On the evenings of April 17th, 18th, and 20th, 2013, ISSUE Project Room and the Whitney Museum of American Art are pleased to present three concerts with Keiji Haino in solo and duo performances with Tamio Shiraishi and Loren Connors. One of the most widely recognized and legendary guitarists to come out of the Japanese underground rock scene of the 1970s, Keiji Haino is well known for his harsh blues-inspired solo guitar performances and torrential walls of sound with his band Fushitsusha. For the last 40 years Haino has been prolific in his output and collaborations, working with everyone from Faust, Boris, Derek Bailey, Loren Connors, Stephen O’Malley, Oren Ambarchi, Jim O’Rourke and John Zorn. Cutting across his body of work is a deep connection to the French poet and playwright Antonin Artaud. Haino’s unaccompanied wordless screamed vocal performances mark the clearest influence of Artaud’s obsession, with a voice violently severed from the body.
This three night series opens on Wednesday, April 17th at 8pm at ISSUE Project Room, with Keiji Haino’s first ever solo vocal concert in New York. The following evening, Thursday, April 18th at 8pm, ISSUE hosts a rare performance by the original, unrecorded Fushitsusha lineup from the 1970s with founding member, New York-based saxophonist Tamio Shiraishi. Haino is joined by guitarist Loren Connors, with whom he has released two duo albums, Saturday, April 20th, 8pm at the Whitney Museum of American Art— a shared bill with Matana Roberts.
