Tony Conrad (1940-2016)

[clifford_thornton]

Composer, violinist and filmmaker Tony Conrad died yesterday at 76 after a long battle with prostate cancer. 

I saw him perform once, at the De Stijl/Freedom From festival - solo amplified violin behind and in front of a white scrim lit by a single powerful bulb. It was really intense and my recollection was that there were not that many people in attendance (surprising, considering this was 2003 and he'd already gotten notoriety among the experimental/indie weirdo circuit). 

He worked in the '60s with La Monte Young and John Cale, in the early '70s recorded with Faust, and came to prominence in the 90s through collaborations with Gastr del Sol and others. Revisiting his work this weekend, it's strikingly beautiful and now I find it much easier to take in than I did 20 years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/arts/artsspecial/tony-conrad-experimental-filmmaker-and-musician-dies-at-76.html

[Homefromtheforest]

Sad to hear.  Never did get into his Table of the Elements releases from the 90s on table of the elements, but have long enjoyed the LP with Faust..still have my NM original I bought in the early 90s.

[OliverM]

Learned about this at a Matana Roberts concert on saturday in Paris. She dedicated the concert/experiment to his memory, mentioning how he had been a big influence for her on the combinations of sound and images

[clifford_thornton]

6 hours ago, OliverM said:

Learned about this at a Matana Roberts concert on saturday in Paris. She dedicated the concert/experiment to his memory, mentioning how he had been a big influence for her on the combinations of sound and images

Interesting, thanks. Love the Thollot avatar by the way.

[7/4]

I never met him, although I sure know plenty of people that knew him. He certainly seems to have been influential as university professor. I heard him once, playing behind large curtains (sheets!) at the old Knitting Factory. 

His use of distortion on a violin or viola obscured the just intonation/pure tuning that I was so interested in. From a string qt came an amplified wall of grind.

I started a similar thread elsewhere on this forum about six hours before this one was started.

 

Every couple of years I listen to Four Violins, checking to see if my reaction has changed. Great idea for any music.

[OliverM]

On 11/04/2016 at 6:51 PM, clifford_thornton said:

Interesting, thanks. Love the Thollot avatar by the way.

It's no coincidence then that I also like your avatar! (I also wish I could get more of C. Thornton's music).