“Currents” is an electro-acoustic concert that juxtaposes contrasting compositional styles in an eclectic program, celebrating the marriage of tradition and technology. NCP will premiere new electro-acoustic works, including pieces by composers who thrive in both the classical and pop worlds.  

For this concert, premiering May 25, 2017 at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NCP is commissioning and premiering four new works by some of today’s most exciting artists:

• Olga Bell (formerly of Dirty Projectors and Chairlift), hailed for her “grand compositional ambitions and a dynamic voice” (The New York Times)
• Gabrielle Herbst aka GABI (“sublime” -Pitchfork)
• David Bird (“vibrant” -Pitchfork; winner of NCP’s 2016 Call for Scores) 
• Isaac Schankler ("extraordinarily eclectic" -Boston Musical Intelligencer; winner of NCP’s 2016 Call for Scores)

VJ Mamiko Kushida will create ambient video projections for the performance, and musicians' outfits will be styled by designers from the fashion collective, Flying Solo.

Program
Zero Initiative     OLGA BELL
Where is my voice     GABRIELLE HERBST
Cy     DAVID BIRD
Artifacts     ISAAC SCHANKLER

From the composers:
"My piece is called Zero Initiative, and I’m happy to reveal that it prominently features a “field recording” captured two winters ago, at 2am, from the line outside Output. It’s been incredibly fun and restorative working on this music." -Olga Bell

"Where is my voice investigates the feeling of not being able to speak – when you can’t find the words or space to express those words. It is a piece about breath, vulnerability and inner voices being translated to the outside world.  Through an electronic vocal landscape and acoustic chamber music, the work searches for self-expression, communication and inner peace." -Gabrielle Herbst

"Artifacts is in a sense about the collision of time scales that often happens when electronic music and acoustic music meet. Electronic music often asks us to slow down and focus on one particular idea or texture, with minute changes that may take a long time to even become audible. Acoustic music, on the other hand, is often eager to impress or overwhelm us with conflagrations of notes and gestures. When I tried to smoosh these things together, a lot of unexpected byproducts popped out. I decided to keep these artifacts." -Isaac Schankler

"Cy is a muted and intricate work inspired by the off-white colors and scribbled, graffiti-like lines in Cy Twombly's paintings. The piece features clarinet preparations and alterations as well as triggered samples of cassette tape tones and tape hiss." -David Bird