News

Nico Muhly at Merkin Hall and St. Thomas Church - May 04, 2008

Brassland's latest roster addition Nico Muhly will be performing this Thursday (May 8th) at Merkin Hall in New York City. The night's program will be hosted by WNYC's John Schaefer and also will feature a performance by composer Phillip Bimstein. Nico will be performing "Mothertongue" (featuring mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer) and "Wonders" (for Helgi Hrafn Jónsson), both of which can be found on his upcoming Brassland release Mothertongue.

Muhly will follow up this performance with another the following week at St. Thomas Church on Tuesday, May 13th, showcasing his piece "Bright Mass with Canons."

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The National Tour Across America and Europe - May 02, 2008

The National's appearance at Coachella last Friday marked the beginning of a busy summer for the band. Some highlights on their touring schedule include: a three night stand at Dublin's Olympia Theatre, a gig at All Tomorrow's Parties, and a month-long jaunt across the US and Canada opening for REM and Modest Mouse. Once done with that, then it's back to Europe for some more summer dates, including the O2 Wireless Festival, T in the Park, Haldern Pop Festival, and Green Man Festival.

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Clogs Featured in Turn the River - April 28, 2008

Clogs are featured on the original soundtrack to writer/director Chris Eigeman's debut film Turn the River. The soundtrack features songs from Lantern as well as new music.

Starring Famke Janssen and Rip Torn(!), the film's narrative centers around Kailey, a divorced, tough-as-nails mother who makes her living playing poker upstate and hustling games in a Manhattan pool hall. In order to gain back her 11 year old son, Gulley, from his abusive upper-class father, Kailey must first gain the necessary cash to secure bootleg passports by participating in a $10,000-per-rack game of nine ball.


Will her plan work? Will everything turn out all right in the end? We're not entirely sure, but you can see a preview screening of the film at The Landmark in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 6th, at 7:30 p.m. The film will open in New York on May 9th at Village East Cinema and in Los Angeles on May 16th at the Regent Showcase.

The film's trailer:

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Nico Muhly Signs to Brassland for the United States - April 17, 2008

Remember the March 14th news story that (not so subtly) hinted at a big upcoming announcement? Well, the news broke this morning on Brooklyn Vegan, and we're happy to confirm that Brassland will be releasing Nico Muhly's Mothertongue on July 22nd, 2008.

For those not in the know, Nico Muhly is a 26-year old composer born in Vermont. He graduated from Columbia University in 2003 with a degree in English Literature and received a Masters in Music from the Juilliard School one year later. Since then, he has amassed a string of commissions, collaborations, and premieres (including The Boston Pops, the BBC, American Ballet Theater, the New York Public Library, the Whitney Museum, and Carnegie Hall) that would be notable for a composer twice his age.

More intriguing to pop listeners is Muhly's extensive work with Philip Glass as editor, keyboardist, and conductor for numerous film and stage projects as well as his contributions to projects by Rufus Wainwright, Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons), Björk, Teitur, Will Oldham, and The National.

These connections highlight the most important aspect of Muhly’s musical life – community. The cast of characters who appear on Mothertongue include his closest collaborators - violist Nadia Sirota, folk singer Sam Amidon, and Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurõsson. Sigurõsson’s and Muhly’s view on musical relationships was, in part, the inspiration for Bedroom Community, the label Sigurõsson founded and which created both Mothertongue and its predecessor, Speaks Volumes, Muhly’s 2006 debut.

Classical music can be a daunting exercise for those unfamiliar with the genre. Luckily, Nico Muhly prizes communication — both in day-to-day life (such as his frequently updated blog) and in his music. It’s this sensibility which has inspired the titles of both his records. Mothertongue, in particular, sounds like the product of someone in love with language. Voices are treated as exquisite instruments. (The click of the teeth, the tap of the tongue, the smack of the lips, et. cetera.) The music itself speaks to deeper meanings and specific ideas and emotions. Muhly points out that Mothertongue, the new recording, is filled with jittery, anxious repetitions and jarring chords that are intended to suggest the nauseating atmosphere of international jet lag and airport stultification, along with more mundane domestic anxieties. For the title track, Muhly layered the voice of Abigail Fischer, a mezzo-soprano, singing all the addresses at which she has ever lived on top of recordings of another friend taking a shower, eating toast, and frying an egg.

The Tracklisting for Mothertongue:
1. Mothertongue: I. Archive
2. Mothertongue: II. Shower
3. Mothertongue: III. Hress
4. Mothertongue: IV. Monster
5. Wonders: I. New Things & New Tidings
6. Wonders: II. The Devil Appear'd In The Shape Of A Man
7. Wonders: III. A Complaint Against Thomas Weelkes
8. The Only Tune: I. The Two Sisters
9. The Only Tune: II. The Old Mill Pond
10. The Only Tune: III: The Only Tune

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MusicNOW Festival Round Up - April 11, 2008

The MusicNOW Festival at Cincinnati's Memorial Hall has come and gone and, from all accounts, it was a major success.

The festival, curated by Brassland co-founder Bryce Dessner (Clogs, The National), ran April 2nd-5th and featured such varied musicians as Andrew Bird, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Dirty Projectors, Glenn Kotche (Wilco), Grizzly Bear, Nico Muhly, Padma Newsome (Clogs, The National), Rachael Elliot (Clogs), Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre), Sufjan Stevens, and Thomas Bartlett (Doveman).

For more on the event, there's an interview with Bryce at the Cin Weekly and, if you're in the mood for some pictures, head over to Pitchfork and Spill It.