Vicky Chow EPK

Vicky Chow – Tristan Perich: Surface Image from New Amsterdam Records on Vimeo.

VICKY CHOW ANNOUNCES SURFACE IMAGE,
NEW ALBUM-LENGTH COMPOSITION FROM TRISTAN PERICH

DUE OCTOBER 28, 2014 VIA NEW AMSTERDAM RECORDS

New Amsterdam Records is proud to announce Surface Image, the new album-length composition for solo piano with 40-channel 1-bit electronics, composed by Tristan Perich and performed by pianist Vicky Chow. Surface Image will see a release on October 28, 2014. New Amsterdam has released a trailer that features a brief performance clip and gives some visual insight into the concept that isn’t as apparent on first listen. There will also be an album release show at MoMA PS1 on October 19.

Surface Image is a stunning marriage of Perich’s inspired electronic aesthetic and Chow’s nuanced yet fiercely virtuosic playing. It’s a landmark release for Perich, being his first major release focusing solely on his work, as well as his first large-scale piano composition. Chow’s dynamic performance is swept up in a sublime flurry of dazzling 1-bit sounds, simultaneously entangling and unraveling over the hour long journey. The line between electric and organic is artistically blurred, as the simple hand-wired electronics fuse with the individual notes of the piano on the same, expansive plane.

Through a string of groundbreaking works pairing acoustic instruments with hand-made 1-bit electronics, Perich has transformed the way in which traditional forms of composition can be enhanced and reinvigorated by the aesthetic simplicity of math, physics, and code. Perich’s name splashed onto the scene with 2004’s 1-Bit Music (the first album ever released as a self-contained microchip embedded in a jewel case) and since then his 1-bit compositions (like 2010’s 1-Bit Symphony) have flourished: growing steadily in size, scope, and ambition.

Canadian pianist Vicky Chow has been described as “brilliant” (New York Times) and “one of the new stars of new music” (Los Angeles Times). She has premiered works by a slew of iconic composers – from Steve Reich to Bryce Dessner – and is a member of New York’s preeminent Bang on a Can All-Stars. Chow also recently created an arrangement of “The Rite of Spring” for solo piano, of which she gave multiple performances during the centennial celebration, including a live streamed performance from WNYC’s The Greene Space on May 29th, 2013 – the exact day the work was premiered in Paris 100 years earlier.

Surface Image premiered on February 19, 2013 at Roulette in Brooklyn, NY. During live performances, Chow’s piano can be seen nested in a sea of cables and circuit boards, each powering one of the 40 loudspeakers hand-wired by Perich to serve as his electric orchestra. The immense work was later later recorded at EMPAC’s sound studio, helmed by producer Argeo Ascani and mix engineer Jeffrey Svatek. The enormous scope and power of Surface Image’s live aesthetic is captured in vivid detail by this recording, which places the listener at the center of Perich and Chow’s sublime cacophony.

Upcoming performances:
10/19 – MoMA PS1 (Album Release Show) – New York, NY