The Republic is thrilled to end the year on a very special high with a wonderful and rare visit from France
by one of Australia's greatest improvisers...
WILL GUTHRIE
[drums and percussion]
THIS THURSDAY December 29th
at 7.30 p.m. [doors at 7]
Will Guthrie is an Australian drummer / percussionist living in France. He plays solo using different combinations of drums, percussion, amplification and electronics, and leads the contemporary hybrid percussion / gamelan group ENSEMBLE NIST-NAH. His music has been released on labels such as Black Truffle, Editions Mego, Ipecac, Erstwhile, Clean Feed, Gaffer Records, Hasana Editions, 23five, iDEAL and his own label Antboy Music.
Guthrie first made a name for himself within the Australian jazz scene, establishing himself at a young age as a major presence by winning the Wangaratta National Jazz Awards for drums in 1997 and going on to perform with many of Australia’s most celebrated jazz musicians such as Mark Simmonds, Julien Wilson and Ren Walters. In the new millennium, his work took a long detour away from the drum kit through junk electronics, extreme amplification and electro-acoustic techniques, documented on a series of solo and collaborative recordings from these years.
Alongside his electro-acoustic work, in the last decade Guthrie has returned to the drums with a vengeance, performing relentless solo rhythmic workouts to earth-quaking explorations of the bass frequencies of gongs and other metal percussion instruments. In the crowded world of free jazz/improv percussion, Guthrie’s work is distinguished from the delicately pointillist approach of much European improvisation by its rhythmic sophistication, unashamed virtuosity and undeniable physicality, touching on aspects of world musics from Javanese gamelan to South Indian Carnatic music.
As a dedicated grassroots and DIY concert organiser, while still a student in Melbourne Guthrie (alongside Ren Walters) established the weekly concert series ‘Improvised Tuesdays’, now known as the Make It Up Club, Australia’s longest running performance series for improvised and experimental music. On moving to Nantes, Guthrie joined the collective CABLE#, curating and organising regular concerts and an annual festival.
Regular collaborators past and present include Oren Ambarchi, James Rushford, Sarah Hennies, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Mark Fell, Roscoe Mitchell, Mark Simmonds, Jérôme Noetinger, Keith Rowe, David Maranha, Ava Mendoza, the film maker Hangjun Lee and choreographer/dancer Mette Ingvartsen.
NOTE THAT WILL'S MOST RECENT RELEASES AND OTHER ALBUMS ON THE EXCELLENT BLACK TRUFFLE LABEL WILL BE AVAILABLE AT SPECIAL PRICES ON THE NIGHT
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WILL HERE
ALL PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC EVENTS ARE FREE
WITH GENEROUS DONATIONS INVITED
AND ENCOURAGED
PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS A CASH-ONLY EVENT
SO PLEASE BRING ALONG PLENTY
OF THOSE QUAINT COLOURED RECTANGLES
PLEASE REPLY TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS A.S.A.P. FOR FULL DETAILS AND TO CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE
OUR EVENTS ARE B.Y.O.
please bring along any beverages you wish
but no food is allowed