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Home , Alban (opera), Ben Harper, Christina Aguilera, Clean Cut, Doo Wop (That Thing), Emily Wells

BAM 2013 Next Wave Festival #Electronium

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Alan H. Fishman, Karen Brooks Hopkins, Chairman of the Board President

William I. Campbell, Joseph V. Melillo, Vice Chairman of the Board

Adam E. Max, Vice Chairman of the Board

Electronium:The Future Was Then

Produced by BAM In association with and Richard Nichols

BAM Howard Gilman House Oct 25 & 26 at 8pm Approximate running time: two hours including one intermission

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson Kirk Douglas Jeremy Ellis — Live How To Dress Well Sonnymoon Metropolis Ensemble conducted by Andrew Cyr

BAM 2013 Next Wave Festival sponsor

Viacom is the BAM 2013 Music Sponsor

Commission support for Electronium provided by The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Electronium

Metropolis Ensemble conducted by Andrew Cyr: Kristin Lee, (concertmaster) Francisco Fullana, violin Karen Kim, viola Hiro Matsuo,

Mellissa Hughes, Virginia Warnken, alto Geoffrey Silver, Jonathan Woody, -baritone

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION CREDITS

Arrangements by Daniel Felsenfeld, DD Jackson, Patrick McMinn and Anthony Tid Lighting design by Albin Sardzinski Sound engineering by John Smeltz Stage design by Alex Delaunay Stage manager Cheng-Yu Wei

Electronium references the first electronic created exclusively for the composition and performance of music. Initially created for by -technologist , the electronium was designed but never released for distribution; the one remaining machine is undergoing restoration. Complemented by interactive lighting and aural mash-ups, the music of Electronium: The Future Was Then honors the legacy of the electronium in a production that celebrates both digital and live music interplay. Who’s Who Photo: Dino Perrucci

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is the Over Tonight” for the season premiere of Monday drummer and co-founder, with his former high Night Football. school classmate Tariq Trotter, of the hip-hop group . The son of doo-wop star Lee In 2001 Questlove helped create the Philadel- Andrews, Thompson was exposed to music at an phia Experiment, a collaborative early age and performing on drums by the age of with bassist Christian McBride and seven. His parents enrolled him at the Philadel- avant-garde jazz pianist . In 2011 he phia High School for the Creative and Performing partnered with Parisian star Keren Ann to present Arts, where he was exposed to a wide range of Philly-Paris Lockdown, a one-night celebration of music and other performing arts. 1900s Paris that took place at the International Festival of the Arts. In 2012 he Questlove has an active career in music outside conceived and curated Shuffle Culture, a multi- of his work with the Roots, now the house artist engagement produced by BAM band for with . He has that explored technology’s role in our relation- produced the work of such artists as , ship with modern music. In addition to the list D’Angelo, , , Jay-Z, and of awards and nominations he has received as more recently , , and a member of the Roots, Thompson was named . He has played drums on Best Scribe in Esquire’s 2006 Esky Music by , , and Joshua Awards, was ranked 2nd in ’s list of , to name a few, and was one of a hand- “50 Top Tweeters in Music,” and placed 8th in ful of musicians picked to back Hank Williams Jr. a Rolling Stone reader’s poll for “Best Drummers on a new version of “All My Are Coming of all Time.” Who’s Who Photo courtesy the artist

Jeremy Ellis—Live drum machine Ellis expands his genre as the foremost teacher pioneers an emerging style of music performance in his field providing clinics at venues such as on drum machines with the finesse of a classical Full Sail University, the Atlanta Institute of Music, pianist and the of a Motown child. Since Rockhal, and a TED talk. Along with live clinics, 1999, this acclaimed figurehead in new music Ellis shares lessons on the JeremyEllisMusic You- has performed in dozens of countries, in part Tube channel and released a unique, full-length thanks to sponsorships with innovative compa- tutorial on MacProVideo.com. nies like Propellerheads and Native Instruments. Currently working on a studio , he looks Events for MTV , an invite from JJ forward to seeing his son crawl, and joining Abrams to play on the bridge of the Starship Questlove again this fall before touring Japan. Enterprise, Google Zeitgeist, and sharing the BAM stage with Questlove highlight his career. Who’s Who Photo courtesy the artist

HOW TO DRESS WELL

Tom Krell, who adopted the name How to Dress Love, released on his blog as a free download Well in 2004, grew up a fan of pop and R&B in in 2009, followed by six more EPs, and nearly the late 80s and early 90s—like everyone else 40 scorched yet flawless (and free) tracks. from the TRL generation. He sang along with Lefse Records put out one of these songs as the Britney and Mariah until his early teens when single “Ready for the World,” and also released he became enamored with early emo HTDW’s darkly introspective debut album, Love in high school, and in his 20s, drone, Michael Remains, which came out in October 2010 to Nyman, and harsh noise. In , his music much acclaim. He then signed with Domino performances were improvisational and included Records and in 2012 released his next album, layers of his vocals, delays and reverbs, and Total Loss, which he described as an “album swells of high frequency screeches; after moving about mourning and sharing.” This record to Germany in 2009, Krell’s work became far showed noteworthy development of the HTDW more composed, and he spent the bulk of 2009 project with his layered vocals mixing with creating hypnotic, -driven tracks. He fractured hip-hop beats, cinematic strings, cool combined his passion for R&B, his penchant for sentiment, and much more focused production. sad stuff, and his love of abstract sounds on lo-fi This album was likewise received with huge recordings such as the EP The Eternal praise, making Krell’s forthcoming third record a very exciting prospect. Who’s Who Photo courtesy the artist

Rahzel, born Rozell Manely Brown in 1964 in Queens, NY, is one of few vocalists capable of singing or while simultaneously . As a he enjoyed deejaying, emceeing, , and beatboxing. Rahzel’s influences include Biz Markie, Doug E Fresh, Buffy of the Fat Boys, Bobby McFerrin, and . His first big break came in 1995 when he appeared on the Roots’ album, Do You Want More?!!!??! Rahzel has also worked with Erykah Badu, , Com- mon, Björk, and the Crystal Method. Photo courtesy the artist

Sonnymoon is the brainchild of musicians Dane Orr (NY), Anna Wise (CA), and Joe Welch (VA). Their dynamic journey through an experimental approach to began in 2009 when front- woman Anna Wise and producer Dane Orr began making music together after meeting in . Though they caught the interest of listeners with soothing covers of and Beyoncé, the group presents a wide array of sounds. From synthesized textures and samples to hard-hitting drum grooves, Sonnymoon often explores odd meters and unusual musical states, with Wise’s vocals guiding the trip. Sonnymoon has released two albums: Golden Age and Sonnymoon, and an EP: 2012. They have shared the stage with the Roots, Shabazz Palaces, , Teebs, Shigeto, and Gonjasufi. Wise also appears on ’s album, good kid, m.A.A.d city. Sonnymoon is currently located in San Francisco and working on a third album. Who’s Who Photo: Shervin Lainez

EMILY WELLS has been hailed for her multi- nary fusion experimental dance music, lyrical instrumental ambidexterity, a symphonic introspection, and classical complexity, the new embroidering of swirling strings, ingenious elec- album is stunningly austere, recorded solely with tronics, and intricate beats sewn together with voice and . Trained as a classical violin- celestial vocals and deeply personal song craft. ist, in live performance Wells creates her own Her latest release, Mama Acoustic Recordings, sonic “spaceship,” an ever-growing arsenal of sees the New York-based , musician, and , beat machines, and live drums, producer casting it all aside, reimagining songs all tied together with live sampling and a genre first heard on 2012’s acclaimed Mama. Where agnostic approach that is diverse, distinctive, and that collection was marked by Wells’ extraordi- utterly her own. Who’s Who Photo: Ed Lefkowicz Photo courtesy the artist

Andrew Cyr (conductor), nominated for a Metropolis Ensemble is a New York–based Grammy, is a leader in the rapidly growing chamber orchestra dedicated to making classical contemporary music scene. His passion for music in its most contemporary forms. Founded creating platforms for outstanding emerging in 2006 by Grammy-nominated conductor and performing artists to make new Andrew Cyr, Metropolis Ensemble has commis- music led him to found Metropolis Ensemble sioned 90 works of music from a dynamic mix in 2006. A multifaceted musician, Cyr has led of emerging composers. Metropolis Ensemble performances with a number of internationally has been presented by , BAM, known musical artists who defy classification, Celebrate Brooklyn!, Le Poisson Rouge, Carn- including Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Deer- egie’s Weill Music Institute, New Victory Theater hoof, and Babx. Recent engagements include (in collaboration with ROH II and The Opera his debut with the Colorado Symphony in 2013, Group), Wordless Music, and in broadcasts on his off-Broadway debut at New Victory Theater NPR and NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. conducting a new opera by David Bruce, and his debut at Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall as part of In 2013, Metropolis Ensemble’s recording of Philadelphia’s International Festival of the Arts. Vivian Fung’s Violin Concerto (Kristin Lee, Cyr’s latest studio album with Metropolis was solo violin) was awarded Canada’s prestigious released in July on Nonesuch Records, featuring Juno Award for Best Classical Composition. The the music of Timo Andres. A native of Fort Kent, Ensemble’s debut album, featuring the music of Maine, Cyr holds music degrees from Bates Avner Dorman, was nominated for a Grammy College, the French National Conservatory, Award in 2010. Metropolis Ensemble is equally and Westminster Choir College. dedicated to fostering music creativity in its local school communities through its education program Youth Works. Who’s Who

Alban Sardzinski (lighting design) has frequent juror at Pratt, NYIT, and Columbia Uni- worked on numerous BAM productions including versity. He is the founder and principal of SABO Kate’s Kids (Martha and Rufus Wainwright), project, a design office investigating the fields of Dr. John: Insides Out, Youssou N’dour (Muslim architecture, furniture design, set design, installa- Voices), Mic Check, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Red tions, and environmental strategies. Through an Hot + Rio 2, Red Hot + New Orleans, and Red optimistic sabo(tage) of each project substance, Hot + Cuba, and on ’s performance at his practice aims to identify unexpected means BAM. His love for working on BAM productions of contemporary relevance. SABO project focuses started with the Sufjan Steven’s BQE. on the design of places where one can act differ- ently, and perhaps think differently. Alex Delaunay (set design) studied archi- sabo-project.com tecture at SBU, holds an architecture degree from EAPB in Paris and a master’s in Jon Smeltz (sound design) is a sound advanced architectural design from Columbia designer and engineer from Philadelphia. In University. He is a recipient of a Fulbright Schol- 2009 he received a Grammy nomination for Best arship and was awarded the FIPSE Grant from Engineered Album, Non-Classical for his work the US Department of Education and the Euro- on Al Green’s Lay It Down. He has also worked pean Commission. He has co-taught architecture on the albums of Whitney , , design studios with Fred Levrat at the Pratt Femi Kuti, , and the Roots. He last Institute School of Architecture, currently teaches worked with BAM on another Questlove venture, at NYIT School of Architecture, and has been a Shuffle Culture, in 2012. Photo: Rachel Been

The Single Most Influential Moment in the History of Hip-Hop!

by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson sode was the incident that truly sucked me into hip-hop production. It was the first time I saw What’s the single most influential moment in the anything like that, and I’ve surveyed the rest. It history of hip-hop? was the first time saw a sampler. It was the first time saw a sampler. There It’s not an album release. It’s not a video. It’s wasn’t a sense yet that it was truly revolutionary, not a . To my mind, hip-hop was in the critical sense, that it would explode old changed forever by the episode of The Cosby ideas of structure, sign, and play. At that point, Show in which ’s driver crashes it was just something cool on a sitcom, and in into Denise and Theo. Why do I say that this response to it, in awe of it, an entire generation episode changed hip-hop forever? Simple: it was of talented, ambitious black kids leaned forward the first time that 99 percent of us who went on in their chairs to the point of falling out. to be hip-hop producers saw what a sampler was. Go look at the episode, you can find it on And then, on the heels of that, fantasy became YouTube or . At one point Theo says “jam- reality. The Casio equivalent of that keyboard, min’ on the one,” and before you knew it, Stevie the SK-1, came out right around that time. There Wonder had sampled it and inserted it into a was a TV commercial with a clean-cut suburban song. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this epi- kid in his bedroom, playing some kind of New

Orleans jazz on his little keyboard. Suddenly, he see other words, and make them opaque. You has a brainstorm: he’ll include his dog Rufus in can take the invisible and make them visible. his music. The dog barks while he presses the This was especially useful , because I record button on the keyboard and then, just like wasn’t the kind of kid who listened to it as a that, as if by magic, the keyboard barks back. kid, I fixated on songs like “Something in the The dog is shocked and possibly impressed. Water Does Not Compute,” with its crazy drum “You know, Rufus,” the kid says. “This could be programming and dissonant chords, or “Lady a single.” It couldn’t, but still, by mid-1987 that Cab Driver,” where the snare drum is played live keyboard was what every music kid wanted for but the rest is programmed. I played the record Christmas. I was one of the lucky few who got what he wanted. You know that feeling when you’re young, the moment when you realize That’s now a brick that you what present is inside the box, and you have to have in your hand, and you make a choice between covering up your mild use it to build a new wall. disappointment and covering up your insane enthusiasm? I had to cover up my insane enthu- siasm. I am not sure I succeeded. If it happened now, I might be one of those kids on YouTube constantly, but more often than not I found my- shrieking and running in circles around the room self drawn into the more experimental materials until exhaustion got the better of me. over on side 2, all the while ignoring the fact that what made [Prince’s] 1999 a cultural phe- I was still drumming, mostly, but when I got nomenon was the trip of huge hits that kicked that keyboard, it changed my life. In retrospect, off side 1: the title track, “Little Red Corvette,” it was mainly a conversation piece. You could “Delirious.” record yourself saying “shit” and then play it back in every key. But that exercise was more And I was like that long before 1999. As a child, than trivial. Much later in life, I had a friend who my parents noticed that when I listened to songs, tried to explain Roland Barthes to me; not all of I never focused on the obvious or the it, of course, but that one little principle about lead singer. I almost seemed deaf to what was how a text is not a unified thing, but a fragmen- out in front of the mix. I was searching for a part tary or divisible thing, and that the reader is the of the song that was buried, a rare treasure that one who divides it up, arbitrarily. Reading is the no one else knew about. The SK-1 was just a act that creates the pieces. I wasn’t totally sure I toy, but it was perfect for bringing with me on understood it—I’m still not sure—but it sounded those kinds of expeditions. like what was happening with the SK-1. You, as the listener, pick a piece of sound, a snippet of speech, or a drumbeat, and you separate that from everything around it. That’s now a brick Excerpt from Mo’ Meta —The World that you have in your hand, and you use it to According to Questlove, by Ahmir “Questlove” build a new wall. It also lets you take things that Thompson and Ben Greenman, Grand Central were transparent, that were previously thought Publishing, 2013. Reprinted with permission. of as words and sounds that you look through to