Unsound Opening at Target® Free Thursdays

A celebration of innovative cross-border projects. Finland’s Vladislav Delay performs free form audio with video improvisation by Berlin video artist Lillevan. Sebastian Meissner + Kwartuldium = Solid State Transmitters links the electronic music of German producer Meissner with one of Poland’s most respected avant-garde groups, Kwartludium, reinterpreting music from US punk label SST Records.

Tickets: Free. Target® Free Thursdays at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Street

Carl Craig with "Blowjob", nsi. with "Kiss"

Part of Unsound’s Warhol series, an exciting presentation of live electronic music performed as commissioned soundtracks to two legendary silent Andy Warhol films. Detroit icon Carl Craig and Berlin duo nsi., both revered pioneers of contemporary electronic music, will perform live soundtracks on modular synthesizers and analog gear. Carl Craig plays with “Blowjob”, nsi. with “Kiss”.

Tickets: $25

Carl Craig with "Blowjob", nsi. with "Kiss"

Second session of Warhol's Blowjob, played with a live soundtrack by Carl Craig, and "Kiss" with nsi.

Tickets: $25

Bunker Edition 1

Established names, underrated gems. The first of 2 Unsound Bunker editions, linking innovative European and U.S. club music. Warsaw’s Jacek Sienkiewicz and Czubala represent Unsound’s Eastern Promise theme, alongside Berlin’s Tobias, Geneva’s Kadebostan and The Hague's Newworldaquarium. A spectrum of local DJ's and producers intersect with their sounds. The result: a deliciously fresh night.

Tickets: $25 advance, $30 at door

Groupshow with "Empire"

Groupshow (Jan Jelinek, Andrew Pekler, Hanno Leichtmann) perform a marathon 8-hour musical showcase to Warhol’s iconic "Empire" - a single shot of the Empire State. Part concert, part installation, the concept fits into the proto-fluxus conception of the band, whose goals and manifesto work against repertoire. Commissioned by Unsound and Goethe-Institut New York as part of the Warhol series.

Tickets: Free

Lillevan's screen tests studio

Lillevan creates screen tests in the Wyoming Building, inviting artists, festival organizers, and people passing by. Open to the public. Come get a screen test made, later to be used as VJ material at the Bunker club night on Friday 12th.

Tickets: Free

Workshop: Lillevan's screen tests

Lillevan talks about his project Screen Tests Revisited, explaining the background of Warhol’s original Screen Tests. He describes techniques employed in the project, as well as those he uses generally in his work. One of the most renowned video artists working with producers of electronic music, Lillevan is also an entertaining and informative speaker, and this workshop is not to be missed.

Tickets: Free

Presentation: The Hidden History of the Vocoder

Music writer Dave Tompkins, author of the forthcoming book "How to Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocoder from World War II to Hip Hop", presents a history of the vocoder as it has evolved from a military device into a major element in electronic music.

Tickets: Free

A Century of Dance Music, co-presented by the Wordless Music series and Treehouse

A pivotal event in the program, this is the first ever North American performance of Moritz von Oswald Trio, comprising three European electronic/club music legends: Moritz von Oswald, Vladislav Delay and Max Loderbauer. Emphasizing how the trio fits into a reinvention of and experimentation with “dance” sounds, the night opens with a performance of Ravel’s “Bolero” and closes with a DJ set.

Tickets: $20

Kids’ Electronic Music Workshop

Producers of electronic music show kids and young adults how to create music using simple technologies, found objects, and their own ingenuity. Participants will perform in Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, opening a night of experimental music. Co-presented with Dis-Patch and Communikey festivals, from Serbia and Boulder, Colo., and Harvestworks. Until 5pm. First of 4 sessions.

Tickets: $25 for four sessions. To sign up send paypal payment of $25 to [email protected]. After payment organizers will send you further information and forms.

Panel Discussion: Music Journalism

What does it mean to write well about music? A panel of working music journalists discusses issues related to the art of music-writing, as well as the changing practice of covering music in an eclectic and diversified world. When so much is available globally, how does one search for the new? Andy Battaglia and Simon Reynolds lead a discussion with other working writers in the field.

Tickets: Free

Panel Discussion: The Art of The Party - The Hidden Issues

Explores hidden challenges involved in producing music events in New York, from small club parties to big concerts. This includes everything from obtaining legal U.S. work permits for international artists to dealing with agents and gatekeepers. A range of participants includes Wordless Music's Ronen Givony, The Bunker's Bryan Kasenic and artist/organizer Jessica Schmitz.

Tickets: Free

Panel Discussion: Who Programs Who?

How do you create sounds that have never been heard before? What is the connection between music consumption and creation? And how does technology and music-making software influence this quest? Do we program machines, or do they program us? Vladislav Delay, Sebastian Meissner, Jacek Sienkiewicz and Ezekiel Honig talk about the process of finding an original voice in electronic music.

Tickets: Free

Sound Postcard Exhibit Opening

During 60s and 70s Polish communism, when vinyl singles were rare, sound postcards became extremely popular. Bearing striking designs, they contained analogue recording engraved in a laminate layer. Sound quality was low, but they meant access to hit songs from the West. In Mat Schulz and Rui Silva’s exhibit, tracks are transferred to mp3’s, revealing how recording technology changes over time.

Tickets: Free

Workshop: Kids’ Electronic Music Workshop - Session 2

Second session. Until 7:30 pm.

Tickets: $25 for four sessions. To sign up send paypal payment of $25 to [email protected]. After payment organizers will send you further information and forms.

Screening: Electronic Music Movies – Session 1

Two films on the roots of electronic music includes the NY debut of Kara Blake's 2009 documentary The Delian Mode, exploring the life of pioneer Delia Derbyshire, the woman behind the distinctive Doctor Who theme music created at the BBC. "The Future Is Not What It Used To Be", directed by Mika Taanila, is about Erkki Kurenniemi, a Finnish scientist, musician, filmmaker and cybernetic pioneer.

Tickets: Free

Anticipate Night

The hometown-based Anticipate label presents an evening of various
electro-acoustic pursuits, in both sonic and visual form. Rounding up its local artists along with affiliated friends, expect muted rhythms, textured melodic directions and an experimental bent that warms to the touch. Line up coming soon.

Visuals: Joshue Ott

Tickets: $10, tickets at door

Workshop: Kids Electronic Music Workshop - Session 3

Third session, in anticipation of a live concert at Le Poisson Rouge the following night. Until 7:30 pm.

Tickets: $25 for four sessions. To sign up send paypal payment of $25 to [email protected]. After payment organizers will send you further information and forms.

Eastern Promise - co-presented with EMF

Part of the “Eastern Promise” theme throughout the program, this night showcases 2 artists from Europe’s eastern side. Polish producer Zenial works with drones, ambient sound and harsh noise, whilst Ukrainian Zavoloka fuses eclectic beats with experimental sounds, sometimes drawing on her country’s traditional music. Offering a New York mirror to these shows is local experimental artist Bora Yoon.

Tickets: $15

Lillevan's screen tests studio

Lillevan creates screen tests in the Wyoming Building, inviting artists, festival organizers, and people passing by. Open to the public. Come get a screen test made, later to be used as VJ material at the Bunker club night on Friday 12th.

Tickets: Free

Panel Discussion: Rework, Recontextualize, Review

This panel looks at how historical avant-garde films have been used in recent music performances. Lee Ranaldo and Alan Licht, of Text of Light, a project devoted to putting music to films by Stan Brakhage, meet with Lillevan as well as Hanno Leichtmann and Andrew Peckler of Groupshow, an act involved in Unsound’s Warhol series. Moderator: Andrew Lampert (Film Anthology Archives).

Tickets: Free

Silence and Noise Part 1, Co-Presented by the Wordless Music Series

Linking Europe and North America, a showcase of impressive experimental music names. Canadian Tim Hecker is one of the world’s premier ambient artists; Austrians Radian distil post-rock to a minimalist form. New Yorkers Mountains fuse acoustic instruments and field recordings; Tape, from Sweden, work in similar territory. Opening is a unique band formed during the kids electronic music workshops!

Tickets: $15

Walking Tour: Dream House

Unsound leads a walking tour to composer LaMonte Young’s Dream House in Tribeca. A discussion of the installation, in process now for 17 years, will help provide context at the Wyoming Building, followed by an experience of the work on-site, in a loft with plush carpeting, pillows on the floor, and banks of big speakers.

Tickets: Free

Górecki and Jacaszek: The Contemporary Sound World of Poland, co-presented by the Wordless Music Series

A night exploring minimalist forms in Polish music, evocative and emotional. Opening is New Yorkers ACME performing Gorecki, an influential Polish composer. Jacaszek combines electronics with strings, finding connections with Gorecki’s work, as well as the likes of Zbigniew Preisner and Arvo Part. His release “Treny” was internationally acclaimed. Two members of ACME also perform with Jacaszek.

Tickets: $15

Brooklyn Electronic Music Showcase, co-presented with Treehouse

Brooklyn ain’t just indie bands. The Unsound Treehouse party showcases live and DJ sets from three Brooklyn-based acts. Featuring new kids Blondes’ analog Balearic grooves; Neurotic Drum Band (John Selway & Elliot Taub) mixing classic house, Italo and techno; and Morgan Geist, one of New York dance music’s éminence grise, exploring the city’s history in records.

Tickets: $5 advance, $8 at door

Screening: Electronic Music Movies – Session 2

Repeat session.

Tickets: Free.

Silence and Noise Part 2

David Daniell, from Chicago, employs guitar, drones and electronics to construct intricate sound shapes. Xavier van Wersch is a modern day Frankenstein, creating instruments from deceased equipment and dysfunctional devices. His performance is a spectacle of noise and controlled chaos. Canadian duo Nadja create a wall of noise that’s been described as ambient doom and shoegazer-metal.

Tickets: $15

Bunker Edition II

A focus on evolving forms of House music, underrated DJ’s and rising stars from Europe and the U.S. again give the second Unsound Bunker edition a real freshness. “Eastern Promise” is represented by Romanian producer Petre Insperescu making his North American debut, throwing light on lands East of Berlin. For visuals, Lillevan presents his homage to Warhol's screen tests.

Visuals: Lillevan

Tickets: $25 advance, $30 at door

Panel Discussion: Bass Mutations

How have bass-heavy forms of music shifted in recent years? Where did the genre called dubstep come from—and where is it leading? How does it differ in New York, London, Berlin, Minsk and Bucharest? Writer Mitch Strashnov (URB, Electrodrone) will lead a discussion featuring Pole, TRG, FaltyDL, Dave Q, and Olof van Winden.

Tickets: Free

Panel Discussion: Mapping Sound in Art, an Investigation

In the U.S., sound art remains a fluid catchall term for a range of acoustic activities. Conversely, in Europe, sound as art occupies narrower practical methods and concepts. Kabir Carter leads a discussion on the role of sound in the arts with curator/writer Regine Basha, philosopher/writer Christoph Cox, composer/artist Michael J. Schumacher and installation artist Asa Stjerna.

Tickets: Free

Dialogue: Vince Aletti

Storied disco critic Vince Aletti, one of the first to cover disco during its 1970s heyday, talks about the history of the formative dance-music as it happened in New York. Discussion focuses on Aletti’s recent anthology The Disco Files: 1973-78, as well as his memories of the scene as he saw it firsthand. In discussion with music journalist Andy Beta (Spin, Village Voice).

Tickets: Free

Bass Mutations, co-presented by Bunker

Mutating bass-heavy music with Godfather-like figure Pole, from Berlin, the central anchor. Dutchman 2562’s name is built on a mix of dubstep and techno; Londoner Untold has grabbed attention for his distinctive, slightly wacky tracks. Surprises again come from “Eastern Promise” artists: Romania’s TRG and Belarusian Pavel Ambiont. The assemblage of New Yorkers is the cream on a very weighty cake.

Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at door

Panel Discussion & Press Conference: “Connections”

Presentation of “Eastern Promise,” emerging from ideas integral to Unsound and its international projects - in New York, Poland, Eastern Europe. This includes “Connections," which linked Belarus and Western European electronic musicians. With “Connections” co-ordinators Stefan Betke (scape) and Mat Schulz (Unsound), as well as Pavel Ambiont (Belarus), Zenial (Poland), Petre Inspirescu (Romania).

Tickets: Free

Dialogue: Morton Subotnick

A talk with electronic-music pioneer Morton Subotnick, whose career goes back to the 1960s and includes some of the most important early work with modular synthesizers in the popular realm. Anecdotal talk focuses on Subotnick’s work, both as it plays into history and as it has evolved into the present. In discussion with music journalist Andy Battaglia (A.V. Club, Pitchfork).

Tickets: Free

Kiss & Tell Presents Queen of Hearts Valentine's Day Party

Kiss & Tell hosts well known electronic music DJs eager to play a different kind of set, filled with music outside of the genres they
are known for. The gorgeous venue will be decorated in a sea of hearts, and guests are invited to dress up in festive outfits of red and white. Come help us close Unsound Festival New York with a warm, intimate event. Full line up soon.

Tickets: Free