Tuesday 26 September 2017, 7.30pm
“The sense of infinite possibly that to this day fills Watt is precisely the same force that powered Minutemen's incredible energy, pioneering genre-splicing and artistic boundlessness.” – The Quietus
Pleased to welcome the legendary bassist, songwriter and Minutemen founder, Mike Watt, for a very special two day residency. An influence on countless bands and musicians across numerous genres, Watt has yet to take his foot off the pedal since the Minutemen's inception in 1980, performing in a host of bands and collabrations with the likes of Sonic Youth, Carla Bozulich, The Beastie Boys and Henry Rollins, as well as playing in the reunited Stooges line-up.
This residency brings together various threads of Watt's creative output, including a duo performance and interview with long-time collaborator, Thurston Moore, and his Il Sogno Del Marinaio trio alongside guitarist Stefano Pilla and drummer Andrea Belfi.
“Mike's able to do more. It's more advanced stuff in certain senses. Mike was the point man for a group of guitar-oriented artists in the '90s like Thurston Moore and J. Mascis who brought Ron and Scott back into light as really important influences for future generations.” – Iggy Pop
Stefano Pilia is a guitar player and composer born in Genoa and based in Bologna. His work has become progressively concerned with researching the sculptural properties of sound as well as sound’s relationship with space, memory and the suspension of time. Pilia explores these points of focus through instrumental practice and investigations into the recording and production process. He is one of the founding members (alongside Valerio Tricoli and Claudio Rocchetti) of the seminal group 3/4HadBeenEliminated, a project that synthesises improvisational, electroacoustical and avant-rock sensibilities. He is also a member of the psychedelic quartet In Zaire, the BGP trio with David Grubbs and Andrea Belfi, and il Sogno del Marinaio alongside legendary Minutemen bassist Mike Watt. Pilia is also the lead guitarist for celebrated Malian singer Rokia Traorè and the cult Italian band Afterhours. He has collaborated with artists and musicians including Katia and Marielle Labeque, David Tibet, Zu, Oren Ambarchi, John Parish, Fire Orchestra!, Angela Bullock, Oliver Mann, Gianluigi Toccafondo, Laura Agnusdei, WuMing, Phill Niblock, Z’ev, Manuel Mota, Enrico Malatesta, David Maranha and Dean Roberts.
Thurston Moore started Sonic Youth in 1980 and has been at the forefront of the alternative rock scene since that particular sobriquet was first used to signify any music that challenged and defied the mainstream standard. With Sonic Youth, Moore turned on an entire generation to the value of experimentation in rock n roll – from its inspiration on a nascent Nirvana, to Sonic Youth’s own Daydream Nation album being chosen by the US Library of Congress for historical preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2006. Thurston records and performs in a cavalcade of disciplines ranging from free improvisation to acoustic composition to black/white metal/noise disruption. He has worked with Yoko Ono, John Zorn, David Toop, Cecil Taylor, Faust, Glenn Branca and many others. His residency at the Louvre in Paris included collaborations with Irmin Schmidt of CAN. Alongside his various activities in the musical world, he is involved with publishing and poetry, and teaches writing at Naropa University, Boulder CO, a school founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman in 1974. Thurston also teaches music at The Rhythmic Music Conservatory (Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium) in Copenhagen. Presently he performs and records solo, with various ensembles and in his own band, The Thurston Moore Group.
TRASH KIT, formed in 2009, are Rachel Aggs, Rachel Horwood and Gill Partington. They've become one of London's most exciting bands with a hypnotic, melodic take on post punk moves with a distinctive sound informed by each members own style. Rachel Aggs plays guitar in a fantastic African high-life fingerstyle action while Rachel Horwood and Gill present their own singular dynamic on bass and drums.Their latest LP "Confidence" on Upset The Rhythm is an in-the-moment no frills document of a completely inspired and inspirational trio.
