The Dither Press Kit

DITHER
BIO /
DITHER, a New York based electric guitar quartet, is dedicated to an eclectic mix of experimental repertoire
which spans composed music, improvisation, and electronic manipulation. Formed in 2007, the quartet
has performed in the United States and abroad, presenting new commissions, original compositions,
improvisations, multimedia works, and large guitar ensemble pieces. With sounds ranging from clean pop
textures to heavily processed noise, from tight rhythmic unity to cacophonous sound mass, all of Dither’s
music embraces the beautiful, engulfing, and often gloriously loud sound of electric guitars. The quartet’s
members are Taylor Levine, Joshua Lopes, James Moore and Gyan Riley.
Dither has worked with a wide range of artists, including Eve Beglarian, Elliott Sharp, David Lang, John Zorn,
Fred Frith, Lois V. Vierk, Larry Polansky and Bryce Dessner. Recent performances include the Performa
Biennial, The MATA Festival, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Bang on a Can Marathon. In
Fall of 2008, the quartet traveled to Hong Kong to premiere an evening-length theatrical work by Samson
Young, Hong Kong Explodes! In addition to concert programs, Dither conducts workshops with educational
institutions across the country, and is a frequent visiting ensemble at Princeton University. Dither’s critically
acclaimed debut album was released on Henceforth Records in June 2010.
FUNDING /
American Composers Forum
Brooklyn Arts Council
Canada Council for the Arts
Hong Kong Council for the Arts
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Meet the Composer
New Music USA
New Spectrum Foundation
Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance
CONTACT / ditherquartet@gmail.com
WEB / www.ditherquartet.com /// youtube.com/user/ditherquartet
PRESS PHOTOS / www.ditherquartet.com/images.html
ACTIVITIES
DITHER at Le Poisson Rouge, with Todd Reynolds & Nick Didkovsky’s supergroup Doctor Nerve
CONCERT PROGRAMS /
Dither will engineer a special program for any venue or audience. Repertoire can include Dither commissions,
landmark guitar works, improvisationally based pieces, and large guitar ensembles. Please see our repertoire
list for current and upcoming works.
READINGS /
Dither works with composers to develop new pieces in a workshop setting. In addition to traditional
compositional techniques, Dither encourages improvisational and malleable forms, and the creative use of
electronics. Any special technical needs must be provided, and new pieces must be received by Dither two
months before the date of the reading.
LESSONS + MASTERCLASSES /
The four members of Dither are highly skilled in a wide range of guitar styles and ensemble playing. With an
emphasis on creative performance practice, Dither is at home working with classical and electric guitarists,
improvisers, electronic music performers, orchestral musicians, chamber groups, as well as jazz and popular
music ensembles. All ages and skill levels are welcome.
EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS /
Dither gives workshops to composers, performers, and a general audience on a variety of guitar and
performance related topics. Topics include the electric guitar in contemporary music, composing for the
guitar, creative use of commercial and home-made guitar equipment, and music business for contemporary
music performers. Dither is happy to tailor a workshop to the interests of a specific audience.
GUITAR ENSEMBLE /
Dither can work with guitar students of any skill level to put together pieces for multiple guitars in a workshop
and/or performance setting. Repertoire includes pieces by Fred Frith, Elliott Sharp, Eric km Clark, Glenn
Branca, and many more!
SELECTED REPERTOIRE
DITHER performs at The Stone, John Zorn’s venue on the Lower East Side, NYC
Eve Beglarian The Garden of Cyrus
Eric km Clark Deprivation Music No. 5: l’amour du pain [guitar orchestra] / exPAT / Segues [w/perc. quartet]
Lisa Coons X-Sections [Entropion, Aphonia, Venial, Prolix]
Corey Dargel Say Yes
Bryce Dessner Jumeaux [duo]
Nick Didkovsky No Meat, No Belfry / She Closes her Sister with Heavy Bones / Out to Bomb Fresh Kings /
To Laugh Uncleanly at the Nurse / Tone Boy / I Kick My Hand
Dean Drummond Round
Lainie Fefferman Tongue of Thorns / Angel Canons
Fred Frith The As Usual Dance Towards the Other Flight to What is Not [A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H] /
Stick Figures [6 prepared guitars + 2 players]
Florent Ghys 100
Travis Just I’m the loudest voice you’ve ever seen
Nathan Koci Roommate of the Year [w/ horn]
David Lang Warmth [duo]
Joshua Lopes Pantagruel / Dreaming of Vermont / Ebbing Contumacy
Paula Matthusen but because without this
Jascha Narveson Vectors / Ones
Phill Niblock Guitar Too, for Four / 2 Lips
Tristan Perich Interference Logic
Elliott Sharp Syndakit [mixed ensemble]
Ches Smith Metal Vacation
Wil Smith Telegraph
Mark Stewart Speedy Feety
James Tenney Septet [6 guitars, e. bass] / Swell Piece / Harmonium #2
Molly Thompson Roar and Spit
Lois V. Vierk Go Guitars [5 guitars]
Matthew Welch Colloquy of the Birds [quartet + bagpipes]
Daniel Wohl Freak Show [w/ percussion quartet]
Samson Young Hong Kong Explodes! [evening length work w/video + electronics]
John Zorn Hockey / Lacrosse / Fencing
SELECTED PERFORMANCE HISTORY
DITHER performs w/ electric guitar guru Mark Stewart at the Stone /// 04.May.08
25.March.08
05.April.08
17.Sept.08
01.Oct.08
21.Oct.08
30.Oct/01.Nov.08
02.Nov.08
21.Jan.09
02.March.09
31.May.09
20.Nov.09
27.Jan.10
31.March.10
27.April.10
12.June.10
31.July.10
13.August.10
9.Nov.10
11.Dec.10
11.May.11
26.May.11
19.June.11
8.July.11
16.Oct.11
28.Feb.12
24.March.12
17.June.12
21.June.12
16.Nov.12
17.Nov.12
Taplin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
The Extensible Electric Guitar Festival, Clark University, Worcester, MA
David Lang at the Stone, New York, NY
Hong Kong Explodes! at The Players Theater, New York, NY
Taplin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Hong Kong Explodes! The Fringe Theater, Hong Kong
The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre, Hong Kong
MATA Interval 2.3 at Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY
Music With A View at The Flea Theater, New York, NY
Bang On A Can Marathon at the WFC Winter Garden, New York, NY
Performa Festival at The Gramercy Theater, New York, NY
Bethany Ryker’s Stochastic Brooklyn at Barbes, Brooklyn, NY
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Littoral Series at Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY
Dither’s Album Release! at The Invisible Dog Art Center, Brooklyn, NY
Berkshire Fringe Festival, Great Barrington, MA
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Taplin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Dither’s Incubator Workshop!, Abrons Arts Center, New York, NY
MATA Festival, le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY
Tribeca New Music Festival, Merkin Hall, New York, NY
Bang on a Can Marathon, World Financial Center, New York, NY
Invisible Dog Extravaganza, Invisible Dog Art Center, Brooklyn, NY
SONIC Festival, Miller Theater, New York, NY
Taplin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Sprague Hall, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Bang on a Can Marathon, World Financial Center, New York, NY
Music Of Phill Niblock, Roulette, Brooklyn, NY
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Invisible Dog Extravaganza, Invisible Dog Art Center, Brooklyn, NY
REVIEWS
DITHER performs Tenney’s Septet w/Larry Polansky at their CD release.
“Prepare your ears...A provocative rocking that sounds good, feels good, and even when the music hits its fever pitch and
the wailing claps you sharply, things still manage to keep to the honest side of controlled...The exactness of the ensemble
playing and the clear-cut layers in the sonic material impress with their clock-like precision.”
_Molly Sheridan, New Music Box, June 8, 2010, Review of Dither’s debut album
“Clean, plucked lines, strummed chords, grungy feedback, resonating overtones, even the static buzz of amps and loose
plugs...Lainie Fefferman’s Tongue of Thorns reclaims a primal Minimalism from art-rock bands like the Velvet Underground
or Sonic Youth; Vectors, by Jascha Narveson, turns Dither into a live-wire gamelan...In Cross-sections, the longest and
most fascinating work on the disc, Lisa R. Coons painstakingly dissects the instrument, rendering muscular arpeggios, livid
feedback, ominous rumbles and radiant drones.”
_Steve Smith, The New York Times, June 15, 2010, Review of Dither’s debut album
“Extreme and satisfying. If you’ve mind’s-ear notions that this platter will likely evoke masters of Guitar Clang such as Glen
Branca, Rhys Chatham, Sonic Youth, and Elliott Sharp, you’d be partly correct. This debut release isn’t an all-out assault
(though there are moments of that, to be sure)-it’s a collection of compositions from them that’ve grown-up with the sixstring electric laced into their DNA.”
_Mark Keresman, Signal to Noise, Fall 2010, Review of Dither’s debut album
“Colossal at one moment and reduced to a few notes in another, the music defines a mineral and rigorous world where
pleasure opens up to vigorous overtures...An astounding example of what modern music can be in creating its own
instrumental form and borrowing freely from pre-existing music.”
_Noël Tachet, Improjazz, Fall 2010. Review of Dither’s debut album
One of 5 Experimental CD’s worth noting: “[Works] that traverse tonal territories from starkly sparse to quirkily rhythmic to
gently dissonant to stridently chaotic. Brilliantly realized.”
_Barry Cleveland, Guitar Player Magazine, Dec 27, 2010, Review of Dither’s debut album
“An impressive release party at the Invisible Dog gallery including nine other acts alongside an array of stimulating video,
light and sculpture...Matthew Welch’s bagpipes cut through the room, carving space for a beautiful rendition of James
Tenney’s Sextet...Dither opened its set with Lainie Fefferman’s Tongue of Thorns, a grinding encapsulation of the Velvet
Underground’s Venus in Furs and the highlight of their record.”
_Kurt Gottschalk, All About Jazz, July 2010, Review of Dither’s Invisible Dog Extravaganza
“Mid-June’s official concert on the edge”
_The New Yorker, June 7, 2010, listing for Dither’s Invisible Dog Extravaganza
“Immerse yourself in the here and now of New York’s postclassical music scene … Be there or be square, seriously.”
_Time Out New York, July7, 2011, listing for Dither’s Invisible Dog Extravaganza
“No feeble attempt at a fusion of genres, but a successful uncompromising blend.”
_Monsieur Délire, May 17, 2010, Review of Dither’s debut album
“The electric guitar quartet Dither, typifying this nebulous twenty-first century, brings massive chops with an egalitarian
sense of purpose to every piece of music.”
_Andrew Christopher Smith, Free Music Archive, May 8, 2010, Review of Dither’s Show at ISSUE Project Room