INFERNAL MACHINES RECORD LAUNCH
UNDISCOVERED ISLANDS
GALAPAGOS ARTS SPACE
BROOKLYN NY
08 MAY 2009
SETLIST (click to listen; right-click/ctrl-click to download)
1) MP3: Phobos (partial)
Solos: Jon Wikan, cajon; Mark Small, tenor sax
2) MP3: Zeno
Solo: Ryan Keberle, trombone
3) MP3: Transit
Solo: Ingrid Jensen, trumpet
4) MP3: Redeye
Solo: Sebastian Noelle, guitar
5) MP3: Jacobin Club
Solo: Sam Sadigursky, tenor sax & Mike Fahie, trombone
6) MP3: Habeas Corpus
Solo: James Hirschfeld, trombone
7) MP3: Obsidian Flow
Solo: Erica vonKleist, alto sax
I am truly stunned -- in a warm and fuzzy but nonetheless bug-eyed way -- by all of the attention Infernal Machines has attracted. As regular readers of this blog know, I am a deep believer in striving for art that is intelligent and well-crafted and deeply personal, but also presented in a way that actually resonates with other contemporary humans. I am gratified beyond words that this music has struck a chord with so many of you. I am especially grateful to those who have followed and supported the band since our first raggedy-ass gig at CBGB almost four years ago. (And people say there's no such thing as progress... )
The live audio from our CD launch gig at Galapagos (linked above) actually turned out amazingly well. I don't pretend to understand the voodoo involved in getting these "field recordings" -- made with a digital recorder, a pair of binaural capsule mics, and a prayer -- to sound good, but for whatever reason, I seem to have accidentally hit upon a sweet spot with mic placement and levels, so this live representation is better than most. This is somewhat mystifying since the onstage sound at Galapagos was tough on us -- but from all reports, it sounded good in the room. For this I give mad props to Paul Cox, lead recording co-conspirator on Infernal Machines. He was also aboard assisting with live sound at Galapagos, thank the FSM. I only regret that I forgot to start the recorder until the middle of "Phobos" -- so I am afraid the recording of that tune begins in medias res.
At any rate, if you like your bigband raw instead of cooked -- or if you merely want a different perspective on the music from Infernal Machines -- we offer you the live tracks from this show gratis, as is our custom. Don't get me wrong, donations are always appreciated -- as are CD and T-Shirt sales, naturally -- but these live tracks are yours to share, burn, abuse, etc.
There are two more nights of Undiscovered Islands left at Galapagos and I hope you will come out to support the brilliant young artists involved in this festival -- this Friday, May 22, Signal performs Sarah Kirkland Snider's Penelope, and May 29 marks the premiere of Missy Mazzoli's Songs From The Uproar and a preview of William Brittelle's Television Landscape.
CO-CONSPIRATORS
WINDS
Erica vonKelist
Rob Wilkerson
Sam Sadigursky
Mark Small
Josh Sinton
TRUMPETS
Seneca Black
Tom Goehring
Matt Holman
Nadje Noordhuis
Ingrid Jensen
TROMBONES
Mike Fahie
Ryan Keberle
James Hirschfeld
Jennifer Wharton
RHYTHM
Sebastian Noelle, guitar
Gordon Webster, piano & electric piano
Ike Sturm, contrabass & electric bass
Jon Wikan, drum set & cajon
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