Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 105
October 16, 2015
Toronto Dance Theatre Echo November 3-7, 2015 Fleck Dance Theatre
From a media release:
Toronto Dance Theatre
Echo
November 3-7, 2015
Fleck Dance Theatre
• Buy Tickets
• Join us on Wednesday, November 4 for a post-performance Q&A.
Christopher House’s Echo is a captivating hybrid creation, a new production and a remix of his provocative dance-theatre work Echo’s Object (2005). An incisive look at narcissism and the manufacture of the self, the 2005 work was described by The Globe and Mail as “… asking personal questions that we have always privately asked ourselves.” Echo (2015) delves deeper into this world, using movement, music and design in an unsettling landscape of dreams, impulses and surprising juxtapositions.
Christopher House builds on images from his “fresh and original” (The Globe and Mail) Echo’s Object (2005) to create a dynamic new production called Echo in which ten dancers inhabit a world of beautiful creatures, dark angels and lost souls. With costumes by Jeremy Laing, lighting by Steve Lucas, décor by Cheryl Lalonde, and sound track by Phil Strong and Thom Gill, Echo is a visually stunning work of dance theatre that looks forwards and backwards in time.
About the Choreographer
Artistic Director of TDT since 1994, Christopher House has contributed over sixty works to the company’s repertoire which have been presented across Canada and in such major centres as New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo and Beijing. His many honours include three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, the Muriel Sherrin Award for International Achievement in Dance and the Silver Ticket Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. He has invited a growing number of artistic innovators, both Canadian and international, to participate in TDT’s creative projects and continues his performance work, in particular through his solo adaptations of the choreography of Deborah Hay. His performance of Hay’s work in 2012 garnered him a Dora Mavor Moore award nomination for Outstanding Performance.
Christopher House enjoys mentoring emerging artists and has taught across Canada and in the USA and Europe. He is an Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre.
Toronto Dance Theatre
Echo
November 3-7, 2015
Fleck Dance Theatre
• Buy Tickets
• Join us on Wednesday, November 4 for a post-performance Q&A.
Christopher House’s Echo is a captivating hybrid creation, a new production and a remix of his provocative dance-theatre work Echo’s Object (2005). An incisive look at narcissism and the manufacture of the self, the 2005 work was described by The Globe and Mail as “… asking personal questions that we have always privately asked ourselves.” Echo (2015) delves deeper into this world, using movement, music and design in an unsettling landscape of dreams, impulses and surprising juxtapositions.Christopher House builds on images from his “fresh and original” (The Globe and Mail) Echo’s Object (2005) to create a dynamic new production called Echo in which ten dancers inhabit a world of beautiful creatures, dark angels and lost souls. With costumes by Jeremy Laing, lighting by Steve Lucas, décor by Cheryl Lalonde, and sound track by Phil Strong and Thom Gill, Echo is a visually stunning work of dance theatre that looks forwards and backwards in time.
About the ChoreographerArtistic Director of TDT since 1994, Christopher House has contributed over sixty works to the company’s repertoire which have been presented across Canada and in such major centres as New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo and Beijing. His many honours include three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, the Muriel Sherrin Award for International Achievement in Dance and the Silver Ticket Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. He has invited a growing number of artistic innovators, both Canadian and international, to participate in TDT’s creative projects and continues his performance work, in particular through his solo adaptations of the choreography of Deborah Hay. His performance of Hay’s work in 2012 garnered him a Dora Mavor Moore award nomination for Outstanding Performance.
Christopher House enjoys mentoring emerging artists and has taught across Canada and in the USA and Europe. He is an Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre.
October 14, 2015
Natalia Clavier, the live voice of Thievery Coporation, Releases Career-Spanning Album 'Live In Buenos Aires,' (October 30, 2015 - Nacional Records)
From a media release:
Natalia Clavier, the live voice of Thievery Coporation,
Releases Career-Spanning Album 'Live In Buenos Aires,'
Recorded at Teatro Del Viejo Mercado
(October 30, 2015 - Nacional Records)
• Pre-order/buy the CD
Natalia Clavier's most recent solo album "Lumen" has received praise from NPR, MTV Iggy, AV Club, KEXP, KCRW And Many More
Natalia Clavier, the sultry-voiced singer we’ve heard fronting Thievery Corporation concerts around the world and on her own albums, brings us to her home town on her new album ‘Live in Buenos Aires,’ to be released on October 30. The album was recorded at a show in Buenos Aires at Teatro Del Viaje Mercado.
The show, as Natalia says, was a family affair. She had previously played in Buenos Aires with Thievery Corporation, but this would be her first time playing solo for her hometown audience. And, of course, no homecoming is complete without a family reunion—sitting at the keys during the show was none other than her brother, Pablo Anglade aka Polsik, who also did the musical direction and arrangements for the show and engineered the record.
Natalia’s signature jazz-inspired vocals and electronic textures are ever-present on this live album, with an extra touch of that live spontaneity and rawness that make you feel as if you were in Buenos Aires with her. The album features lives twists on familiar songs such as ‘El Tren,’ ‘Trouble,’ and ‘Every Time.’ Rounding out the album album are some funky bonus remixes of the songs ‘Lumen’ and ‘Cantanta’.
Natalia Clavier, the live voice of Thievery Coporation,
Releases Career-Spanning Album 'Live In Buenos Aires,'
Recorded at Teatro Del Viejo Mercado
(October 30, 2015 - Nacional Records)
• Pre-order/buy the CD
Natalia Clavier's most recent solo album "Lumen" has received praise from NPR, MTV Iggy, AV Club, KEXP, KCRW And Many More
Natalia Clavier, the sultry-voiced singer we’ve heard fronting Thievery Corporation concerts around the world and on her own albums, brings us to her home town on her new album ‘Live in Buenos Aires,’ to be released on October 30. The album was recorded at a show in Buenos Aires at Teatro Del Viaje Mercado.
The show, as Natalia says, was a family affair. She had previously played in Buenos Aires with Thievery Corporation, but this would be her first time playing solo for her hometown audience. And, of course, no homecoming is complete without a family reunion—sitting at the keys during the show was none other than her brother, Pablo Anglade aka Polsik, who also did the musical direction and arrangements for the show and engineered the record.Natalia’s signature jazz-inspired vocals and electronic textures are ever-present on this live album, with an extra touch of that live spontaneity and rawness that make you feel as if you were in Buenos Aires with her. The album features lives twists on familiar songs such as ‘El Tren,’ ‘Trouble,’ and ‘Every Time.’ Rounding out the album album are some funky bonus remixes of the songs ‘Lumen’ and ‘Cantanta’.
Natalia Clavier, the live voice of Thievery Coporation, Releases Career-Spinning Album 'Live In Buenos Aires,' (October 30, 2015 - Nacional Records)
From a media release:
Natalia Clavier, the live voice of Thievery Coporation,
Releases Career-Spinning Album 'Live In Buenos Aires,'
Recorded at Teatro Del Viejo Mercado
(October 30, 2015 - Nacional Records)
• Pre-order/buy the CD
Natalia Clavier's most recent solo album "Lumen" has received praise from NPR, MTV Iggy, AV Club, KEXP, KCRW And Many More
Natalia Clavier, the sultry-voiced singer we’ve heard fronting Thievery Corporation concerts around the world and on her own albums, brings us to her home town on her new album ‘Live in Buenos Aires,’ to be released on October 30. The album was recorded at a show in Buenos Aires at Teatro Del Viaje Mercado.
The show, as Natalia says, was a family affair. She had previously played in Buenos Aires with Thievery Corporation, but this would be her first time playing solo for her hometown audience. And, of course, no homecoming is complete without a family reunion—sitting at the keys during the show was none other than her brother, Pablo Anglade aka Polsik, who also did the musical direction and arrangements for the show and engineered the record.
Natalia’s signature jazz-inspired vocals and electronic textures are ever-present on this live album, with an extra touch of that live spontaneity and rawness that make you feel as if you were in Buenos Aires with her. The album features lives twists on familiar songs such as ‘El Tren,’ ‘Trouble,’ and ‘Every Time.’ Rounding out the album album are some funky bonus remixes of the songs ‘Lumen’ and ‘Cantanta’.
Natalia Clavier, the live voice of Thievery Coporation,
Releases Career-Spinning Album 'Live In Buenos Aires,'
Recorded at Teatro Del Viejo Mercado
(October 30, 2015 - Nacional Records)
• Pre-order/buy the CD
Natalia Clavier's most recent solo album "Lumen" has received praise from NPR, MTV Iggy, AV Club, KEXP, KCRW And Many More
Natalia Clavier, the sultry-voiced singer we’ve heard fronting Thievery Corporation concerts around the world and on her own albums, brings us to her home town on her new album ‘Live in Buenos Aires,’ to be released on October 30. The album was recorded at a show in Buenos Aires at Teatro Del Viaje Mercado.
The show, as Natalia says, was a family affair. She had previously played in Buenos Aires with Thievery Corporation, but this would be her first time playing solo for her hometown audience. And, of course, no homecoming is complete without a family reunion—sitting at the keys during the show was none other than her brother, Pablo Anglade aka Polsik, who also did the musical direction and arrangements for the show and engineered the record.Natalia’s signature jazz-inspired vocals and electronic textures are ever-present on this live album, with an extra touch of that live spontaneity and rawness that make you feel as if you were in Buenos Aires with her. The album features lives twists on familiar songs such as ‘El Tren,’ ‘Trouble,’ and ‘Every Time.’ Rounding out the album album are some funky bonus remixes of the songs ‘Lumen’ and ‘Cantanta’.
CD Release: Holy Forest (Mighty Fine Music - October 15, 2015) & NYC Live Dates
From a media release:
CD Release:
Holy Forest - Holy Forest
(Mighty Fine Music - October 15, 2015)
• Pre-order/buy the CD
Live dates in NYC:
Oct 23 The Shrine - New York, NY
Oct 25 C'moneverybody - Brooklyn, NY
In a digital diaspora there are no borders. Playing with sound of the diaspora, Holy Forest blends the ingredients of an evermore connected world into its debut album. Imagined as a series of songs from the holy forest, a place where we once travelled, where we once fell in love, where we are no longer… but where we long to return. Recorded in The Gambia, NYC, Woodstock and San Francisco, “Holy Forest” is a body of work spanning a number of years, produced and arranged by musician and documentary filmmaker Jon Fine (Herbie Hancock’s “Possibilities”/ Bill Wither’s “Still Bill”).
Producer, instrumentalist and songwriter, Jon Fine enlisted friends and collaborators to play on the genre blending project including Ed “Preachermann” Holley, Gambian griot Tata Din Din Jobarteh (aka the Jimi Hendrix of the Kora), members of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, singer’s Morley Kamen, Seraphim, Sparlha Swa, and Grammy nominated Kora master Youssoupha Sidibe.
The making of the album, spanning a number of years was inspired by Fine’s trip to the Gambia’s Makasutu forest, a lush-green riverine wilderness of mangrove swamps. While in Gambia, he sought out Tata Din Din Jobarteh and the seeds for the project were planted. Drawing on the beautiful melodies of the Kora, reggae rhythms, folk and blues, “Holy Forest” is 21rst century cross-continental roots music.
In throwback to an era of music when vinyl was king, world-renowned DJ and tastemaker Gilles Peterson happened to hear Holy Forest’s album playing in a small boutique record shop in London called “Love Vinyl”. As it turns out, that actual copy he stumbled upon was, at the time, the only record in circulation anywhere in the world. It was the first pressing of the record, sent to one of the shop’s employees as a sample. The record was spinning on the right turntable at the right time. Gilles left the shop with it in his hands and, the next day, featured the single “Africa Calling” on his BBC 6 Radio show introducing it to his massive audience worldwide. For a project that is being distributed and released independently, the serendipity is a testament to the refreshingly old-school, pre-streaming power of music.
CD Release:
Holy Forest - Holy Forest
(Mighty Fine Music - October 15, 2015)
• Pre-order/buy the CD
Live dates in NYC:
Oct 23 The Shrine - New York, NY
Oct 25 C'moneverybody - Brooklyn, NY
In a digital diaspora there are no borders. Playing with sound of the diaspora, Holy Forest blends the ingredients of an evermore connected world into its debut album. Imagined as a series of songs from the holy forest, a place where we once travelled, where we once fell in love, where we are no longer… but where we long to return. Recorded in The Gambia, NYC, Woodstock and San Francisco, “Holy Forest” is a body of work spanning a number of years, produced and arranged by musician and documentary filmmaker Jon Fine (Herbie Hancock’s “Possibilities”/ Bill Wither’s “Still Bill”).Producer, instrumentalist and songwriter, Jon Fine enlisted friends and collaborators to play on the genre blending project including Ed “Preachermann” Holley, Gambian griot Tata Din Din Jobarteh (aka the Jimi Hendrix of the Kora), members of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, singer’s Morley Kamen, Seraphim, Sparlha Swa, and Grammy nominated Kora master Youssoupha Sidibe.
The making of the album, spanning a number of years was inspired by Fine’s trip to the Gambia’s Makasutu forest, a lush-green riverine wilderness of mangrove swamps. While in Gambia, he sought out Tata Din Din Jobarteh and the seeds for the project were planted. Drawing on the beautiful melodies of the Kora, reggae rhythms, folk and blues, “Holy Forest” is 21rst century cross-continental roots music.In throwback to an era of music when vinyl was king, world-renowned DJ and tastemaker Gilles Peterson happened to hear Holy Forest’s album playing in a small boutique record shop in London called “Love Vinyl”. As it turns out, that actual copy he stumbled upon was, at the time, the only record in circulation anywhere in the world. It was the first pressing of the record, sent to one of the shop’s employees as a sample. The record was spinning on the right turntable at the right time. Gilles left the shop with it in his hands and, the next day, featured the single “Africa Calling” on his BBC 6 Radio show introducing it to his massive audience worldwide. For a project that is being distributed and released independently, the serendipity is a testament to the refreshingly old-school, pre-streaming power of music.
October 7, 2015
Kent Monkman’s New Exhibition -The Rise and Fall of Civilization at the Gardiner Museum from October 15 2015 – January 10 2016
From a media release:
Kent Monkman’s New Exhibition at the Gardiner Museum Reveals a Dark Period in First Nations History
The Rise and Fall of Civilization at the Gardiner from October 15, 2015 – January 10, 2016
PUBLIC OPENING
Friday, October 16
Free with half-price admission, 4 – 9 pm
In collaboration with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and Soundstreams Canada, the Gardiner hosts a special opening party for Kent Monkman's The Rise and Fall of Civilization.
• Check the link for other programming, including the artist in conversation, film screenings and more
Toronto, ON — Atop a cliff flanked by two life-sized bison, Miss Chief stands with her arms outstretched and her hair blowing in the wind. Sculptures of cubist-style bison plunge headlong into the gallery, violently shattering at the base of the cliff in a pile of broken ceramics.
Kent Monkman’s new large-scale intervention at the Gardiner Museum, entitled The Rise and Fall of Civilization, alludes to the near extinction of the American bison in the nineteenth century when their numbers were reduced from approximately 50 million to the hundreds. European settlers hunted the bison for their pelts and used their bones for fertilizer and bone china.
“I was immediately drawn to the Gardiner Museum’s collection of bone china and how I could relate it to this particularly dark period in the history of North America’s First Peoples,” explains Monkman. “The bison represented the food supply of the Plains Indians, so when their population was decimated, it destroyed a way of life for a lot of Indigenous cultures. It was a turning point in the movement of theEuropean population across North America which pushed the First Peoples to the fringes.”
“Kent Monkman’s new work not only acts as a reminder of a pivotal and often overlooked moment in our collective history, it reinforces the idea that clay is part of the vocabulary of today’s most important and provocative artists,” says Kelvin Browne, Executive Director and CEO of the Gardiner Museum.
The installation is made up of a 9-foot high “buffalo jump” topped by two mounted bison and a sculpture of the artist’s glamourous diva alter ego, Miss Chief, a supernatural being who challenges historical narratives. Bison leap from the cliff and morph through several cubist stages inspired by Picasso’s drawing of a bull, ultimately appearing on the walls in the form of Aboriginal rock pictographs. Smashed ceramics at the base of the cliff reference the build-up of bones often found at buffalo jumps, and the history of Indigenous ceramics uncovered at sites across North America.
“People engage with a sculptural installation in a different way than they do a painting,” says Monkman. “They can move around it and really approach it. People are familiar with the idiom of the museum diorama so they have certain ideas, memories, and associations connected with it and I like to disrupt those ideas. I like to challenge conventional or received notions that people have about First Nations cultures.”
The exhibition is accompanied by a publication featuring an interview with Monkman by Kelvin Browne, as well as essays by well-known art critic Sarah Milroy and Gemini-award-winning documentary filmmaker Tasha Hubbard.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Gardiner Museum will celebrate contemporary First Peoples culture with a full schedule of programming created in collaboration with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Human Rights Watch Canada, Art Toronto, RPM.FM – Indigenous Music Culture, The Institute of American Indian Arts, The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), the Consulate General of the United States Toronto, and Soundstreams Canada.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kent Monkman is one of the country’s preeminent contemporary artists, working in a variety of mediums, including painting, film/video, performance, and installation. His work is represented in numerous private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum London, The Glenbow Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, The Mackenzie Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. In 2014, Monkman received the Indspire Award in recognition of his outstanding career achievements.
TD Bank Group is the Presenting Sponsor for Kent Monkman: The Rise and Fall of Civilization, and The Hal Jackman Foundation is the Exhibition Partner.
EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING:
EMPTY BOWLS
Thursday, October 15
5 – 7:30 pm - $55
Empty Bowls is a North American-wide project to aid the homeless. More than 400 bowls are donated by potters, potter’s guilds, and pottery students, and gourmet soups are prepared and ladled out by some of the province’s top chefs. All proceeds are donated to Anishnawbe Health Toronto, a culture-based Native centre committed to changing lives through traditional healing practices.
Friday, October 16, as part of the public opening of Kent Monkman’s new site-specific installation at the Gardiner Museum, imagineNATIVE will present Kent Monkman: Miss Chief in Motion, a series of Monkman's short films featuring Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, the artist’s iconic drag queen alter ego. Kent Monkman will be in attendance for an audience discussion after the screening, followed by a tour of the exhibition guided by the artist himself.
Kent Monkman’s New Exhibition at the Gardiner Museum Reveals a Dark Period in First Nations History
The Rise and Fall of Civilization at the Gardiner from October 15, 2015 – January 10, 2016
PUBLIC OPENING
Friday, October 16
Free with half-price admission, 4 – 9 pm
In collaboration with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and Soundstreams Canada, the Gardiner hosts a special opening party for Kent Monkman's The Rise and Fall of Civilization.
• Check the link for other programming, including the artist in conversation, film screenings and more
Toronto, ON — Atop a cliff flanked by two life-sized bison, Miss Chief stands with her arms outstretched and her hair blowing in the wind. Sculptures of cubist-style bison plunge headlong into the gallery, violently shattering at the base of the cliff in a pile of broken ceramics.
Kent Monkman’s new large-scale intervention at the Gardiner Museum, entitled The Rise and Fall of Civilization, alludes to the near extinction of the American bison in the nineteenth century when their numbers were reduced from approximately 50 million to the hundreds. European settlers hunted the bison for their pelts and used their bones for fertilizer and bone china.“I was immediately drawn to the Gardiner Museum’s collection of bone china and how I could relate it to this particularly dark period in the history of North America’s First Peoples,” explains Monkman. “The bison represented the food supply of the Plains Indians, so when their population was decimated, it destroyed a way of life for a lot of Indigenous cultures. It was a turning point in the movement of theEuropean population across North America which pushed the First Peoples to the fringes.”
“Kent Monkman’s new work not only acts as a reminder of a pivotal and often overlooked moment in our collective history, it reinforces the idea that clay is part of the vocabulary of today’s most important and provocative artists,” says Kelvin Browne, Executive Director and CEO of the Gardiner Museum.
The installation is made up of a 9-foot high “buffalo jump” topped by two mounted bison and a sculpture of the artist’s glamourous diva alter ego, Miss Chief, a supernatural being who challenges historical narratives. Bison leap from the cliff and morph through several cubist stages inspired by Picasso’s drawing of a bull, ultimately appearing on the walls in the form of Aboriginal rock pictographs. Smashed ceramics at the base of the cliff reference the build-up of bones often found at buffalo jumps, and the history of Indigenous ceramics uncovered at sites across North America.“People engage with a sculptural installation in a different way than they do a painting,” says Monkman. “They can move around it and really approach it. People are familiar with the idiom of the museum diorama so they have certain ideas, memories, and associations connected with it and I like to disrupt those ideas. I like to challenge conventional or received notions that people have about First Nations cultures.”
The exhibition is accompanied by a publication featuring an interview with Monkman by Kelvin Browne, as well as essays by well-known art critic Sarah Milroy and Gemini-award-winning documentary filmmaker Tasha Hubbard.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Gardiner Museum will celebrate contemporary First Peoples culture with a full schedule of programming created in collaboration with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Human Rights Watch Canada, Art Toronto, RPM.FM – Indigenous Music Culture, The Institute of American Indian Arts, The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), the Consulate General of the United States Toronto, and Soundstreams Canada.ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kent Monkman is one of the country’s preeminent contemporary artists, working in a variety of mediums, including painting, film/video, performance, and installation. His work is represented in numerous private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum London, The Glenbow Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, The Mackenzie Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. In 2014, Monkman received the Indspire Award in recognition of his outstanding career achievements.
TD Bank Group is the Presenting Sponsor for Kent Monkman: The Rise and Fall of Civilization, and The Hal Jackman Foundation is the Exhibition Partner.
EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING:EMPTY BOWLS
Thursday, October 15
5 – 7:30 pm - $55
Empty Bowls is a North American-wide project to aid the homeless. More than 400 bowls are donated by potters, potter’s guilds, and pottery students, and gourmet soups are prepared and ladled out by some of the province’s top chefs. All proceeds are donated to Anishnawbe Health Toronto, a culture-based Native centre committed to changing lives through traditional healing practices.
Friday, October 16, as part of the public opening of Kent Monkman’s new site-specific installation at the Gardiner Museum, imagineNATIVE will present Kent Monkman: Miss Chief in Motion, a series of Monkman's short films featuring Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, the artist’s iconic drag queen alter ego. Kent Monkman will be in attendance for an audience discussion after the screening, followed by a tour of the exhibition guided by the artist himself.
Visual Arts: Greater New York on view October 11 2015–March 7 2016 at MoMA PS1
From a release:
Greater New York
October 11, 2015 to March 7, 2016
at MoMA PS1
• Check the website for Performance Program Schedule & participating artists
NEW YORK CITY - Greater New York is the fourth iteration of the renowned series, begun in 2000 as a collaboration between MoMA PS1 (then P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center) and The Museum of Modern Art, that showcases emerging artists living and working in the New York metropolitan area.
This Greater New York arrives, however, in a city and art community that has changed dramatically since the first version of the survey. Against this backdrop, Greater New York will depart from the show’s primary focus on youth, instead examining key points of connection and intersection between emerging and more established artists across New York, while also exploring aspects of earlier histories of the city itself, and its changing political, social, and architectural fabric. (Image is the Painted Chair by Collier Schorr)
The exhibition occupies MoMA PS1’s entire building with over 400 works by 157 artists, including programs of film and performance. The 2015 exhibition is co-organized by a team, led by Peter Eleey, Curator and Associate Director of Exhibitions and Programs, MoMA PS1, that includes art historian Douglas Crimp, University of Rochester; Thomas J. Lax, Associate Curator, Department of Media and Performance Art, MoMA; and Mia Locks, Assistant Curator, MoMA PS1.
Considering the “greater” aspect of its title in terms of both geography and time, Greater New York begins roughly with the moment when MoMA PS1 was founded in 1976 as an alternative venue that took advantage of disused real estate, reaching back to artists who engaged the margins of the city. Together, the works in the exhibition employ a heterogeneous range of aesthetic strategies, often emphatically representing the city’s inhabitants through forms of bold figuration, and foregrounding New York itself as a location of conflict and possibility. (work below by Huma BhaBha)
Major support for the exhibition is provided by MoMA’s Wallis Annenberg Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art through the Annenberg Foundation.
Generous funding is provided by The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art, and The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art.
Additional support is provided by the MoMA PS1 Annual Exhibition Fund.
Special thanks to Elham and Tony Salamé.
Greater New York
October 11, 2015 to March 7, 2016
at MoMA PS1
• Check the website for Performance Program Schedule & participating artists
NEW YORK CITY - Greater New York is the fourth iteration of the renowned series, begun in 2000 as a collaboration between MoMA PS1 (then P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center) and The Museum of Modern Art, that showcases emerging artists living and working in the New York metropolitan area.This Greater New York arrives, however, in a city and art community that has changed dramatically since the first version of the survey. Against this backdrop, Greater New York will depart from the show’s primary focus on youth, instead examining key points of connection and intersection between emerging and more established artists across New York, while also exploring aspects of earlier histories of the city itself, and its changing political, social, and architectural fabric. (Image is the Painted Chair by Collier Schorr)
The exhibition occupies MoMA PS1’s entire building with over 400 works by 157 artists, including programs of film and performance. The 2015 exhibition is co-organized by a team, led by Peter Eleey, Curator and Associate Director of Exhibitions and Programs, MoMA PS1, that includes art historian Douglas Crimp, University of Rochester; Thomas J. Lax, Associate Curator, Department of Media and Performance Art, MoMA; and Mia Locks, Assistant Curator, MoMA PS1.
Considering the “greater” aspect of its title in terms of both geography and time, Greater New York begins roughly with the moment when MoMA PS1 was founded in 1976 as an alternative venue that took advantage of disused real estate, reaching back to artists who engaged the margins of the city. Together, the works in the exhibition employ a heterogeneous range of aesthetic strategies, often emphatically representing the city’s inhabitants through forms of bold figuration, and foregrounding New York itself as a location of conflict and possibility. (work below by Huma BhaBha)
Major support for the exhibition is provided by MoMA’s Wallis Annenberg Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art through the Annenberg Foundation.
Generous funding is provided by The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art, and The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art.
Additional support is provided by the MoMA PS1 Annual Exhibition Fund.
Special thanks to Elham and Tony Salamé.
October 3, 2015
Food, Music & Film: Taste of Iceland fifth anniversary in Toronto from November 12 to 15 2015
From a media release:
Taste of Iceland celebrates its fifth anniversary in Toronto from November 12 to 15 2015
Annual event showcases the best in Icelandic food, music and film
TORONTO, ON – Celebrating its fifth anniversary in Toronto, Taste of Iceland touches down in the city from Thursday, Nov. 12 to Sunday, Nov. 15. Presented by Iceland Naturally, the event highlights the country’s renowned cuisine, music and film, including a free concert with Icelandic bands, a tasting menu featuring Icelandic ingredients and film screenings by Icelandic directors.
“Toronto is always so enthusiastic about Taste of Iceland, and welcomes Icelandic culture to the city with open arms,” said Kristjana Rós Guðjohnsen, project manager for the festival. “We’re excited to celebrate the festival’s fifth year here, with a great lineup that we can’t wait for everyone to experience.”
Cuisine
This year, Taste of Iceland brings noted chef Ylfa Helgadóttir to Toronto. Owner and chef de cuisine of the newly opened but much acclaimed Kopar, Helgadóttir has a delicious menu in store that she will present at Oliver & Bonacini’s Luma. Despite her young age, Helgadóttir has gained notable attention for her work. After apprenticing at one of Iceland’s top restaurants, Fish Market, she moved on to open Kopar, where she enjoys working with Icelandic products to find unexpected flavour combinations. She has received numerous awards and is also a member of Iceland’s national team of chefs, who won two gold medals at Expogast 2014. Chef Ylfa Helgadóttir will present an Icelandic tasting menu at Luma from Nov. 12 to 15.
On Sunday, Nov. 15, Luma will again host An Evening in Iceland - an interactive ticketed event showcasing the best cuisine Iceland has to offer. Join chef Helgadóttir along with Oliver & Bonacini’s Anthony Walsh and Michael Wilson for a meet and greet cocktail reception, followed by the four-course tasting menu. Chefs will walk guests through the menu while they dine at communal tables and are treated to a musical performance throughout the night.
Reykjavik Calling
On Saturday, Nov. 14, The Horsehoe Tavern will once again play host to Taste of Iceland’s Reykjavik Calling, a free, open-to-the-public concert showcasing two Icelandic acts, alongside a local Toronto band and DJ.
This year’s performers include Samaris, a trio that fuses glacial electronica and pulse-like beats with haunting vocals. The band won both the Icelandic Músíktilraunir and Kraumur Awards before the international release of their debut album in 2013.
Samaris are just one of the Icelandic bands performing at Reykjavik Calling in Toronto. Airplane and Spaceship is a refreshing one-woman act whose electronic space-music is a mix of playful beats, cool bass and high-pitched vocals. Her new album, Nótt á Hafsbotni, focuses on the magic and darkness of the deep ocean. Airplane and Spaceship will bring the magical darkness of the ocean to the Horseshoe Tavern on Nov. 14.
Film Screenings
Iceland Naturally will screen two Icelandic film programs specially curated by the Reykjavik Shorts & Docs Festival on Sunday, Nov. 15 at The Royal Cinema. The first screening will be a series of short films, followed by a documentary. Admission to the film screenings is free on a first-come, first-served basis and will be followed by a Q&A by the director of the film festival.
About Taste of Iceland
Taste of Iceland in Toronto is presented by Iceland Naturally in cooperation with Icelandair, Reyka Vodka, Blue Lagoon, Icelandic Glacial Water, Promote Iceland, Brennivín, Iceland Airwaves, Luma and Horseshoe Tavern.
Iceland Naturally
Iceland Naturally is a cooperative marketing organization that promotes the tourism, services, products and culture of Iceland. It represents the true essence of Iceland, its creativity and spectacular natural wonders. The group is comprised of Icelandair, Icelandic Group, Islandsbanki, Reyka Vodka, City of Reykjavik, Icelandic Glacial Water, Blue Lagoon, Keflavik International Airport (KEF), Landsvirkjun, Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson, Promote Iceland and the Government of Iceland.
Website: www.icelandnaturally.comFacebook: Iceland NaturallyTwitter: @IcelandNaturalInstagram: IcelandNaturalHashtag: #TasteofIceland
Taste of Iceland celebrates its fifth anniversary in Toronto from November 12 to 15 2015
Annual event showcases the best in Icelandic food, music and film
TORONTO, ON – Celebrating its fifth anniversary in Toronto, Taste of Iceland touches down in the city from Thursday, Nov. 12 to Sunday, Nov. 15. Presented by Iceland Naturally, the event highlights the country’s renowned cuisine, music and film, including a free concert with Icelandic bands, a tasting menu featuring Icelandic ingredients and film screenings by Icelandic directors.“Toronto is always so enthusiastic about Taste of Iceland, and welcomes Icelandic culture to the city with open arms,” said Kristjana Rós Guðjohnsen, project manager for the festival. “We’re excited to celebrate the festival’s fifth year here, with a great lineup that we can’t wait for everyone to experience.”
CuisineThis year, Taste of Iceland brings noted chef Ylfa Helgadóttir to Toronto. Owner and chef de cuisine of the newly opened but much acclaimed Kopar, Helgadóttir has a delicious menu in store that she will present at Oliver & Bonacini’s Luma. Despite her young age, Helgadóttir has gained notable attention for her work. After apprenticing at one of Iceland’s top restaurants, Fish Market, she moved on to open Kopar, where she enjoys working with Icelandic products to find unexpected flavour combinations. She has received numerous awards and is also a member of Iceland’s national team of chefs, who won two gold medals at Expogast 2014. Chef Ylfa Helgadóttir will present an Icelandic tasting menu at Luma from Nov. 12 to 15.
On Sunday, Nov. 15, Luma will again host An Evening in Iceland - an interactive ticketed event showcasing the best cuisine Iceland has to offer. Join chef Helgadóttir along with Oliver & Bonacini’s Anthony Walsh and Michael Wilson for a meet and greet cocktail reception, followed by the four-course tasting menu. Chefs will walk guests through the menu while they dine at communal tables and are treated to a musical performance throughout the night.
Reykjavik CallingOn Saturday, Nov. 14, The Horsehoe Tavern will once again play host to Taste of Iceland’s Reykjavik Calling, a free, open-to-the-public concert showcasing two Icelandic acts, alongside a local Toronto band and DJ.
This year’s performers include Samaris, a trio that fuses glacial electronica and pulse-like beats with haunting vocals. The band won both the Icelandic Músíktilraunir and Kraumur Awards before the international release of their debut album in 2013.
Samaris are just one of the Icelandic bands performing at Reykjavik Calling in Toronto. Airplane and Spaceship is a refreshing one-woman act whose electronic space-music is a mix of playful beats, cool bass and high-pitched vocals. Her new album, Nótt á Hafsbotni, focuses on the magic and darkness of the deep ocean. Airplane and Spaceship will bring the magical darkness of the ocean to the Horseshoe Tavern on Nov. 14.
Film ScreeningsIceland Naturally will screen two Icelandic film programs specially curated by the Reykjavik Shorts & Docs Festival on Sunday, Nov. 15 at The Royal Cinema. The first screening will be a series of short films, followed by a documentary. Admission to the film screenings is free on a first-come, first-served basis and will be followed by a Q&A by the director of the film festival.
About Taste of Iceland
Taste of Iceland in Toronto is presented by Iceland Naturally in cooperation with Icelandair, Reyka Vodka, Blue Lagoon, Icelandic Glacial Water, Promote Iceland, Brennivín, Iceland Airwaves, Luma and Horseshoe Tavern.
Iceland NaturallyIceland Naturally is a cooperative marketing organization that promotes the tourism, services, products and culture of Iceland. It represents the true essence of Iceland, its creativity and spectacular natural wonders. The group is comprised of Icelandair, Icelandic Group, Islandsbanki, Reyka Vodka, City of Reykjavik, Icelandic Glacial Water, Blue Lagoon, Keflavik International Airport (KEF), Landsvirkjun, Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson, Promote Iceland and the Government of Iceland.
Website: www.icelandnaturally.comFacebook: Iceland NaturallyTwitter: @IcelandNaturalInstagram: IcelandNaturalHashtag: #TasteofIceland
October 1, 2015
Traditional Jazz: Old Harlem Lives at Bill's Place
Old Harlem Lives at Bill's Place
148 West 133rd Street (btw 7th and Lenox Avenues)
Open Friday's and Saturday's
Doors Open:7:30 PM - shows start 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Price: $20.00 per person
Remember : We are a dry establishment. No Alcohol is allowed.
At one time, speakeasys lined both sides of 133rd Street between 7th and Lenox Avenues, sending the jazz vibes onto the street from the unassuming brownstones. Nowadays, the speakeasys are gone but Bill's Place Harlem remains as a stalwart ode to the music.
During Prohibition Days, speakeasys sprang up in private houses to avoid official scrutiny and in Bill's you get to experience the feel of the genuine article. You're inside one of the old brownstones, down a staircase to the basement. Frontage was taxed in the city at the time, forging the iconic streetscapes of narrow, taller buildings that still makes up the vast majority of Harlem. The basement stage is set against one wall while the seats are strewn along the opposite wall of the long narrow space.
Best of all, you can sit an arm's length away from the sound - still genuine in its spirit and expert in its execution. This is one of the very locations, after all, where a young Billie Holliday took to the mic while Fats Waller and Willie the Lion Smith were regulars most weeks. Today, the line-up includes co-founder Bill Saxton, a bebop sax player with a long history on the international stage and his Harlem All Stars on Friday nights and a guest band on Saturdays. Either way, you'll get a powerful set of mesmerizing traditional jazz served straight up.
Bill's Place is actually the hood's longest serving authentic speakeasy - although there's an irony there. Opened during the days of Prohibition to serve illegal booze to music lovers, the establishment is nowadays dry, with no alcohol allowed. Now, the New York Times did a write up of the place late last year and naturally Bill's Place got a lot of publicity because of it. At the time - and described in the article - you could bring your own bottle. I first visited not long after that and the surprised crowd was told the place was between licenses and couldn't allow liquor for the time being... and nowadays it's flat out dry. An object lesson in why a speakeasy needs to retain a low profile, it would appear.
For reservations: click here or call 212-281-0777
Email: billsplaceharlem@gmail.com
For Private parties please contact Club Manager, Joseph Landon at billsplaceharlem@gmail.com
148 West 133rd Street (btw 7th and Lenox Avenues)
Open Friday's and Saturday's
Doors Open:7:30 PM - shows start 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Price: $20.00 per person
Remember : We are a dry establishment. No Alcohol is allowed.
At one time, speakeasys lined both sides of 133rd Street between 7th and Lenox Avenues, sending the jazz vibes onto the street from the unassuming brownstones. Nowadays, the speakeasys are gone but Bill's Place Harlem remains as a stalwart ode to the music.
During Prohibition Days, speakeasys sprang up in private houses to avoid official scrutiny and in Bill's you get to experience the feel of the genuine article. You're inside one of the old brownstones, down a staircase to the basement. Frontage was taxed in the city at the time, forging the iconic streetscapes of narrow, taller buildings that still makes up the vast majority of Harlem. The basement stage is set against one wall while the seats are strewn along the opposite wall of the long narrow space.Best of all, you can sit an arm's length away from the sound - still genuine in its spirit and expert in its execution. This is one of the very locations, after all, where a young Billie Holliday took to the mic while Fats Waller and Willie the Lion Smith were regulars most weeks. Today, the line-up includes co-founder Bill Saxton, a bebop sax player with a long history on the international stage and his Harlem All Stars on Friday nights and a guest band on Saturdays. Either way, you'll get a powerful set of mesmerizing traditional jazz served straight up.
Bill's Place is actually the hood's longest serving authentic speakeasy - although there's an irony there. Opened during the days of Prohibition to serve illegal booze to music lovers, the establishment is nowadays dry, with no alcohol allowed. Now, the New York Times did a write up of the place late last year and naturally Bill's Place got a lot of publicity because of it. At the time - and described in the article - you could bring your own bottle. I first visited not long after that and the surprised crowd was told the place was between licenses and couldn't allow liquor for the time being... and nowadays it's flat out dry. An object lesson in why a speakeasy needs to retain a low profile, it would appear.For reservations: click here or call 212-281-0777
Email: billsplaceharlem@gmail.com
For Private parties please contact Club Manager, Joseph Landon at billsplaceharlem@gmail.com
True Cool: CHILL Ice House - Toronto's Ice Lounge
True Cool:
CHILL Ice House
82 Bathurst Street - Toronto
There are ice hotels and ice castles but the CHILL Ice House is - according to the billing - 'Canada's first and the world's largest permanent ice lounge'. Twelve months a year, if offers a taste of frozen Toronto to tourists and locals, doubling as a family friendly attraction by day and a cool (couldn't resist!) cocktail lounge by night.
CHILL is the brainchild of Gresham Bayley, who worked for the innovative family business Iceculture for years before opening the lounge. Iceculture is a Canadian success, having become one of the world's leading purveyers of specialty ice and ice sculptures and creators of innovative ice designs over the last three decades or so. I guess it should come as no surprise that Canadians can ace the ice. They've often led the world in innovations like the beaded ice curtain and chandelier and export their expertise to clients worldwide. Iceculture has even worked for NASA, producing precise ice components for the Return-to-flight program of the shuttle. It all started with a patented process that takes all the air bubbles out of the water as it freezes to produce clear, glass-like blocks and shapes of all kinds.
For Iceculture, Bayley became a globe trotting ice lounge installation expert. The company's projects took him to Dubai, Greece and India. He worked on projects like the Disney fairy-tale castle in Times Square, New York City, the World Ski Championships and a global warming exhibition in Oslo, Norway at the time Al Gore received his Nobel Prize.
What is The CHILL Ice House?
It's a lounge where everything is made of ice from floor to ceiling, including a private (sort of!) seating area, decorative elements and a sleek bar where you'll order the coldest shots of vodka you've ever had. The room is kept at a chilly minus 4 degrees Celsius and your cover charge includes rental of a blue or white quilted cape to keep you reasonably warm and toasty. To keep it interesting, the decor is changed all the time, including the theme, sculptures and features of the bar/lounge area. When you touch one of the exquisite sculptures with your hand, the flawless surface begins to get wet... only to refreeze as soon as you move on.
Tip: You may be thinking this is the place to check out in the heat of summer but if you do go during warmer months, be sure to wear solid shoes. Skimpy sandals don't last long at that temperature.
If you get too cold, there's an unfrozen side of the bar as well, a roomy space with wood panelled walls, a long bar with hip beverage selections, a nice menu of house made charcuterie and other nibbles - and a coat rack for those blue and red capes.
CHILL Ice House
82 Bathurst Street - Toronto
There are ice hotels and ice castles but the CHILL Ice House is - according to the billing - 'Canada's first and the world's largest permanent ice lounge'. Twelve months a year, if offers a taste of frozen Toronto to tourists and locals, doubling as a family friendly attraction by day and a cool (couldn't resist!) cocktail lounge by night.
CHILL is the brainchild of Gresham Bayley, who worked for the innovative family business Iceculture for years before opening the lounge. Iceculture is a Canadian success, having become one of the world's leading purveyers of specialty ice and ice sculptures and creators of innovative ice designs over the last three decades or so. I guess it should come as no surprise that Canadians can ace the ice. They've often led the world in innovations like the beaded ice curtain and chandelier and export their expertise to clients worldwide. Iceculture has even worked for NASA, producing precise ice components for the Return-to-flight program of the shuttle. It all started with a patented process that takes all the air bubbles out of the water as it freezes to produce clear, glass-like blocks and shapes of all kinds.For Iceculture, Bayley became a globe trotting ice lounge installation expert. The company's projects took him to Dubai, Greece and India. He worked on projects like the Disney fairy-tale castle in Times Square, New York City, the World Ski Championships and a global warming exhibition in Oslo, Norway at the time Al Gore received his Nobel Prize.
What is The CHILL Ice House?It's a lounge where everything is made of ice from floor to ceiling, including a private (sort of!) seating area, decorative elements and a sleek bar where you'll order the coldest shots of vodka you've ever had. The room is kept at a chilly minus 4 degrees Celsius and your cover charge includes rental of a blue or white quilted cape to keep you reasonably warm and toasty. To keep it interesting, the decor is changed all the time, including the theme, sculptures and features of the bar/lounge area. When you touch one of the exquisite sculptures with your hand, the flawless surface begins to get wet... only to refreeze as soon as you move on.
Tip: You may be thinking this is the place to check out in the heat of summer but if you do go during warmer months, be sure to wear solid shoes. Skimpy sandals don't last long at that temperature.
If you get too cold, there's an unfrozen side of the bar as well, a roomy space with wood panelled walls, a long bar with hip beverage selections, a nice menu of house made charcuterie and other nibbles - and a coat rack for those blue and red capes.
September 29, 2015
American Roots New Single & Video: Cashavelly Morrison - Pink Dress From the album The Kingdom Belongs to a Child Release: October 30, 2015
From a media release:
New Single & Video:
Cashavelly Morrison - Pink Dress
From the forthcoming album The Kingdom Belongs to a Child
Release: October 30, 2015
• Pre-order/Buy the CD
West Virginia's Gothic Americana songstress Cashavelly Morrison premiered her debut music video for "Pink Dress" on The Boot who called the song and accompanying imagery "haunting and raw".
Cashavelly Morrison grew up in a coal-mining town in West Virginia. She began her life in performance at the age of 3 as a ballet dancer, which continued for the next two decades until she broke her spine. Yet it was not until moving to North Carolina that she was introduced to the rich musical traditions of West Virginia and the surrounding region. With distance came perspective as she began to relish the rich history of Appalachia and the haunting stories of her childhood.
The debut album The Kingdom Belongs to a Child represents a confessional gateway into loss, having suffered a miscarriage in 2010 and her father last year, as well as her deeply held values, notably equal rights and empowerment for women. Morrison recognizes this, noting that “this music is about giving a voice to those who are not heard.” Her unguarded Americana flows in the same Southern Gothic vein as the work of Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, and Neko Case with significance placed on the lyrics supported by a crafted musical fabric.
Morrison’s relationship with making music is intuitive with no formal training besides what she learned through internalizing the classical music to which she once danced. Her fondness for journal writing began at age 13 and led to her English and Creative Writing majors at Salem College and later at Hollins University. “I wanted to be a novelist and worked on my novel for over a decade” Morrison reflects. “It’s had about 5 versions and now I think it was meant to be just one song”.
Morrison met her husband Ryan while he was earning his bachelor’s degree in classical guitar performance at UNC-School of the Arts. Her musical spark was ignited as they bonded over their love of authentic folk songs, singing and playing the songs of Hank Williams and Gillian Welch until the wee hours of the morning. Ryan initially served as a support system, both emotionally and musically, but as they continued to craft the songs he too fell in love with the music they were creating. His enthusiasm encouraged Morrison to pursue performing. On the couple’s 6th wedding anniversary, they discussed having another baby. This conversation led to Morrison’s epiphany that more than anything she needed to record the music they had been cultivating.
Within a week, Cashavelly and Ryan booked a session at the renowned Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville, NC, a studio repurposed from an old church. Recording with vintage equipment, the two delicately laid down their vocals and guitars, thinking this passion project would be exclusively for themselves. However, with the encouragement of their sound engineer, the experience quickly showed them that the songs deserved more instrumentation. After two more sessions, and the privilege of working with some of the most talented musicians in the area, they recognized the need and desire to share the music.
The resulting album encompasses the grief Morrison has endured while igniting compassion for the suffering of others experiencing social injustices. She presents her feelings in a tangibly emotional and intoxicating fashion, not only over her personal losses, but for those who have lost their children to police brutality and the 29 miners killed in her hometown in a methane explosion in 2010. As Morrison sees it, “exploring your grief can lead to empowerment with the ultimate empowerment being the freedom to speak these things through music”.
New Single & Video:
Cashavelly Morrison - Pink Dress
From the forthcoming album The Kingdom Belongs to a Child
Release: October 30, 2015
• Pre-order/Buy the CD
West Virginia's Gothic Americana songstress Cashavelly Morrison premiered her debut music video for "Pink Dress" on The Boot who called the song and accompanying imagery "haunting and raw".
Cashavelly Morrison grew up in a coal-mining town in West Virginia. She began her life in performance at the age of 3 as a ballet dancer, which continued for the next two decades until she broke her spine. Yet it was not until moving to North Carolina that she was introduced to the rich musical traditions of West Virginia and the surrounding region. With distance came perspective as she began to relish the rich history of Appalachia and the haunting stories of her childhood.The debut album The Kingdom Belongs to a Child represents a confessional gateway into loss, having suffered a miscarriage in 2010 and her father last year, as well as her deeply held values, notably equal rights and empowerment for women. Morrison recognizes this, noting that “this music is about giving a voice to those who are not heard.” Her unguarded Americana flows in the same Southern Gothic vein as the work of Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, and Neko Case with significance placed on the lyrics supported by a crafted musical fabric.
Morrison’s relationship with making music is intuitive with no formal training besides what she learned through internalizing the classical music to which she once danced. Her fondness for journal writing began at age 13 and led to her English and Creative Writing majors at Salem College and later at Hollins University. “I wanted to be a novelist and worked on my novel for over a decade” Morrison reflects. “It’s had about 5 versions and now I think it was meant to be just one song”.Morrison met her husband Ryan while he was earning his bachelor’s degree in classical guitar performance at UNC-School of the Arts. Her musical spark was ignited as they bonded over their love of authentic folk songs, singing and playing the songs of Hank Williams and Gillian Welch until the wee hours of the morning. Ryan initially served as a support system, both emotionally and musically, but as they continued to craft the songs he too fell in love with the music they were creating. His enthusiasm encouraged Morrison to pursue performing. On the couple’s 6th wedding anniversary, they discussed having another baby. This conversation led to Morrison’s epiphany that more than anything she needed to record the music they had been cultivating.
Within a week, Cashavelly and Ryan booked a session at the renowned Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville, NC, a studio repurposed from an old church. Recording with vintage equipment, the two delicately laid down their vocals and guitars, thinking this passion project would be exclusively for themselves. However, with the encouragement of their sound engineer, the experience quickly showed them that the songs deserved more instrumentation. After two more sessions, and the privilege of working with some of the most talented musicians in the area, they recognized the need and desire to share the music.The resulting album encompasses the grief Morrison has endured while igniting compassion for the suffering of others experiencing social injustices. She presents her feelings in a tangibly emotional and intoxicating fashion, not only over her personal losses, but for those who have lost their children to police brutality and the 29 miners killed in her hometown in a methane explosion in 2010. As Morrison sees it, “exploring your grief can lead to empowerment with the ultimate empowerment being the freedom to speak these things through music”.
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Where I blog about art and culture, not surprisingly.
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