Events | Eclectic Salon
Los Angeles | September 24, 2016 | 7:00 PM
Villa Aurora and the Unwrinkled Ear present Eclectic Salon Special
Reheat and shiver: Improvisation with a view
Villa Aurora fellows Magda Mayas and Tony Buck are teaming up with New York based musician and composer C. Spencer Yeh and the Ghanaian musician SK Kakabra for a one-of-a-kind concert. All four musicians are regarded as highly creative artists, transcending boundaries between styles and disciplines via an experimental and improvisational approach.
The program includes a reception and four sets starting at 8:00 p.m.
C. Spencer Yeh is recognized for his interdisciplinary activities and collaborations as an artist, improviser, and composer, as well his music project Burning Star Core. Among others, his work was presented at MoMA NYC, Whitney Museum NYC, Walker Art Center Minneapolis MN and the Liverpool Biennial. Recent recordings include "Solo Voice I-X" (Primary Information), "Wake Up Awesome," with Okkyung Lee and Lasse Marhaug (Software Recording Company), and “Long Pig” by New Monuments, his trio with Ben Hall and Don Dietrich (Bocian). Klick for more Information
SK Kakraba is arguably the foremost living exponent of the gyil, a native xylophone constructed from 14 wooden slats arrayed across calabash gourd resonators. What gives the instrument its unique character is the buzzing sounds that accompany each marimba-like tone, produced by silk walls of spider egg sacs pulled across each hole drilled into the gourds. Kakraba grew up in Saru, a traditional farming village in northern Ghana, in a family of gyil players. In 2012 he moved to Los Angeles where he has quietly developed a growing fan base with his gripping solo performances, playing pieces that are traditionally used for a wide variety of functions—weddings, funerals, dances, and more. Last year Kakraba released two acclaimed solo recordings, including "Yonye" for the label run by Unwrinkled Ear collaborator Sun Araw, and "Songs of Paapieye" the first newly recorded release on the celebrated reissue imprint Awesome Tapes From Africa. His sound is dazzling: warm meditative clusters of melody stack up to become glowing overtones of high-energy orchestral complexity.
Tony Buck is regarded as one of Australia's most creative and adventurous exports, with vast experience across the globe. He has been involved in a highly diverse array of projects but is probably best known around the world as a member of the trio The Necks. Current projects include TRANSMIT (a guitar driven post-rock project), SPILL with Magda Mayas; New York based trios GLACIAL (with David Watson and Lee renaldo); THE FELL CLUTCH (with Ned Rothenberg, Stomu Takeshi and David Tronzo) and a long standing duo with Axel Doerner. He also creates video works for use with live music performance and has had pieces shown in Tokyo, Belfast, Berlin, New York and Sydney. Klick for more Information
Magda Mayas, born 1979, is a pianist living in Berlin. Developing a vocabulary utilizing both the inside as well as the exterior parts of the piano, using preparations and objects, she explores textural, linear and fast moving sound collage. Alongside the piano, Mayas has recently been performing on a Clavinet/Pianet, an electric piano from the 60s with strings and metal chimes, where she engages with noise and more visceral sound material, equally extending the instrumental sound palette using extended techniques and devices. Mayas performs internationally solo and in collaboration with a large number of musicians and composers. Current projects are "Spill", a duo with drummer Tony Buck, a duo with Christine Abdelnour (sax) and "Great Waitress", a trio with Monika Brooks (acc) and Laura Altman (cl). Since 2013 she has also been producing radio pieces for ABC Australia and Deutschlandradio Kultur and has released 20 CDS to date. Klick for more Information
This concert is part of The Unwrinkled Ear Concert Series and is supported by Black Editions, and the Goethe-Institut.
