This Saturday I’ll be playing a very special show with Zs as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival here in NYC’s lovely sounding Merkin Concert Hall. (I recorded the twin pianos on my upcoming album, The Julius Eastman Memory Depot, at the Merkin.) Saturday will open with 2 half-hour solo sets from the Zs & I. Then — after an intermission! — comes an hourlong collaborative piece. This is where thing’ll get really interesting. Some notes from our brainstorm/plotting session:
It’s been a long time since I’ve had an opportunity to do a semi-improvised semi-structured collaboration with musicians. Despite the much-lauded (and real) dancer-DJ hive mind, it’s hard to shake off the legacy of DJ as perpetual soloist. In other words: it’s great fun to explore the turntables as an ensemble instrument & that’s why Saturday’s concert is so appealing to me.
In addition, you can do all sorts of things (like play with quietLOUD dynamics) at a seated venue that would be literally impossible (or at least inaudible) in da club. While this sort of experimental festival arrangement can happen fairly frequently in Europe, it is a true rarity stateside. So I strongly encourage you to come out & support. Damage is $25 but it’ll be worth it, and it’s my last hometown gig as DJ /rupture for awhile.
SATURDAY KEYWORDS: Wolf Government, Sufi Plug Ins, Needlework, Cloud Mechanic, Empty Gymnasium.
BONUS: I’ll have my hands-on-mixer projection setup going (photo above), which is like free DJ lessons for turntablists and follow-the-chaos/demystification for everyone else.
FUN FACT: Zs drummer Greg Fox (who is involved in 6 thousand cool projects including Guardian Alien, Ben Frost, former Liturgy etc) uses Sufi Plug Ins in this wild arpeggiated way, which you’ll get to hear.
Here are two images I instagramed while recording @ the Merkin this December:
