Mimi Goese & Ben Neill Perform at Lincoln Center Atrium 11/17

Following critically acclaimed performances of their musical theater piece Persephone and the Ramseur Records release of the album Songs for Persephone, pulling together the music the duo composed for the multimedia work, Mimi Goese & Ben Neill are set to perform at Target Free® Thursdays at Lincoln Center's David Rubenstein Atrium on November 17. Admission is free. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. The David Rubenstein Atrium is located on Manhattan's Upper Westside at Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets. For more information, visit http://www.LincolnCenter.org/Atrium. Target Free Thursdays is sponsored by Target®.

In anticipation, Goese and Neill are premiering the video for the album cut "Cusp," which can be viewed at http://www.mimigoeseandbenneill.com/?page_id=688.
Songs for Persephone highlights Goese's vocal and performance style-which Rolling Stone likens to "eloquent sonic ballet"-as well as Neill's performance on his self-designed mutantrumpet, described by WIRED as "a schizophrenic trumpet [used] to create art music for the people."

The multimedia piece Persephone premiered at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music's Next Wave Festival in 2010. New York Magazine describes Persephone as "Abstract, hexagonal, world-beat songs...If Baz Lurhmann and Laurie Anderson got stoned listening to late-night college-radio electro-pop, Persephone is what they'd hallucinate." The New York Times praises the music as "shimmery electro-pop songs sung by Ms. Goese in a throaty voice that recalls Kate Bush and a number of other alt-radio goddesses." Meanwhile Variety calls the score "hypnotic."
Inspired by the expressive possibilities of new technology as well as the natural beauty of New York's Hudson Valley and the Hudson River School of painting, Goese and Neill started with a fragment of a different 19th century Romantic piece as the foundation for each of their songs. The songs reflect the increasing influence of classical music in the work of contemporary artists including The National, Sufjan Stevens and the Decemberists. Continuing this sensibility, Goese and Neill reference Mahler, Berlioz, Bruckner, and others of the Romantic era to create a new form of lyricism that is contemporary yet colored with the dynamics and patina of the old music filtered through digital processing.

Goese and Neill were commissioned by BAM to create the staged work Persephone with multimedia company Ridge Theater. Persephone co-starred actress Julia Stiles with book by Tony award winning playwright Warren Leight, and grew out of the 19th-century themes that Goese and Neill were exploring in the music.

The record is available in various formats including a limited edition, one-of-a-kind package co-designed by the artists with visual artist Simon Draper. The concept for the package is taken from the lyrics to the song "A Lovely Goodbye" and is made using primarily recycled materials. It can be hung on the wall as an artwork after removing the USB key with all of the media. Customized packages that incorporate fans' designs will also be available. The complete media set includes film from the BAM production by Bill Morrison as well other video material and instrumental music that is not included on the CD. The album is also available as a special interactive deluxe memory box constructed personally by Goese and Neill based on the purchaser's answers to a set of questions based on the album cut "A Lovely Goodbye." A number of the boxes will be featured in upcoming art openings in Peekskill and Beacon, NY as well as New York City. Additional information is available at http://www.mimigoeseandbenneill.com/?p=503.

Goese is known as the lead singer/co-songwriter of Hugo Largo, the critically acclaimed minimalist punk/pop group who released two albums on Brian Eno's Opal label in the '80s. After touring with musician/producer Hector Zazou and co-writing/singing on the Moby album Everything is Wrong, Goese's solo album Soak was released by Luaka Bop, David Byrne's label.
Neill is a composer, performer, producer, and inventor of the mutantrumpet, a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument. He has recorded eight CDs of his music on labels including Universal/Verve, Thirsty Ear, Astralwerks and Six Degrees. His most recent CD Night Science was released in 2009 on Thirsty Ear.

Launched in November 2009, Target Free Thursdays offers free public performances by a wide-range of artists every Thursday night throughout the year at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, a vibrant new public facility on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Curated by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Target Free Thursdays performances feature national, international and local artists. The series also features artists from Lincoln Center's resident organizations including The Juilliard School, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Chamber Music Society, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts among others, along with artists curated by community-based partners. The series presents a diverse cross-section of musical genres, including pop, Latin, rock, soul, country, jazz, world, classical and new music, as well as spoken word, multi-media and dance performances.