Listen to Alan Licht

July 8, 2010: Alan Licht performs Christian Marclay's 'Wind Up Guitar' (1994) from Whitney Museum of American Art on Vimeo.

 

Noted New York noisesmith Alan Licht has long been known as a man prepared to take the humble guitar into the outer realms, and so it is on this turn for Editions Mego. Running distorted squalls of six strings into a mess of electronic interference, this is no easy ride but there's a staggering amount of expression worked into the spluttering notes and ranging chords of Licht's Four Years dichotomy. Rarely resting in one sound for too long, this is far from the laborious patience-rewarding tropes of the noise scene and far more visceral, even as the cranky sonics give way to soothing harmonious passages. It may sound at times like an accidental racket, but anyone with a love of punk and hardcore will find this resonating with them like few other projects in the avant-garde world.


Shot with iPhone 4 8mm Camera app's 70's lens.

Live at Cafe OTO excerpt - 7 November 2011 - cafeoto.co.uk - akionda.net