Julius Eastman is the first artist in our new series Erased Music, which will run over the next three years. His work is the perfect place to start a series on musicians who have been unjustly forgotten and who are worthy of being placed back into the spotlight. Eastman was a composer, pianist and singer from New York. He wrote much more aggressive and haunting minimal music than that of his famous colleagues Philip Glass and Steve Reich. A homosexual African-American, he died in 1990, leaving behind works such as Evil N****r and Gay Guerilla. His pieces will be played by the Grammy-nominated ensemble Wild Up from Los Angeles which specialises in Eastman’s music.

The first of the concerts in the Erased Music series is Julius Eastman's Buddha. This unique composition is not limited to a specific instrumentation, number of musicians or length. Instead, the one-page score leaves plenty of room for interpretation. It is more of a guide, a predetermined framework within which Wild Up can move freely. The repetition of the few notes gives the concert an almost meditative character, which can be broken up again at any time. This freedom for the musicians means that each concert is a unique, unrepeatable experience.

More details here.

YP joining Wild Up ensemble on piano