New York City's Ace Hotel invited my friend and collaborator Pat Noecker, a.k.a. RAFT to host an ASSEMBLE event in their lobby this fall. The result was a performance of RAFT's ensemble piece, “Transmissions, Long Tones in A and E" performed on Saturday, October 19 at 8 p.m. in the hotel's lobby, for free to the public. The all-star ensemble brought together for the evening included Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Sabisha Friedberg, Dana Schechter, Greg Fox (Guardian Alien/Z’s), J.G. Thirlwell (Foetus), Camilla Padgitt-Coles, Melissa Moore, Rachel Mason, Daniel Schlett and Pat Spadine (Ash Can Orchestra) and yours truly on video projections.
J.G. Thirlwell describes the Assemble experience thusly: RAFT gathers performers from NYC underground + experimental music scenes, scatters them around a room, and sets them loose — creating a personalized, fully immersive music experience that alters depending where you’re standing. The performance in its simplest form is 11 musicians working to sustain the notes of A and E.
This was one of my favorite performances of all time, and I feel incredibly honored to have been a part of it.
Above: video of ASSEMBLE XI, “TRANSMISSIONS in A and E” by Torsten Meyer