Ambient/Electronic Synth Legend Alessandro Cortini Playing the Cedar MONDAY as Part of Drone Not Drones “Dronetober” (Stream His New Album)
We are longtime fans of the music, community created and social justice pursued by Drone Not Drones, the project of Minneapolis’ own Luke Heiken. For the past decade we’ve always made it a point to attend the 28-hour drone, one of the best weekends of the year, and over the last few years Luke has expanded the operations to include “Dronetober,” a month of musical experimentation that often includes local and national acts ahead of the start of our Minnesota winters.
This year Dronetober includes an art and sound kickoff tonight (Fri, October. 4th) in Northeast Minneapolis featuring local ambient/noise artist (and Drone Not Drones partisan) IOSIS soundtracking the opening night of the new WAR REPORTS project by Piotr Szyhalski/Labor Camp, but things really start cooking this coming Monday, October 7th, when Italian synth legend Alessandro Cortini performs a rare set at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.
Known for many thing, including his songs being used in countless movies and TV shows, his work with Nine Inch Nails and his sweeping solo catalog of synth landscapes often created on instruments he made or tweaked, his music is the essence of drone. (I also really loved this video I saw a few years back of him showcasing how he used a cassette recorder as an instrument, but it’s a bit gear-nerd centric.) His music is sweeping and epic, yet brittle and peaceful. It is at times daunting and immense, other times it seems to float through your speakers like a gentle breeze. It creates sounds and textures that make his machines sound more emotionally in-depth than many humans. You can listen to his new album Nati Infiniti below to get a sense of some of his work.
I’m excited to see him in the comfy confines of the Cedar where I am sure he’ll create pulsing waves of sound that will work to smooth out the edges, at least temporarily, of a world that feels like it’s falling apart. Opening the night will be Aida Shahghasemi with Jeremy & Max Ylvisaker. Door are at 7 and tickets are only $28 in advance. You can find more info and get tickets HERE. Don’t miss it!
There is also a local angle and first ever Drone Not Drones released LP as part of Dronetober that we are super excited about, but we’ll get to that in a separate post!
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