Read the Mercury‘s complete Big Ears 2016 coverage here. Visit the Big Ears website for the full lineup and schedule and ticket information.
Contemporary chamber ensemble eighth blackbird performs twice at this year’s Big Ears, once on a bill in collaboration with the National guitarist/composer Bryce Dessner and elusive singer/songwriter Will “Bonnie Prince Billy” Oldham. It seemed fitting, then, to ask the members of eighth blackbird to name some dream collaborations they’d like to see happen. Flutist Nathalie Joachim rose to the bait.
“My dream festival would be a lineup that would pair some of my all-time favorites with some of my current favorites—many of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends,” she says. The following comes from an edited and condensed discussion of her picks.
A Tribe Called Quest (hip-hop legends) + Snarky Puppy (omnivorous jazz-fusion crew)
“A Tribe Called Quest is an institution in terms of hip-hop. To me, what was always so interesting about their work is that, rhythmically, it’s very complex. Snarky Puppy has a way of interacting with artists from all different genres. Their jazz chops are pretty incredible. The rhythmic work from both groups would make for a very interesting combination. One of the strongest things about [eighth blackbird], ensemble-wise, is we all share this strong inner rhythmic pulse, and a lot of the music that we perform is demanding in that way.”
Björk (art-pop goddess) + Roomful of Teeth (contemporary vocal ensemble)
“Björk has a lovely orchestration hand. I know she’s done a lot of work with choirs, and there was an album a few albums ago where she worked entirely with vocal sounds. To me, Roomful of Teeth is a very obvious pairing with her, because I think she would have so much fun with those voices. They have an excellent amalgamation of incredible voices that are all stylistically very different, and their voices all have a variety of strengths in different genres and types of musics.”
Roni Size (drum ’n’ bass titan) + Daughter (UK indie trio)
“I was a kid who grew up really loving playing the flute and loooving drum ’n’ bass music. For me, [Roni Size] is like the godfather of drum ’n’ bass, and in a really lyrical style, which is something you just don’t get from EDM today. [Daughter is] a three-piece band with vocals, guitar, and drums, and Remi [Aguilella], who is their drummer, does a fantastic job in terms of indie-rock drumming in that he doesn’t always rely entirely on just the full kit. You might hear him use a tympani mallet on a snare drum as the tune. In terms of creativity within an indie-rock setting, I think he’s an ultra-creative drummer. I feel like the pairing of the kind of creativity paired with the lyricism of Roni Size’s drum ’n’ bass would be incredible.”
Johannes Brahms (great dead composer) + Aoife O’Donovan (folk-flavored singer/songwriter)
“I could not get away from naming Brahms. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful he is. He plays a lot with rhythm, and plays a lot with harmonic structure in a way that’s so perfect and innovative for his time. He was just a master of gorgeous melody. Aoife is a good friend of mine, and she played here recently at the Chicago Theater, and it was just Aoife and her guitar onstage. And you forgot for a moment you were even in a huge theater. It’s the kind of voice that draws you into feeling it’s just her singing to you in a room. What better melody to give to a voice like that than Brahms?”
Steve Reich (minimalist pillar) + Flying Lotus and Thundercat (pop Afro-futurists)
“Oh my gosh. I just smile so hard to think of this. Steve Reich is very closely inspiring for eighth blackbird. He wrote a double sextet for us. Again, very rhythmic music, but harmonically very interesting. Flying Lotus and Thundercat, I don’t know if everyone is as obsessed with them as I am, but they’re incredible. They’re very virtuosic, ultra-talented, and talk about rhythmic ability in every way possible in every part of the groove. I think this whole crew would have so much fun together. Steve Reich’s music really requires people who can get into a groove and hold onto it and shift it into something else, and I don’t think anybody could do that better than Flying Lotus and Thundercat. They would totally nail it, and it would be a complete mind explosion. I don’t even think I could handle it. I think it would be too much.”
Erykah Badu (soul goddess) + Unknown Mortal Orchestra (soulful indie-pop group)
“I wanted to include [Erykah Badu] because she’s such an inspiration. She’s such a creative mind, beyond being a really talented singer and performer and artist. Everything that she puts forth is a complete package of creativity. I only recently became introduced to Unknown Mortal Orchestra. I get the same sense from them I got from Roni Size back in the day. Very rhythmic aspects, but lyrical as well. If I were going to add a voice to that, it’d be Erykah Badu. Not only would she add an awesome voice, but also a higher level of creativity. And I think it would be a fun show to be at.”
eighth blackbird performs music by David Lang, Bryce Dessner, Frederic Rzewski, and Will Oldham with Dessner and Oldham at the Tennessee Theatre (604 S. Gay St.) on Friday, April 1, at 7 p.m. Later that night, at 10 p.m., the group will play music by Big Ears 2016 composer in residence John Luther Adams, Philip Glass, and Richard Reed Parry at the Sanctuary (211 W. 5th Ave.).
Share this Post