Matchess Tour continues feat. Haley Fohr + Jenny Pulse in the US South + West! Sound in your body/sound in your mind: “The other is everything in my life.”
Three marimbas, three voices, three psyches: This summer, Whitney Johnson’s long standing experimental project Matchess will deal sonic doubles across the U.S. with the amplified groupthink of a trio formation each night!
�In June, Whitney will be joined onstage by Haley Fohr (AKA Circuit des Yeux) and Lula Asplund; in July, it’ll be Matchess, Haley, and Jenny Pulse.
Their individual practices in experimental music, sound art, and performance will invoke the “two against three” principle to alchemize a fresh collaboration on this tour of the American East, South, and West — with tremors of a new Whitney Johnson / Matchess album percolating! We’re surely feelin’ something…
Check out the full tour dates on Matchess’s website or on Drag City!
Matchess feat. Haley Fohr and Lula Asplund: three marimbas, three voices, sine waves, viola, and other sounds. Supporting alter ego records 𝘏𝘢𝘷/𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢 on Drag City, Fall 2024. The “2 against 3” principle: sonic doubles thru three psyches. Potential to mellow out ur neuroses and fold down the shroud of the death drive at the same time? TkYu @elizanweber for the flyer. Dedicated to Hermaphroditus and The Cairn <3
Winged Wheel 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭
May 3rd @12xurecs
Cory Plump
Matthew J Rolin
Steve Shelley
Lonnie “Palmtree” Slack
Fred Thomas
Yours Truly
Recorded by Chris Turco
Mixed by Fred Thomas
Mastered by Carl Saff
Artwork by William Schmiechen
The first “Who Is The Witness?” tape is available today! Jenny Pulse, Jon Mueller, Tim Kinsella and I made this one. I could go on and on about it.
We’ll be playing with Liv Mershon (@mam_flam ) and Josh Abrams (@naturalinformationsociety ) in Chicago at the Hideout on the 24th—tapes are available on Bandcamp and at that show.
/album/camp-bell
Thanks to @electronautco@openhousecontemporary@strauchy and all our friends! And enemies.
𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗦 aka Whitney Johnson provided music (alongside the great Olivia Block) for Deborah Stratman’s ‘𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨’ which is about to finish a return engagement at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. Final showtime in our links. Also in there is an interview with Stratman in Tone Glow: Film Show which covers some of Stratman’s collaborations with musicians like Matchess, Olivia Block, and Mary Lattimore.
“An official selection of Sundance and the Berlinale Film Festival, and the opening night film of the 33rd Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Stratman’s LAST THINGS examines evolution and extinction from the perspective of the rocks and minerals that came before humanity and will outlast us.
“With a stunning array of images, from microscopic forms to vast landscapes, Stratman seeks a picture of evolution without humans at the center.”
Swipe ⬅️ for stills and the trailer!
Awards & Nominations
Winner - Green Dox, Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival Official Selection - Sundance Film Festival, Cinéma du Réel, DocAviv Film Festival
ＭＡＴＣＨＥＳＳ, aka Whitney Johnson, contributed voice recordings to the superlative new ᴋɪᴋᴜ̀ ʜɪʙɪɴᴏ release ‘Sky Trajectories’ on Superpang. Yes, we have the link!
Boomkat wrote: “Hitting square between grid-bending styles developed by likes of SND & also explored by everyone from Second Woman to Ábrus Gryllus, the nine studio-based cuts - and longer liver track - of ’Sky Trajectories’ find Kikù Hibino in pursuit of a more sensitive approach to ostensibly hard-nosed electronic music sounds and structures. The five pieces featuring vocals by Whitney Johnson aka Matchess (Drag City) really set the results apart from the crowd with a canny ‘human’ sentimentality and touch that contrasts Hibino’s electronic purism.”
Of her performance Whitney said, “The voice is that of a baby who has been through decades of life’s turning. Where some might hear sentimentality, others might detect a brutal refusal to succumb to the numbing of those decades.”
About the project, Kikù wrote “My new body of work entitled ‘Sky Trajectories’ was created intensively in the month of December 2023. During that time, I felt a stark contrast between the dire realities facing children as the war raged on in Gaza and the peaceful environment in which I was able to immerse myself in making music in Chicago. I am aware that I am in a privileged position; therefore, in consultation with my label, I have decided to donate the net profits from the sales of this album to the UNICEF Gaza Humanitarian Crisis Fund.“
Original @matchesse 📸 by Fred Somsen.
Happy New Year!
Superpang in Rome just released my new sound art work ‘Sky Trajectories’ on January 5th. In this album, I collaborated with Whitney Johnson as a vocalist (Text : Anne Carson) and together, we’ve been exploring new possibilities of rhythm and harmony using various synthesizers and samplers. Additionally, the album features a live performance with Buchla and modular synths, created for Kongkee’s Warring States Cyberpunk exhibit in 2023 at Wrightwood659. Outstanding Mixing and Mastering by Taylor Deupree of 12K.
You can listen to the album here: /album/sky-trajectories
Considering the ongoing conflicts in Palestine and continuous natural disasters during these challenging times, after discussions with the label, we have decided to donate all the net proceeds from this album to UNICEF.
I deeply appreciate your continued support and am thrilled to share this music with you. Here’s to a brighter year ahead.
Kikù Hibino
@superpanghq@matchesse@taylor12k@sn_signalnoise@katiesin_@trcsound_@esschicago@aasshhjj@unicef@buchlausa@wrightwood659@fatboykongkee#annecarson#annecarsonpoetry#kikuhibino#matchess#superpang
Latest Who Is The Witness? iteration FRIDAY Night
Shit is soundin ecstatic & throbbin & free
w/ @moontypo@gold_dime_hurts & @l.u.l.a__._
The Fallout 2230 s Ashland 8pm $10
