Formed in NYC in 1993, the improvising collective No-Neck Blues Band (NNCK) favors anonymity, autonomy, and obfuscation. Alongside founding member Keith Connolly (2016 AIR), they return to open ISSUE’s Fall season at First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn.
ISSUE presents the first commission from Eden Girma (2026 AIR). Part dreamscape and part summoning circle, an intimate diasporic familial archive is pieced together through the eyes of a five-year-old child.
In partnership with Franklin Furnace as part of their 50th anniversary commemoration and November release of "Back to the Present: 50 Years of Free Expression with Franklin Furnace" ISSUE presents an evening of performance and conversation.
Incorporating elements of noise, trance and minimalism, Sergei Tcherepnin (2012 AIR) presents new work for Serge Modular synthesizer.
On 11/11/11, for the final installment of their residency, Prince Rama will herald in the end of the world by way of karaoke. Chose from number one hit singles corresponding with the dates of eleven predicted "apocalypses" (Heavens Gate, Jonestown, and Y2K), which they've "chop and screwed" for the occasion.
Emerging Artists Commissions 2011
Uncanny Valley is a monodrama exploring the region where robotic human replicas begin to emulate humans too closely, causing revulsion in observers. Dominique Ahkong's text is inspired by the legend of Descartes' "daughter," Francine, and the story pursues the discovery and eventual destruction of the mechanical being.
Alex Chechile performs On the Sensations of Tone, a structured composition that combines elements of psychophysics, cognitive science, physiology, and improvisation. Utilizing the acoustics of the room and the multichannel sound system, the work evoke unusual responses in both the ear and the body.
Trumpeter Nate Wooley performs his new piece “Eight Syllables,” the first composition using a notational system based on the International Phonetic Alphabet. Phonetic sounds, which are the building blocks of syllables, are mapped onto a set of parameters limiting how the lips, tongue, teeth, and throat interact.
A Gala Honoring William Basinski, featuring an exclusive New York premiere of music from Robert Wilson's "The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic," with William Basinski, and Marina Abramovic.
James Ilgenfritz presents The Ticket That Exploded: An Opera based on William Burroughs' 1962 dystopian novel. Featuring vocalists Ted Hearne, Nick Hallett, Melissa Hughes, Anne Rhodes, Steve Dalachnsky, and Ryan Opperman, an ensemble of fifteen instrumentalists, and live video projections from Jason Ponce.
Composer/performers Ryan Lott, a.k.a. Son Lux, and Toby Driver jointly curate a performance as part of MATA's INTERVAL concert series, featuring new works by Terran Olson, Thicket, Joshue Ott and Morgan Packard.
Robert Ashley's "Vidas Perfectas"
In anticipation of Vidas Perfectas, an all-new Spanish language version of Robert Ashley's classic made-for-TV opera Perfect Lives, ISSUE hosts a screening of three episodes from the original Perfect Lives .