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Eli Keszler Comes to The Kitchen for Synth Nights Series, Performs New Installation-Composition 'Filtrations'

The Synth Nights music series continues at The Kitchen with a new installation-composition by acclaimed composer Eli Keszler.

Synth Nights is a series devoted to live performances of electronic music. Keszler, a multi-instrumentalist, will debut his new piece: “Filtrations.”

The installation-composition will feature three separate instrumental ensembles overlaid to form one unit. Keszler pushes his performance toward installation so his entire project shows a large-scale, complex social model where narrative, environment and performative conditions will combine. According to a press release, the performances are scored in relation to the installation and for participation within the site as a singular form, with hundreds of mechanical components concealed in sculptural planes and visible piano wire extending across the space. In addition to the large-scale installation, the ensemble cast for "Filtrations" consists of Keszler (drums and percussion), Leila Bordreuil (cello), Mariel Roberts (cello), Geoff Mullen (guitar and electronic controls) and Anthony Coleman (piano).

Synth Nights has roots in The Kitchen’s original electronic music program, which began in 1971. Participants have included Laurie Anderson, David Behrman, Nels Cline and Yuka Honda, Greg Davis, Annie Gosfield, Musica Elettronica Viva, Ebe Oke, Oneohtrix Point Never, Laurel Halo, James Hoff and C. Spencer Yeh.

Keszler, who is from Massachusetts, began playing drum at 8 and started composing at 12. He continued his music in rock and hardcore bands throughout his teenage years and is now based in New York City, where he uses his early experiences to compose music with intense physicality and ferocious energy. His installations are often accompanied by scores, drawings, diagrams, screen prints and writings.

“I like to work with raw material, simple sounds, primitive or very old sounds,” Keszler said in a recent interview on NPR’s All Songs Considered, “sounds that won’t get dated in any way.”

The show will be Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. at The Kitchen in New York. To purchase tickets to this event, click here.

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