NEW YORK The third edition of Unsound Festival New York will take place Wednesday, April 18th through Sunday, April 22nd at venues across New York and continues the festival mandate to connect lesser-known artists from Eastern Europe with their Western counterparts. Additionally, Unsound Festival New York will feature experimental and unusual programming, all free to the public, under the heading Unsound LABS. In 2011, this programming preceded the main festival ticket; this year it will be integrated into the programming. In October 2012, Unsound Festival in Kraków, Poland is set to deliver its most adventurous programs yet with a special Tenth Anniversary program showing how far the festival has grown, from a small cellar in Kraków's Old Town into one of Europe's most prominent and influential festivals for electronic and experimental music.
Unsound Festival New York, the New York offshoot of the acclaimed Kraków festival, is a festival for the exciting and turbulent new decade we find ourselves living in. From its first outing in February 2010, Unsound Festival New York established itself with fans and critics as an essential addition to the New York culture calendar-- no small feat in a city where every week can feel like a festival. But by embracing a broad range of genres from contemporary classical music to post-industrial sounds to black metal to new directions in bass driven club music, Unsound Festival New York uniquely explores what it means to be cutting-edge in our current music scene. Unsound Festival New York is presented by Fundacja Tone, the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Goethe-Institut New York. For more information, visit www.unsound.pl/en.
ABOUT LXMP
LXMP is a musical project from the "two best-dressed people in Warsaw," Piotr Zabrodzki and Macio Moretti, essential figures on the Polish music scene. They are also known in some circles as the rhythm section of Polish underground supergroup Baaba (who will be performing at BAM the day before, April 18) and are alternatively known as the 60 Minut Projekt, a 60-minute drum 'n' bass duo.
This past October, the duo debuted a new project at Unsound Festival Krakow, a reinterpretation of the Herbie Hancock 1983 electronic album masterpiece Future Shock. A video excerpt of that performance can be seen on youtube. For the duo's U.S. debut performance at the Atrium for Unsound Festival New York 2012 it will perform a second take on the same project, spiraling classic cuts such as "Rockit," "Future Shock," and "Autodrive" into a new dimension with its own special brand of Polish musical madness.
Using a basic set-up consisting of drums, bass guitar and two Korg MS-20 synthesizers, bassist/synthesist Piotras and drummer/synthesist Macio are, according to their label Lado ABC, "trying to recall the memories of romantic strolls across downtown Warsaw allotments, unexplained absences from phys-ed classes or the taste of snow in far-away mountain resorts." Target® is proud to sponsor Target Free Thursdays at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.
In 2010 the duo released its debut full length CD Trois Suites + Une Miniature on Lado ABC. Discogs describes the style of the album as Math Rock, Grindcore, Musique Concrète, Breakcore, Freestyle, Italo-Disco, Abstract, Death Metal, Avantgarde, Future Jazz, Psychedelic Rock, Speedcore and Special Effects. Two follow up albums-- one as a trio with Chad Popple of Collosamite fame, and one with Kazuhisa Uchihashi-- will be released soon.
ABOUT PEAKING LIGHTS
The Madison, Wisconsin based dub pop psych duo of Peaking Lights has been described as "sounding something like the bastard child of Forest Swords, Zola Jesus, Tom Tom Club and Nite Jewel." This husband and wife duo-- A.C.I.D aka Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis-- have channeled their lives dedicated to music, touring, and pushing artistic boundaries into a band that reflects their relationship, a sum that transcends its parts. With a cross country move from the Bay Area to a house and barn in rural Wisconsin, working with Aaron's home built synths, effects units and rhythm machines, Peaking Lights established a sound all its own, fusing influences as wide ranging as Afro Beat, Disco, Psychedelic Rock, Synth Pop, Krautrock, Reggae and Noise into songs that are as smooth, lush and elegant as they are propulsive, rhythmic and noisy.
Peaking Lights recordings were initially showcased on Night-People Records cassette releases, along with a debut full album Imaginary Falcons in 2009, which brought the band to the attention of the underground music community. Imaginary Falcons quickly gained praise for its distinct lo-fi qualities fusing analog electronics with blown out psych guitar flourishes, with Indra's warm drifting vocals providing an unexpected serenity.
The duo went on to explore a sound related, but not fully indebted to, Jamaican dub pioneers. This resulted in a second album 936 a recording that saw Peaking Lights merging its influences more fully into rich, explorative electronic sonic territory. 936 retained many of Peaking Lights lo-fi electronic techniques but boosted the overall depth of sound to create a record that was lush in its use of analog delay, deep bass, rhythmic creation, and stunning yet simple vocal beauty. 936 was released on Not Not Fun Records in 2011 garnering even more critical praise for the band. Pitchfork called the record "wonderfully detailed…carefully plucked, arranged delicately." The album was followed by two remix EPs this January. Peaking Lights will be announcing a new recording soon.
UNSOUND FESTIVAL NEW YORK is presented by Fundacja Tone, the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Goethe-Institut New York. Launched in November 2009, Target® Free Thursdays offers free public performances every Thursday night throughout the year at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The series, curated by Lincoln Center, features international, national and local artists across a wide range of musical genres, as well as spoken word, multi-media and dance performances. Along with free performances, including Target® Free Thursdays every Thursday night of the year, and Meet the Artist Saturdays-- free, family-friendly participatory programs at 11 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month-- other attractions and amenities in the Atrium include: a 'wichcraft café, a departure point for expanded Lincoln Center tours, a staffed Information Desk, free Wi-Fi, and restrooms. The Atrium is open Monday - Friday 8 am-10 pm and Saturday/Sunday 9 am-10 p.m. Visit www.LincolnCenter.org/atrium for more information.
