Event Horizon presentsPlanet Y / BioMechanical ShapeShifter / Jesse BeamanPlanet Y is completely improvised space music. Yanni Papadopoulos (Stinking Lizaveta, WAIL) relies heavily on his Casio DG20 guitar synth and a handful of effects pedals to create the space scape. There is no sampling involved, all sounds are created in real time. Yanni is joined by Pete Wilder (EDO, WAIL), who also adds Casio DG20 guitar synth, as well as electric guitar and Theremin.

BioMechanical ShapeShifters (or BioMeSS for short) is the project of Floyd Bledsoe from Ewing, New Jersey. He has been using this name for his electronic experimentations since the early 1990s. Starting in 2010, BioMeSS began releasing works on the internet and now has over 100 albums available on the Bandcamp website with many of the releases containing several hours of material each. Mainly experimental in nature, the sound of BioMechanical ShapeShifters covers a broad spectrum stylistically. Genres from such diverse categories as harsh noise to ambient drones and many other territories are explored. There is an aim to showcase various electronic devices and fully explore their capabilities and features. Floyd is also a member of The Melting Transistor group and has recorded several dozen albums with them as well as many live appearances. BioMeSS has performed previously at the Cosmic Crossings Concert Series, as well as several festival appearances and various radio programs. Currently, the focus is a DAWless setup incorporating semi-modular synthesizers and other unique devices in an improvisational setting.

Austin, Texas experimental musician, composer, artist and record label owner Jesse Beaman has more than a decade of performing under his belt starting at an early age of 20 years old, Jesse toured across 25 countries in Europe, Latin America, Australia and North America. He has shared the stage with important acts such as Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, CocoRosie, This Will Destroy You, Julianna Barwick, White Denim, Efterklang and Silver Mt. Zion. In 2021 Jesse released his brilliant album ‘MIRA’, produced by Brandon Curtis of Interpol / The Secret Machines. In 2022 he toured Europe, Mexico and the US while releasing singles off his 2022 Mixtape. Known for his cult followed project My Empty Phantom, Jesse now performs under no moniker while recording and taking the stage with a more minimal approach resulting into something more blissful and more impactful. His journey in music continues with him exploring orchestral, classical piano, ambient, electronic and percussion in his new solo works.INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jessebeamanmusicFACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jessebeamanmusicSPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Al104ourQIJ2giG2jozYpBANDCAMP: https://jessebeaman.bandcamp.com/music

The Event Horizon concert features Electronic, Avant Garde, and Experimental music along with the work of live video projection artists. The concerts are always free and open to all.

Admission is FREE

POSTPONED!! Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s workshop has been postponed until October 23rd. Part one and part two of combining your art and social justice will be held on October 23. If you register for part one, your registration will be transferred to the new date October 23. You will receive an email confirmation by Friday with your new registration update. Thank you in advance. See you on the 23rd.

The Bigger PictureJoin us for an inspiring evening at "Combining Your Art + Social Justice Part 1" on October 9, 2023, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Hosted by Jasmine Jahwula Seapoe, this event is set to be a thought-provoking exploration of art and its role in social justice.

We're thrilled to have Author and Spoken Word Artist Kirwyn Sutherland as our facilitator for this two-part workshop. Together, we'll delve into the depths of social justice and explore how we, as artists, can use our art to make a real impact. Whether you're an established artist or just starting out, this workshop will provide you with a new perspective on how your art can contribute to social change. Don't miss out on this opportunity to combine your passion for art with your desire to make a difference.

Registration is FREE and required. Please register HERE

POSTPONED!! Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s workshop has been postponed until October 23rd. Part one and part two of combining your art and social justice will be held on October 23. If you register for part one, your registration will be transferred to the new date October 23. You will receive an email confirmation by Friday with your new registration update. Thank you in advance. See you on the 23rd.

BRIGHT BULB SCREENINGS, Free Double Features Every Second Thursday of the Month

Follow Bright Bulb Screenings on Facebook, Instagram

Thursday October 12th, 7pm, Free Admission!The Return of Reelblack!Award-winning filmmaker, curator, media host and Temple professor Michael J. Dennis brings his Reelblack Productions back to The Rotunda for a deep dive into the Reelblack archive. Expect rare and unseen clips from the rich legacy of Philadelphia hip hop and R&B music and more!Dennis, a graduate of both NYU film School and The American Film Institute created Reelblack in 2007, capturing black culture through interviews with the filmmakers, artists and musicians, including Ava DuVerney, Spike Lee, Jonelle Monae, Dick Gregory, Chris Rock and many many more.https://www.reelblack.com/

Owen Valentine Presents: Classique Cool Soul 3 - A Salute to Teena Marie 

Owen Valentine Presents: Classique Cool Soul is back in Philly! Spend an evening grooving to the soulful sounds of "Lady T" - Teena Marie

Join Vocalist, Violinist and multi-instrumentalist OWEN VALENTINE and his funky string troupe URBAN CLASSIQUE with an electrifying night of Classic Soul and R&B!

Saluting the music of Teena Marie aka “Lady T” featuring recording artist ZANDRA

Plus jam to the original music of Owen Valentine!

This show sells out quickly so get your tickets while they last!

Fire Museum Presents: Baba Commandant and Mandingo Band and The Dwarfs of East Agouza

Sublime Frequencies night! Co-presented with Clavius Productions

Baba Commandant and Mandingo Band:

Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band are a contemporary group from Burkina Faso. Coming from Bobo-Dioulasso, the group is steeped in the Mandingue musical traditions of their ancestral legacy. The enigmatic lead singer Baba Commandant (Mamadou Sanou) is an original and eccentric character who is well respected in the Burkinabé musical community. A sort of punk Faso Dan Fani activist for traditional Mandingo music, Baba continues to redefine the boundaries between traditional and modern. In 1981, he joined the Koule Dafourou troupe as a dancer. Later, he embarked on his current musical direction as a singer first in Dounia and then in the Afromandingo Band.

His current band—when he’s not playing with the now-famous Burkinabé musician Victor Démé—is the Mandingo Band. At present, he is a practitioner of the Afrobeat style, drawing inspiration from the golden era of Nigerian music. Fela Kuti/Africa 70 and King Sunny Adé are big influences, as is the legendary Malian growler Moussa Doumbia.

Baba Commandant plays the ngoni, the instrument of the Donso (the traditional hunters in this region of Burkina Faso and Mali). His audience comprises multiple generations and strata of Burkinabé society; he accordingly adapts his repertoire to his surroundings, which range from cabaret Sundays in Bobo-Dioulasso to the sound systems of Ouagadougou.

Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band are a formidable force steeped in Ouagadougou’s DIY underground musical culture. Juguya is their sound.

The Dwarfs of East Agouza:

The Dwarfs Of East Agouza are a leading force of improvised musical excitement and stand apart from wider parts of a post-punk underground scene that doesn’t fit neatly into any post-punk genre  of the last twenty years. Founded in Cairo circa 2015 by Alan Bishop (ex-Sun City Girls and co-founder of Sublime Frequencies) with Sam Shalabi (Land Of Kush, Karkhana) and Maurice Louca (Karkhana) the trio developed a unique and always recognizable sound, but with many faces to show. The group started playing together in Cairo’s Agouza district in 2012 to explore hypnotic local traditions, as heard on their excellent debut album “Bes.” Improvisation on the highest level. Organic, never arty. On their latest recording, The Green Dogs of Dashur, the band breaks off all constraints and reveals a resolutely free album offering the listener variations of seductive melodies and unhinged improvised trance.

Name your price $0-$20+  HERE

The sound team of Tom Boram and Jason Willett, as lithe and graceful as anime characters, gesture in tight flourishes at their instruments, standing upright and alert to every detail. Across tables of exotic electronic boxes, they lean into their beats, grooving along like Martha and the Vandellas until the groove twists and opens into splattered electronics. Boram’s fingers flutter a theremin, sliding liquid zippers over rhythm boxes–who knows how many of them–that sputter with bonus buzz hits from some boxed doodads. After simultaneous wicked electric-guitar solos, both step back, Willett rolling and lighting a Gauloise and passing his lighter to Boram, who sparks his Holmesian tobacco pipe, and both stand motionless in the sonic miasma for a couple of minutes before wordlessly flipping off their gear. After some bewildered but heartfelt audience applause, the two rev their gear back up for another magical amusement park of sound. (-by Ian Nagoski)

Toshi Makihara studied drums, percussion and improvisation with Sabu Toyozumi, a prominent percussionist in Tokyo. Since arriving in the United States in the late 1970’s he has worked with various new music ensembles as well as with numerous dance and theater companies internationally. Makihara has provided original music to Arden Theater Company, Diversions Dance Company (Wales), Pennsylvania Ballet, ZeroMoving Dance Company and Leah Stein Dance Company among others,and has worked with musicians including Steve Beresford, Peter Brotzmann, John Butcher, Nels Cline, Eugene Chadbourne, Tom Cora, Amy Denio, Thurston Moore, William Parker and John Zorn. He has also collaborated with poets, visual artists, filmmakers and performance artists widely.

More info: https://www.bowerbird.org/event/the-lepidopterans/

Admission is FREE/pay-what-you-want

Featuring:

Marshall Allen - alto and reeds

Dave Hotep - guitar

Jan Jeffries - percussion

Dwight James - percussion

and possibly a guest or two

Admission is FREE. Donations are appreciated. 

Join us for an inspiring evening at "Combining Your Art+ Social Justice Part 2" on October 23, 2023, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM,  hosted by the dynamic Jasmine Jahwula Seapoe. This two-part workshop will be facilitated by the renowned Author and Spoken Word Artist, Kirwyn Sutherland. Together, we'll delve into the heart of social justice, exploring how we, as artists, can harness our creativity to make a significant impact. This is a unique opportunity to refine your artistic skills and learn how to use your art as a powerful tool for social change. Don't miss this chance to combine your passion for art with a purpose.

REgistration is FREE and required. Please register HERE.