Seaven Teares is a new band led by New York vocalist/composer Charlie Looker, primarily known as the frontman of avant rock band Extra Life, co-founder of classic Brooklyn noise ensemble Zs and composer of various chamber music. Named after the lute piece by 17th Century English composer John Dowland, Seaven Teares draws most of its influence from ancient European music, post-industrial folk and simple pop.
Looker’s voice is joined by alto Amirtha Kidambi, known for her unique interpretations of George Crumb’s music, her knowledge of Carnatic music and her work with L.A. art-pop band Sequins and Skeletons. Seaven Teares’ instrumental arrangements are fleshed out with Renaissance pipe organ, various woodwinds and guitars by multi-instrumentalist Robbie Lee, whose production and arrangement credits include Dax Riggs, Howling Hex and several records for the Drag City label. The quartet is completed by vibraphone and assorted percussion by Russell Greenberg, co-founder of contemporary music ensemble Yarn/Wire and long-time member of progressive pop band Hi Red Center. Seaven Teares’ current repertoire includes several brand new original songs, two re-worked versions of songs from the Extra Life songbook and a small handful of covers including John Dowland himself, Alice in Chains and Angelo Badalamenti. All of the music will be available in mid-2011 on the bands’ debut album Pow’r Ballads.
Charlie Looker (born 1980, New York City) has been active since high school as a composer, guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist and improviser, between the worlds of underground rock and art music. With roots in metal, modern composition, jazz, indie pop and Early Music, both Looker’s music and his modus operandi have always been an intuitive synthesis of diverse influences. While his music has been performed by various ensembles, his primary focus has always been on his own bands which perform regularly in grassroots contexts. Looker holds a B.A. in Music from Wesleyan University (2003) where he studied with Anthony Braxton, Alvin Lucier and Mark Stambaugh; however, he still considers himself mostly self-taught. Central to Looker’s music is the play between crushing severity and the lighter touch of Irony’s ladyfingers.
From 2003 to 2007 Looker was a core member of the notorious Brooklyn “brutal chamber” group Zs, recording for the Troubleman Unlimited, Tzadik, Planaria and Rice Control labels. In 2007, Looker formed his own band Extra Life, to explore more fully his vocal writing, folk-based forms and synthetic instrument sounds. Extra Life’s first album Secular Works was released in 2008 on Planaria Recordings to wide critical praise, followed by U.S. and European tours. Looker also continues his work as an improviser in the band Period, with drummer Mike Pride.
Looker’s chamber music has been performed by the S.E.M. Ensemble (U.S.A), the Furious Band (U.S.A) and the Soozvuk Ensemble (Bratislava). In 2005, Looker was awarded a fellowship from the Ostrava New Music Days Festival (Czech Republic), as a performer and composer. Other notable projects and credits include work with Dirty Projectors, John Zorn, William Parker, Tyondai Braxton, Daniel Carter, Elliott Sharp, Christian Wolff, Seductive Sprigs and Time of Orchids. Projects for 2009 include a recording collaboration with Chuck Stern and a second Extra Life studio album.
Build is a Brooklyn-based indie-classical band led by composer/violinist Matt McBane. Described by Steve Smith in Time Out New York as “a new quintet that straddles the increasingly permeable line between chamber music and instrumental rock”, Build has developed a body of work and a performance style that freely and intuitively draws on chamber music, art rock, minimalism, electronic music, modal jazz, American fiddle music, and experimentalism (to name a few).
Build released its debut album on New Amsterdam Records in the summer of 2008. It has received critical acclaim from both esteemed classical music critics and indie bloggers alike including the Canadian Blogcritics which called it “interesting and exciting…it could change the way you think about contemporary composition”, Bloomberg News’ Alan Rich who praised its “skittery, unpredictable and utterly charming musical inventions”, Seattle Sound Magazine which stated “…the surreal wonderland Build leads you through is endlessly fascinating and often gorgeous”, and Sequenza21which praised the performances on the disc: “If you listen, you hear that the rhythmic profile of the piece is treacherous. The performers make it sound easy, effortless, and improvisational.” Tracks from the album are played on radio stations across the country and have been used many times as musical interludes on NPR’s All Things Considered.
Since its formation in December of 2006 Build has performed dozens of concerts at clubs, art spaces and concert halls throughout New York and across the country. Recent and upcoming performances include the Chelsea Art Museum (NYC), Joe’s Pub (NYC), UCSD’s ArtPower! (San Diego), the Carlsbad Music Festival (San Diego), Zipper Hall (LA), and the 2009 Bang on a Can Marathon from which their performance was selected as a highlight for WNYC’s New Sounds by John Schaeffer.
The members of Build (Andrea Lee, cello, Ben Campbell, bass, Matt McBane, violin/compositions, Mike Cassedy, piano/rhodes, Adam Gold, drums) have individually trained at some of the country’s most prestigious music schools (USC Thornton School of Music, Yale School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and New England Conservatory) in both Classical and Jazz performance, have extensive backgrounds in indie-rock and other musical genres, and have performed around world.