Euphonic Productions presents:
Town & Country
Kopernik

Thu,  Sept 25
Eyedrum

See the poster.

Town and Country 's compositions are entirely modern At times their songs have much in common with the intense music of John Cale, Autechre, Kevin Drumm, Phill Niblock, or Mogwai. What separates them from the above is that Town and Country compose and perform with acoustic instruments instead of computers. Their music is beautifully unique and rich.

Ben Vida - cornet, guitar, harmonium
Liz Payne - viola, hand bells, celeste
Jim Dorling - bass clarinet, harmonium, glass
Josh Abrams - string bass, hand bells

“Taking inspiration from ascetic composers Morton Feldman and Franco Batiato, multi-instrumentalists Ben Vida, Liz Payne, Josh Abrams and Jim Dorling discreetly blend contra-bass, acoustic guitar, clarinet and all manner of arcane analogue keyboards into gently glowing pools of sound; equal parts folk, jazz and contemporary classical.”
- MOJO

“Town and Country occupies a place far removed from the region’s usual fare of technologically enhanced progressive soundscapes. Armed with upright bass, guitar, harmonium, coronet, clarinet and a healthy does of chimes and bells, the quartet’s often gorgeous at times hypnotic ramblings also have noticeable roots in both the avante-garde and underground jazz scenes.”
- CMJ New Music Monthly

“All the instruments are acoustic: marimba, bells, bass clarinet, cornet, guitar, string bass, celeste and harmonium, and everyone is more than proficient. In fact, the group mindset is staggering; the interaction between all instruments is jaw-droppingly complex, creating both entrancing traces and stereo labyrinths.”
- Pulse!

“The music has the childlike simplicity of a Matisse drawing, and is often stripped down to the beautifully coloured, repeating chords.”
- The Wire

“They synthesize John Fahey’s folk derived lyricism and the slowly developing overtone-rich textures of modern composer Tony Conrad and Morton Feldman into painstakingly arranged, strikingly melodic compositions.”
- Chicago Tribune

“(The) combination of oceanic drone and meticulous detail is key to the “chamber rock” style this Midwestern acoustic ensemble embodies. Expect to be hypnotized into paying more attention than rock usually demands.”
- Village Voice

www.thrilljockey.com/

Kopernik

Kopernik as an ensemble - named after Nicolaus Copernicus (Kopernik in his native Polish) father of the Western model of heliocentricity and contributor to the way modern man views time and cycle - shares with the astronomer, not only a name, but the weight and gravity of carrying around town in their heads an undeniable discovery about the nature of how "stuff" works: an uncovering of things constant, the recognition of a "new" silent authority around which we've always floated. Kopernik is the collaboration of Brad Lewis (owner of Pearineel Records, and of the band The Sight-Seers) on computer and Tim Delaney contributor to groups like Savath + Savalas, The Sight-Seers) on upright bass. The two Atlanta natives began their aesthetic and working relationship in college in Florida where they studied theater (Lewis) music composition (Delaney), an accomplished acoustic bassist since the age of ten and taught by his grandmother ("Tim's grandmother rips on the upright too!").

Musically, the duo have their foundations in modern avant-garde composition - Gorecki, Barber, and even at times Penderecki, and sweet melancholy of New German Cinema soundtracks (Popol Vüh, Jürgen Knieper). But on top of the same sense of breathing and pregnant space found in the works of these composers, Kopernik builds a burning playfulness and thoughtful hesitation - deconstruction – that speak more of electronic influences like vintage electro-ambient recordings, and the far-reaching fusion jazz of the 70's, Terje Rypdal, Eno (think Discreet Music), and Mahavishnu Orchestra.

www.easterndevelopments.com/kopernik.shtml

A Tight Bros Euphonic joint

Town and Country at Eydrum, Atlanta September 25, 2003

Kopernic at Eydrum, Atlanta September 25, 2003