Methods Body

Wednesday, April 17th at 8pm, ISSUE is pleased to present the world premiere of REMAIN, a thoughtful study of connection, grief, joy and catharsis developed by vocalist and composer Holland Andrews (2020 ISSUE Artist-In-Residence), with Portland-based sound artists Methods Body (John Niekrasz & Luke Wyland). The piece serves as a living development of their work SPEECHLESS (2022), created for Beacon Sound’s forthcoming compilation supporting Palestinian liberation. Andrews’ residency was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, so this occasion marks their return to the ISSUE theater for the first time since their initial residency performance in February 2020.

The evening will consist of solo performances by both Methods Body and Andrews, concluding with a collaborative set. The trio showcases a creative dynamic built over a decade; Methods Body refracts Andrews’ singular vocal gestures through live processing, percussion, and keys. Andrews, often blending this with voice, clarinet, synth and electronic music, creates a realm of live performance that is boundlessly present and expansive. Believing that improvisation is an act of love and trust, the artists explore these emotional themes in their collaboration.

A Holland Andrews+Methods Body trio record will be released in the coming year.

Methods Body (Portland, OR) creates original sound art using custom tuning systems, polyrhythms, and the cadences of language. John Niekrasz (percussion, voice) and Luke Wyland (keys, electronics, voice) employ musical and technological strategies that force them to break old habits and patterns. Extrinsic song forms and standardized meters fall away, leaving subliminal melodies and deep, uncanny grooves. Methods Body treats time as a physical substance that can be sculpted to alter the listener’s emotional experience. Wyland channels his life-long stutter into a music of broken speech. There are lost languages in this music—it is haunted by artifacts the musicians can’t always explain. Methods Body has released two critically acclaimed records, Methods Body (2020 New Amsterdam Records/Beacon Sound) and Plural Not Possessive (2023 Beacon Sound), demonstrating the duo's hallmark microtonality, cyclical rhythms, world-building intricacy, and unmistakable collaborative chemistry.