Brian Jonestown Massacre and Robert Henke confirmed for Melbourne Music Week
PRESS RELEASE:
Ahead of next month’s unveiling of a full program of local and international artists, Melbourne Music Week (MMW) has today announced acts from two cities with world class music reputations akin to Melbourne’s own: from San Francisco, psych-rock royalty The Brian Jonestown Massacre and from Berlin, sound-art genius Robert Henke of Monolake fame.
The two formidable acts from opposite ends of the music spectrum will join a playground of local Melbourne and Australian performers, alongside a selection of international guests at MMW, which will once again ignite Australia’s music capital with eight days of sounds, sights and sensory escapades from 13 – 20 November.
Owned and delivered by City of Melbourne, MMW enhances Melbourne’s reputation as the music capital of Australia, working with the local industry to create a unique program of events that showcase the city’s thriving music scene.
Chair of Marketing, Councillor Beverley Pinder-Mortimer said: “Year after year MMW transforms the city into a musical playground and these two acts are sure to impress audiences. Melburnians are sure to be impressed by these unique performances and we look forward to the release of the full program, and the bespoke MMW flagship venue, in October.”
Melbourne audiences need no introduction to The Brian Jonestown Massacre (BJM) or to their enigmatic musical director Anton Newcombe. Especially for MMW, the kings of mind-expanding, hypnotic psych-rock will bring the Melbourne Town Hall to life with two hours of BJM bliss. This uniquely Melbourne performance will incorporate the historic Grand Organ – harnessing 90,000 cubic feet of air every minute to manipulate the sounds of almost 10,000 pipes across three Town Hall floors – on Sunday 15 November.
Formed in San Francisco in 1990, BJM named their band in tribute to the legendary Rolling Stones guitarist. With an extensive back catalogue of music to reference and reinterpret, no two BJM live shows are ever the same. As part of the already announced 25 Years – The Silver Jubilee National Tour, BJM will perform current songs from the last few years alongside older songs that have never before been played live.
Legendary German sound artist, Robert Henke is responsible for groundbreaking techno productions under the Monolake moniker, which epitomizes the ‘Berlin’ sound. In the Australian premiere, and exclusive MMW performance of Lumière II at Melbourne Recital Centre on Thursday 19 November, Henke will teach lasers how to dance. A constantly refined piece of software written by the artist himself makes it possible to compose in a process that always links sound and vision. A performance on the edge of concert and visual arts, Lumière II explores the limits of what lasers can do, pushing the medium to an extreme in an ecstatic performance for both performer and audience.
In a separate event for MMW on Friday 20 November, Robert Henke Examines Lumière II goes behind the scenes to examine the history of Henke’s laser works, starting with his ‘Fragile Territories’ installation. It looks at the aesthetic challenges of the Lumière II project, including details of the code developed by Henke to drive the lasers and the interaction between the sound and the visual elements.
Chair of Arts Melbourne, Councillor Rohan Leppert said: “The City of Melbourne is again working with the industry to showcase great international acts, alongside world-class local talent for the sixth instalment of MMW. BJM at the Melbourne Town Hall will pay testament to one of our city’s great pieces of history – the Grand Organ.”
Tickets for The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Robert Henke’s Lumière II are available from 10am on Wednesday 9 September at melbourne.vic.gov.au/mmw
Known for its creative use of public space, MMW will strike again with an unexpected, cutting edge flagship venue that will stage Melbourne’s best local talent. Following Kubik Melbourne near the Yarra in 2011; Where?House at the Argus Building in 2012; The Residence in Birrurung Marr in 2013; and the iconic QVM in 2014, the much-anticipated 2015 flagship venue will be revealed in late September, along with a second announcement of local talent.
The full 2015 Melbourne Music Week program will be announced on 7 October.