Sontag Shogun: sontagshogun.com

Sontag Shogun is a collaborative trio that makes use of analog sound treatments and nostalgic solo piano compositions in harmony to depict abstract places in our memory. Textures built from organic materials such as sand, slate, boiling water, brush and dried leaves, both produced live in performance and recorded to weathered 1/4" tape warm up the space between lush piano themes. All of which is abstracted coolly in the reflective digital space of treated vocals and a live-processed feed from the piano. Bringing us back, like a faded passing scent or any natural emotive trigger, but to where? The wordless journey there will inevitably be more revealing than the destination itself.

The band has improvised alongside artists as diverse as Matana Roberts, Julia Kent, Oren Ambarchi, Greg Fox, Shinya Sugimoto, Tom Carter, Diana Combo and Aki Onda as well as poets, choreographers, butoh dancers, filmmakers, an improvised fashion designer, a collective of Japanese contemporary video artists, slide projectionists, and scentscape installation artists. They’ve been Hans Appelqvist’s backing band, they’ve done weddings, they’ve performed with a string quartet at MoMA, they’ve performed in 40 speaker channels, they’ve scored short films and curated live film scoring evenings, they’ve recorded sections of Meriwether Lewis’ 1804 journal, they’ve played during a performance installation of a giant 18-foot living flower sculpture, they’ve scored an old-timey baseball game in Brooklyn, opened (somehow) for legendary post-punks The Primitive Calculators and This Is Not This Heat on separate occasions.

And they have shared the stage with other notable artists including Hauschka, Maggi Payne, David Grubbs, Ben Vida, Fly Pan Am, minamo, Christopher Bissonnette, Nicola Ratti, Hans Appelqvist, Chris Forsyth, Mountains, Sam Shalabi, Noveller, Helena Espvall, Jerusalem in my Heart, Sculptress of Sound, Earthen Sea, Johannes Bergmark, Moskitoo, Ultraam, Machinefabriek, F.S. Blumm, Blevin Blectum, Asuna, Marcus Fischer, Hiro Kone, Andrew Bernstein, Bromp Treb, The Dead Rat Orchestra, as well as many, many others..

Sontag Shogun is Ian Temple: piano, organ; Jeremy Young: tapes, oscillators, amplified objects & surfaces; Jesse Perlstein: treated vox, field recordings, electronics.

Lau Nau: launau.com

Lau Nau, aka Laura Naukkarinen, is one of the more interesting names in the Finnish contemporary music scene. A composer, music producer and performer whose music is imbued with a cinematic breadth of vision and idiosyncratic, finely honed sound world.

Lau Nau works using both acoustic and electronic instruments, from traditional instruments and singing voice to analogue synthesisers and field recordings. While her songs are luminous, melancholic pieces of experimental chamber folk music, her scores for films and sound installations are experimental studies of sound.

Lau Nau’s first solo albums were released in the US (Locust Music 2005 & 2008), winning acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork and The Wire. To date Lau Nau has released seven albums in Europe, USA and Japan, garnering prize nominations like Teosto-, Emma-, Jussi- and Femma prizes. Nowadays she is well known for her music to films, silent films, theatre, dance, multi channel sound installations and lectures about composing.

Besides of Lau Nau, Laura Naukkarinen plays also in an improvisational group Kiri Ra! and in duo with Matti Bye. She has been playing in various improv bands as IAX, Maailma, Hertta Lussu Ässä, Kiila, Avarus, the Anaksimandros, Päivänsäde, Kemialliset Ystävät, Chamellows and others.

Chari: chariglogovacsmith.com

Chari Glogovac-Smith is a composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, and mixed media artist. Using an evolving mixture of traditional and experimental techniques, Chari is dynamically exploring and illustrating various counterpoints between human experience and society. Chari’s recent works have posed questions about empathy, conflict, emotional intelligence, social justice, healing, listening, and time. Their examinations and integrations of mediums, materials, and methodologies have centered around their research into the theories and practices of afro-futurism, deep listening, sound, minimalism, mechatronics, machine learning, and neuroaesthetics.

As a composer, Chari is known for creating everything from dense intricate electroacoustic soundscapes to string quartets and mixed ensemble pieces. They utilize historical recordings, field recordings, analog and digital synthesizers, acoustic percussion, voice, and computer processing in their sound tapestries. They have composed commissioned pieces for The Center of the Art of Performance at UCLA, and a large mixed ensemble piece for The Black Iris Project in New York, NY, USA.

As a mixed media artist, Chari has created works that including video, machine learning, immersive audio, interactive, and live sound processing. Their most recent works include Baptiste, a post-apocalyptic film with live sound accompaniment, and The Afro-Futurist Guide to Time Travel, an Afro-futurist themed mixed media project that weaves machine learning, appropriated footage, and moving sound performance together as a narrative on grief, time travel, and survival in modern-day society.

As a performer, Chari spent 10 years as a vocalist in various touring rock and hip-hop bands and then made the decision to transition to graduate studies full time. They now perform under the moniker Cairo Ekko, a historical media, meets sci-fi, meets exploratory synthesizer project.

As a collaborator, Chari is a member of the Background Noise Ensemble, an experimental electroacoustic music collective with Mills College affiliation. Their debut project, Metal Lake Reservoir was released on Full Spectrum Records in January of 2021.

Chari is a McNair Scholar and a Nevada Art Council Fellow. Chari holds a B.S. in Health Ecology from the University of Nevada, Reno, an M.F.A. in Electronic Music and Recording Media from Mills College in Oakland, CA, and is currently working on their Ph.D. in Experimental Arts and Digital Media at the University of Washington.

@ Fremont Abbey Arts Center

7p doors, 7:30p show

All ages, some seating available, bar w/ID

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See Updated Public Health Safety Info at the bottom of this page under Abbey Arts Presents. All Abbey Arts venues adhere to WA State & King County health guidelines. Thanks for helping keep our community safe!

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ABBEY ARTS EVENT INFO:

• Check tickets for show time
• Fremont Abbey is ADA accessible on either level.
• We have a mix of normal chairs, some tall chairs, and standing room in back.
• Seating is not reserved unless noted.
• Please refrain from talking or texting during the show.
• No video from the seating area please.
• Please limit photos during the show so as to not distract other attendees from the experience.
• We are an all ages venue. Kids 10 & under are free at Abbey Arts concerts & arts events unless noted.
• Entering the venue indicates agreement to adhere to the Abbey Respect Policy. All are welcome.

ABBEY ARTS, SEATTLE | NONPROFIT 501C3, NON-RELIGIOUS, EST. 2005

Presenting welcoming music, arts & cultural experiences for people of all ages & incomes.

• Venue rental info & more: http://www.fremontabbey.org/rent
• Concert & events calendar: http://www.abbeypresents.org
• Arts Connect provides free tickets for nonprofit workers, low income families, and veterans. www.fremontabbey.org/artsconnect/
• Volunteer opportunities are available for most shows (include free entry) www.fremontabbey.org/volunteer

Home Venue: Fremont Abbey, 4272 Fremont Ave North, Seattle, WA 98103 / 206-414-8325

Note: All ticket sales are final unless noted. Lineup and performers are subject to change, no refunds for change of support acts.