Summer 2024

We kicked off the summer with a private performance in the Paris region of a new piece for 60 electric guitars. Since then, I’ve been working on a version of this piece for 8-12 electric guitars. As soon as its finished we’ll schedule a performance in Paris; watch this page for an announcement.

As some of you may know, I’m also a professional astrologer (https://rhysastrology.fr) specializing in traditional astrology (ancient/medieval/renaissance). Much of the summer was devoted to an intense study of the work of the medieval astrologers Abu Ma’shar and Sahl B. Bishr at my usual summer retreat in the French Pyrenees, but while I was there, I did a series of podcast interviews with Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid.

I’ve posted them below. Each interview is about 45-minutes long:

Part 1: Click here for YouTube link. The link will open in a new window.

I was interviewed by Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid for his music podcast. This is Part 1 of a three or perhaps even a four-part series.

I talk about my early influences and musical activities up to CBGB and the mid-seventies. In Part 2 we’ll start with the Ramones and Talking Heads at CBGB, and take things from there.

Part 2: Click here for YouTube link.

Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid has been doing a series of podcasts with me. In Part 1 we talked about my early beginnings with music, which were largely classically influenced.

Here is a link to Part 2. We speak about the punk and no wave scene in downtown NY of the mid to late 70s. We start with CBGB and Max’s Kansas City and finish with Guitar Trio (G3) and Drastic Classicism, with a lot of talk (and people!) in between!

Part 3: Click here for YouTube link.

Here is Part 3 of the podcast Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid did with me. Dennis gives the description of what we covered:

“A great podcast as Rhys spoke about his early days in New York City in the 1970’s playing and learning from the likes of La Monte Young &Terry Riley in the world of avant-garde music! In this podcast we talk about Rhys’ time playing with his music in the early 80’s playing with Peter Gordon, Arthur Russell in the Love of Life Orchestra, and his time playing at CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City.”

Part 4: Click here for YouTube link.

Here is the final part of the interview Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid did with me for his podcast.

In Part 4 we talked about the two albums I put out on Ninja Tune in the nineties, one album with Martin Wheeler and the other with Jonathan Kane and Danny Hamilton. We also discussed a CD that came out on the Wire Editions with Gary Smith, Pat Thomas and Mieko Suzuki.

We review my first piece for 100 electric guitars from 1989, An Angel Moves to Fast to See with Jonathan Kane on drums and Ernie Brooks on bass, and then we had a long discussion about Jeff Hunt, Tony Conrad and the Table of the Elements Records, who put out virtually all of my work from the early seventies to the early 2000s.

We discussed their release of the Paris version of Crimson Grail, and how Jeff Hunt organized a 12-city tour of Guitar Trio in the States, resulting in the release of Guitar Trio is My Life on Table of the Elements Records. We also spoke of the outdoor version of Crimson Grail at Lincoln Center, which appeared on a double bill with Liquid Liquid! We finished the interview by speaking of my recent collaborations with Charlemagne Palestine, Ghédalia Tazartès, released on SubRosa, with Oneida on Northern Spy, with Zev on EntreFer Records, , David Fenech on Klang Gallerie, and a forthcoming release with Nico Guerrero on Erototox Decondings.

—ooOoo—

Spring 2024

Spring has arrived in Paris and we’re having a record party on Tuesday, 30 April at Souffle Continu, a wonderful record store specializing in the cutting edge of all genres of music.

Here’s the record cover, it’s a limited edition (200 copies) Entrefer Edition #018 – 2024:

And here is more info on the concert, first in French, then english, then French again:

Retrouvons-nous autour du label Entrefer qui présentera deux sorties, celle de Rhys Chatham & Z’EV, ainsi que celle de Carbon Sink ‘’Climatic Paragon’’, en vinyle les deux. La première est issue d’une collaboration entre Rhys Chatham et Z’EV dont on s’étonne qu’elle soit si tardive, tant leurs vies se sont croisées et qui nous happe musicalement par son aspect prémonitoire… La seconde est un double album intitulé “Climatic Paragon”, qui correspond à l’aboutissement de dix ans de collaboration artistique et musicale, dix ans de field recordings, dix ans de fabrication d’instruments DIY, dix ans de concerts et d’installations sonores et enfin dix ans de réflexion sur l’état du monde traduits en musique.

Évènement en 3 parties (1 duo et 2 solos) !!! Et nous fêterons par la même, les 10 ans du label !!!

In English: Let’s gather around the Entrefer label, which will be presenting two releases: Rhys Chatham & Z’EV, and Carbon Sink’s “Climatic Paragon”, both on vinyl. The first is the result of a collaboration between Rhys Chatham and Z’EV, which we’re surprised to find so late in the day, given the way their lives have intersected. The second is a double album entitled “Climatic Paragon”, the culmination of ten years of artistic and musical collaboration, ten years of field recordings, ten years of DIY instrument making, ten years of concerts and sound installations, and finally ten years of reflection on the state of the world translated into music.

A 3-part event (1 duo and 2 solos)! And at the same time, we’ll be celebrating the label’s 10th anniversary!

Augustin Braud (Ohr Hiemis) viendra également présenter son album ‘’Opal Spine’’. Compositeur, chercheur et multi-instrumentiste, Augustin Braud collabore avec de nombreux ensembles français et internationaux, dédiés à la musique de notre temps. Sur ce premier album, Braud synthétise des matériaux écrits et improvisés à travers quatre pièces entrelacées, structurées autour de synthétiseurs modulaires, autant que de guitares sursaturées, mêlant une noise expérimentale venimeuse, instillée depuis le plus sombre abysse à un constructivisme acousmatique rigoureux.

Magali Sanheira – platine, cymbales, guitare, suspension, archets motorisés, bois, pierre, objets, effets.

Gaël Angelis – plaque de cuivre amplifiée, pierres, métal rouillé, coquillages, sampler modulaire, DIY Enigma synth, daf, sticks motorisés, field recordings.

Rhys Chatham – trompette en si bémol, flûte traversière en do, flûtes alto et basse, guitare électrique.

Rhys Chatham est un compositeur, guitariste, et flûtiste de Manhattan, vivant actuellement à Paris. qui a modifié l’ADN du rock et créé un nouveau type de musique urbaine en fusionnant le minimalisme minimalisme saturé d’harmoniques du début des années 60 avec la fureur implacable et élémentaire des Ramones – les subtilités texturales de l’avant-garde se heurtent au punch viscéral du punk rock à la guitare électrique.

http://entrefer.zd.fr/rhys-chatham-zev/

Carbon Sink
Gaël Angelis et Magali Sanheira sont un duo d’artistes plasticiens et musiciens autodidactes, ils créent des systèmes d’amplification et des systèmes électromécaniques “auto-génératifs“, permettant d’activer des objets et matériaux par frottements, percussions ou vibrations. Leur musique nous propulse dans un paysage noise empreint de mélancolie, une musique à la fois concrète et organique. Une expression radicale et évocatrice d’un monde et d’une nature qui s’abiment.

http://entrefer.zd.fr/carbon-sink-climatic-paragon/

Augustin Braud – synthés modulaires.

‘’Opal Spine’’ fait référence à la fragilité osseuse autant qu’à l’équilibre instable entre l’organicité et la mécanisation croissante de notre société. Donnant le ton avec une lecture musicale du ‘’Psaume’’ de Celan (No one incants our dust), l’album culmine paradoxalement dans l’effondrement et le vide. À la jonction des années 2022 et 2023, Braud a fait l’expérience de la transition entre une zone essentiellement rurale et Paris, n’emportant avec lui que quelques effets personnels et un nombre réduit d’instruments. Le résultat est une compilation d’instantanés de matériaux devenant des pièces à part entière par le biais d’un processus de sédimentation itinérant, des tentatives d’appropriation instrumentale autant qu’un amarrage fantasmé à un foyer futur.

https://ohrhiemis.bandcamp.com/album/opal-spine


Later on in the spring, we are preparing for a convergence of les 100 guitares. Our team is busy preparing the guitar strings and everybody is working on their tremolos. Stay tuned to this page, more details will appear as the time approaches.


Winter 2024

Update on winter events:

I have some music playing in an installation by Raphaele Shirley in NYC opening 6 March at the Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Gallery. The show is open through 18 May 2024.

Here is Raphaele’s announcement of the opening:

Raphaele Shirley writes:

It’s almost show time @waldkimgallery . Upcoming “ Time is Light “ I’m exhibiting with @annafrants and @alexandradementi opening this coming March 6 from 6-8pm 417 lafayette street 2nd floor .

On my side “ 3 tone ephemeral” with original soundscape created with Rhys Chatham. Integrated into the piece his most elevated “Crimson Grail (G200)“ performed with approx 200 live guitarists at the Basilique Sacre Coeur of Paris in 2005 . For 3 tone ephemeral Rhys responds to “Crimson Grail” and to the receptacle of my light sculpture by creating recordings of himself playing solo flute, guitar and trumpet .

Rhys’ solos play in each light cube in lieu of his own presence, hence almost in person, separated by a few wavelengths of light .. Within the space of these transtemporal sounds the visuals resonate with frames of color. The mutual dynamics creating an echo chamber for the senses.

3 tone ephemeral was originally conceived as live performance element for 3by3by3 with Rhys and GH Hovagimyan.

Big thank you to Harvestworks for their generous support for the development of this idea. Thanks to waldkimgallery and odelettecho for the support and beautiful venue and opportunity to give this concept a physical presence.

Click here for WalkKim Gallery website


Solo concert @ La Mécanique Ondulatoire -Paris, FRANCE

We had a great time last night at La Mécanique Ondulatoire. I did a solo followed by Abstract Concrete (with Charles Hayward and Agathe Max amoung others).

Here are some photos of the show taken by my friend Sebastien Greppo:

This show took place on Saturday, 3 February 2024 to a packed house. It was the premier of a new set for me on (of course), electric guitar, alto and C transversal flutes, and (get this!) I crooned for the final movement of the set to the pounding rhythms of electronic dance music in a tribute to my beloved vocal master, La Monte Young.

Here are some more pictures from the evening by Isabelle Forestier:

To book this set, don’t hesitate to contact us at either Tippex Agency or rhyschathamnewsàyahoo.fr

Winter 2023

I’m delighted to announce the release of my duet album with David Fenech, TomorrowStartsTonight. The album has been released on CD on the KlangGalerie label. This is our first duo album. I’m very happy to have recorded this album with David. It was a wonderful musical and human encounter. We composed a long piece in a minimalist spirit, where our two guitars meet and merge with my trumpets, flutes and voice and David’s small percussion instruments. The record was mastered by James Plotkin.

David Fenech is a French composer, guitarist and singer. His style has been described as ‘a kind of punk musique concrète’ He uses the studio as an instrument, using a large panel of recording techniques. He has played and recorded with musicians such as Nurse With Wound, Felix Kubin, Jad Fair, Tom Cora, Pascal Comelade, Jac Berrocal, Ghédalia Tazartès, James Plotkin, Shugo Tokumaru, Ergo Phizmiz, Pierre Bastien, and many others.

He also plays improvisation on electric guitar with musicians such as Gino Robair, Tom Cora, Jac Berrocal, Andrea Parkins and has also played duets with musicians like Felix Kubin, Jad Fair, Ergo Phizmiz, Klimperei, James Plotkin, Shugo Tokumaru, Ghédalia Tazartès, etc. He has also worked as a software developer at IRCAM and more recently at L-Acoustics

He has run a micro-label Demosaurus that has published 2 cds (Ghédalia Tazartès and Frank Pahl).

In 2009, David began working with the cornetist Jac Berrocal. This collaboration resulted in a record as a trio with Ghédalia Tazartès (Superdisque, on Sub Rosa) and more recently trios with Jac Berrocal + Vincent Epplay (3 albums) or with Jac Berrocal + Jason Willett (Christmas in March – Megaphone / Knock Em Dead)

David (left) and Rhys 6 October 2023 at Café de Paris, Paris 11 – Photo: Ben Lx.

click on the photo above to hear an excerpt from the album on YouTube, or click here.

This just in !

On 3rd February 2024 in Paris, I’m delighted to be opening for my good buddies Charles Hayward and Agathe Max at Mécanique Ondulatoire, who will be playing in Charles’ new group Abstract Concrete, with Agathe, Roberto Sassi, Yoni Silver and Otto Willbert.

Me? In addition to electric guitar (of ce!) I’m gonna be crooning over homemade EDM grooves. THAT will be a first!

Click on image or click here for more details on FB.


This film of G3 will premiere on YouTube today (Friday, 22 December) at 4:15 pm EST, here is the info:

Table of the Elements continues to divulge treasures from its 30-plus-year archive with this epic performance by pioneering composer Rhys Chatham. Utilizing multiple electric guitars and a single chord, 1977’s “Guitar Trio” is Chatham’s signature work, and a euphoric, minimal-punk classic.

This 2005 “Guitar Army” version was documented by filmmaker Tyler Hubby (Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present) during Table of the Elements Festival #3 at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. It’s an all-star ensemble on rigorous, determined mission.

Featured performers include Jonathan Kane (Swans, La Monte Young), Ernest Brooks III (Modern Lovers), Doug McCombs (Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day), Chris Brokaw (Codeine, Come), David Daniell (Loren Connors, Fennesz), and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), with original video by Robert Longo.

Click here for FB link



Autumn news – 2023

Rhys Chatham Solo 2023


In the shimmering spectacle of modernity, where the play of simulacra masks the disintegration of the authentic, Rhys Chatham emerges not merely as a musician but as an architect of sound, crafting a sonic narrative from the shadows of late twentieth century Manhattan, now wandering the streets of the Latin Quarter of Paris. He stands as a testament to the metamorphosis of rock’s very essence, weaving the ethereal minimalism of a forgotten era with the raw, unrestrained rage epitomized by the Ramones. It is in this collision that one witnesses the avant-garde’s intricate dance with the primal scream of punk, electric guitar in hand.

In the decaying glow of the 60s, the electronic symphonies of Morton Subotnick whispered secrets of composition into Chatham’s eager ears. As the seventies dawned, La Monte Young’s teachings resonated with him, and soon, the Theater of Eternal Music echoed with Chatham’s presence, alongside figures like Jon Hassell and Terry Riley. In these corridors of sound, the minimalist maestros like Tony Conrad and Charlemagne Palestine played their role in molding Chatham’s ethos, with the spectral touch of the French virtuoso, Eliane Radigue, lingering on.

As the echoes of ‘Guitar Trio’ from the 1970s merged into the vast sonic horizon of ‘A Crimson Grail’ for 200 electric guitars in 2009, it became evident: Chatham had embarked on a transcendental journey, spanning decades, summoning electric guitar legions in mystical tunings to bridge the temporal vastness of the 60s and 70s with the pulsating heart of hard rock.

Now, as the holographic present unfolds, Chatham traverses the soundscape as a solitary figure, serenading with versions of ‘A Pythagorean Dream’, borne by the UK’s Foom Records. Yet, in his duality, he intertwines with guitarist David Fenech, their symphonies crystallized in a CD from the Austrian alcove of Klang Gallery Label. The simulation continues, the hyperreality intensifies.

And soon to come, in November:

Watch this page for further updates…

Spring 2023

The Fields Festival, formerly of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, had to move (for obvious reasons), and now they are in Belgrade.

I’ll be playing G3 there in June, this is an early announcement. I’ll update it soon with a link to their website.

Also in June, we’ll be mounting G3 at Art Basel 2023. We’ll be performing the piece with Robert Longo’s film, Pictures for Music, and Robert and I will be playing amoung the guitarists. We will be doing this within a huge outdoor Messeplatz installation by Latifa Echakhch. I’ll be posting more details on this and who the other players will be in the coming weeks.

In addition to G3, I have a new solo that I recently performed at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in the context of a No Wave show curated by Nicolas Ballet last February. I also did the solo concert in a more intimate setting at the Chair de Poule bar in Paris. Here is a short clip of the concert to give you an idea of its sound:

Rhys Chatham solo at Chair de Poule – 24 February 2023

I’m available this summer to play this solo or to mount G3. To contact me for booking write to me at rhyschathamnews@gmail.com

Autumn 2022

Back in Paris, where I’ve been working on a new guitar piece; it’s a kind of “daughter of Guitar Trio”. When I played in Bourges last spring I remembered how much I enjoy playing with a rock drummer and electric guitarists, so we did some rehearsals here in Paris at Studios Campus (near La Bastille) and hope to have the new ensemble piece ready for the spring.

In the meantime, I’ve completed the initial work on my new solo and I plan to test it out at an opening of the artist Isabelle Forestier November in the context of an exhibition of her work, which will be open to the public from 25 October to 12 November.

There will be a closing party on Thursday, 10 November from 6 to 9pm. I’ll be playing my new solo at 7:30pm. If you are in the Paris area by all means drop by. The closing party is open to the public.

Here is the poster for the exhibition, with more details given below:

Vernissage: 19 novembre – 18h – 21h.

Heures d’ouverture :

En temps de vacances scolaire :
mardi 25 octobre jusqu’à 19h30
Mercredi 26 octobre de 10h à 13h et de 15h30 à 19h30
Jeudi 27 et Vendredi 28 octobre de 10h à 19h30
Lundi 31 de 10h à 18h
Du mercredi 2 novembre au vendredi 4 de 10h à 19h30
Fermé le samedi

En période scolaire :
Lundi de 14h à 22h
Du mardi au vendredi de 10h à 22h
Samedi 12 novembre de 10h à 17h (jour du décrochage effectif)
Fermé les jours fériés.

PARIS ANIM’
Centre Richard Wright
76 bis rue de Rennes
75006 Paris

Summer 2022

As always, I am doing my yearly migration to the south of France in a little hamlet in the Pyrenees, not far from Perpignan. I have my music studio set up, where I work amoung the mountains, trees and dramatic sky!

I have been working on a new solo for live instruments and electronics. Here is a seven minute piece I made here recently for trumpet:

This new solo program can be anywhere from 20-minutes to an hour of music and optional visual elements, featuring me playing electric guitar, trumpet, flutes and live electronics..

Here is a quick sample of the guitar sound I’m currently working on in the context of the new solo:


If you are interested in booking the new solo (or any of my other projects), you can contact me directly here. Or at my booking agency, Julie Tippex Arts and Music.

G3 at Friche Antre Peaux – Bourges – FRANCE

Playing G3 on Friday, 20 May 2022 in Bourges, France at the Nadir venue, Friche Antre Peaux, 9pm. I’ll open the set with my new solo.

  • Electric guitars:
  • Elliot Barthez
  • Tara Clamart
  • Sandro Demay
  • Jérôme Joy
  • Axell Juranville
  • Félix Patte
  • Guillaume Petton
  • Jon Haure-Placé
  • Michèle Santoyo
  • Rhys Chatham
  • Electric bass : Fabien Alidor
  • Drums: Guillaume Zemouche
  • Lights and video : lights and the videos: Quentin Valverde, Ianis Lourdin, Mathis.

Tickets: click here

Spring News 2022

Rhys Chatham & David Fenech / Martin Siewert & Christian Reiner at Liccht
Venue :  Replugged – Lerchenfelder Str. 23 –  1070 Wien
Thursday, 12 May – concert starts at 8pm.

Tickets: Click here

Rhys Chatham is a composer, guitarist, trumpet player and flutist from Manhattan, currently living in Paris, who altered the DNA of rock and created a new type of urban music by fusing the overtone-drenched minimalism of the early 60s with the relentless, elemental fury of the Ramones — the textural intricacies of the avant-garde colliding with the visceral punch of electric guitar-slinging punk rock. He was introduced to electronic music and composition by Morton Subotnick in the late 60s, and in the early seventies he studied composition with La Monte Young and played in Tony Conrad’s early group. These composers are, along with Terry Riley, the founders of American minimalism and were a profound influence on Chatham’s work.

Starting with Guitar Trio in the 1970s and culminating with A Crimson Grail for 200 electric guitars in 2009, Chatham has been working for over 30 years to make use of armies of electric guitars in special tunings to merge the extended-time music of the sixties and seventies with serious hard rock. Parallel with his rock-influenced pieces, Chatham has been working with various brass configurations since 1982, and recently has developed a completely new approach to collaborations, improvised and compositional pieces involving trumpet through performances and recordings that started in 2009.

David Fenech is an active composer, performer, and improviser from Paris. His works include acoustic, electronic, tape, and digital media, including sound installations and film scores.
After creating the musical collective Peu Importe in Grenoble in 1991 (free improvisation and songs – many gigs in Europe) his music has shifted to more personal and strange areas, mainly using voice as an instrument. He released his first solo cd called Grand Huit, in 2000. The record is like a long movie for the ears, with 8 different clips. This album is now re-released on Felix Kubin’s Gagarin label.
As a soloist, David Fenech plays guitar and ukulele as well as small instruments such as melodica, cavaquinho, toy piano and xylophone. He played with musicians such as rhys chatham, berangere maximin, james plotkin (old, khanate), felix kubin, jad fair, tom cora, gino robair, ramona cordova, erikm + llog, sebastien roux, claude parle, christian rollet (a.r.f.i, workshop de lyon), andrea parkins, and with members of madrid, moka, les enfants des autres, x ray pop, art moulu, maisie, le club des chats, vincent epplay, sporto kantes and also with herve zenouda, mr quark, shugo tokumaru, anja kirschner, ghedalia tazartes + jac berrocal, digiki, toog, daniel palomo vinuesa, falter bramnk, imagho, dragibus and many others. https://davidfenech.fr

Martin Siewert ist ein deutscher Jazz- und Improvisationsmusiker (Gitarre, Elektronik) und Filmkomponist. Er lebt seit dem Alter von zehn Jahren in Wien. Er studierte Gitarre an der Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz. Als Gitarrist begann er um das Jahr 1995 öffentlich aufzutreten, zunächst mit Herwig Gradischnig, Freier Fall, Franz Hautzinger und seiner eigenen Band Duckbilled Platypus. Mit dieser Band veröffentlichte er zwei Alben auf Extraplatte. Ungefähr zur gleichen Zeit wie andere Wiener Musiker auch (etwa Boris Hauf, Dieb13, Hautzinger, Werner Dafeldecker oder Helge Hinteregger) begann er sich vom Jazzidiom zu lösen und entwickelte einen abstrakten Sound auf der Gitarre. Bald gehörte er zu den Gruppen Efzeg (mit Burkhard Stangl und Hauf) und Komfort, in die er Dafeldecker, Hinteregger, Wayne Horvitz und Tony Buck einlud. In der Gruppe Trapist spielte er mit Joe Williamson und Martin Brandlmayr zusammen. Mit Christian Reiner erscheint im Mai das Album Erstens, das an diesem Abend zum ersten Mal live präsentiert wird.

Christian Reiner ist Sprecher von Gedichten, Prosa und experimentellen Texten.Solo und in unterschiedlichen Formationen arbeitet er an Hörstücken, Theaterprojekten, Lesungen, Konzerten und CD-Einspielungen. Seine Arbeiten sind meist im Zwischenbereich von Sprache und Musik zu finden. Mit improvisierenden Musikern und Tänzern kooperiert er seit Mitte der 90er Jahre und entwickelte seine ihm eigene Art und Weise, mit gesprochenem Wort und den Möglichkeiten der menschlichen Stimme zu improvisieren. In unterschiedlichen Formationen und Ensembles, präsentiert er seine Arbeiten auf Festivals, bei Gastspielen und Konzerten.Doors: 20.00

Reiner Siewert: 20.15
Chatham Fenech: 21.15