Interlaken is a solo sound artist who opened this triple bill at the surreal venue Lyric Hall in the Westville section of New Haven. This young man sat at a small table in front of the stage with what looked like a flugelhorn case stuffed with wires and connectors. I told him it looked like he was playing battleship with the crowd. The beats and synth sounds that emanated from the case were washes of sound that felt like trippy instrumental soundtrack music.
Rob Noyes has been positively reviewed in this blog before. Rob plays a 12-string acoustic at a feverish pace. His instrumental originals remind me of a cross between Leo Kottke and Jack Rose. Chatting with Rob between sets, I learn that he hails from Boston and has a day job running the warehouse and distribution for the excellent Forced Exposure Record label. Forced Exposure specializes in limited pressings of electronic and avant garde music. I asked if he ever dabbled in other stringed instruments (like Laraaji's zither), to which he responded that he likes to focus on one thing at a time. I' m happy to report that it is very evident that Rob's focus appears in his expert picking.
Headliner Laraaji is an African-American musician who plays a zither as well as a variety of percussion instruments. Dressed entirely in red, the stage was adorned with red-orange tapestries and carpets. A female musician who played thumb piano, shakers, and bells was also dressed in red and orange joined him onstage. The setting looked like an m-80 went off in the burnt Siena section of a crayola box. The music is classified as ambient or new age and has been derided as muzak for hippies. In a live setting, Laraaji makes for a compelling listen. He plucks, strums, and uses brushes on the amplified zither. He played gong and electronic nature sounds as well as singing and laughing. Laraaji was discovered and befriended by Brian Eno while he was busking in Washington Square Park in the 80s.
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