the official news page of sonic youth
convening in the hot and sticky summer of 2009, members of the chicago groups the disappears, white/light and steve shelley recorded improvised song sessions at chicago’s Semaphore Recording studio. the first release from these d-w/l-ss sessions is a split 7″ single on the sixgunlover label w/ austin group JBe on the flipside. numbered + limited to 600 copies – a few copies available this weekend at the sy webstore.
Lee has a cameo in this film by cool brother-directors Josh and Benny Safdie, which stars Ronald Bronstein and co-stars his boys Sage and Frey and wife Leah Singer. check it out!
NYTIMES REVIEW here AND FEATURE here. More info on the film at the redbucketfilms site.
The trio of Michael Rother (NEU!, Harmonia)/Steve Shelley/Aaron Mullan(Tall Firs) will perform at 8pm May 28 at the Bad Bonn Kilbi Festival in Düdingen, Switzerland and at 7pm May 29 at Primavera Sound in Barcelona. The three musicians gathered for some (so far unreleased) recording sessions in late 2008 which channeled some early 70’s energy. Michael Rother recently released a NEU! vinyl box set in Europe this May- to be released in the US this July. With Rother currently in the NEU! mindset, it seems likely this trio will present some strait-ahead, rush-forward-into-the-sun style jams.
Lee Ranaldo will also be appearing at Bad Bonn Kilbi for his own set May 29th.
Steve’s May 17th set at dailysession.com is archived and streaming here.
Steve’s set from earlier this Spring is archived here.
You can also visit Steve at blip.fm
Lee will be playing some late May shows in Europe — in Istanbul with Matthew Ritchie’s ‘The Morning Line’ Sound-Sculpture; in the back garden of the FondationCartier in Paris-with guests; at GRIM in Marseille, with Jean-Marc Montera+films; at the VideoEx Festival in Zurich, w Gunter Mueller+films; and at the Bad Bonn Kilbi Festival in Dudingen, Switzerland, solo+films. Info follows:
LR EU MAY 10
sa 22 istanbul the morning line short performance
su 23 istanbul the morning line long performance
http://themorningline.vip.com.tr/program.php
mo 24 paris fondation cartier back garden (w guests)
http://fondation.cartier.com/?_lang=en&small=0
click on ‘nomadic nights/les soirees nomades’
we 26 marseille GRIM – w jean-marc montera+films
http://www.grim-marseille.com/grim/Actualites.html
reservations@grim-marseille.com
th 27 zurich-videoex fest -w gunter mueller+films
http://www.videoex.ch/videoex10/festival.php
sa 29 dudingen bad bon kilbi – solo+films
http://www.badbonn.ch
Sonic Youth will play with Lou Reed, Moby, The Virgins + others on May 19th at the Hiro Ballroom as a part of”Return to the Pleasure Dome”, a benefit concert event for Anthology Film Archives. The event will also feature a Life Achievement Honor for Kenneth Anger and a performance by Technicolor Skull (Kenneth Anger and Brian Butler). More information and tickets: http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
Visit a new blog by musician Chris Lee and Steve Shelley here. Musician Howe Gelb and producer/engineer John Agnello have joined the Vampire Blues team.