Jump to content

Alan Licht

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs) at 06:47, 19 November 2019 (→External links: recategorize). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Alan Licht
Background information
Born (1968-06-06) June 6, 1968 (age 56)
GenresAvant-garde, noise rock, pop
Instrumentguitar
Years active1991-current

Alan Licht (born June 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and composer, whose work combines elements of pop, noise, free jazz and minimalism. He is also a writer and journalist.

Biography

Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968. His earliest musical influences, in the 1970s, were mainstream rock bands like the Bee Gees and Wings—he remarks in an interview with Paris Transatlantic magazine that 'What made me want to play guitar was that painting of Wings in concert in the gatefold of Wings Over America. It looked so exciting... I wanted to be part of it.' Later, in school, he listened to punk and no wave bands like Mission of Burma, Hüsker Dü and Sonic Youth. However, his musical trajectory was set when his guitar teacher gave him a copy of Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, which would lead to his discovery of other minimalist music. Licht majored in Film Studies at Vassar College in New York. Since the 1980s, he has worked and recorded with the bands Love Child, Run On and The Pacific Ocean and with other avant-garde musicians including Jim O'Rourke, Rudolph Grey, and Loren Mazzacane Connors. He has also recorded several solo albums.[1] Alan participated as drummer 42 in the Boredoms 77 Boadrum performance which occurred on July 7th, 2007 at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, New York. Licht is Jewish.[2]

Musical style

Licht's music draws on a wide range of different styles, from tape-loops, to noisy guitar (sometimes using a prepared instrument), to pure pop music.[3]

Writing

Licht is also a music journalist and writer on minimalist music,[4] and in 2000, he published his first book, An Emotional Memoir of Martha Quinn..[5] In 2007 Rizzoli published his book Sound Art: Beyond Music, Between Categories.

Discography

Solo

with The Blue Humans

with Jandek

with Loren Mazzacane Connors

with Love Child

with Run On

with The Pacific Ocean

with Aki Onda

with Lee Ranaldo and the Dust

Bibliography

  • Cheslow, Sharon (2008). Interrobang?! Anthology on Music and Family: Writings and Interviews. contributions by Alan Licht, Sharon Cheslow, others. San Francisco: Decomposition. ISBN 978-0-9818706-6-3.

Notes

  1. ^ Interview: Licht
  2. ^ The Wire Issue 275 - January 2007 https://www.thewire.co.uk › issues The Wire's review of the year's best music, including Top 50 Records Of The Year, ... Jean-Hervé Peron and Zappi Diermaier pick up the vibrations in tracks by Henry Cow, ... A flawed history of Jewish punk prompts Alan Licht to check his roots.
  3. ^ Lost Interviews: Alan Licht (interview)
  4. ^ "Perfect Sound Forever". Archived from the original on 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2006-11-10.
  5. ^ Drag City 2000. ISBN 0-9656183-3-1
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alan Licht.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alan_Licht&oldid=926918102"