GUO - a multidisciplinary duo formed of Daniel Blumberg and Seymour Wright - collaborate with Crystabel Riley (drums), Fran Edgerley [Assemble] (text) and Peter Strickland (film).
GUO - a multidisciplinary duo formed of Daniel Blumberg and Seymour Wright - announce GUO4, a new release on Mute available on vinyl and digitally on 20 September 2019.
On GUO4, their first release for Mute and the latest in an ongoing series, the pair have collaborated with Crystabel Riley (drums), Fran Edgerley [Assemble] (text) and Peter Strickland (film).
Peter Strickland's film has just been announced to premiere at the 76th Venice Film Festival on 6 September. Watch a teaser for the film - a confrontation between two swimmers in a locker room - here: https://youtu.be/f031c56f_5E
Strickland explains, “The framing of traditionally macho scenarios in a homoerotic context takes its cues from the covert porn of Bob Mizer. The combination of muscle and beat-up lockers somehow evoked the music in my mind.”
The name ‘GUO’ itself is ancient Chinese for a metal vessel, or cooking pot, and the resulting work layers alto saxophone, electric guitar, feedback and metal distortion alongside the distinctly-voiced 'ekphrasis' response from a range of collaborators operating across different mediums.
The album was mixed by Marta Salogni. It also features original etchings by GUO and stills from the film.
Previous releases have included ekphrasis by the English musician, author and professor, David Toop (GUO1) and the American filmmaker (Childhood of a Leader & VOX LUX) Brady Corbet (GUO2).
Seymour Wright is a saxophonist. His work is about the creative, situated friction of learning, ideas, people and the saxophone – music, history and technique – actual and potential.
Seymour's solo music is documented on three widely-acclaimed collections - Seymour Wright of Derby (2008), Seymour Writes Back (2015) and Is This Right? (2017).
Current projects include: @xcrswx with Crystabel Riley; abaria with Ute Kanngiesser; [Ahmed] with Antonin Gerbal, Joel Grip and Pat Thomas; GUO with Daniel Blumberg; XT with Paul Abbott; The Creaking Breeze Ensemble; a trans-atlantic duet with Andy Guthrie, and, with Jean-luc Guionnet a project addressing an imaginary lacunae in Aby Warburg's Atlas Mnemosyne.
@xcrswx
Daniel Blumberg is an artist from London.
He has released three solo albums on Mute, Liv (2014), Minus (2018) and On&On (2020), and composed the score for the film The World To Come (dir. Mona Fastvold, 2020).
He regularly collaborates with Billy Steiger, Ute Kanngiesser, Tom Wheatley and operates in the groups GUO with Seymour Wright, and BAHK with Elvin Brandhi.
His drawings have been exhibited at Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Union Gallery London and MACRO Rome.
