New York producer Martin Bisi will appear with his band at Schokoladen on November 3rd. Opening sets are by 2 Berlin musicians with a history working in New York with Bisi: Jochen Arbeit (Die Haut, Automat, Einsturzende Neubauten), who will play with his electric string quartet (Martina Bertoni cello fx, Munsha cello fx, Hopek Quirin bass fx), and Kristof Hahn (Swans) solo.
Bisi and band are touring in support of the album ‘BC35’, which refers to the weekend of performances and resulting album that mark the 35-year anniversary of Bisi’s BC Studio in Brooklyn.
Bisi and his collaborator Genevieve Fernworthy invited BC Studio veterans from across the decades to participate — including the Berlin-based members of Bisi’s band Diego Ferri + Oliver Rivera Drew — and assembled them into ensembles for improvisation or especially written songs in front of an audience of supporters.
The contributions of close to 50 people ranged from a single held vocal note, to a full song arrangement. There were also some long-awaited reunions, like 80’s No Wave band Live Skull (as New Old Skull), and mashups of Swans and Cop Shoot Cop members. These tracks were mixed, edited and expanded over several months, with care by Bisi and other ‘BC35’ participants.
‘BC35’, on Bronson Recordings, includes current and former members of Sonic Youth, White Hills, Swans, Foetus, Cop Shoot Cop, Live Skull, Shilpa Ray, Pop 1280, Violent Femmes, The Dresden Dolls, Alice Donut, Lubricated Goat, Insect Ark, Parlor Walls and more.
Having founded BC Studio in 1981 with Bill Laswell and Brian Eno, Bisi still owns and operates it to this day. It’s a cavernous space located in an industrial building near Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal. The studio’s idiosyncrasies are undeniably partly responsible for the sounds created there.
Bisi has personally recorded landmark music there by Sonic Youth, Swans, Unsane, Afrika Bambaataa, Herbie Hancock, JG Thirwell, John Zorn, US Maple, Fred Frith, Boredoms and so many more. Disparate sounds – from hip-hop to noise-rock to the far reaches of the avant-garde – have added up to a logical whole under the umbrella of BC Studio.
This event is presented by El Borracho Bookings & Süper.Nice.Shows.
Martin Bisi band + Jochen Arbeit + Kristof Hahn
Schokoladen | Ackerstrasse 169 | 10115 Berlin-Mitte
Saturday, 3rd November 2018 | Doors 19:00 CET | Starts 20:00 CET
Event @ Facebook | official BC35 website
(Photo: Joan Hacker)
