JOHN WIESE
NEW MONUMENTS
MORALLY GRAY
KUDLER / FRASER DUO
@ Circle of Hope, South Philly Branch
1125 South Broad Street, 2nd Floor
8pm; $10, $8 in advance
NOISE TOURISM
Perhaps it’s serendipity, but maybe the level of excitement over the last several years has gotten out, and our city is finally a must stop on any east coast tour itinerary. Either way, we are thrilled that two separate tours, John Wiese (solo) and The New Monuments, have converged on Philly for a single night. And even though this is a star-studded affair, this should by no means overshadow the fantastic Philadelphia based artists featured this evening: Morally Gray and the Kudler / Fraser duo.
WHAT TO EXPECT
John Wiese, the prolific Los Angles based artist and composer who has worked with everyone from Wolf Eyes and Sunn O))) to Nico Vascellari at last years Venice Biennale, will be performing a solo set with electronics and laptop. Expect frenetic noise assaults pulsating brutally in stereo. Expect strange things to happen in your inner ear as Wiese strikes on some acoustic phenomenon. But mostly, expect it to be amazing.
New Monuments, on its inaugural tour, is a new collaboration between Don Dietrich founding member of the legendary Borbetomagus; percussionist Ben Hall, who may be best known for Graveyards, his collaboration with John Olsen (Wolf Eyes) and Hans Buetow (both Hall and Beutow appeared on bowerbird in 2006 in trio with NYC based Trumpeter Nate Wooley as Melee); and voice and string manipulator C Spencer Yeh, who often performs under the project name Burning Star Core, and redefines the word prolific. Here, expect the unexpected. Fans of Dietrich’s Borbetomagus may be surprised by a new facet of his playing, while Yeh and Hall will likely bring a dimension that will appeal to both listeners of noise and free impov music.
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
Morally Gray is a tape and minimal electronics project of Mat Rademan (Newton / Breathmint Records) and Marc Zajack (Antler Piss / Deep Fried Tapes). At times the music can be restrained and even quiet, but that’s just a prelude to the no nonsense noise assault you are about to be subjected to. But this is no amateurish freak out – even at heightened levels of intensity this duo is able to react in subtle and measured cooperation.
Ian Fraser and Jesse Kudler should be familiar to any close-watchers of Philadelphia's small experimental music community. They play together frequently, in the large group Benito Cereno and in smaller trios, but this will be only their second-ever duo performance. Both share a fascination with re-purposed consumer tools: laptops, tape players, radios, hacked guitar pedals, guitars, etc. Fearing neither silence nor harsh "un-musical" sounds, the two embrace unexpected contrasts and turns in sound-making.
JOHN WIESE electronics
Los Angles, CA
John Wiese is an artist and composer from Los Angeles, California.
His ongoing projects include LHD and Sissy Spacek, with plenty of freelance work
with many artists as diverse as Sunn O))), Wolf Eyes, Merzbow, Dave Phillips,
Smegma, Kevin Drumm, Cattle Decapitation, and C. Spencer Yeh (Burning Star Core).
He has toured extensively throughout the world, covering Europe, Scandinavia and
Australia as a member of Sunn O))), the UK as part of the Free Noise tour (a tentet
including Evan Parker, C. Spencer Yeh, Yellow Swans, etc.), the United States
alongside Wolf Eyes, and recently performed in the 52nd Venice Biennale with artist
Nico Vascellari.
NEW MONUMENTS Don Dietrich - saxaphone
C Spencer Yeh - violin, voice, electronics
Ben Hall - percussion
Don Dietrich is a founding member of Borbetomagus, the extremist jazz trio
formed in NYC in 1979. Borbetomagus has been championed by both Henry
Rollins and Thurston Moore the latter whom Dietrich has recorded with in
trio with Jim Sauter of Borbetomagus as well as recording with Sonic Youth
on their 2002 album "Murray Street."
Dietrich has also played and recorded with a wealth of the premiere jazz and
experimental musicians from the US, Europe and Japan including Peter
Brotzman, Peter Kowlad, Milo Fine, The Shaking Ray Levis, Hugh Davies, AMM,
Tristan Honsiger, Toshinori Kondo and Voice Crack.
Some of his significant performances include Hunter Art Museum Chattanooga,
TN, New Music Across America Cleveland, OH, New Music America Philadelphia,
PA, Festival Musique Actuelle Victoriaville, Canada, Kool Jazz Festival New
York, NY, Carnegie Melon Institute Pittsburgh, PA, Music Gallery Toronto,
Canada, CBGB New York, NY, Franklin Furnace New York, NY, Soundscape New
York NY, Knitting Factory New York, NY, The Kitchen New York, NY, PS 1 New
York, NY, PS 122 New York, NY, Experimental Intermedia Center New York, NY ,
Tufts University Boston, MA, Massachusetts College of Art Boston, MA, Glaxa,
Los Angeles, CA, Actual Festival London, England, Jazz Days Festival
Leipzig, Germany, Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland, Grabenhalle St. Gallen,
Switzerland, Bears, Osaka, Japan, 3^rd Annual Festival of Improvised Music
London, England, The London Musician's Collective London, England, The Rote
Fabrik Zurich, Switzerland, Takutaku, Kyoto, Japan, Musique Action Nancy,
France, The Shot Gun Gallery Strasbourg, France, Great American Music Hall,
San Francisco, CA, Lamama, Tokyo, Japan, NoMusic Festival 99, London
Ontario, Musee d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg and The Spitz,
London, England.
C. Spencer Yeh was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Moved to the US in 1980; studied
radio/television/film at Northwestern University, and is now based out of
Cincinnati, Ohio. Yeh is active both as a solo and ensemble artist, as well
as with his primary 'organized sound' project, Burning Star Core. As an
improviser, Yeh has focused on developing a personal vocabulary using
violin, voice, and electronics. As a sound organizer/composer, Yeh works
with all aspects available surrounding a work, aurally and physically, as
elements key to the cumulative experience. He is concerned not only with
the sensual aspects of sound, but the gestural qualities as well.Yeh has
performed alongside and collaborated with a deep and ever-growing list of
artists and groups including Tony Conrad, Evan Parker, Thurston Moore, The
New Humans with Vito Acconci, Paul Flaherty and Chris Corsano, John Wiese,
Lee Ranaldo, JP Feliciano, Rafael Toral, John Edwards, Aaron Dilloway, John
Olson, Amy Granat, Jutta Koether, LaDonna Smith, Carlos Giffoni, Okkyung
Lee, Greg Kelley, Christine Sehnaoui, Helena Espvall, Peter Jacquemyn,
Atsuhiro Ito, Matthew Bower, Audrey Chen, Nate Wooley, Rhys Chatham's Guitar
Trio All-Stars, Damo Suzuki's Network, The Graveyards, Six Organs of
Admittance, and many others, and has performed across the U.S.A. and Europe
in a variety of settings and festivals.Most recently he participated in the
24 Hour Drone People project in Stockholm, alongside artists such as CM Von
Hauswolff, Mika Vainio, Joachim Nordwall, BJ Nilsen, Hildur Gudnadottir, and
Mark Wastell. Other 2008 plans included a residency at STEIM in Amsterdam
NL, the Sound Forest Festival in Riga Latvia, the Open Circuits: Interact
Festival in Hasselt, Belgium, the Floating Points festival at Issue Project
Room in Brooklyn, NY, and an invitation to back Jandek at the Wexner Center
in Columbus OH. He has also had visual art and video works presented
internationally.
b. 1973
Ben Hall is an improvising percussionist from Detroit, Mi and a founding
member of 1/4 speed free jazz unit Graveyards with John Olson of Wolf Eyes.
Studied trap set with Milford Graves, West African percussion with Jumma
Santos [Marion Brown, Miles Davis], trap set with Herman Kelly [Dance to the
Drummer's Beat] Has performed and/or recorded with:
Alan Silva [Celestrial Communication Orchesta], Bill Dixon, Sabu Toyuzumi
[Abe-Toyuzumi], Toshiji Mikawa [Incapacitants], Kazuo Imai [Marginal
Consort], Junko Hiroshige [Hijokaidan] , Faruq Z. Bey [Griot Galaxy], Aaron
Siegel [Anthony Braxton], Jumma Santos, Peter Kowald, Chris Corsano [Bjork,
Vampire Belt], Wolf Eyes, C. Spencer Yeh [Burning Star Core], Jack Wright,
Giancarlo Locatelli, Alberto Braida, Thurston Moore [Sonic Youth], Greg
Kelley [Nmperign, Cold Bleak Heat], Nate Wooley [Blue Collar], Mark Morgan
[Sightings], Jeff Arnal, John Voigt, Northwoods Improvisors, Katt Hernandez,
Religous Knives and Jonathon Vincent.
Founding member of 1/4 speed free jazz unit Graveyards with John
Olson of Wolf Eyes
JESSE KUDLERguitar, electronics, synthesizer IAN FRASERradio, electronics
Jesse Kudler, born 1979, improvises on guitar, synthesizer, tapes, radios and electronics, and he makes music on the computer. His work often operates on the extremes of volume, demonstrating an interest in the subtleties that can arise from intense softness or loudness.. All of Kudler’s work is marked by special attention to the stereo field. Recent interest has focused on both internal (electronic) and external (microphone/speaker) feedback, from radios/transmitters and microphones, allowing dynamic textures to arise in concert with the space in which they are played.\
Kudler attended public school until Wesleyan University, where he studied music with Ron Kuivila, Alvin Lucier, and a little bit with Anthony Braxton, among others. He eventually became active as an organizer and performer in improvised, experimental, and electronic music, forming a regular duo with fellow student Jonathan Zorn and leading the large electronic improvising ensemble Phil Collins. Kudler has also worked as a recording engineer for various projects.
In his various travels, Kudler has performed with Matt Bauder, Kyle Bruckmann, Gene Coleman, James Coleman, Tim Feeney, Marcos Fernandes, Brent Gutzeit, Horse Sinister, Bonnie Jones, Jason Kahn, Mazen Kerbaj, Pauline Oliveros, Bhob Rainey, Vic Rawlings, Christine Sehnaoui, Mike Shiflet, Jason Soliday, Howard Stelzer, Christian Weber, Matt Weston, Jack Wright, Jason Zeh, and many others. He has toured the United States several times.
Jesse Kudler lives in Philadelphia. Current projects include: Benito Cereno (with Dustin Hurt, Chandan Narayan, Tim Albro, and Ian Fraser); HZL, an electronics duo with Tim Albro (and sometimes Dustin Hurt, as HZL BRD); Tweeter, a treble-intensive noise trio with Alex Nagle and Eli Litwin; solo performance and recording; and various ad hoc groupings.
Ian M Fraser (b.1980) is a performer and composer of electronic music. His playing uses a wide palate of digital and analog means to create long-form improvisations involving patience and restraint. Collaborations include the electro-acoustic quintet Benito Cereno with Jesse Kudler, Tim Albro, Dustin Hurt and Chandan Narayan, and Common Senses with Tim Albro. He is also a contributing member to the band Relay.
THE VENUE
Circle of Hope
Broad and Washington Branch
1125 S. Broad St. 2nd Fl.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
