PERFORMANCE
Ben Frost
Thursday, February 7, 2013, 7:30 PM
EMPAC Studio 1 – Goodman
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
$18 (discounted tickets available)
Ben Frost's music is not just heard; it's felt. Influenced by classical minimalism as well as punk rock and metal, he creates monolithic sounds that command attention through their visceral intensity. Keenly aware of listeners' thresholds, Frost exploits every extreme of pitch and volume as he pushes the sound of electric guitars, drums, and laptops out from a wall of speakers and amps. As the music unfolds, overlapping layers and elongated structural forms emerge from within the encompassing sonic space.
For this performance, Frost gives an exclusive preview of material that is being developed for his next studio album.
For this performance, Frost gives an exclusive preview of material that is being developed for his next studio album.
The music of Ben Frost is about contrast; influenced as much by Classical Minimalism as by Punk Rock and Metal, Frost's throbbing guitar-based textures emerge from nothing and slowly coalesce into huge, forbidding forms that often eschew conventional structures in favor of the inevitable unfoldings of vast mechanical systems.
On albums like Steel Wound, released on the Room40 label in 2003 (Pitchfork: "An exemplary ambient experience"), Theory of Machines on Bedroom Community in 2007 (Boomkat: "The Future of electronic music…") and 2009's BY THE THROAT (NME: "a hollow, unforgiving, brutal yet utterly beautiful record, full of deep intricacies that won't let you go.") Frost's music is more than a cerebral exercise and has an undeniable visceral presence, felt as much as heard. His compositions are created with an acute awareness of the listener and their comfort thresholds, exploiting every extreme of pitch and volume. His notorious, building-shaking performances at international festivals including Montreal's famed MUTEK combine amplified electronics with the furious thrashing of live guitars. Frost himself has been described as "one of the most interesting and groundbreaking producers in the world today." (Boomkat). His music's intense physicality has filled gallery spaces and driven contemporary dance productions by Chunky Move, the Icelandic Dance Company, and the acclaimed choreographers Erna Ómarsdottír and Wayne McGregor. http://www.ethermachines.com/
On albums like Steel Wound, released on the Room40 label in 2003 (Pitchfork: "An exemplary ambient experience"), Theory of Machines on Bedroom Community in 2007 (Boomkat: "The Future of electronic music…") and 2009's BY THE THROAT (NME: "a hollow, unforgiving, brutal yet utterly beautiful record, full of deep intricacies that won't let you go.") Frost's music is more than a cerebral exercise and has an undeniable visceral presence, felt as much as heard. His compositions are created with an acute awareness of the listener and their comfort thresholds, exploiting every extreme of pitch and volume. His notorious, building-shaking performances at international festivals including Montreal's famed MUTEK combine amplified electronics with the furious thrashing of live guitars. Frost himself has been described as "one of the most interesting and groundbreaking producers in the world today." (Boomkat). His music's intense physicality has filled gallery spaces and driven contemporary dance productions by Chunky Move, the Icelandic Dance Company, and the acclaimed choreographers Erna Ómarsdottír and Wayne McGregor. http://www.ethermachines.com/
Tickets are $18 general admission; $13 non-Rensselaer students, seniors, and Rensselaer faculty + staff; and $6 Rensselaer students (must provide ID for discounted tickets).
Evelyn's Café will open at 6:30 PM with a full menu of meals, snacks, and beverages as well as a selection of wines. Service continues after the performance. Parking is available in the Rensselaer parking lot on College Avenue.
Evelyn's Café will open at 6:30 PM with a full menu of meals, snacks, and beverages as well as a selection of wines. Service continues after the performance. Parking is available in the Rensselaer parking lot on College Avenue.
More information can be found on the EMPAC website: empac.rpi.edu. Questions? Call the EMPAC Box Office: 518.276.3921.
EMPAC 2012-2013 presentations, residencies, and commissions are made possible by continuous support from the Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and Performing Arts. Additional project support by the National Endowment for the Arts; the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the New York State Council for the Arts; Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts; Arts Council Norway, Fond for Lyd og Bilde, and Fond for Utøvende Kunstner.
Photo by Bjarni Grímsson.
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The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street
Troy, NY, 12180
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street
Troy, NY, 12180
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