Press
from The Boxhead Ensemble: Stories,
Maps and Notes from the Half-Light
2001 European Live Performance and Film
Screening Tour
co-curated and introduced by Astria
Suparak and Braden King
> Press Release
+ Musician and Filmmaker Bios
> Photos
from live performances + Show Poster
> Tour Dates
Reviews:
1) Shakenstir Live Review and Photos of Manchester show
2) Time Out UK Preview of London show
3) No Photography Review of Dublin show
4) Shakenstir Interview and Photos from Tour - The Boxhead Ensemble
5) Melting Vinyl Preview of Brighton show
Miscellaneous:
6) Photos from Manchester show
7) Related articles.
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1) Shakenstir Live Review of Manchester show
See article and IMAGE from show at: http://www.shakenstir.co.uk/featuremore2.asp?articleid=183
Boxhead Ensemble: Stories, Maps And Notes From The Half Light
Contact Theatre, Manchester : 24.9.2001
Musicians
Jim White (Dirty Three, Cat Power, Smog, Nick Cave) - drums and percussion;
Michael Krassner (Lofty Pillars, Simon Joyner) piano, organ, guitar;
Fred Lonberg-Holm (In-Zenith, Pillow, Terminal 4, Freakwater) - cello;
Tim Ruttli (Califone, Red Red Meat) - guitar, organ; Scott Tuma
(Souled America) guitar, harmonica.
Filmmakers
Guy Sherwin (London, UK); Paula M Froehle (Chicago, USA); Grant
Lee (Brighton, UK); Phil Solomon (Boulder, USA); Gerard Holthuis
(Den Haag, Netherlands); Julie Murray (New York, USA); Jem Cohen
(New York, USA).
"The critically acclaimed improvised soundtrack to the documentary film
Dutch Harbour launched Boxhead Ensemble on extensive world
tours for several years.
When asked by the Irish Docland Film Festival to perform Dutch Harbour
this year, Michael Krassner and Braden King saw an opportunity
to create an alternative, fresh film/music performance vision they'd shared
for a couple of years. The idea was simple; commission and find a series of
silent short films and enlist the ensemble players to improvise the soundtrack
to each film on stage.
Acceptance of the concept by the festival organisers signalled the beginning
of a new and more adventurous phase for this group of the world's best wandering
avant-rock players. This, Boxhead's first short European tour of the
show (described by Krassner as a 'trial by fire') culminates at the Doclands
Film Festival and further developments of the idea thereafter in preparation
of world tours next year.
The new performance space provided by the jagged architecture of the Contact
Theatre in Manchester proved an ideal environment for the show. And performance
space is critical to allow space for the players (they have to be able to turn
to look at the screening while playing for the audience) and a large back-projection
area for the films.
As the players formed a semi-circle of musical excellence, lights dimmed and
the first film flickered into the stillest and calmest monotone life. In the
necessary darkness of the stage, it was difficult to spot who was playing but,
of course, individuality is not on the agenda here. However, black bodies and
instruments silhouetted against the massive and bright projections created images
of memorable and stark beauty. Everybody, including the players, were focused
on the screen's images, while the sounds drew the audience deep inside each
of the nine fascinating short films.
The visions of huge passenger jets casually caressing the tops of high-rise
tenements on route to Hong Kong's old Kai Tak airport were surreal and terrifying.
Jets from different angles, appearing and disappearing, near and far, corner
to corner, top to bottom, fast and glacial, rising ominously over the heads
of the musicians whose sparse accompaniment heightened the tension. New York,
New York!
A crashing crescendo of drums and percussion following jellyfish pumping their
way upwards in a palette of angry red and boiling blue. An arm ends in a burning
piece of cloth that splinters into a thousand oblique shapes and colours. A
pigeon sits on a branch while another launches itself into frozen animation.
Sepia bodies melt and peel. The cello doesn't sing, it talks. The violin doesn't
soar, it creaks. The trumpet doesn't bark, it screams. Cymbals don't crash,
they shimmer. Images and sounds sometimes in contrast, sometimes in unison,
sometimes gut-wrenching, sometimes at peace. Moments of respectful silence,
creeping tones, and musical brush strokes.
Compelling, magnetic, perfectly imperfect. This is performance art at the cutting
edge but eminently accessible and personal. It is relevant, it is wonderful."
-Shakenstir
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2) Time Out UK Preview of London show
Boxhead Ensemble: Stories, Maps and Notes from the Half-light at the Horse
Hospital.
"This loose collective of some of the most creative names in the alt.americana
and new minimalist music scene first coalesced around frontman Michael Krassner
several years ago when they produced the immaculate, glacial score to tour director
Braden King's stunning monochrome documentary Dutch Harbor: Where
the Sea Breaks Its Back, an exploration of an Alaskan fishing port. Improvisation
is high on the agenda for these guys and here they've got a startling crop of
new and premiere shorts work to riff along to, from some of the most intriguing
names in left-field experimental image-making. 20 filmmakers are represented,
including Britain's own Chris (Radio On, The Falconer) Petit,
promo prince Grant Gee and Guy Shwerwin, as well as Chris Target
Shoots First Wilcha, the prolific Jem Cohen and Armenian-Canadian
Garine Torossian. A storming line-up on both mikes and lenses should
make for a memorable evening. But don't delay: the HH is mighty intimate." -Gareth
Evans, Time Out
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3) No Photography Review of Dublin show:
See article and IMAGES from the shows at: http://www.nophotography.com/box.html
BOXHEAD ENSEMBLE
"Last Saturday evening the 29th September the Boxhead Ensemble played
The Temple Bar Music Centre as part of The Doclands Documentary Film
Festival 2001. No Photography witnessed the ensemble freely improvise to
a series of short films described by its curators Braden King and Astria
Suparak as ‘right on the edge of documentary film making’.
As Guy Sherwin’s film Filter Beds slowly unfolded its images of
grasses and reeds via subtle shifts of focal points, the ensemble provided gentle
viola and harmonica. Jim White’s rolling drums broke the serenity and
evoked a mood of danger to Breathless Ghost, a film by Paula M. Froehle
which explored the colour, form and movement of the jellyfish. Jem Cohen’s
six minute film In Cape Breton shot on 16mm black and white comprises
of a series of beautifully composed still life sequences calling to mind the
images of the American painter Andrew Wyeth. The exactitude of the imagery on
screen coupled with the highly considered yet improvised playing of the ensemble
provided one of the highlights of the evening. Other highlights included Convalescing
by Barbara Meter documenting a point 'where one is allowed not to
take part in the world...' and the final film of the evening HKG. This
extraordinary film by Gerard Holthus tells of life in a city and its
air traffic; an observation of city dwelling at the end of the 20th century.
Over its 14 minutes the viewer experiences astonishing images of aeroplanes
taking off and landing in close proximity to the people and buildings of Hong
Kong. The music by the ensemble served to heighten the fragility of the relationship
between the city’s occupants and these huge chrome machines as they soar dangerously
close by during their daily flight paths.
On this occasion the Boxhead Ensemble comprised of Michael Krassner,
David Michael Curry, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Tim Rutili, Scott Tuma and Jim
White who are members of such diverse bands as Willard Grant Conspiracy,
Freakwater, Califone, Souled American and the Dirty Three."
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4) Shakenstir Interview - The Boxhead Ensemble
http://www.shakenstir.co.uk/featuremore3.asp?articleid=184
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5) Melting Vinyl Preview of Brighton show:
September Boxhead Ensemble
The Duke of York's Picture House, Preston Circus, Brighton, England
Preview: The first incarnation of the Boxhead Ensemble dates back to
1991 in Los Angeles, where Michael Krassner assembled a group of local
musicians to improvise a score to a Braden King and Larry Stuckey's 16mm
film short. By 1996, a new incarnation of the Ensemble were scoring
Braden King and Laura Moya's lyric documentary, Dutch Harbor:
Where the Sea Breaks its Back. This soundtrack, featured performances by
David Grubbs, Doug McCombs, Will Oldham, Jim O'Rourke and amongst its
mighty number. Oh yes…
From time to time the Ensemble has reshaped, regrouped and reconvened,
but this new tour, entitled Stories, Maps and Notes From the Half-Light,
marks the first Boxhead Ensemble tour in nearly three years. This time
around the Ensemble will be improvising against a stellar program of
new short films. Curated by Braden King and New York-based Astria
Suparak the program features an international roster of filmmakers and several
world premieres. The musicians include Michael Krassner, Ensemble founder
and Director, who has also played with a galaxy of others such as Edith Frost
and Songs:Ohio; cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, who has worked with such heavyweights
as Anthony Braxton and John Zorn; the Dirty Three's Jim White and Mick
Turner, you should know from their recent visit; plus others.
The outfit will play to images by 20 filmmakers, including Brighton's own Grant
Gee who made Radiohead's actually-very-excellent Meeting People is Easy,
as well as videos for Stephen Malkmus and Sparklehorse; Chris Petit who
made the British new wave 70s road movie Radio On (Great film, great
soundtrack); and a truly international line-up of experimental film artists.
When all's said and done, it'll be a beautiful thing. -Jason Weaver http://www.meltingvinyl.co.uk/
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6) (A lot of) Photos from Manchester show.
http://sparror.cubecinema.com/archive/
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7 ) Review of Boxhead Ensemble's Two Brothers
album. http://www.shakenstir.co.uk/featuremore1.asp?articleid=152
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Please direct further inquiries about the upcoming tour to: press@truckstopmedia.com
Additional ensemble, filmmaker and tour information can also be found at:
www.truckstopmedia.com
www.astriasuparak.com
www.doclands.ie
www.atavistic.com