ISSUE / BOMB Magazine Year-End Party: Like A Villain
SSUE commemorates the close of the 2017 season with a special year-end event with acclaimed composer and electronic musician Tyondai Braxton and extended technique vocalist, composer, and performer Like A Villain (Holland Andrews), co-presented with BOMB Magazine. Entrance is $5 with two free drinks for ISSUE Members.
Tyondai Braxton performs a solo set incorporating electronic analog synthesis and new material drawing from his HIVE project and recent Oranged Out EP, with a visual component co-created by NY multimedia artist Grace Villamil. Released in 2015 on Nonesuch, HIVE1 is an album adaptation of a multimedia project he staged at the Guggenheim in 2013 -- an eight-movement suite of percussion and electronics that combines Braxton’s signature tension between progressive generative sound and orchestra-scaled synthesis.
Oranged Out is a collection of tracks from or near the time Braxton was working on HIVE1. The EP was released on Braxton’s bandcamp with 100% of the proceeds to support the work of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, a nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Grace Villamil contributed the album artwork and video for the EP, with both created using video synthesizers & software inspired by nature and Japanese woodblock prints.
Under the moniker Like a Villain, Holland Andrews is known for her unrehearsed, long-form noise sets, which weave her voice and instrumental loops into massive cathedrals of sound. Andrews' approach -- touching on haunting, ethereal beauty and deafening, cathartic discord -- incorporates elements of notable minimalist composers such as Arvo Pärt, contemporary vocalists including Diamanda Galás, and modern experimental musicians like Björk, all heavily influenced by Broadway and opera music. For this performance, she performs excerpts from Ölümlü, a captivating yet-to-be-released new work described as “Broadway noise.”
Tyondai Braxton is an American composer and electronic musician. He has been writing and performing music under his own name and collaboratively, under various group titles, since the mid 1990’s. His music incorporates electronic and modern orchestral elements, ranging from solo pieces to large-scale symphonic works. The former front man of experimental rock band Battles, Braxton has since focused on his own work, including his critically acclaimed album Central Market – which has been performed by world-renowned orchestras such as London Sinfonietta, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He has been commissioned to write pieces for ensembles such as The Bang on a Can All Stars, Kronos Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, and Brooklyn Rider. In 2012, Braxton collaborated with legendary composer Philip Glass – performing as a duo for the festival series All Tomorrow’s Parties, as well as remixing Glass’ work for the REWORK remix album. In 2013, Braxton premiered HIVE - a multimedia piece that is part sound installation/part live performance - at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. He has given subsequent HIVE performances at Sacrum Profanum Festival in Krakow, as part of the Nonesuch Records 50th Anniversary celebration at The Barbican in London, and at Sydney Opera House. HIVE1 - Braxton’s first new album in six years - was released on May 12, 2015 on Nonesuch Records. Braxton’s latest release, the Oranged Out EP, was released via Bandcamp as a pay-what-you-want download, with proceeds going to the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. Braxton will be performing solo with visuals by Grace Villamil.
Holland Andrews is an American extended technique vocalist, composer, and performer based in and Portland, Oregon and France. Andrews, marked by an obsession with the diverse capabilities of the voice, is found composing vibrant sonic landscapes which are at times cinematic and dissonant. A multitude of dense vocal layers and textures are used to weave together a sprawling emotional tapestry to foster a space for both explosive self-examination and intimate learning. In addition to performing solo work under the stage name Like a Villain, Andrews has collaborated on projects of theater, dance, and film and has recently performed in spaces such as Baryshnikov Art Center, Princeton University, Montfort Théâtre, Palais de Tokyo Museum, La Friche de la Belle, Mai, India Teatro Di Roma, and more.
