A recording of a rare duo performance by percussionist / composer Michael Zerang and guitarist / vocalist / banjo player Daniel Higgs conjuring densely interwoven improvisations that draw on traditional forms but take them in defiantly unexpected directions. Both musicians will be familiar to OTO regulars - Zerang as a member of Joe McPhee's Survival Unit III alongside Fred Lonberg-Holm, and his gracefully rolling approach to the drums has provided a welcome, beatific contrast to PNLs full-on assaults in Peter Brötzmann's Chicago Tentet. Daniel A.I.U Higgs has also been responsible for some singularly memorable performances here alongside the likes of Maya Dunietz and Jennifer Walshe and his transcendental ragas here reach an even higher level of hypnotism.
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Michael Zerang / percussion
Daniel Higgs / voice, banjo
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Recorded live at Cafe OTO on 28 June 2014 by James Dunn. Mixed by James Dunn. Mastered by Andreas [LUPO] Lubich at Calyx, Berlin. Photograph by Andrej Chudy.
Available as 320k MP3 or 24 bit FLAC.
1. #1 12:34
2. #2 23:28
3. #3 11:10
Daniel A.I.U Higgs is perhaps best known as the singer and lyricist of the now defunct band Lungfish. However, since that time he has carved out his own distinctive place as a solo artist with a number of solo records, that take in apocalyptic songcraft, raga banjo and hard to define artistry. Higgs is a prolific experimental songwriter, performer and poet, whose performances possess a unique essence of personal spirituality and create an ecstatic atmosphere which summons the audience to enter into the psychedelic world of his lyrics.
Percussionist, improvisor and composer Michael Zerang was born in 1958 in Chicago, Illinois. He has co-founded and performed with the musical groups Liof Munimula, The Neutrino Orchestra, Trio Troppo, The Wonderfuls, The Blue Angels, Sam Pappas' Tumbling Strains, Frozen Lucy, The Quirt Quintet, Musica Menta, The Vandermark Quartet, Dream Cheese, The Sputter Ensemble, In Zenith, and Broken Wire . In addition to these ensembles, Zerang currently performs with many innovative musicians including AACM co-founder Fred Anderson, Mats Gustafsson, Raymond Strid, Sten Sandell, Don Meckley, Jaap Blonk, Daniel Scanlan, Peter Brötzmann, Kent Kessler, Barre Phillips, Jim Baker, Hamid Drake, Ken Vandermark, Luc Hautkamp, and Fred Lonberg-Holm. He has recorded for Okka Disc, boxMEDIA, Kontrans, Southport, Quinnah, Eighth Day Music, Garlic, and Platypus, labels as well as many others.
