SPCO's Liquid Music Series to Present Daniel Wohl's 'Holographic'

Liquid Music joins forces with pioneering organizations MASS MoCA, Baryshnikov Arts Center and Indianapolis Museum of Art in commissioning and presenting Holographic, a new album and performance series created by Paris-born, Los Angeles-based composer Daniel Wohl, premiering in New York City January 21 & 22 and arriving in Saint Paul On Thursday, February 11. Critics have celebrated Wohl's work as a "boldly surreal aural experience," (The New York Times) and applauded his aptitude for crafting music that can "transport, unsettle and delight all at once" (National Public Radio).

"Holographic is about exploring different worlds-improbable combinations of sounds-hidden and imaginary sonic landscapes both acoustic and electronic," explained Wohl. "By processing or re-sampling more traditional instruments like strings, percussion or the human voice, I wanted to create music that has a strong link to the past while at the same time being rooted in what I listen to on a daily basis. I was hoping to retain the warmth and inconsistencies of human playing while interfacing with the technologies that are available to all of us."

Liquid Music curator and producer Kate Nordstrum added, "This is a key project for Liquid Music, perhaps even pivotal. Holographic is an album, a live performance, a visual art offering, and has been an opportunity to build dynamic partnerships with artists and arts institutions across the country, all eager to support the project in complimentary ways. It's been an honor to work with Daniel and our partners to construct a 'world of Holographic' these past 12 months, growing a core musical concept to new realms only possible through the unique focuses, perspectives and resources of the participating partners, and an openness on Daniel's part to hear how they'd like to engage." Nordstrum said the list of partners is ever-growing and currently includes New Amsterdam Records, Lonely Leap, Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, Alliance Française, McNally Smith College of Music, visual artists Daniel Schwarz and The Propeller Group, and aforementioned commissioning institutions MASS MoCA (with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), Baryshnikov Arts Center, Indianapolis Museum of Art and The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul.

Holographic is Wohl's sophomore album, releasing January 29 on New Amsterdam Records. Produced by Paul Corley (Oneohtrix Point Never, Tim Hecker, Ben Frost) and mastered by Bedroom Community's Valgeir Sigurdsson, Holographic expands Wohl's lush sound world through collaborations with guest artists Lucky Dragons, Olga Bell, Caroline Shaw and ensembles Bang on a Can All-Stars, Mantra Percussion, Mivos Quartet and Iktus Percussion. For the Saint Paul iteration of Holographic, Wohl calls on the talents of Mantra Percussion and the Holographic String Quartet (featuring members of Flux Quartet and String Noise), blending the virtuosic talents of his performers with a newly commissioned visual component and rich electronic creations to bring his spellbinding multimedia work to life.

"It is a great honor to be collaborating with Daniel Wohl on the A/V performance for his album Holographic," said Los Angeles-based audiovisual artist Daniel Schwarz, engaged and commissioned by The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul for all live performances of Holographic. "His visceral and powerful compositions evoke vivid imagery and feelings for me and it is a fantastic challenge to develop interactive software and visuals that go hand in hand with it. All instruments and electronic sounds are translated into an abstract meta language, which, in combination with the live audio feed from each musician during the concerts, will allow us to synchronize audio and visuals thoroughly in real-time and bring them into one multi-sensory experience."

"Collaborating with Liquid Music and supporting Daniel Schwarz's development of the visuals for Holographic has been an extremely positive experience for us," said Susan Smoluchowski, Executive Director of the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul. "We place great value on our partnerships with artists and arts institutions-they open our perspective in new and exciting ways-and this has been among the best."