7/15 NYC event, Raz Mesinai's " String Quartet for 4 Turntables " [ performance ad + bios ]

[Peter Becker <peterb@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Raz Mesinai ( aka Badawi, also of Sub Dub )  will be World premiering 
a newly written piece exclusively composed for turntables.
DJ's Olive and Toshio Kajiwara will be performing the piece. A World 
premiere at Lincoln Center is a landmark event for any musician.
This show should be spectacular. The rest of the program ( Raz'
piece is performed alongside of Cage and Riley turntable performances
as well as performances by NY's X-ecutioners ) is also an exciting lineup!

"String Quartet for 4 Turntables"
"String Quartet for 4 Turntables" was conceived over a year ago and 
has gone through several different phases. Mesinai has decided it 
should continue to evolve with each dj participant that performs it 
as well as with each sound introduced. Mesinai has chosen the string 
quartet as his musical medium for a variety of reasons. Namely, 
stringed instruments and the turntable share similar player 
techniques. Pitches are controlled in similar manners. Sounds are 
executed by a stroke of the hand, sometimes hard and sometimes soft. 
For example, a dj scratch is similar to a players staccato. For this 
composition, players used on the records are Erich Schoen -Rene ( 
cello ) , Ralph Farris ( viola and violin ) , and Mark Feldman ( 
violin ). Additional violin work was provided by Meredith Yayanos. 
The sounds recorded are then manipulated electronically to provide 
the strongest effect for the dj participant. It is this approach that 
gives the dj performer the ability  to improvise, providing a unique 
and different musical output each time it is performed.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The World Premiere of " String Quartet for 4 Turntables " by Raz 
Mesinai, as performed by Rotor- ( Toshio Kajiwara, DJ Olive )
As part of  " Electronic Evolution 4- The Turntable as Electronic 
Instrument " LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL 2000

Saturday, July 15th, 9 pm at the N.Y. Society for Ethical Culture,
64th Street & Central Park West

Tickets are $20 and are available:
* in person: Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, 65th Street & Broadway, 
M-ST, 10- 6 & Sun, Noon- 6
* by phone: through Center Charge- 212-721-6500
* on the Web: visit www.licolncenter.org

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Raz Mesinai:
Due to extensive traveling between his birthplace - Israel  and 
America - Mesinai's music covers a wide spectrum ranging from Jewish/ 
Hasidic to Middle Eastern, to electronic and contemporary classical. 
Mesinai represents a new breed of composer who refuses to be 
classified. A self taught musician, he has a unique approach to the 
instruments he plays.  His repertoire includes piano, voice, frame 
drums,  darabuka and the zarb ( a classical Persian drum of which 
Mesinai is a formidable player ). In his earlier years, Mesinai made 
a name for himself as a D.J. and was acclaimed " one of N.Y.'s most 
innovative" by The New York Times.
In the early nineties, Mesinai founded the influential experimental 
dub duo Sub Dub   with John Ward , releasing 2 albums and 3 
12"singles. Concurrent to his Sub Dub work, Mesinai embarked on solo 
recordings as Badawi, releasing 3 albums. The latest release is 'The 
Heretic of Ether' (Asphodel), " an ethnoambient masterpiece" , 
MusicHound World Encyclopedia. Although Mesinai used acoustic 
elements, he still employed electronics to achieve an unearthly and 
ethereal soundscape. His discography includes several works on the 
ROIR, Asphodel ad Instinct labels. Recently, Mesinai is scoring a 
major production film.
As well, Mesinai heads the Badawi Trio and is a member of the dj trio, Rotor.

Toshio Kajiwara:
Kajiwara was born in Tokyo and grew up in Hong Kong, London and New 
York.  Although he initially studied photography and computer 
graphics, and has graduated from the School of Visual Arts, Toshio 
Kajiwara became known as a musician and DJ, as well as a writer for 
various publications in Japan. His artistic approach to sound 
creation often derives from his diverse knowledge in the history of 
music.  The elements of collage which aims to question the historical 
sensibilities toward the understanding of music has always been the 
essential aspect of his work. He has received a grant from the Jerome
Commission through Roulette Intermedium in 1998 for his project
"Ferris wheel" which investigated the history of electronics in music.
Amongst other grants, he is currently working on a commissioned 
recording of his project "Vintermusik" for the Cultural Department of 
Switzerland. Collaborative credits include: DJ Olive, Raz Mesinai, 
Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide, Kim Gordon and Ikue Mori amongst 
others.

Dj Olive, Gregor Asch :

Dj Olive, the audio janitor , has left an impressive mark on the 
experimental/avant garde dj community over the last ten years. Asch 
has travelled the world extensively, collaborating and recording with 
such music luminaries as Christian Marclay, Ikue Mori, Kim Gordon, 
Yuka Honda, Jim O Rourke, Uri Caine, Elliot Sharp, William Hooker, 
Ben Neill, Franz Triechler, Luc Ferrari as well as the Rotor Trio. 
Asch is a member of the influential experimental electronic trio, We. 
We's credits include releases on the Asphodel, Liquid Sky, So Dens, 
Word Sound, Leaf, Silent. Axiom and Subharmonic labels. We's remix 
credits include: Free Kitten, Medeski Martin and Wood, Tipsy, Arto 
Lindsay, Soul Slinger, Bill Laswell, the Dylan group, Celluloid Mata, 
Kompakt, Telekenetic Soulmate and 48 Cameras. As well, Asch records 
as a founding member of NYC's Liminal. Asch also produces and records 
with the experimental art group Multipolyomni, who will be releasing 
a soundtrack from their opera, "Quark Soup" this year. Dj Olive 
continues to play at dance clubs, raves and chillout rooms throughout 
the world while still programming beats and ambient tracks in his 
Brooklyn studio Skin Tone Riddle.