Updates from the Zorn-orbit

Big Ears, Johnnie's drawing exhibition, Zorn-orbit musicians in Europe... and more!

Sup Lovers?

I know it’s been a little while since my last post, and you’re probably wondering, “Hey Flake, what gives?” Have no fear, dear reader – there is much in the Fladik pipeline…

A few years ago I applied for a Big Ears Festival press pass because I wanted to see Johnnie’s 70th birthday shows. Fate swung the pendulum in the opposite direction for me back then, and they turned down my application. The following year I was dealing with personal shit, and also the release of Days of Zorn II, so I was unable to apply a second time. But this year, with over a year’s worth of press work for The Free Jazz Collective, and three published books under my belt, I am excited to announce that I have been accepted for a press accreditation for Big Ears 2025! I have butterflies in my stomach to think how far this journalism career has come in the space of just a few short years. I am shitting myself about the pressure of having to produce a four day report about the Mecca of avant-garde, but I also know that I have worked my ass off to get where I am, and I’m confident that if anyone can pull this off, it’s gonna be meeee! I gotta start making bracelets – fucking EVERYONE is gonna be there!

So that’s the first part of my super exciting news. The second part is that I got an email from Johnnie (!!!) totally unprompted and outta the blue! He was psyched about his new art exhibition at The Drawing Center, and invited me to send some copies of Days of Zorn I + II to be stocked at the bookstore of the exhibition. I could hardly believe my eyes when I read it!! Naturally I said yes, and the copies are in the post as we speak. Johnnie also informed me of the monthly concerts that he will be hosting to accompany the exhibition. He asked if I wanted to consider making the trip and coming over for the occasion. I checked out the dates of the shows: one of them was Cobra, April 5th. This was just one week after Big Ears! I set about trying to pull some strings and after a long conversation with American Airlines I was able to get my ticket changed – NEW YORK, I’M COMING BACK, BABY! So it looks like I’ll be in the hood from March 31 to April 6. Hopefully I'll be able to do a bunch of hobnobbing, shoulder rubbing, clout chasing, and name dropping in those seven short days!

God knows, the last time I went to New York I did so much, I was able to milk four blog-articles out of the experience…

As far as listening recommendations go, I cannot rate Nate Wooley’s Henry House highly enough. It’s out now on Ideologic Organ, and it’s an enormous undertaking, coming in at around 80 minutes. I won’t go on about it too much here because I just wrote a big review for the Free Jazz Blog but I will say this: fans of deep, melancholic spoken word, and meticulous, subtle overtones should not miss this gem. Listen to it the whole way through for an impactful finish. I loved it.

The last time I saw Nate was when he was playing with Sylvie Courvoisier's sextet, Chimaera. Speaking of which, earlier this month, Sylvie brought an incredible trio to the Unterfahrt Jazz Club in Munich, along with Kenny Wollesen and Drew Gress. It’s a real thrill watching these three together, but it was just as much fun watching the crowd too. The guy sitting behind Sylvie had an uninterrupted view of her keys, and could not seem to get the grin off his face. He was shaking his head in disbelief at Sylvie’s inhumanly precise playing. I think he summed up how the rest of us were feeling! With the addition of Kenny’s cartoony, free drumming and Drew’s perfect bass accompaniment, the show was a great success, garnering huge applause.

Afterwards, a number of fans approached the trio for autographs and chats. Although exhausted from a long trip from Ljubljana, Sylvie was very down to earth, and spoke to each of them. The running theme was “I’m speechless!” and “My mind is blown!” If you haven’t seen this group play, I can obviously, warmly recommend it.

…and, naturally, with this gang, there’s always time to squeeze in just one last selfie for the road. :)

Saying goodbye to the group, I was reminded that I would see them playing with Nate and the rest of Chimaera at Big Ears, but this time they would be joined by Ikue Mori instead of Christian Fennesz.

Back in December I took a three hour drive to go and see Fennesz play a solo set in Wels, Austria. I was invited backstage to hang out with him and his partner Mira, who is also his manager. While we were back there, I noticed some really cool posters on the walls from the past including Masada shows, Naked City, Patti Smith, and more!

Fennesz is a really introverted person, but his music is so commanding. If you closed your eyes you could feel the vibrations through the floor resonating up your entire body. The concert was standing, and there were only about 100 people present. The curtain dividers had been pulled across so the room didn't feel so massive and the ceilings were really high, giving it an industrial lofty feel.

Normally when Fennesz is playing in ensembles he is seated, but for this performance he was standing, his gear spread out over two tall tables. Occasionally he would pick up his guitar to produce a few sparse, effect-heavy notes. But he doesn't require much more than this to produce an expansive wall of lush, ambient, glistening sound.

The pieces performed were almost, if not all from Mosaic. I had just listened to the album that day on Bandcamp. Some of the melodies were still fresh in my memory; I had enjoyed them so much while sitting in the office. Now booming out over the huge speakers, there was something immensely satisfying about enjoying this music in such a big room, as opposed to on a tiny office speaker. The crowd gently swayed along to the beatless works. Some kind of nodded along as if in agreement with the beautiful sound. Someone dropped a fart and then made a swift exit to the right side of the stage, leaving behind only an empty beer mug. Fortunately this was right at the end of the show so I was able to applaud, then equally swiftly vacate and get some fresh air. (For the record, it wasn’t me.)

I am a very sneaky girl, who loves to play jokes. At some point last year I managed to sneak a glow-in-the-dark FLAKE sticker onto the side of Elias Stemeseder’s Prophet synth. He didn’t notice it for several weeks, much to my amusement. Eventually he found it, but he told me he loves it, and he's gonna keep it there. This has been some top tier stealth advertising for me, as the sticker has appeared in some pretty epic places! Here is my personal favourite, alongside fellow maestro Craig Taborn:

#flakespotting

Here are a few more musicians I have managed to initiate recently… Émile Parisien and the Exhaust trio of Camila Nebbia, Kit Downes & Andrew Lisle. I enjoyed Émile’s show, but Exhaust was fucking mind-blowingly good.

One final update for the day: I am well underway on my fourth book, set for release in early July. The name of the book is READY TO DIE FOR XIU XIU. This time I'm going at it alone - the Zorn/Zappa Consultant is taking a break this time, and I'm going full force into 22 albums and EP’s from my favourite band ever, Xiu Xiu. It might seem a far cry from the Zorn orbit, but it’s actually a lot closer than you would imagine. Ches Smith, Mary Halvorson, Shayna Dunkelman, Tim Berne, and Shahzad Ismaily have all had involvement at some point or another with Xiu Xiu, along with a tonne of other really interesting experimental/noise crossover projects: Merzbow, Grouper, Perfume Genius, Swans, Deerhoof, Sharon Van Etten, and many more.

One parallel with Zorn/Zappa is that Xiu Xiu’s catalogue is both enormously varied, and consistently brilliant. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but the musicianship, originality, and musical innovation is awe-inspiring. I truly believe that if you are a fan of my previous works about Johnnie and Frankie, that you’ll trust me on this one and come along for the ride. All aboard the Xiu Xiu train - “Shoo - shoooo!”

Ready to die.

So, it’s with all this in mind that I ask you humbly to be patient with me on the Fladik News during March and April. I am still here, but I am working my ass off on this new book, AND on covering one of the biggest avant-garde festivals on the planet. Believe me, even if it takes a while, the next updates are going to be some of my very best. ;-)

Love,
FLAKE
CEO Fladik