Barbara Preisinger




Jacaszek

In collaboration with
Fundacja,
Polish Cultural Institute,
Goethe-Institut New York


Unsound Festival
New York



February 4 - 14, 2010

A first for New York City, Unsound Festival New York featurs a mix of major names in electronic music with fresh discoveries, including a massive assembling of artists located east of Berlin, performing at some of New York's most interesting venues. Related visual arts, including the Warhol Series, will also be included.

Tickets to Unsound Festival New York will be sold individually by participating venues and organizations. More information on ticket purchases can be found here.

↓ Unsound Festival Schedule




UNSOUND FESTIVAL SCHEDULE


FEBRUARY 4
10:30pm
Unsound Opening
Lillevan & Vladislav Delay
Sebastian Meissner + Kwartludium = Solid State Transmitters
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center


FEBRUARY 5
7:30 & 9:30pm
Carl Craig with Blowjob, nsi. with Kiss
The Film Society of Lincoln Center: Walter Reade Theater

10:00pm
Bunker Edition 1
featuring
Spinoza, Legowelt, Luke Hess, Newworldaquarium, Kadebostan, Jacek Sienkiewicz, Patrick Russell, Marcin Czubala, Derek Plaslaiko, Tobias
Bunker/Public Assembly


FEBRUARY 6
12:00pm
Group Show with Empire
featuring
Hanno Leichtmann, Groupshow, Jan Jelinek, Andrew Pekler
Le Poisson Rouge

2:00pm
Lillevan's screen tests studio
Lillevan creates screen tests in the Wyoming Building, inviting artists, festival organizers, and people passing by. Open to the public. Come get a screen test made, later to be used as VJ material at the Bunker club night on Friday 12th.
Wyoming Building

3:30pm
Workshop: Lillevan's screen tests
Lillevan talks about his project Screen Tests Revisited, explaining the background of Warhol’s original Screen Tests. He describes techniques employed in the project, as well as those he uses generally in his work. One of the most renowned video artists working with producers of electronic music, Lillevan is also an entertaining and informative speaker, and this workshop is not to be missed.
Wyoming Building

5:00pm
The Hidden History of the Vocoder
Music writer Dave Tompkins, author of the forthcoming book How to Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocoder from World War II to Hip Hop, presents a history of the vocoder as it has evolved from a military device into a major element in electronic music.
Wyoming Building

10:00pm
A Century of Dance Music
featuring
Ensemble LPR, Moritz von Oswald Trio, Levon Vincent
Le Poisson Rouge


FEBRUARY 7
11:00am
Kids’ Electronic Music Workshop: Session 1
Producers of electronic music show kids and young adults how to create music using simple technologies, found objects, and their own ingenuity. Participants will perform in Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, opening a night of experimental music.
Harvestworks

2:00pm
Panel Discussion: Music Journalism
What does it mean to write well about music? A panel of working music journalists discusses issues related to the art of music-writing, as well as the changing practice of covering music in an eclectic and diversified world. When so much is available globally, how does one search for the new? Andy Battaglia and Simon Reynolds lead a discussion with other working writers in the field.
Wyoming Building

3:30pm
Panel Discussion: The Art of The Party - The Hidden Issues
Explores hidden challenges involved in producing music events in New York, from small club parties to big concerts. This includes everything from obtaining legal U.S. work permits for international artists to dealing with agents and gatekeepers. A range of participants includes Wordless Music's Ronen Givony, The Bunker's Bryan Kasenic and artist/organizer Jessica Schmitz.
Wyoming Building

5:00pm
Panel Discussion: Who Programs Who?
How do you create sounds that have never been heard before? What is the connection between music consumption and creation? And how does technology and music-making software influence this quest? Do we program machines, or do they program us? Vladislav Delay, Sebastian Meissner, Jacek Sienkiewicz and Ezekiel Honig talk about the process of finding an original voice in electronic music.
Wyoming Building

7:00pm
Sound Postcard Exhibit Opening
During 60s and 70s Polish communism, when vinyl singles were rare, sound postcards became extremely popular. Bearing striking designs, they contained analogue recording engraved in a laminate layer. Sound quality was low, but they meant access to hit songs from the West. In Mat Schulz and Rui Silva’s exhibit, tracks are transferred to mp3’s, revealing how recording technology changes over time.
Devotion Gallery


FEBRUARY 8
4:30pm
Kids’ Electronic Music Workshop: Session 2
Producers of electronic music show kids and young adults how to create music using simple technologies, found objects, and their own ingenuity. Participants will perform in Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, opening a night of experimental music.
Harvestworks

6:30pm
Screening: Electronic Music Movies – Session 1
A selection of films on the roots of electronic music includes the New York debut of Kara Blake's 2009 documentary The Delian Mode, exploring the life and work of pioneer Delia Derbyshire: the woman behind the distinctive Doctor Who theme music created at the BBC. Other film info coming soon.
Wyoming Building

10:00pm
Anticipate Night
The hometown-based Anticipate label presents an evening of various electro-acoustic pursuits, in both sonic and visual form. Featuring Borne, Sawako, Alexander Kaline, Ezekiel Honig and Joshue Ott.
Littlefield


FEBRUARY 9
4:30pm
Kids’ Electronic Music Workshop: Session 3
Producers of electronic music show kids and young adults how to create music using simple technologies, found objects, and their own ingenuity. Participants will perform in Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, opening a night of experimental music.
Harvestworks

10:00pm
Eastern Promise
Part of the Eastern Promise theme throughout the program, this night showcases 2 artists from Europe’s eastern side, Zenial and Zavoloka, and local experimental vocalist Bora Yoon.
Issue Project Room


FEBRUARY 10
4:00pm
Lillevan's screen tests studio
Lillevan creates screen tests in the Wyoming Building, inviting artists, festival organizers, and people passing by. Open to the public. Come get a screen test made, later to be used as VJ material at the Bunker club night on Friday 12th.
Wyoming Building

6:00pm
Panel Discussion: Rework, Recontextualize, Review
This panel looks at how historical avant-garde films have been used in recent music performances. Lee Renaldo and Alan Licht, of Text of Light, a project devoted to putting music to films by Stan Brakhage, meet with Lillevan as well as Hanno Leichtmann and Andrew Peckler of Groupshow, an act involved in Unsound’s Warhol series. Moderator: Andrew Lampert (Film Anthology Archives).
Wyoming Building

6:00pm
Silence and Noise Part 1 Linking Europe and North America, a showcase of impressive experimental music names. Canadian Tim Hecker is one of the world’s premier ambient artists; Austrians Radian distil post-rock to a minimalist form. New Yorkers Mountains fuse acoustic instruments and field recordings; Tape, from Sweden, work in similar territory. Opening is a unique band formed during the kids electronic music workshops!
Le Poisson Rouge


FEBRUARY 11
6:00pm
Walking Tour: Dream House
Unsound leads a walking tour to composer LaMonte Young’s Dream House in Tribeca. A discussion of the installation, in process now for 17 years, will help provide context at the Wyoming Building, followed by an experience of the work on-site, in a loft with plush carpeting, pillows on the floor, and banks of big speakers.
Wyoming Building

6:30pm
Screening: Electronic Music Movies
A selection of films on the roots of electronic music includes the New York debut of Kara Blake's 2009 documentary The Delian Mode, exploring the life and work of pioneer Delia Derbyshire: the woman behind the distinctive Doctor Who theme music created at the BBC. Other film info coming soon.
Wyoming Building

7:00pm
Górecki and Jacaszek: The Contemporary Sound World of Poland A night exploring minimalist forms in Polish music, evocative and emotional. Featuring ACME performing the works of Gorecki, and Jacaszek.
Le Poisson Rouge

10:00pm
Brooklyn Electronic Music Showcase The Unsound Treehouse party showcases live and DJ sets from three Brooklyn-based acts. Featuring new kids Blondes’ analog Balearic grooves; Neurotic Drum Band (John Selway & Elliot Taub) mixing classic house, Italo and techno; and Morgan Geist, one of New York dance music’s éminence grise, exploring the city’s history in records.
Littlefield


FEBRUARY 12
8:00pm
Silence and Noise Part 2
featuring
Nadja, Xavier Van Wersch, David Daniell
Issue Project Room

10:00pm
Bunker Edition II
A focus on evolving forms of House music, underrated DJ’s and rising stars from Europe and the U.S. featuring: Barbara Preisinger, Eric Cloutier, Mike Huckaby, DJ Qu, Petre Inspirescu, Shake and visuals by Lillevan.
Bunker / Public Assembly


FEBRUARY 13
3:30pm
Panel Discussion: Bass Mutations
How have bass-heavy forms of music shifted in recent years? Where did the genre called dubstep come from—and where is it leading? How does it differ in New York, London, Berlin, Minsk and Bucharest? Writer Mitch Strashnov (URB, Electrodrone) will lead a discussion with artists from the Bass Mutations club-night lineup.
Wyoming Building

5:00pm
Panel Discussion: Mapping Sound in Art, an Investigation
In the U.S., sound art remains a fluid catchall term for a range of acoustic activities. Conversely, in Europe, sound as art occupies narrower practical methods and concepts. Kabir Carter leads a discussion on the role of sound in the arts with curator/writer Regine Basha, philosopher/writer Christoph Cox, composer/artist Michael J. Schumacher and installation artist Asa Stjerna.
Wyoming Building

6:30pm
Dialogue: Vince Aletti
Storied disco critic Vince Aletti, one of the first to cover disco during its 1970s heyday, talks about the history of the formative dance-music as it happened in New York. Discussion focuses on Aletti’s recent anthology The Disco Files: 1973-78, as well as his memories of the scene as he saw it firsthand. In discussion with music journalist Andy Beta (Spin, Village Voice).
Wyoming Building

10:00pm
Bass Mutations
Mutating bass-heavy music with Godfather-like figure Pole, from Berlin, the central anchor, featuring TRG, Untold, Dave Q, Konque, Pavel Ambiont, FaltyDL, Pole, Sepalcure, 2562
Bunker/Public Assembly


FEBRUARY 14
3:30pm
Panel Discussion: Connections
Presentation of “Eastern Promise,” emerging from ideas integral to Unsound and its international projects - in New York, Poland, Eastern Europe. This includes “Connections," which linked Belarus and Western European electronic musicians. With “Connections” co-ordinators Stefan Betke (scape) and Mat Schulz (Unsound), as well as Pavel Ambiont (Belarus), Zenial (Poland), Petre Inspirescu (Romania).
Wyoming Building

5:00pm
Dialogue: Morton Subotnick
A talk with electronic-music pioneer Morton Subotnick, whose career goes back to the 1960s and includes some of the most important early work with modular synthesizers in the popular realm. Anecdotal talk focuses on Subotnick’s work, both as it plays into history and as it has evolved into the present. In discussion with music journalist Andy Battaglia (A.V. Club, Pitchfork).
Wyoming Building

8:00pm
Kiss & Tell Presents Queen of Hearts Valentine's Day Party
Kiss & Tell hosts well known electronic music DJs eager to play a different kind of set, filled with music outside of the genres they are known for. The gorgeous venue will be decorated in a sea of hearts, and guests are invited to dress up in festive outfits of red and white. Come help us close Unsound Festival New York with a warm, intimate event. Full line up soon.
Rose