Ancienne Belgique

About this concert

DOMINO: LOU REED'S METAL MACHINE TRIO: A NIGHT OF DEEP NOISE

Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio: MM3 will be performing A NIGHT OF DEEP NOISE and features Lou Reed on processed and unprocessed guitars, Ulrich Krieger on tenor sax and live-electronics, and Sarth Calhoun on continuum & live processing.  NO SONGS.
 
“The greatest album ever made” (Lester Bangs)
 
One of the most controversial albums in music history was released in 1975: ‘Metal Machine Music’ (with the strange subtitle ‘The Amine β Ring) by Lou Reed. On this double album: four tracks (‘Metal Machine Music, part I’ till ‘Metal Machine Music, part IV’) consisting of pure noise, distortion, drones and feedback that were each, exactly, 16 minutes and 1 second in length. All recorded on a 4-track in his apartment in New York. It was also released just after his successful albums ‘Transformer’ (’72), ‘Berlin’ (‘73) and ‘Sally Can’t Dance’ (’74). Reed cited his influences as being the work of minimalist La Monte Young’s Theater of Eternal Music , which included amongst its members the likes of John Cale and Tony Conrad. Avant garde composers Iannis Xenakis and Karlheinz Stockhausen were also mentioned. In the liner notes, Lou Reed noted: “Most of you won’t like this, and I don’t blame you at all.” He proved to be right too…
 
Rolling Stone described the album as "the tubular groaning of a galactic refrigerator" and as “as displeasing to experience as a night in a bus terminal". ‘The Worst Rock 'n' Roll Records Of All Time’ was released in '91, in which Reed’s ‘MMM’ adorned the number two spot. Q placed the album at number 4 in their ‘Worst Albums Of All Time’ chart in ’05. Even so: time always tells...
And see: Lou Reed’s ‘Metal Machine Music’ has had a revival in the past decade. As soundtrack for installations in museums, as recognition by noise-performers like Japanese noise-master Merzbow (his first cassette from ’81 was titled ‘Metal Acoustic Music’) or Norwegian Jazkamer (who released a CD under the title ‘Metal Music Machine)’ or as a ‘piece of art’  an sich (see: the performance of ‘MMM’ by German ensemble Zeitkratzer).
In the meantime, there's quite a fan base: Sonic Youth used pieces of ‘MMM’ on their album ‘Bad Moon Rising’, ‘Tranquilize’ by The Killers refers to ‘MMM’ and Lou Reed himself is once again fan of his ‘piece of art’ that will be 35-years-old in 2010. To mark the occasion, he will be touring with his Metal Machine Trio containing New Yorker Sart Alhoun and German Ulrich Krieger (see: his collaboration with Merzbow, Lee Ranaldo,…).
In April ’09 he performed his Metal Machine Trio in the Gramercy Theatre. Rolling Stone wrote of it: “Although the music was played in the same spirit as the original album, it had much more direction, making it more listenable.” Things can change.
 
Live-tracks from a previous two-dayer, where Reed performed in LA with his trio, can be heard (and bought) via: www.loureed.com/metalmachinetrio/ Just so you don't get a complete shock on the night.

Line up:
LOU REED: processed and unprocessed guitars
ULRICH KRIEGER: tenor sax & live electronics
SARTH ALHOUN: continuum & live processing

With the support of   and