False Harmonics 26: Conrad Tao, Aaron Turner & Randall Dunn, Charmaine Lee

What happens to a performer at the threshold of physical endurance? What does sustained, extreme sound do to the body that produces it, and the body that receives it? Brought together by curator and vocalist Charmaine Lee, the four artists on this program have each built practices that refuse the separation of sound from flesh. Music made at the edge of what the body can sustain, and transformed by that pressure.

The evening unfolds in three sets. Pianist Conrad Tao opens with a solo program pairing Elliott Carter's Catenaires and Galina Ustvolskaya's Piano Sonata No. 6 with the world premiere of Φ (II), a new work written for Tao by composer Eric Wubbels. Charmaine Lee follows with a solo set for voice and feedback. The evening closes with a duo performance by producer and multi-instrumentalist Randall Dunn and guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, driving sound into the body at subsonic frequencies.

This program is guest-curated by Charmaine Lee and presented as part of Pioneer Works' False Harmonics series, in conjunction with the exhibition ANIMAL [the listening gym] by Ash Fure.

Conrad Tao is a pianist and composer known for work that spans classical performance and cross-genre collaboration. He appears regularly as a soloist with leading orchestras and at major venues worldwide, and has been praised by The New York Times for his "probing intellect and open-hearted vision." His recent collaborators include dancer Caleb Teicher, choreographer Miguel Gutierrez, artist Avram Finkelstein, vocalist Charmaine Lee, and The Westerlies. He is also a member of the Junction Trio with Stefan Jackiw and Jay Campbell. Tao is a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Gilmore Young Artist Award, and a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award.

Aaron Turner is a musician and visual artist who has been performing and recording since 1995. Best known as a founding member of Isis and SUMAC, he is also a member of Neurosis, Old Man Gloom, and Pharaoh Overlord, and remains an active collaborator and occasional solo performer. Working primarily on guitar, with parallel practices as vocalist, painter, and illustrator, his work draws on underground metal and punk while often taking deconstructed, improvisational, and longform forms. He has collaborated with Tashi Dorji, Camae Ayewa/Moor Mother, Keiji Haino, Heather Leigh, and Stephen O'Malley, among others. Turner founded Hydra Head Records and later co-founded SIGE Records with Faith Coloccia. He lives on Vashon Island, WA.

Randall Dunn is a producer, composer, and audio engineer whose work moves between experimental music, film, and television. He began his career in 1990s Seattle, studying sound design for film and building lasting collaborations with Eyvind Kang, Wayne Horvitz, Skerik, and Stuart Dempster. He established Circular Ruin in New York City in 2017, which has served as the engine for his film and experimental work — including scores for Panos Cosmatos, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe's Candyman, Benny Safdie's The Curse, and The Smashing Machine. His production credits include albums by Marissa Nadler, Zola Jesus, Kali Malone, Annea Lockwood, Algiers, and Oneohtrix Point Never. He released his solo debut, Beloved, in 2018.

Charmaine Lee is a vocalist and label founder whose work spans improvised music, experimental performance, and creative infrastructure. Born in Sydney to a family from Hong Kong, she studied sociology at Princeton University before training at the New England Conservatory with guitarist and theorist Joe Morris, developing an approach grounded in active listening, risk, and relational exchange. She maintains collaborations with Conrad Tao, Ikue Mori, Eric Wubbels, JACK Quartet, among others. Together with Randall Dunn, Lee runs Kou Records, a New York-based label devoted to artists with singular musical languages.

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