Events
XRAY is Sponsoring: Circuit Des Yeux and Marisa Anderson at
- 8:00pm Wednesday, August 19, 2015
CIRCUIT DES YEUX
Haley Fohr’s music strikes a unique balance between the personal and universal. As Circuit des Yeux she creates music that embodies the complexity of human emotions, juxtaposing tenderness and grief, ecstasy and horror, using sounds as representations of the emotional spectrum that we all experience. Fohr’s striking voice, an impassioned baritone, is the music’s centerpiece and guiding force. On In Plain Speech, Fohr is joined by some of the most progressive musicians in the Chicago music community; Cooper Crain (Cave, Bitchin Bajas), Whitney Johnson (Verma), Rob Frye (Bitchin Bajas), Adam Luksetich (Little Scream), and Kathleen Baird (Spires That In The Sunset Rise). Fohr cements her reputation as a fearless songwriter and inventive arranger with this stirring collection of songs that are both gorgeous and emotionally potent.
In Plain Speech represents the start of a new, more collaborative chapter for Circuit des Yeux. While previous works were solo affairs, not only in performance, but emotionally tied to a sense of confinement and place, these new songs were composed after a move to a collective living space, giving Fohr an opportunity to break free of the isolation that informed her previous albums. Fohr brought her community, literally, to the recording. In Plain Speech continues her collaboration with Crain, but it is her first recording with a full band, who are all leaders in Chicago’s new wave of creative musicians. Her songs, while always potent when delivered solo, shine in this new band context. Companionship and solidarity are themes woven throughout the album. “Do The Dishes” is a meditation on sisterhood, and a message to other women to take risks, follow their passions deeply and to love themselves. “Fantasize the Scene” explores the idea of eternal friendship.
Extensive touring after Circuit des Yeux’s acclaimed 2013 album Overdue influenced the making of the album in several ways. On that tour, which stretched for months throughout Europe and the US, Fohr toured solo, no band, no tour manager, no driver, and in that solitude learned to commune with the audience in a way that she hadn’t ever before. That connection sparked in her mind a conversation with the audience, and many of the lyrics on In Plain Speech are directed at “you,” the listener. She also became acutely aware of disquiet, a pervasive anxiety, which permeated society in almost every city she visited. “I felt an uneasiness that superseded phonetic communication,” she writes. “Something dim is in the air, and it is looming large.” This anxiety creeped into songs like “A Story Of This World,” which is a call for change of priorities and values among the world’s leadership.
Fohr will tour with the musicians who play on In Plain Speech throughout 2015. If the band’s debut show is any indication, these shows will be lush and captivating, the band enhancing her already compelling performances. Fohr self-released her 2013 album Overdue, which was praised by NPR, Pitchfork, Tiny Mix Tapes, and more - an impressive display of support for an artist working on her own. 2015 will certainly bring many more exciting chapters in Fohr’s ongoing story.
In Plain Speech represents the start of a new, more collaborative chapter for Circuit des Yeux. While previous works were solo affairs, not only in performance, but emotionally tied to a sense of confinement and place, these new songs were composed after a move to a collective living space, giving Fohr an opportunity to break free of the isolation that informed her previous albums. Fohr brought her community, literally, to the recording. In Plain Speech continues her collaboration with Crain, but it is her first recording with a full band, who are all leaders in Chicago’s new wave of creative musicians. Her songs, while always potent when delivered solo, shine in this new band context. Companionship and solidarity are themes woven throughout the album. “Do The Dishes” is a meditation on sisterhood, and a message to other women to take risks, follow their passions deeply and to love themselves. “Fantasize the Scene” explores the idea of eternal friendship.
Extensive touring after Circuit des Yeux’s acclaimed 2013 album Overdue influenced the making of the album in several ways. On that tour, which stretched for months throughout Europe and the US, Fohr toured solo, no band, no tour manager, no driver, and in that solitude learned to commune with the audience in a way that she hadn’t ever before. That connection sparked in her mind a conversation with the audience, and many of the lyrics on In Plain Speech are directed at “you,” the listener. She also became acutely aware of disquiet, a pervasive anxiety, which permeated society in almost every city she visited. “I felt an uneasiness that superseded phonetic communication,” she writes. “Something dim is in the air, and it is looming large.” This anxiety creeped into songs like “A Story Of This World,” which is a call for change of priorities and values among the world’s leadership.
Fohr will tour with the musicians who play on In Plain Speech throughout 2015. If the band’s debut show is any indication, these shows will be lush and captivating, the band enhancing her already compelling performances. Fohr self-released her 2013 album Overdue, which was praised by NPR, Pitchfork, Tiny Mix Tapes, and more - an impressive display of support for an artist working on her own. 2015 will certainly bring many more exciting chapters in Fohr’s ongoing story.
MARISA ANDERSON
Combining boundless creative imagination with a deep reverence for American folk, blues and country music, MARISA ANDERSON's guitar playing is fluid, emotional, dexterous and original. Signal to Noise magazine calls Anderson's guitar work "Utterly fabulous", TIme Out London refers to her playing as "Stunning…haunting and evocative", Pitchfork calls her latest record, 'Mercury', "Brilliant" and Wire Magazine says, "Her sound has strength in restless variety…Anderson's playing is heartfelt and utterly American, free from grandstanding and steeped in respect for the old tradition." Before going solo in 2009, Anderson played guitar in the Dolly Ranchers and the Evolutionary Jass Band. In the past two years, Anderson's music has landed her festival appearances in Europe and the United States and opening slots for artists including Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Devil Makes 3 and Sharon Van Etten. In August 2013, KBOO Community Radio released a split 7″ featuring Anderson and Elizabeth Cotton. Anderson's music has been featured on NPR and on soundtracks including 'Smokin' Fish', 'For the Love of Dolly', 'Girls Rock', and 'Gift To Winter'. Her writings on music and activism have appeared in Bitch Magazine, Leaf Litter, and in Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, the book. Her new album, "Traditional and Public Domain Songs," is now available from the Grapefruit Record Club.