ISSUE Project Room, in collaboration with Erstwhile, presents two nights with legendary guitarist Keith Rowe at TEMP in downtown Manhattan. Originally trained as a painter, Rowe adopted principles of the plastic arts, applying them directly to the electric guitar. Over the two nights of Rowe’s residency he performs with former Shadow Ring member Graham Lambkin, longtime collaborator and renowned composer, guitarist, and pianist Christian Wolff, and Wandelweiser member Michael Pisaro, in addition to presenting a solo performance. Much like the work of his collaborators, Rowe’s work is characterized by a materialist approach to sound and performance. He has been known to employ objects such as a library card, rubber eraser, springs, hand-held electric fans, alligator clips, and common office supplies in playing the guitar. ISSUE is pleased to present Rowe’s first duo performances with both Pisaro and Lambkin.
Keith Rowe led the forefront of the initial wave of European free improvisation, co-founding the AMM collective in 1965 and originating the tabletop guitar. The tabletop guitar has remained at the center of his ever-evolving setup of electronics and gadgets ever since, becoming increasingly stripped down and minimal in recent years. Having mostly performed within AMM until the late 90’s, he’s since been involved in a wide range of projects, including a slew of Erstwhile’s most prominent releases. He is the cornerstone musician of the label, and his wide range of releases over the last decade stands with the strongest bodies of work of the last century in improvised music. He has been an integral part of every AMPLIFY festival since 2002, performing seven festivals in five cities on three continents. He has worked with composers Cornelius Cardew, Ben Patterson and Christian Wolff, was a member of the Scratch Orchestra, and collaborated with with the Merce Cunningham Dance company.
