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.
A newly commissioned opera by Elliott Sharp depicts the final moments of philosopher Walter Benjamin’s life in Port-Bou at the French-Spanish border as he flees Nazi-occupied France. Bass/baritone Nicholas Isherwood stars with pianist Jenny Lin, accordionist William Schimmel, and electro-acoustic backgrounds by Sharp.
Percussion and keyboard quartet Yarn/Wire perform with an assemblage of acoustic, modified, electronic, and handmade instruments, presenting the result of close collaborations with an international array of experimental composers: Ann Cleare, Chiyoko Szlavnics, and Øyvind Torvund.
Among Japan’s most adventurous filmmakers, Takashi Makino is known for hallucinatory, non-linear films that treat and sound with equal importance. Tonight he presents "Space Noise 3D", an immersive live cinema work for 16mm and video, preceded by three short films, all featuring the music of Jim O’Rourke.
A shadow puppet play by Cary Loren (Destroy All Monsters) and Tom Carey, "The Legend of Mothman" brings the details of alien existence to light, a humorous fantasy mixed with pop-culture lore, set during Halloween in post-industrial Detroit. Sound by concept band Monster Island. Free show for children at 3pm.
Keiji Haino, prolific icon of Japanese experimentalism, returns to ISSUE with a solo percussion set. He is joined by experimental rock outfits xNOBBQx and X Wave, two high-energy groups out of Brisbane, the heart of Australia's underground.
Legend of the Japanese underground Keiji Haino returns to Brooklyn, taking the stage in a special duo with Tony Conrad. These master improvisers of experimental music first joined forces in 2006, this is their first NY duo appearance since 2009. The dynamic and raw improvising cellist Okkyung Lee opens the evening.
A lovechild of the home recording era, Kubin is among electronic music's most versatile performers, with activities spanning pop, radio plays, electroacoustic music, and works for chamber orchestra. Kubin's music is saturated with enthusiasm for disharmonic pop, industrial noise, and the 20th-century avant-garde.
The artistic alter ego of Tori Kudo, Maher Shalal Hash Baz are a fluid large ensemble of untrained musicians that create arresting indie-pop embracing error, structure, and structurelessness. Accordionist and vocalist à qui avec Gabriel creates stark, ethereal and whispering melodies evoking European folk.