“An action painter behind the kit; his gentle firework polyrhythms are a mesmerizing spectacle to behold.” The New Yorker
On the back of the swift and frankly phenomenal success of Springtime, his new art-rock/free jazz/ experimental noise trio with pianist Chris Abrahams (The Necks) and vocalist/guitarist Gareth Liddiard (The Drones, Tropical F*ckstorm), internationally renowned drummer Jim White is set to appear as a featured artist at Melbourne’s Rising Festival in June, and will perform at Vivid Sydney that same month.
Along an inspired career path the Melbourne-born/New York-based White has garnered an international reputation for his singular approach to the drums and is noted for his musical questing and penchant for collaboration. From such early Melbourne punk outfits as Venom P Stinger and People With Chairs Up Their Noses to cult instrumental rock trio Dirty Three, White has continued to explore and experiment across a range of guises.
In tandem with his own projects White is also an in-demand collaborator, playing on such albums as Cat Power‘s Moon Pix and Jukebox; Bill Callahan‘s A River Ain’t Too Much To Love and Supper; Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy‘s The Letting Go; PJ Harvey‘s White Chalk; CW Stoneking‘s Jungle Blues; and Daniel Blumberg‘s Minus and On & On & On & On. He has worked with Mary Margaret O’Hara and the late Hal Willner.
White’s decade-long musical partnership with Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) includes an ongoing collaboration with filmmaker Jem Cohen. He has also written and performed the music for More Up A Tree, a dance performance created with mixed media artist Eve Sussman and dancer Claudia de Serpa Soares for BAM’s Next Wave/Performa, a piece that subsequently toured Europe and Australia and was included on the New York Time’s Best of the Year list.
By way of acknowledging White’s achievements and maverick, boundaries-down spirit, Rising Festival finds him in four separate and equally compelling incarnations. His duo with classically trained American folk experimentalist Marisa Anderson will make its Australian debut, following the blanket acclaim that met their freely improvised 2020 album The Quickening on Thrill Jockey.
There’s The Double, in which White and American guitarist Emmett Kelly reprise their singular new rhythm ‘the double’ – think today’s beat, tomorrow – an intense meditation whose danceability will be celebrated by dancer and choreographer Jo Lloyd. There is Ed Kuepper with Jim White, a pairing that brings together two supreme stylists in ways shamanic and unpredictable, whether delivering fresh material or refashioning Saints anthems into new shapes.
And then there is Xylouris White featuring master Cretan lute player and singer Giorgos Xylouris, a Billboard chart-topping duo that has been blowing fire since 2013, and whose albums – including a soon-to-be released fifth recording – have each been produced by the aforementioned Picciotto.
White will also play two shows at the Sydney Opera House during Vivid: The Double will support Brooklyn avant-garde punk stars The Liars, and Ed Kuepper with Jim White will unleash their might on the Harbour.
RISING:
BANG STOP: Jim White and Emmett Kelly with Jo Lloyd
Wed June 1 – tbc
XYLOURIS WHITE (co-headline with ARAB STRAP)
Fri June 3 – The Forum
ED KUEPPER WITH JIM WHITE
Wed June 8 – The Forum (upstairs)
JIM WHITE & MARISA ANDERSON
Thu June 9 – The Forum (upstairs)
VIVID
ED KUEPPER WITH JIM WHITE
Sat May 28 – Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre
JIM WHITE & EMMETT KELLY – THE DOUBLE (opening for The Liars)
Tue May 31 – Sydney Opera House, The Studio
All shows on-sale now via feelpresents.com
PRESS QUOTES
“As a meeting of minds, Anderson and White are a well-matched duo with a similar
creative aesthetic… there is plenty of magic as these two masters intertwine their
ample talents.” AllMusic
“Could The Double spawn a new dance craze? The answer is in and it’s F*CK YES!”
LA Times
“White’s intuitive improvising extended to spontaneous orchestration, so that even
while the guitar pursued Kuepper’s preferred primality, the surrounding colours,
textures and densities were in constant flux.” Sydney Morning Herald
nods reval their shared intuition… endlessly and joyously fluctuating.”
The Guardian
Ed Kuepper with Jim White Collapse Board
Xylouris White Forging
Dirty Three ft. Nick Cave Sea Above Sky Below
Venom P. Stinger Walking About