#Josh Modney

[jgthirlwell]

06.04.24 Wet Ink Ensemble play Sam Pluta's binary/momentary ii: flow state/joy state (2017) for trumpet, two trombones, piano, and percussion. Featuring Peter Evans on trumpet Alix Tucou on trombone, David Taylor on trombone, Eric Wubbels on piano and Ian Antonio on percussion. Josh Modney, conductor.

[dustedmagazine]

Modney — Ascending Primes (Pyroclastic)

Ascending Primes is a number game. Violinist, composer and improviser Modney (née Josh Modney) grew its music from his ongoing interest in the intellectual logic and sensate satisfaction imparted by just intonation (hereafter referred to as JI), a tuning system that favors whole number ratios over the book-cooking compromises of the more widely known equal temperament, which has been the world’s tuning standard since that beautiful sound-culture neutralizer, the piano, made its way around the globe.

Modney found in JI a method that made sense of his instrument; it simply sounded better. But he hasn’t kept the pleasure to himself. The performance units he has assembled for this double album advance in steps dictated by the progression of prime numbers — one, three, five, seven and finally 11 players. His violin, sometimes amplified, is the only instrument to appear in every aggregation. As the ensembles expand and change, so does the music. It is never simple, but neither is it cluttered or unnecessarily busy. Playing alone, the sound of each of Modney’s violin string leaps out, illuminated by the overtones that JI enables and coarsened by liberally applied distortion.

The smaller line-ups are non-standard but exemplify the chamber music aesthetic of exposed interaction between players. At different points Sam Pluta’s electronics and Cory Smythe’s JI-tuned piano disrupt the flow. But as the ensemble’s increase in size and diversity of instrumentation, jazz elements creep in. Ben Lamar Gay’s puckering cornet and Charmaine Lee’s swooping voice adopt jazz-informed, solo voices within the septet, poised atop the multi-directional rhythms of Dan Peck’s tuba and Katie Gentile’s drums. The largest ensemble is also the most inclusive, marshalling hackle-raising strings, gut-rumbling horns, rhythm-opposing clusters, angelic/demonic vocal exchanges and straight-up noise into a sequence of events that seem to be pushing against implacable time-keeping.

There’s a lot of JI music, especially that made by string players, that seems to treat tuning system’s sonorities as ends in themselves, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But Modney has taken another tack. Like Anna Webber, who appears in the largest ensemble, he puts the sounds to work alongside the genre elements to create music that is stylistically unlimited and viscerally affecting.

Bill Meyer

[aaronmcknightstudio]

a mix of favorite sounds from two thousand eighteen

tracklist below:

The Races | Grouper | Grid of Points

For These in Winter | Taylor Deupree | Fallen

Action II | Simon Šerc | Bora Scura

Raven pt.7 | Organum | Raven

Lighter Than Aluminium | Félicia Atkinson | Coyotes

Event Storm | Michael Pisaro, Reinier Van Houdt | Shades of Eternal Night

Evensong | Sarah Davachi | Gave in Rest

Selva Obscura (excerpt) | William Basinski, Lawrence English | Selva Obscura

Action III (excerpt) | Simon Šerc | Bora Scura

Martyrdom: Psalm 57: Verse 1 | John Macsween (Tarbert) | Salm Vol. 1

Arcade (excerpt) | Philip Jeck | Arcade

Rendering Intuition | Caterina Barbieri | Born Again In The Voltage

Semper Dolens | Mary Jane Leach | (f)lute songs

Unpolished Wishes (excerpt) | Michael Byron | the ultra violet of many parallel paths

Basin (excerpt) | Sarah Hennies & Greg Stuart | Rundle

Late Silence (excerpt) | Jürg Frey | Early to Late

It Never Yielded Results Which They Had Failed to Discover by Other Means | The Dogmatics | Chop Off the Tops

Do Nothing | Clara de Asís | Do Nothing

Johann Sebastian Bach- Ciaccona (1720), with Just Intonation | Josh Modney | Engage

2 Extreemizms (2015) (excerpt) | Philip Corner | EXTREEMIZMS early & late

Sarah Hennies - Sisters (Side A) (excerpt) | lenka novosedlíková | Sisters

INTRA-8 | Mark Fell | INTRA

Dean Clough C2. | Isnaj Dui  | Tiny Portraits

Park cleaning / Crickets chirping | Toshiya Tsunoda & Taku Unami | Wovenland

Abersayne | Graham Lambkin | No Better No Worse (Vol 2)

Margaret | Anna & Elizabeth | The Invisible Comes to Us

Fair Weather | Current 93 | The Light Is Leaving Us All

The Mushroom Field | Áine O'Dwyer & Graham Lambkin | Green Ways

Sark (excerpt) | Richard Youngs & Simon Wickham-Smith | 20 Years

Žaškovský salaš | Jonáš Gruska | Federovo

Mansana (excerpt) | Anenon | Tongue

Down by the Sally Gardens | Áine O'Dwyer & Graham Lambkin | Green Ways

Grief | David Dominique | Mask

Ground | Tashi Wada with Yoshi Wada and Friends | FRKWYS Vol. 14 - Nue

Everyday Is an Emergency | Julia Holter | Aviary

Arrival | Park Jiha | Philos

IBX-BZC (excerpt) | Pendant | Make Me Know You Sweet

Wondrous Love (Lissy’s Sessions) | Songs: Ohia | Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions

Fundamental Values | Nils Frahm | All Melody

Always Trying To Work It Out | Low | Double Negative

Patterns For Alto | Lea Bertucci | Metal Aether

Locus of Repetition | Kali Malone | Organ Dirges 2016-2017

[f-sharp-inder]

🎶‌

String Noise: Triple Album Release Happy Hour

✅Ticket

Free

⏱Time

New York : Fri, Mar 26, 2021 4:00 pm

London : Fri, Mar 26, 2021 8:00 pm

Seoul : Sat, Mar 27, 2021 5:00 am

🔊Performers

String Noise

String Noise:

Conrad Harris, Violin | Pauline Kim Harris, Violin

Greg Saunier, Drums

Composers:

Jessie Cox, Jonathan Finlayson, Lester St. Louis, Anaïs Maviel, Charles Overton (Alien Stories - Infrequent Seams)

Eric Lyon (Giga Concerto - New Focus Recordings)

Tyondai Braxton, Caleb Burhans, Philip Glass, David Lang, Paul Reller, Greg Saunier (A Lunch Between Order and Chaos - Chaikin Records)

Record Label Owners:

James Ilgenfritz | Dan Lippel | Brian Chase

Engineers:

Brian Chase (master)

Kevin Ramsay (recording, mix)

Greg Saunier (recording, mix, producer)

Elliott Sharp (master)

Ryan Streber (recording, mix, master, producer)

International Contemporary Ensemble (Giga Concerto):

Josh Modney, Violin/Project Manager

Leah Asher, Violin

Wendy Richman, Viola

Christopher Gross, Cello

Meaghan Burke, Cello

Randall Zigler, Bass

Nuiko Wadden, Harp

Daniel Lippel, Classical Guitar

Isabel Lepanto Gleicher, Flute/Piccolo

Campbell MacDonald, Clarinet

Ryan Muncy, Saxophone

Rebekah Heller, Bassoon

Nicolee Kuester, French Horn

Mike Lormand, Trombone

Dennis Sullivan, Percussion/Timpani

Nick DeMaison, Conductor

Visual Artists:

Edwin Bethea | Will Cotton| C. Steve Johnson

Co-commission with Carnegie Hill Concerts:

Nicholas Zork, Co-curator

PR:

Steven Swartz (DOTDOTDOTMUSIC)

Evan Welsh (Clandestine Label Service)

🎼Program

LISTENING PARTY starts at 4PM with:

Kurt Gottschalk, Master of Ceremonies (NYC Jazz, Stereophile, the Wire, WFMU)

String Noise: Conrad Harris and Pauline Kim Harris, Violins with Greg Saunier, Drums

Composers: Caleb Burhans, Jessie Cox, Jonathan Finlayson, Eric Lyon, Anaïs Maviel, Charles Overton, Greg Saunier and Lester St. Louis

VIEWING PARTY starts at 5:30PM with:

Special pre-recorded EXTRACTIONS by members of International Contemporary Ensemble:

Isabel Lepanto Gleicher, piccolo

Rebekah Heller, bassoon

Dan Lippel, classical guitar

Josh Modney, violin

Nuiko Wadden, harp

DOCU-video PREMIERE : Giga Concerto

Edited by Chandler Clamp

EVENT PRODUCER, Nicholas Zork

SPECIAL CRAFTED COCKTAIL RECIPES by Kat's Dogs Art & YoYo Comics:

The Rose

Doves & Pigeons

Area 75

String Noise: Triple Album Release Happy Hour Tickets, Fri, Mar 26, 2021 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite

[jshatan]

The hits just keep on coming! This time in the vein of #classicalmusic #newmusic and #contemporaryclassical. Find it at www.Anearful.blogspot.com and listen to @johnnyg2703 @matteolibb @thecellogoddess @laurieandersonofficial & @kronos_quartet @claricejensen @taniachenknittedrecords Duo Noire Josh Modney, @seattlesymphony @cheungdynasty @wangluxoxo @nordicaffect @loreleiensemble Notus @thecrossingchoir John Lane @clusterhocket @shostakovichsucks @pierrelaurentaimard @igorlevit_pianist Lubomyr Melnyk Dmitri Evgrafov @tigranhamasyan @hauschkamusic @kellymoran__ @vcpianos @jackquartet @aizuriquartet @francismacdonald Wet Ink Ensemble @pollardtrey @jenniferkohmusic The Hands Free @gythfeldtmarianne @transientcanvas @tiguetigue @skylarkensemble @hannigan.barbara Christian Gerhaher Dmitri Tymoczko Michael Hersch Florence Price (kudos @albanyrecords) @daniel.bjarnason - much adventurous listening lies ahead! https://www.instagram.com/p/BsJVHaYAxnH/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=njn09nxvgdlj

[tinymixtapes]

Patrick Higgins (Zs) & Josh Modney (Mivos Quartet) to release EVRLY MVSIC on NNA Tapes, premiere first single

“…in a more traditional news voice at first…” “Hark! Who goes there?” “It is I sire, your loyal crier, bringing tidings from the Duke of New York.” “Ah-ha, what sayeth he?” “He speaketh of thee castle NNA Tapes and its bards Patrick of house Higgins and Josh of house Modney.” “Them of mine minstrels Zs and Mivos Quartet?” “The same, sire!” “Hark! Of what tidings doth he bare witness then?” Due out September 22, A.D 2017, the duo’s album EVRLY MVSIC presents an incredibly original fusion between ancient European musical history and distinctly American experimentalism, hinged on the nexus between improvisation and chamber music, and fueled by a deeply personal musical alliance.” “Curses! It doth seem some black magic is again afoot in the city of New York.” Indeed it doth! Premiering below, EVRLY MVSIC’s first single “Renaissance Recap” is the kind of music that would’ve earned medieval minstrel players a post on a pyre (which, though bearing some similarity to the Tiny Mix Tapes News section, was in point of fact something altogether different). It’s also the kind of music the people of the Seven Kingdoms may end up hearing if the Night King takes the Iron Throne but keeps on the existing lutists. There is no lute — just guitar and violin — but the analogy plays, and below the song, you can play a video preview of Higgins’ and Modney’s upcoming album. What sorcery! EVRLY MVSIC tracklisting: 01. Funeral 02. Renaissance Recap 03. A New Austerity 04. Courtesan 05. Beating No.2 06. Concertina 07. Prime 08. Lament http://j.mp/2gd7r93

[jgthirlwell]

02.13.2020 Charmaine Lee has an incredible extended vocal techniques style using multiple mic sources, effects and modular synth. She performed in a duo with Chris Goudreau at Scholes Street Studio, along with a duo of Josh Modney and Mariel Roberts, and a performance by Wet Ink Ensemble.

[jgthirlwell]

11/10/16 Josh Modney, member of Wet Ink Ensemble and International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) (and late of Mivos Quartet) curated an evening of challenging, delicate and disorientating music at Abrons Art Center for the Open ICE series. The program included Georges Aperghis’ Rasch for viola and saxophone, Natacha Diels’ Strange Attractors for piccolo, percussion and sampler, Evan Johnson’s L’art de toucher le clavecin for piccolo, violin and percussion, Andrew Greenwald’s A Thing is a Hole in a Thing it is Not for violin solo and Guillaume Dufay’s dieu m’amour, adieu ma joie arranged for voice, viola and cello followed by Mathias Spahlinger’s hommage of the same piece.

[jgthirlwell]

9/13/13 We played at the ICA in Boston on the Zola Jesus / JG Thirlwell plus string quartet tour, where the stage backs right onto the harbor with a stunning view of the water, boats and skyline. Pictured are violinists Josh Modney and Leyna Marika Papach. Time is precious.