s demise on the frozen tundra, accompanied by a thick pad of guitar drone from Leonard.

6/16/13 The Bang On A Can Marathon this year moved to Pace...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:21:00 -0400

6/16/13 The Bang On A Can Marathon this year moved to Pace University while the Winter Gardens are under renovation. The atmosphere here was more like a concert than a festival and hang, and as such the sound and concentration was much better. I watched over seven hours of performances, including Talea Ensemble performing the delicate, sublime “Schnee” (Ten canons for nine instruments) from Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen (see video), which, in my unslept state, transported me to a delicious listening space of semi-somnambulism. Other highlights included John King’s Astral Epitaphs performed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and the TILT brass, with John King electronically processing the audio live. I was pleasantly impressed by Kendall Williams’ “Conception” for the new music steel drum ensemble NYUSTEEL along with NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble. I forgot that I was hearing steel drums, and it built to an intense euphoric crescendo. Dutch violinist Monica Germino performed Julia Wolfe’s wonderful “With a blue dress on” for solo violin, voice and sound design which built in layers, intensity and complexity, and was gripping. Talk Normal changed up the mood with a short set of noisy tribal songs. The day climaxed with the Bang On A Can Allstars performing Michael Gordon’s classic “Yo Shakespeare” with its complex interlocking rhythms and BOAC’s inhouse new-music marching band Asphalt Orchestra performing two compelling pieces by a personal fave of mine, Tatsuya Yoshida (of Ruins and KoenjiHyakkei), which were rollicking, complex and demented. Rescored for brass and percussion, the pieces took on a slightly Zappa-esque flavor, and as they moved and scattered, the performance was at once rough, exciting and precise. It’s good to see them move from a sideline to a main event, and great to see Asphalt’s unstoppable Ken Thomson (also of Gutbucket) playing with the BOAC allstars.

6/15/13 NY chamber ensemble Alarm Will Sound played a program...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 09:16:51 -0400

6/15/13 NY chamber ensemble Alarm Will Sound played a program of the works of Caleb Burhans at Le Poisson Rouge to celebrate the release of the album of his works. Rousing and swelling post-minimalist pieces with a strong emotional core. Caleb’s ambient duo project with Grey McMurray, itsnotyouitsme, opened. I’m happy to see the indefatigable Mr Burhans getting props.

“Daybreak Express” (1953) directed by DA Pennebaker.

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:26:39 -0400

“Daybreak Express” (1953) directed by DA Pennebaker.

The Museum of the Moving Image hosted Spectacle, an exhibition...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:24:50 -0400

The Museum of the Moving Image hosted Spectacle, an exhibition about the history of the music video. They showed DA Pennebaker’s incredible “Daybreak Express” which could possible be considered the first music video. Along with many of the ususal suspects - the ever-inventive Michel Gondry, Shynola, Chris Cunningham, there were a lot of cool clips I’d never seen before and original props and artifacts from videos.

06/14/.13 Always a pleasure to see a Child Abuse show. Tonight...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:29:41 -0400

06/14/.13 Always a pleasure to see a Child Abuse show. Tonight at Death By Audio they were particularly lean and mean and bludgeoning yet polished. Watch for heir third album to be released later this year.

6/13/13 Swans played another devastating set at Warsaw in...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:28:42 -0400

6/13/13 Swans played another devastating set at Warsaw in Greenpoint, working in a lot of new material that will make it to their next album. Succumb to them.

Hauser and Wirth is hosting a show of works by Paul...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:28:28 -0400

Hauser and Wirth is hosting a show of works by Paul McCarthy…chillingly realistic sculptures of a naked woman, and this hyper real model of the artist himself in a death-like repose.

I was walking up Bedford ave in Williamsburg last night in...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 10:19:00 -0400

I was walking up Bedford ave in Williamsburg last night in search of an emergency falafel, trying to avoid the friday night grossness, when i spotted this Venture Bros mural on the corner of Bedford and N6th street. My friend snapped me in front of it.

The Exquisite Corpse Game is a unique musical collaboration...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:24:50 -0400

The Exquisite Corpse Game is a unique musical collaboration based on the rules of the Exquisite Corpse, invented by the Surrealists : each artist was given only the last 20 seconds of the previous composition and had to continue by recording instrumental music in any way they saw fit. The album, conceived and curated by Kavus Torabi (Knifeworld/ Cardiacs/ Guapo) features a piece JG Thirlwell as well as contributions from Torabi, Khyam Allami, Karda Estra, British Theatre (Oceansize/ Biffy Clyro), Bob Drake (Thinking Plague/ 5uu’s/ The Science Group etc) Weasel Walter (The Flying Luttenbachers/ Behold The Arctopus/ Cellular Chaos etc) Dominique Leone, Appleblim, Katharine Blake (Mediaeval Baebes/ Miranda Sex Garden) Max Tundra, Mikrokosmos (Levitation/ Dark Star/ Cardiacs) and Craig Fortnam (North Sea Radio Orchestra/ Arch Garrison).

Taken individually, The Exquisite Corpse Game represents thirteen brand new, original compositions by thirteen innovative musical artists but taken as a whole the entire album has a kaleidoscopic, dream-like yet homogenous quality. Themes and ideas seem to repeat and reoccur throughout in a way that could not have been known to the contributors. There is an ebb and flow throughout that sounds both pre-conceived and deliberate.
The Exquisite Corpse Game will be released on September 2, 2013 on Believers Roast but pre-orders will be shipped at least one month ahead of this date.

Zola Jesus and JG Thirlwell with string quartet will be playing...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:23:19 -0400

Zola Jesus and JG Thirlwell with string quartet will be playing the Mountain Oasis Festival in Asheville, North Carolina on October 26. Also on the bill are Nine Inch Nails, Animal Collective, Godspeed You Black Emperor, The Bug, Gary Numan, Chromatics, Actress, Bosnian Rainbows, Delorean and Sorne. Zola Jesus will be releasing the album Versions on Aug 20 on Sacred Bones Records, which is produced by JG Thirlwell, who also wrote the string arrangements. The album consists of the cream of Zola Jesus (aka Nika Roza Danilova) songs from her illustrious past, rearranged and re-recorded for string quartet and electronics, as well as a JG arrangement of the unreleased track “Fall Back”.

In 2012 Zola Jesus teamed with JG Thirlwell for a...

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:33:00 -0400

In 2012 Zola Jesus teamed with JG Thirlwell for a performance at the Guggenheim Museum. They performed new arrangements of Zola Jesus material rearranged by JG Thirlwell for string quartet and electronics. Studio recordings of those arrangements, produced by Thirlwell with the string parts performed by Mivos Quartet, will be released in an album called Versions, which is out August 20 via Sacred Bones. The album was recorded at Gary’s Electric Studio in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint with Al Carlson engineering. Zola Jesus will tour with Thirlwell and string quartet later this year in support of the album.

Here’s the billboard that heralded the arrival of Season...

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 20:43:02 -0400

Here’s the billboard that heralded the arrival of Season Four of The Venture Bros a couple years back. Season Five continues, with brand new episodes airing on Sundays at midnight on Adult Swim / Cartoon Network. Go Team Venture!

06.05.13 New music guitar quartet Dither perfromed at Silent...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 01:16:00 -0400

06.05.13 New music guitar quartet Dither perfromed at Silent Barn in Bushwick. Their program included versions of the John Zorn game pieces “Hockey”, “Fencing” and “Lacrosse”, which they performed with varying results - when they dropped down to a trio for a couple of the pieces,they benefited from that space, where before at times the guitars were too tonally similar and stepped on each other. They played “Hockey” twice and the second time was great in its understatement. This was followed by a Tristan Perich piece for 16 speakers of one bit electronics and guitar entitled “Interference Logic”. On Tristan’s piece the bell-like guitar tones rang like a carillon, becoming increasingly more dense and intense while the electronics jittered incessant stabs, adding an urgency to the piece. Synth artist Lorna Dune opened.

JG Thirlwell in Williamsburg 06/05/13 photo by Marylene Mey

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:37:00 -0400

JG Thirlwell in Williamsburg 06/05/13 photo by Marylene Mey

Author, journalist and guitar god Alan Licht performed at Sam...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:28:44 -0400

Author, journalist and guitar god Alan Licht performed at Sam Hillmer’s Practice series a Public Assembly, this month guest curated by Maria Chavez. Alan had his guitar laid on its back on a table, an e-bow resonating a string to create a tone that he fed thru several pedals which he manipulated, creating harmonics and harmonies. He was accompanied by a slowed-down film of surfing which froze surfers, waves and sky in time to Licht’s mesmerizing, droning composition.

6/2/13 Tomahawk played a diamond-hard, anus-tight set at the...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:25:00 -0400

6/2/13 Tomahawk played a diamond-hard, anus-tight set at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square to an enraptured, heavily-moshing crowd. Mike Patton brought it full-on that night, joined by the suave Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard) on guitar, the mighty John Stanier (Battles) on drums and beefcake Trevor Dunn (every other band) on bass, and they pounded thru their hits and selections from their slamming long awaited album Oddfellows. Opening were the magnificent Buke and Gase, favorites chez JG.

5/31/13 Secret Chiefs 3 played a six night residency at John...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:21:00 -0400

5/31/13 Secret Chiefs 3 played a six night residency at John Zorn’s club The Stone, playing two sets a night. The first set I caught was a derainged selection of soundtrack compositions including pieces by John Carpenter and Morricone. The second set was one long undulating, surging piece, “Tesselations”, which revolved around one odd rhythm where they played modular cells based around four notes. For this set the core line-up of Trey Spruance (guitar) Timba Harris (violin) Toby Driver (bass, also of head honcho of Kayo Dot) Matt Lebofsky (keyboards) Kenneth Grohowski (drums) they were joined by incredible drumming of Ches Smith and guitarist Gyan Riley. Trey from Secret Chiefs 3, along with Jason Schimmel from Estradasphere, has been working on a remix of the Foetus track “Cosmetics” for the forthcomjng Foetus album release on Ectopic Ents

One short day until Venture Bros season Five premiere - June...

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 21:48:27 -0400

One short day until Venture Bros season Five premiere - June 2 2013 at midnight on Adult Swim / Cartoon Network, with all-new score by JG Thirlwell. To put you in the mood and get you up to speed, here is an eight minute recap of seasons 1-4 . Go Team Venture!