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.
Esther Venrooy's works range from purely electronic composed music to improvised combinations of electronica with traditional instrumentation (piano, guqin, pipa and satsuma-biwa). Since 2006 she has created site-specific works, multimedia performances and installations. Joined by the anarchistic duo pygmy jerboa.
Haunted House, comprised of avant-blues guitarist Loren Connors, Suzanne Langille, Andrew Burnes and Neel Murgai reunite after a 10 year hiatus for a special performance. Joined by Che Chen and Robbie Lee, stoner-rock/goth lullaby songwriter Sondra Sun-Odeon, and Helena Espvall (of Espers).
Described as abstract analogue pointillism, ambiance for spaceports, or hypnotic echochamber pulsebeat, Frank Bretschneider’s detailed music is echoed by his visuals: perfectly translated realizations of the qualities found in music within visual phenomena. Belgian sound and visual artist Yannick Franck joins.
Littoral
The feminist reception and production of pornography has had a complicated and fascinating trajectory, a discourse of representation often bound by the logic of the male gaze. The Hole Picture brings together a selection of socio-sexual films and videos by artists Barbra Hammer, A.K. Burns and A.L. Steiner.
“Original Innocence” is a rock opera conceived by Dave Nuss and Eric Sanders. A traveling troupe of performers from a new religious sect and dramatically depict their theology in a tent-meeting style ‘passion play’ about the creation of the world.
Composer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Vida premieres Piece for Difference Tones (interrupted) & (computer controlled) Analog Sound Objects. The work emphasizes the intersections between analog and digital sound synthesis systems, which produce what Vida calls “non-representational sound objects."
Elliott Sharp’s 60th birthday celebration continues with a collection of his long-time friends and collaborators performing his music at ISSUE’s space at the Old American Can Factory. Among Sharp’s works to be performed are Flexagons (Orchestra Carbon), Octal (Elliott Sharp solo) and Oligosono (Jenny Lin).
