Way back in 2007, at the 2nd Fun Fun Fun Fest, I had this to say about my first experience seeing Battles:

"The NYC outfit, founded by former Don Caballero guitarist Ian Williams in 2005, is as close to experimental/new music as anything I've heard within a rock idiom. Elements of minimalism were prominent throughout the intense noise, especially in the incredibly complex, multi-layered rhythms. (At one point, I swear I heard a Balinese gamelan.) These guys are so good, I wouldn't be surprised seeing them on one of the Carnegie stages someday."

Close enough: Ian Williams makes his Carnegie debut this Friday with the world premiere of his first-ever work for orchestra, Clear Image, with the American Composers Orchestra. (Tickets and info here.) About the piece - which is being described as "raucous" - Williams, who will perform live electronics alongside the ACO, has this to say:

“If you consider a multi-track recording where the music actually isn't played, but just assembled, to be a lie, or an illusion, but you don't think that's actually a bad thing, then you might want that artificial quality and consider it an ‘enhanced’ reality. How then would you preserve that improvement in music that is to be played by real musicians in real time and space?”

I had the chance to sit down over a beer with Williams last week to discuss his compositional process, his influences, and what's happening with Battles these days. Highlights from our chat below.

by Steven Pisano

Photo by Steven Pisano

Conductor Alondra de la Parra is something of an anomaly. Aside from being a woman - still a rarity in the classical music world - she was raised in a country (Mexico) which isn't exactly heralded for it's contributions to classical music. Still, de la Parra, 34, has managed to carve out a successful career, first as music director of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas - which she founded when she was still a student in order to showcase composers and performers from the Americas - and more recently as a globetrotting guest conductor. 

Fresh off of Saturday's Town Hall concert commemorating the Latin American holiday of El Dia de los Muertos (“The Day of the Dead”), we had the chance to sit with Alondra to talk about her career, her Mexican heritage, and her love of music - classical and otherwise. 

On Being A Mexican Conductor: I was raised in Mexico - my parents are Mexican - and I still live there. I think growing up there gave me a sense of rhythm and a very particular sense of musicality and musicianship which I wouldn’t have if I wasn’t Latina, and specifically Mexican. Though nowadays, since I’ve lived in many places and move three or four times a month from one place to the other, I feel more like a citizen of the world. But my Mexican roots and my Mexican soul - that’s why I named my album Mi Alma Mexicana - will always remain.

On Latin American Composers:  I love showing the world that Mexican culture is much more than the clichés that people know us by, that we do have folklore, but not every piece of music is based on this. We also have music that is contemporary, that is inspired by European music, and I just like sharing the music of Latin American countries as being competitive in quality with music from anywhere else in the world.

Cellist Maya Beiser wants to change the way people look at rock music. Or, more accurately, music in general. Raised in Israel, Beiser was groomed for a career as a concert soloist until she had an awakening of sorts at 15, when she heard Janis Joplin for the first time.

"It blew my mind," Beiser says. "It was this revelation, that someone could be so raw and leave it all out there."

Not long after, Beiser moved to the States where she embarked on a more unconventional career path, first as a founding member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, then as a globetrotting soloist whose multimedia performances have altered the way audiences think about the cello. But, Beiser never really shook the rock bug, so two years ago, she approached fellow Bang on a Can alum Evan Ziporyn to see if he'd arrange some of her favorite songs by Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd and others. The resulting Uncovered, released on Tuesday, is less of a cover album (think Portland Cello Project or 2Cellos) than a total reimagining of these classics, using the expressive capabilities of the cello (along with some subtle electronics) to peel away our embedded notions of how these songs should sound. It is, according to Beiser, "a journey into the inner layers, untouched surfaces, nameless colors, dazed images." 

Beiser will be performing selections from Uncovered next Thursday (9/4) at LPR, along with additional works written for her by Glenn Kotche, David T. Little and David Lang. I had the chance to chat with Maya on the phone earlier this week about the new album, as well as her thoughts on music in general. Check out her responses below.