These Are Powers
Encyclopedia
These Are Powers is an experimental music
group from Brooklyn, New York and Chicago, Illinois. The band mixes polyrhythm
with samples
and other electronic sounds and noise rock
.
bass player, Pat Noecker formed These Are Powers with Anna Barie (vocals/guitar) (ex Knife Skills & Fxxxing Lion) and Ted McGrath (drums) in 2006. The latter was replaced by electroacoustic
drummer/percussionist Bill Salas. Noecker plays a prepared bass guitar
with a wooden dowel
put under the strings which functions as an additional 3rd bridge
and shortens the string length causing an altered musical scale
with the fret positions. Salas is also active as a producer and solo artist under the name Brenmar. The band is on Dead Oceans Records in the U.S. and has a vinyl release with the Swedish label Deleted Art. These Are Powers also appears in live improvised performances and collaborations as These Our Powers. The band announced in early February, 2011 that they had broken up during a memorial show for late promoter Ariel Panero at Death By Audio
. The band performed as a two-piece that night, consisting of Anna and Pat.
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
group from Brooklyn, New York and Chicago, Illinois. The band mixes polyrhythm
Polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms.Polyrhythm in general is a nonspecific term for the simultaneous occurrence of two or more conflicting rhythms, of which cross-rhythm is a specific and definable subset.—Novotney Polyrhythms can be distinguished from...
with samples
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
and other electronic sounds and noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
.
History
After the short lived n0 things, ex LiarsLiars (band)
Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...
bass player, Pat Noecker formed These Are Powers with Anna Barie (vocals/guitar) (ex Knife Skills & Fxxxing Lion) and Ted McGrath (drums) in 2006. The latter was replaced by electroacoustic
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
drummer/percussionist Bill Salas. Noecker plays a prepared bass guitar
Prepared guitar
A prepared guitar is a guitar that has had its timbre altered by placing various objects on or between the instrument's strings, including other extended techniques...
with a wooden dowel
Dowel
A dowel is a solid cylindrical rod, usually made of wood, plastic or metal. In its original manufactured form, dowel is called dowel rod.Dowel rod is employed in numerous, diverse applications. It is used to form axles in toys, as detents on gymnastics grips, as knitting needles, as structural...
put under the strings which functions as an additional 3rd bridge
3rd Bridge
The 3rd bridge is an extended playing technique used on some string instruments , that allows a musician to produce distinctive timbres and overtones that are unavailable on a conventional string instrument with two bridges...
and shortens the string length causing an altered musical scale
Musical scale
In music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...
with the fret positions. Salas is also active as a producer and solo artist under the name Brenmar. The band is on Dead Oceans Records in the U.S. and has a vinyl release with the Swedish label Deleted Art. These Are Powers also appears in live improvised performances and collaborations as These Our Powers. The band announced in early February, 2011 that they had broken up during a memorial show for late promoter Ariel Panero at Death By Audio
Death By Audio
Death By Audio is a warehouse space on the first floor of an industrial building in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It is also the name of an effects pedal company based in the space....
. The band performed as a two-piece that night, consisting of Anna and Pat.
Albums
- Terrific Seasons (2007) Hoss Records, (re-released 2008) Dead Oceans Records
- Taro Tarot, (2008) Hoss Records, (re-released 2008) Dead Oceans Records
- Taro Tarot (2008) Deleted Art (vinyl release)
- All Aboard Future, (2009) Dead OceansDead OceansDead Oceans is an independent record label based jointly in Bloomington, Indiana and Austin, Texas. The label has a small, but powerful roster of well-known acts including Akron/Family, John Vanderslice, Califone, Phosphorescent, Bishop Allen, Casey Dienel's band White Hinterland, Bowerbirds, and...
Other
- The South Angel Remixes CD-R (2006)
- These Are Powers S/T CD-R and Cassette (2006)
Sources
- [ bio] on Allmusic
- These Are Powers Artist Page on Dead Oceans
- These Are Powers Sign to Dead Oceans, Reissue LP, EP on Pitchforkmedia.com
- Ex-Liars/Knife Skills Folk Form These Are Powers, Tour on Pitchforkmedia.com
- These Are Powers Artist Page on Hoss Records
- These Are Powers Artist Page on Elsie and Jack Records