Patrick Higgins (musician)
Patrick Higgins | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York, New York |
| Genres | Experimental, avant-garde, classical, noise, improvisation, film music |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Northern Spy, NNA Tapes, Telegraph Harp, Words+Dreams, Un-Fun Records |
| Website | Official Site |
Patrick Higgins is an American avant-garde composer, guitarist, and producer from New York City, known for his work in experimental and contemporary classical music. He plays guitar and composes in the experimental ensemble Zs, described by The New York Times as "one of the strongest avant-garde bands in New York."[1] His work as composer traverses the styles of the European avant-garde and the tradition of post-minimalist Downtown New York music.
He has received attention for his unique style of guitar playing and his work as a composer, heralded as "one of the most gifted guitarists working today" (The Quietus)[2] and a "formidable concert music composer" (The Boston Globe).[3] After a performance at South By Southwest music festival in Austin, TX he was named the "best guitarist of the 2013 event" by Premier Guitar Magazine.[4]
Biography
Higgins was born in 1984 in Manhattan and attended high school at the Urban School of San Francisco. He returned to New York City in 2002 to attend Columbia University, earning a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in Comparative Literature.
Higgins co-composed, played guitar, and produced Zs' 2015 record Xe, which is the band's most critically acclaimed record to date. Xe earned an 8.0 from Pitchfork, the highest score yet given to Zs by the prominent music magazine.[5] The Wall Street Journal described the group's performance on 'Xe' as "hypnotic and harsh at once, with an ability to mesmerize while keeping a listener at attention."[6] At the end of 2015, Rolling Stone named Xe number 3 on its list of the Best Avant-Garde Records of the year.[7] The album and artwork for Xe were purchased by the SF MOMA and are part of the museum's permanent collection.
As a composer, he has written numerous works for string quartet, chamber orchestra, and solo instruments. In 2013, a double LP of Higgins' String Quartet No.2 was released on Ex Cathedra Records, along with a work entitled Glacia, an electronic re-composition of the string quartet performance.[8] NNA Tapes released the Social Death Mixtape in the fall of 2015, a record presenting a wide array of Higgins' avant-garde works of Chamber Music and featuring compositions for harpsichord, string ensemble, solo violin, guitar, and electronics. Tiny Mix Tapes gave Social Death Mixtape 4 out of 5 stars, citing the record as a "masterful brand of de-composition".[9] Later that year, Telegraph Harp released Higgins' Bachanalia, an electro-acoustic record of classical guitar performances of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The record features a series of acoustic guitar performances, each electronically processed and re-amplified in differing ways. Bachanalia was heralded as a "masterpiece"[10] and a virtuoso recording and helped to solidify Higgins' reputation as among the most innovative guitarists of his era.[11][12] The recording of the album took place in two different churches, one in Brooklyn, New York and one in Hudson, New York, with the quality of space and natural reverb entering in as a feature of the musical performance. The recording "winds up as an outstanding album of classical music that also happens to explore the same ideas and notions regarding space that inspired Alvin Lucier [...]".[13]
In 2016, Higgins composed the score for the feature film As You Are (dir. by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte), which was awarded the prestigious Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.[14]
Discography
Studio Albums
- Bachanalia - Patrick Higgins (Telegraph Harp, 2015)
- Social Death Mixtape - Patrick Higgins (NNA Tapes, 2015)
- Xe - Zs (Northern Spy, 2015)
- String Quartet No.2 + Glacia - Patrick Higgins (Ex Cathedra, Words+Dreams, 2013)
- Grain - Zs (Northern Spy, 2013)
- STEREO - Patrick Higgins (Words+Dreams, 2012)
- Monkey Mountain - Patrick Higgins (ELE Records, Un-Fun Records, 2012)
- Horror Orr - Animal split EP with Archeaopteryx (Un-Fun Records, 2007)
- LP - Animal (Un-Fun Records, 2006)
References
- ^ "The Listings". New York Times. 2006-11-24. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ^ "FESTIVAL REPORT: Skaņu Mežs". The Quietus.
- ^ "Avant Rock Trio Brings Its Latest Incarnation to Jamaica Plains". The Boston Globe.
- ^ "The (Abbreviated) Best Guitar Performances of SXSW 2013". Premier Guitar Magazine.
- ^ "Zs: Xe, Album Review". Pitchfork.
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac In Pantaloons Plus 1960s Baroque Pop". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "20 Best Avant Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Patrick Higgins and Mivos Quartet String Quartet No 2 Glacia". All Music.
- ^ "Patrick Higgins - Social Death Mixtape". Tiny Mix Tapes.
- ^ "Patrick Higgins - Bachanalia (Telegraph Harp)". The Big Takeover.
- ^ "I'm Bullish on Patrick Higgins". Analog Planet.
- ^ "Crate-Digging: Patrick Higgins – Bachanalia". Critical Masses.
- ^ "Patrick Higgins - Bachanalia". Scene Point Blank.
- ^ "Sundance: The Birth of a Nation Sweeps Top Prizes". Variety. Retrieved February 1, 2016.