David Grubbs + Kalia Vandever

Gastr del Sol, Bastro, Squirrel Bait. David Grubbs is a key figure of the US post-rock and experimental guitar scene, a renowned professor of music and author of numerous acclaimed books and publications on avant-garde tendencies and phenomena in 20th and 21st century music. Grubbs will present his solo guitar project in Prague on Sunday, November 3, in a double show alongside experimental trombonist Kalie Vandever. Both will also be guests at the next edition of Synapse Knowledge, MeetFactory's series of educational music events, held before the concert. A ticket for the concert also guarantees entry to the lectures.

After playing in formative alternative bands in the 80s and 90s — from the cult post-hardcore teen outfit Squirrel Bait, to Bastro who fused early math-rock with raucous improvisation, to Gastr del Sol, the adventurous experimental project formed together with Jim O'Rourke — in 1997, David Grubbs embarks on a solo career defined by a close collaboration with Chicago-based label Drag City and (thus far) fourteen exceptional studio albums.

Grubbs' passion for music and sound has got him into academia, and he is currently teaching at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, CUNY. He is also an active writer. His first full-length book, Records Ruin the Landscape: John Cage, the Sixties, and Sound Recording​ published in 2014, explores explores the disdain many 1960s experimental musicians had for recorded music due to its inherent limiting qualities, and compares that mindset to today's era of infinite streaming. This was followed by a number of other titles, such as the imaginative text Now that the audience is assembled which focuses on​ the categories of improvised music, solo performance, text scores and instrument building. ​Good night the pleasure was ours recasts Grubbs' three decades of playing music into a book-length poem.

In his solo, mostly instrumental music, Grubbs pushes the boundaries of contemporary guitar music through minimalist, adventurous, often improvised compositions. He will perform live at MeetFactory on Sunday, November 3.

Opening the night will be trombonist, composer, Grammy winner and one of the most distinctive voices on the contemporary jazz scene, Kalia Vandever. Her approach to the trombone is distinctive and defined by her sonorous tone and lyrical improvisational voice. "Vandever sculpts her trombone's golden tones into dazzling compositions." — Pitchfork

Running Order:
15:00 Synapse Knowledge
20:00 Kalia Vandever
21:00 David Grubbs

Tickets:
490 CZK via MeetFactory & GoOut
550 CZK at the door

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