Tilted Axes to premiere “Touchy Subjects,” video and music for the Summer Solstice
For Immediate Release
On June 20-21, 2020, Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars will release new music (June 20) and a video (June 21) in celebration of the Summer Solstice. The new work, entitled “Touchy Subjects“, is a musical meditation on the real phenomenon of “touch starvation” that many are experiencing since the onset of social distancing. “Touchy Subjects” will explore the tonalities of touch, or the ways in which we physically connect to the world we inhabit have changed.
Tilted Axes is an award-winning project of post-rock composer and performer Patrick Grant, which brings specially composed electric guitar music into public spaces. The group consists of 15-18 electric guitarists playing instrumental music through wearable mini-amps, accompanied by percussionists and other performers. Stylistically the ensemble covers a number of genres, centering on the nexus where rock, classical, and world music meet. Tilted Axes performs in public squares, museums, and festivals of all kinds.
Since the pandemic, like so many other performing ensembles, the group has had to adapt to the current crisis. A number of large-scale performances were in the pre-production stage when Tilted Axes had to cancel rehearsals, postpone performances, and search for alternative outlets for their work.
In April, the group released a video for the Earth Day 50 Virtual Kick-Off as a commission from 350NYC called “Climate S.O.S.” This exposed the ensemble to a diverse new audience and illuminated fresh opportunities to make an impact in this moment.
“For ‘Touchy Subjects’ the aim is to create something that relates to our universal situation and can be understood anytime anywhere, past, present, or future,” says creator Grant. “At the same time, we don’t want to create another grid-style video. We’re compiling images and video footage from our musicians and other collaborators and building a musical and visual narrative that encompasses the personal experiences we all share. Like other works that I have produced which are informed by science (“Genome: The Autobiography of a Species”, “Moonwalk” for the Apollo 11 anniversary, etc.), we are consulting trained psychologists in the creation of this work. We are lucky that one of our Tilted Axes members is a doctor of psychology. We feel confident that, while we are certainly making art that is open to interpretation, that the sources of inspiration are informed and enlightened.”
DISCLAIMER: This video is intended for educational purposes only and is not to be duplicated, broadcast, nor is it for any commercial use. The images and music contained herein are presented under the statutes of Fair Use (USA), Fair Dealing (UK), in all applicable territories, and are credited accordingly. Our aim is to educate, inform, and inspire the people of our planet to participate in climate change activism while we can still make a difference.
created for the Earth Day 2020
#EarthDay #EarthDay50
composed and produced by Patrick Grant
Electric Guitars:
Patrick Grant, Daniel Reyes Llinas, John Halo, Matt Grossman
Chapman Stick:
Jeremy Nesse
Electric Bass:
Dan Cooper, Patrick Grant
Drums & Percussion:
John Ferrari, Cesare Papetti
Produced by Patrick Grant
Mixing engineer: Garry Rindfuss
Mastered by Sheldon Steiger
For its 50th Anniversary, Earth Day 2020 will be a worldwide 24-hour virtual event. ‘COASTAL REQUIEM‘, a short film by Diane Tuft, will be premiered at some point between 12:00PM and 2:00PM EDT.
Patrick Grant created the sound design and score for this film, inspired by classical music, and performed by the brilliant cellist Sterling Elliott.
Coming to video for Earth Week 2020: a new video from Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars commissioned by 350 NYCto be premiered as part of the March for Science NYC/Earth Day Initiative’s EARTH DAY 50 Virtual Kick-Off on Sunday, April 19th. “Our aim is to convince the media to carry more climate science in their content!”
Stay tuned for more information: https://www.marchforsciencenyc.com
With a 28-year history of leading-edge concert production in NYC, Composers Concordance presents The Composers Concordance Festival 2012. This will be a whirlwind of five innovative contemporary music concerts in ten days, including over 40 of NYC’s most distinctive and accomplished composers. This festival spotlights the composer in different contexts, engaging the audience and performer in the creative process, and contending with the dizzying multiplicity of styles within today’s music scene. All the while, Composers Concordance puts a premium on distinguishability, that factor by which we remember and denote individual identity – and it’s that aspect, the distinction and breadth of the composer’s message, on which we’ll chiefly focus.
The first concert, ‘Songs‘, shows the various vocal styles the composer writes songs for. From the traditional western classical soprano and baritone, to the modern pop/r&b diva, to voices of other world cultures that stretch the boundaries of notation and pitch.
‘The Composers Play Composers Marathon‘ shows the composer as a performer of his or her own music. A common practice in baroque, classical and romantic periods but rarer in the mid 20th century. Toward the end of the century and into the new 21st century, the art of the composer-as-performer is re-emerging, and on this marathon we hear no fewer than 27 composers interpreting their own works.
‘New Blues‘ asks the composer to show his or her compositional skill and voice in this very particular genre that influenced so much of the music in the 20th century. With the 100-year anniversary of the first publication of a blues piece by W.C. Handy, we look at how the 21st century composer is influenced by this style.
The development of technology was quick in the 20th century, and it inspired composers to create brand new timbres and sonorities with the possibilities electronic manipulation of sound provided. We see what the 21st century composer has to offer to progress further the art of computers, amplifiers, and circuits in the ‘Electronics‘ concert of the festival.
With the final concert: ‘Ensemble‘, we witness the composer in an ensemble setting, performing each others’ music. The ensemble in question is the Composers Concordance Ensemble (which is the ensemble-in-residence at William Paterson University), made up of the directors of comp cord as well as regular performers and composers associated with the group.
NOTE: There will be a press conference before the first performance on January 27th, at 5:30pm at The Turtle Bay Music School. Members of the press are invited to attend and learn more about the festival. RSVP: composersconcordancerecords@gmail.com
Festival Schedule:
I. SONGS
Composers Celebrate the Diversity of Song Part of the Turtle Bay Visiting Artist Series
January 27th at 6:30pm
Turtle Bay Music School
Em Lee Concert Hall
244 East 52nd St, NYC
(212) 753-8811 http://www.tbms.org/ Admission: Free
Composers: Cody Brown, Dan Cooper, Charles Coleman, Luis Cobo, Duke Ellington/Pritsker, Milica Paranosic, Gene Pritsker, and Bob Rodriguez
Performers: Bobby Avey, Gernot Bernroider, Cody Brown, John Clark, Charles Coleman, Dan Cooper, Mat Fieldes, Laura Kay, Taka Kigawa, Milica Paranosic, Edmundo Ramirez, Chanda Rule, Sean Satin, and Keve Wilson
II. MARATHON The 3rd Annual Composers Play Composers Marathon
Composers Performing Their Own Music January 29th at 7pm
Composer/Performers: Cristian Amigo, Loop B, Dan Barrett, Eve Beglarian, Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols, Peter Breiner, David Chesky, Luis Cobo, Valerie Coleman, Dan Cooper, Jed Distler, Patrick Grant, Franz Hackl, Sara Holtzschue, Peter Jarvis, Andrew M. Lee, Peri Mauer, Daniel Palkowski, Milica Paranosic, Gene Pritsker, David Saperstein, Larry Simon, David Soldier, Rubens Salles, Eleonor Sandresky, Ezequiel Viñao, and Michael Wolff
III. NEW BLUES Marking 100 Years of the Blues
Composers Bring the Genre into the 21st Century
Performed by The International Street Cannibals Ensemble January 31st at 9pm
Composers: Dan Barrett, John Clark, Dan Cooper, Glenn Cornett, Patrick Grant, Robert Johnson, Earl Maneein, Milica Paranosic, Gene Pritsker, and Joseph Pehrson
Performers: Dan Barrett, Lynn Bechtold, John Clark, Dan Cooper, Glenn Cornett, Glenn Cornett, Jennifer DeVore, Patrick Grant, Earl Maneein, Cesare Papetti, Milica Paranosic, Gene Pritsker, and Malik Work
IV. ELECTRONICS
Music for Electronics and Electro-Acoustic Ensemble
Composers Working with New Media February 3rd at 8pm
Gallery MC
549 West 52nd Street, 8th Floor
(bet. 10th & 11th Ave), NYC
(212) 581-1966 http://www.gallerymc.org/h/ Admission: $10
Composers: Loop B, Lynn Bechtold, Glenn Cornett, Dan Cooper, Dinu Ghezzo, Patrick Grant, Lainie Fefferman, Franz Hackl, Mari Kimura, Daniel Palkowski, Milica Paranosic/Joel Chadabe, Gene Pritsker, and Eric Somers
Performers: Loop B, Glenn Cornett, Lynn Bechtold, Gene Pritsker, Daniel Palkowski, Lainie Fefferman, Peter Christian Hall, Mari Kimura, Milica Paranosic, and Franz Hackl
Visual projections: Carmen Kordas
V. ENSEMBLE Composers Performing within an Ensemble
The Composers Concordance Ensemble at William Paterson University February 6th at 7pm
William Paterson University
300 Pompton Road Wayne, NJ
(973) 720-2315 http://www.wpunj.edu/ Admission: $5
Composers: John Cage, Dan Cooper, Robert Dick, Patrick Hardish, Peter Jarvis, Otto Luening, Milica Paranosic, Joseph Pehrson, and Gene Pritsker
Performers: Dan Barrett, Lynn Bechtold, Robert Dick, Peter Jarvis, Milica Paranosic, Gene Pritsker, and Michiyo Suzuki
Patrick Grant’s “Lucid Intervals,” an ostinato for (virtual) violin solo, hammer dulcimer, string quartet, vibraphone, electric bass, timpani, congas, and prepared piano.
Performing “Lucid Intervals” on the Nano Rig at the Composers Concordance “Composers Play Composers” Marathon at DROM NYC, Jan. 31, 2010.
The MMiX FESTIVAL of Interactive Music Technology October 8-11, 2009 at Theaterlab
137 W 14th Street, New York City
(212) 929-2545 http://www.theaterlabnyc.com
6:00-7:45 PM Thursday through Saturday
Free and open to the public in Studio C
Interactive sound installations by Chronotronic Wonder Transducer
led by sound inventor Steven Litt
PLUS product giveaways of Ableton LIVE 8 and Cycling ’74’s MAX 5
* * * * * * *
The MMiX Festival of Interactive Music Technology is produced by Theaterlab, radio producer Jocelyn Gonzales, and curated by composer/performer Patrick Grant.
All events take place in the studios of Theaterlab which is located at 137 West 14th St., between 6th and 7th Ave., New York City. For more information (ticket info, directions, etc.) visit Theaterlab’s web site at http://www.theaterlabnyc.com.
Software and laptop improvements present new possibilities for composer/performers to create complex soundscapes in real-time during live performance. The focus of the festival is to demonstrate that these emerging audio technologies are instrumental in new artistic creations, and to inform the public regarding the current state of this art form. The artists presented in MMiX have set a new bar in that discourse and will provide live performances, media installations and workshops.
Ableton, creators of LIVE 8 and Cycling ’74, creators of Max/MSP/Jitter are primary sponsors of the festival with additional support by DubSpot NYC and Eventide.
Media sponsorship for the festival is generously provided by WNYC 93.9 FM and 820 AM, New York City listener supported radio.
The MMiXdown 