Saturday, June 2nd, 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. His first NYC appearance since 2009, Hassell will dialogue with the audience and present “3x5 ideas” from his book-in-development:
The North and South of You (Warm is Better Than Cold)...
...If I say “warm” is the land of sensuality, slinky movement and succulent harmony in the southern climes, will you reflexively point out the beauty of clog-dancing and metronomic eighth-notes in the North? Is there no agreement to be had about what is beautiful? No agreement that things that are full of curves and color and the movement of a falling leaf are the essence of charm? No agreement that being charmed is a great way to spend a life???
Adrift in a sea of relativism, there’s no land in sight.
The event also supports the June 2018 release of Listening To Pictures (Pentimento Volume One), Hassell’s first new album in nine years, along with the launch of Jon’s own label, Ndeya (pronounced “in-day-ya”). The new label - in partnership with Warp Records - will be a home for new work as well as selected archival releases from the Fourth World decades.
A trumpet player, composer and musical conceptualist, Jon Hassell’s career bisects a multitude of strands in the history of the avant-garde and the development of genuinely new forms of music. Having studied under Karlheinz Stockhausen in Cologne (alongside future members of the band Can), he played on the original recording of Terry Riley’s In C (1968), was part of La Monte Young’s Theatre Of Eternal Music and studied Kiranic singing with Pandit Pran Nath, all of which informed his own instrumental technique and treatment of the trumpet with various electronic effects. A growing interest in the indigenous music of other cultures led to the invention of his ‘Fourth World’ blend of different styles, first heard on albums such as Vernal Equinox and Earthquake Island in the late-1970s. These caught the ear of Brian Eno, who collaborated with Hassell on the Possible Musics album, and used many of the Fourth World ideas on his My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts album with David Byrne. He has played on albums by artists including Talking Heads (the seminal Remain In Light), Peter Gabriel, David Sylvian and Björk, composed film soundtracks (Wim Wenders) and theatrical works (Peter Sellars). In the past few years he has been acknowledged as a key influence on a new wave of artists including Oneohtrix Point Never, Huerco S, and Visible Cloaks.
This event is co-produced with Britton Powell & Tomorrows Music Group.