Between the Ears of Big Ears: 7 Performer Interviews
The Big Ears Festival takes place March 27-30 in Knoxville, TN presenting their latest iteration of cutting edge music. We’ve interviewed several of these artists over the years. Here are some thoughts between the ears of Big Ears 2015 performers Laurie Anderson, Kronos Quartet, Max Richter, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Harold Budd, William Tyler and Silver Apples.
MAX RICHTER has been a signpost of ambient chamber music since his second album in 2004, The Blue Notebooks. A few weeks ago, we talked to him about his ambient classical designs. Here it is:
A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN is another leading ambient chamber music group with a bit more of a rock timbral undertone. AWVFTS is composer Adam Wiltzie from Stars of the Lid and Dustin O’Halloran. They talked about their dark sound a few weeks ago.
BILL FRISELL is a musician of many colors. Whiles he’s most noted for his Americana brand of jazz, he’s explored electronic and chamber music as well. Three years ago we talked to him about his album of John Lennon covers, All We Are Saying. He talked about that and his unfiltered approach to music.
HAROLD BUDD is an icon of ambient music and in particular, ambient chamber music. He was voted an icon of Echoes and we presented this retrospective of his work.
WILLIAM TYLER is one of the most wide-ranging of the latest batch of finger-style guitarists. We talked to him three years ago.
LAURIE ANDERSON is a genre unto herself, an electronic Diva, an observer of the age, and one of the most perceptive and inventive musicians of our era.
KRONOS QUARTET has been completely redefining the concept of a string quartet for 40 years. We talked to Kronos’ David Harrington for our Big Ears feature but 5 years ago we looked back over the Kronos history, from George Crumb to Jimi Hendrix, World Music to Terry Riley.
SILVER APPLES IS the pioneering electronic pop band from the 1960s. We talked to band founder Simeon Cox about his pioneering sound, making music that oscillated minds with oscillators.