James K’s residency culminates with American Womin, a convergence of distinct personas existing across her work. James K debuts the personas as a multimedia live set, presenting them within an overlapping practice spanning voice, modular synthesis, live instrumentation, sampling alchemy, movement & video.

ISSUE commemorates the close of the 2018 season with a special year-end event featuring avant-garde industrial duo Wetware, as well as a rare collaborative performance between Shelley Hirsch & Marcia Bassett. James Hoff DJs around the performances. Entrance and drinks are free for ISSUE Members.

ISSUE presents composers Lainie Fefferman & Seth Cluett premiering new works developed in collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs, evoking a profound history of collaboration and shared dialogue between artists & engineers.

ISSUE and the Board of Directors invite you to join us for our annual Gala, taking place on October 17, 2018. The evening honors pioneering composer Alvin Lucier; Regina Myer, President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership; and Jeanne Lutfy, ISSUE Board Chair and NYC Landmarks Preservation Commissioner.

Julia Santoli presents the third and final work of her 2018 ISSUE residency with the premiere of a new work within her “Siren Sore” cycle: a mutant project of myriad form manifesting as visual project, recording album, and live performance through genre-crossing collaborations.

Will Rawls takes the multifarious figure of the cursor as a guideline to investigate his work that encompasses dance, writing, voice and objects. In this final research showing, Rawls speculates upon the cursor as a kind of body, describing the ephemeral unit as “an abstract protagonist, a messenger in crisis.”

Improviser, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Brandon Lopez presents Malediction, his third and final piece as a 2018 ISSUE Artist-In-Residence, for four players (Michael Foster on Saxophones, Nina Dante voice, Lucie Vítková on accordian and objects, and Lopez himself).

ISSUE is thrilled to present a rare performance from Canadian artist and vocalist Mary Margaret O'Hara, performing in NY for the first time in ten years. O’Hara will give an improvised performance, embedded with songs from her legendary album Miss America, alongside special guests.

For their final program as the 2018 Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellow, Queer Trash is excited to present God Is My Co-Pilot and Fire-Toolz. Angular and ecstatic, the program promises an evening of raw and experimental song form, reconstructed noise, and genre promiscuity.

The second evening of the series opens with the world premiere of Becoming Air by Annea Lockwood, followed by Library on Lightning by Ashley Fure, Felipe Lara’s recent composition Metafagote, and the premiere of the duo rendition of Wadada Leo Smith’s Red Autumn Gold.

ISSUE is pleased to present FOR, the first evening of FOR/WITH, a mini-festival featuring new commissions and works by iconoclast composers Wadada Leo Smith, Annea Lockwood, and Catherine Lamb. Now in its second year, the FOR/WITH series celebrates the collaborative process between performer and composer.

For their third presentation as Suzanne Fiol 2018 Curatorial Fellows, Queer Trash presents an auspicious meeting of bright, queer minds showcasing the myriad ways that queers make sound, make sound queer, or skim around terms that may attempt to contain queer life.

James K premieres Venomist Choir, a piece exploring how voice, and more specifically the mouth, operates as a subversive architecture, vessel, & stage. The piece is an electroacoustic composition & multimedia choreography embedded within an official New York Fashion Week show by art/fashion imprint Lou Dallas.

ISSUE welcomes back Ashley Paul, performing alongside longtime mentor and renowned pianist-composer Anthony Coleman. The evening also features artist M Lamar presenting American Cuck, a multimedia video, environmental installation, and musical performance exploring the maintenance of white supremacy.

ISSUE is thrilled to present celebrated performance artist Karen Finley. Since the early 1980's, Finley has become synonymous with performance art. She has long provoked controversy through her subversive depictions of human sexuality, and and her unique performative responses to oppression in culture and politics.

Legendary composer-performer Charlemagne Palestine performs alongside stalwart NYC poet Steve Dalachinsky as a part of the the 2018 Brooklyn Book Festival, co-presented with BOMB Magazine. Interdisciplinary artist Dawn Kasper opens the evening, enacting part two of a new improvisation titled A, B, C : 0, 1, 2, 3.

ISSUE is pleased to present the premiere of Episodes et Mutations, an immersive performance + light installation by Leila Bordreuil & Doron Sadja. The performance is presented as a part of the French Institute Alliance Française’s Crossing The Line Festival and is performed by celebrated ensemble Mivos quartet.

ISSUE and Brooklyn-based music institution RVNG Intl. present Phantom Kino Ballett, an audiovisual drama by renowned German producer Lena Willikens and multidisciplinary artist Sarah Szczesny. The evening also features artist and composer Jules Gimbrone presenting "Invisible Objects," an in-process work.

ISSUE's fall season opens with legendary experimental jazz artist Milford Graves, performing with renowned multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily. The evening also features a performance by composer and artist Marina Rosenfeld, as well as improvising vocalist Charmaine Lee. Join as an ISSUE Member for a free ticket!

ISSUE's celebration of Sonic Arts Union continues with an expansive evening of works + archival presentations featuring presentations from friends and colleagues inspired by their approach, including Stephen O'Malley, Paula Matthusen, Philip White, James Fei, and Oren Ambarchi & crys cole.

The first evening of a series observing the legacy of experimental music collective the Sonic Arts Union and its founding members: David Behrman, Alvin Lucier, Gordon Mumma, and the late Robert Ashley (1930-2014), features both performances from Sonic Arts Union members and stagings of their compositions.

Julia Santoli continues her 2018 residency with the premiere of a new work within her “Siren Sore” cycle: a mutant project of myriad form manifesting as visual project, recording album, and performance through genre-crossing collaborations. The evening premieres “burning body of love” with double bassist Zach Rowden.

During his 2018 ISSUE residency, choreographer and performer Will Rawls takes the multifarious figure of the cursor as a guideline to investigate his work that encompasses dance, writing, voice and objects. Cursor 2: Ditties is language gaming for a voice and body in motion.

ISSUE and Harvestworks present acclaimed sonicist, composer, and biologist Francisco López making a rare NY appearance, his first at ISSUE since 2014. The evening also features composer, performer, and kinetic installation artist Michael Theodore's “Sound Houses (i)”, the first in a series inspired by Francis Bacon.

With roots in industrial music, and a penchant for recording everything from rainforests to skyscrapers, López’ work concerns complex phenomenological referencing to the “substance of reality." Composer Beth Bradfish presents work brining the audience as close to sound as possible, with Diane Moser & Max Johnson.

For their second program as the 2018 Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellow, Queer Trash is elated to present Black Leather Jesus, (A)sex, Mad Recital, and Rachika S. Queer Trash turns to refuse in both senses of the word: refuse of discarded detritus, and refuse as in “no fucking way.”

ISSUE is thrilled to present a talk with legendary composer, trumpeter, and conceptualist Jon Hassell, a hugely influential figure in modern electronic music and creator of the “Fourth World” aesthetic -- a graceful interface of deep tradition with new technologies. This is his first NYC appearance since 2009.

ISSUE, in partnership with the Center for Italian Modern Art, presents an evening of experimental opera. The program features the first American re-staging of Alberto Savinio’ avant-garde operetta Les chants de la mi-mort and the NYC premiere of the latest scene in Nick Hallett’s serial opera, To Music.

Brandon Lopez continues his 2018 residency with the ISSUE debut of his piano trio, dubbed "Mess," with pianist Sam Yulsman and drummer Chris Corsano. Here, Lopez attempts to dismember the notion of the piano trio to create a counterpart where each instrument functions outside of their supposed traditional roles.

Syncretics Series continues with solo performances by renowned Irish pianist Isabelle O’Connell and drum-set master Pheeroan akLaff. O’Connell is a stalwart of the contemporary concert music scene; akLaff imbues his work with ancient belief systems that address creativity as received rather than generated.

Vanessa Rossetto and C. Lavender each present new compositions, respectively exploring how trauma and memory collude with audition as a co-composional material. Rossetto presents a localization of transgenerational trauma, Lavender uses "frequency following" as a form of rehabilitation.

ISSUE presents slack-tuned, four-string wildman guitarist Bill Orcutt, unbound Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji, and Poughkeepsian creative jazz originary Joe McPhee. All three are tireless improvisers & solo performers -- each possessing an enduring aesthetic that’s as independent as it is profoundly empathic.

ISSUE is thrilled to present a rare U.S. performance from celebrated Argentinian artist Horacio Vaggione, composer of electroacoustic and computer-assisted music and pioneer of micromontage, granular synthesis, and microsound. The evening opens with a performance from 51717.

James K opens her residency with the premiere of ELEKTRA (Scream Through the Eyes of a Statue), a multimedia performance conceptualizing the female voice as an “X-ray to the bones of sound," with Eve Essex (winds and electronics), Via App (electronics), Leila Bordreuil (cello) & Eli V Manuscript (textual alchemy).

Regenerative Feedback concludes with presentations by Dreamcrusher, writer/lecturer Sami Khatib, sound artist Neha Spellfish, editor Jon Lindblom, author Paul Rekret. The evening also features a performance from Flora Yin-Wong and Colin Self demonstrating Xhoir, a non-utilitarian choir.

Regenerative Feedback continues, exploring the various ethical dimensions, historical circumstances, and cultural resonances of musical artifacts through a series of individual presentations, a roundtable conversation guided by a moderator, interlocuting performances, and extended Q&As.

Friday, May 25th, ISSUE is pleased to open Regenerative Feedback: On Listening And Its Emancipatory Potential, a three day symposium of talks, presentations, discourse, and performances centered around biological, social, political and cognitive negotiations in music.

Félicia Atkinson presents a brand new work involving an imaginary dialogue between the poems of Francis Ponge and texts of her own, in French and in English, with electronics, voice and piano. The evening also features Afrikan Sciences & Sassacyprigo performing nuanced soundscapes conjuring different temporalities

Paul de Jong, cellist and co-founder of celebrated experimental duo the Books, and composer and violist Jessica Pavone’s String Ensemble each present new work -- spanning de Jong’s distinctly hybrid and emotionally-driven cello music, to Pavone’s uniquely physical compositions for strings.

Pioneering electronics composer David Behrman collaborates with fiddler, improviser, and composer Cleek Schrey. Together, the two perform newly-developing situations: re-worked pieces from the past, embedded Appalachian fiddle tunes, and new compositions.

Julia Santoli opens her 2018 ISSUE residency with the premiere of two new works within her “Siren Sore” cycle: a mutant project of myriad form manifesting as visual project, recording album, and live performance through genre-crossing collaborations. Each new work features Tamio Shiraishi and Geng, respectively.

ISSUE is pleased to present the debut NYC showcase of Pacific City Sound Visions, an experimental label helmed by Spencer Clark. The evening features debut American performances from Francesco Cavaliere and Leila Hassan, as well as new work from Lieven Martens Moana and Clark’s own Typhonian Highlife project.

During his 2018 ISSUE residency, choreographer and performer Will Rawls takes the multifarious figure of the cursor as a guideline to investigate his work that encompasses dance, writing, voice and objects. In this first research showing, Rawls focuses on the materiality of his voice as it runs through his writing.

March 18th 2018, ISSUE hosts an interactive performance of the rhythmic game and composition Stridulations For The Good Luck Feast with Billy Martin, joined by TILT Brass and fellow musicians as a part of French Institute Alliance Française’s 2018 Tilt Kids Festival. Entry is $25 for a child with an accompanying adult.

Our recently inaugurated Syncretics Series continues with Eric Wubbels, acclaimed composer, pianist, and co-director of the Wet Ink Ensemble, and Adam Tendler performing a repertoire of works from David Lang, Elodie Lauten, Frances White, and Tom Johnson.

ISSUE presents the debut of its new Syncretics Series, featuring solo and duo performances by artists at highest level of their craft curated by Chris McIntyre. The opening event features two of the most revered and sought-after pianists in the experimental improvisation scene, Craig Taborn and Kris Davis.

February 24th, ISSUE presents Argentine acousmatic composer Beatriz Ferreyra and Obfuscation Morphologies, a new work by Eric Frye. Though they differ in generation, both composers employ kindred methods for orienting sonic surfaces with signature precision across electroacoustic and computer music.

For their first program as 2018 Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellow, Queer Trash is delighted to present Brutal Measures (Lydia Lunch + Weasel Walter), Keijaun Thomas, and Straight Panic. Queer Trash cruises in relentless pursuit of bodily disruptions and sonic deviance against avant-normativity.

Computer music pioneer Carl Stone, composer/performer Ned Rothenberg, and Tokyo-based vocalist Ami Yamasaki perform in an evening of overlapping improvisations. While Stone & Rothenberg have performed together previously in Japan over their 35 year-long friendship, this is their debut New York performance.

Olivia Block, Drew McDowall, and Lea Bertucci perform site-responsive solo performances. Each artist observes an individual approach to presenting new work in ISSUE’s theater space, applying the room’s unique acoustics to inform their craft and independent performative methods.

Improviser, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Brandon Lopez opens his 2018 ISSUE residency with the premiere of Fairer Than Tongue, a solo piece for improviser in three movements. The evening also features a duo performance between Lopez and celebrated Detroit-born jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver.

ISSUE is pleased to present Sarah Davachi and Gabi Losoncy performing new work. Their varying practices span Davachi’s disclosure of the delicate psychoacoustics of intimate aural space to Losoncy’s unlayered, utilitarian audio experiments -- both charting critical new contexts for composition & sound art.

ISSUE is pleased to screen Brooklyn-born film pioneer Ken Jacobs’ 3D film A Primer in Sky Socialism, presented alongside the premiere of a film score by Aki Onda + performed live in collaboration with musician & writer Alan Licht. Baltimore-based pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn performs solo before the film.

Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste completes his ISSUE residency in collaboration with LaMont Hamilton January 19th - 20th at The Kitchen. The performance features the duo sequentially performing all five of their previously staged “parts” of Julius Eastman’s 1979 composition “Evil Nigger” as a 24 hour interpretive cycle.