First time visit to Cafe OTO for master saxophonist Colin Stetson who's sustained lung-busting performances combine the kind of incredible techniques most often associated with the fringes of avant-garde praxis together with a compositional structure and melodic sensibility he has honed across the three volumes of his 'New History Warfare' series of releases...

COLIN STETSON

Colin Stetson was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI and earned a degree in music from his hometown school, the University of Michigan, in 1997. Six years in San Francisco followed, then another four in Brooklyn, NY. Over this time, he developed his unique solo voice on saxophones and clarinets, culminating in the release of the album New History Warfare Vol. 1″ on Agoo Records in 2008 and a second volume on Constellation in 2011. The third and final part of the trilogy was released in April 2013.

Stetson now resides in Montreal, QC, and performs regularly on assorted saxophones, clarinets, cornet, french horn and flute.

Aside from his work as a soloist, Stetson has brought his talents to the stage and studio with dozens of artists over the past decade, including Mats Gustafsson, Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, Feist, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, David Byrne, Jolie Holland, Sinead O’Connor, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Angelique Kidjo, and Anthony Braxton. Colin is also a member of the band Bon Iver.

colinstetson.com

Colin Stetson | Awake on Foreign Shores & Judges | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

"Stetson is a master of overblowing and multiphonics, which he has finessed to the point where his circular breathing has allowed him to play what sound like several other entirely distinct lines of song. Others frequently achieve this by live sampling and looping, but Stetson insists he doesn't use such techniques, which makes for an extraordinary aural illusionism… The 15 minute 'To See More Light' contains Stetson's most confounding sleight of hand, as he layers up gasping, phlegmatic fanfares over Nautilus-spiralling notes, then produces the real-time effect of slurred tape speed. On 'Hunted' and 'Brute', though, he pushes overblowing into realms previously only accessible with a fuzz pedal, finding timbres in the saxophone's tubing that are rarely brought out. This gives Stetson's sweeter melodies a bitter, eyewatering sting." - The Wire

Colin Stetson photo by Keith Klenowski

EX-EASTER ISLAND HEAD

Ex-Easter Island Head are a Liverpool based musical collective composing and performing music for solid-body electric guitar, percussion and other instruments.

Incorporating multiple prepared electric guitars struck with percussion mallets and treated as an infinitely variable sound-source as well as drawing on an arsenal of cymbals, bells, prayer bowls and acoustic percussion, they devise works that explore group interplay, repetition and melodic invention through purposefully limited means.

They have performed their original compositions solo, as a duo, three-piece, quartet and as a large ensemble of up to thirty people. They have shared a stage with the likes of acoustic minimalist James Blackshaw, electronic pioneer Dieter Moebius award winning sound artist Philip Jeck. They have collaborated with down-town New York composer Rhys Chatham and have been commissioned by Mercy Arts/Literature agency and the cultural olympiad.

In late 2013 they will release their third record Mallet Guitars Three and the group’s new composition for 12 guitarists, Large Electric Ensemble.

"“Precise and pulsing rhythmic minimalism...a three-chord punk mission statement turned into an austere neo-classical manifesto.”; - The Wire

“Tropical storm clouds of rhythm and natural reverberation, skillfully balanced between methodical precision and emotional resonance.” - The Quietus

www.exeasterislandhead.com

JOHN EDWARDS & GUILLAUME VILTARD / double bass duo

John Edwards and Guillaume Viltard are both true virtuosos of the double bass, combining boundless energy, imagination and invention to an instrument usually relegated to the back of an ensemble. This duo encounter promises to highlight the textural, percussive and melodic possibilities both bring to their music.