Alexander Noice: "Affectation"

Call this one a pleasant surprise: the first few seconds of Alexander Noice's latest single, "Affectation," featured on his upcoming new LP NOICE, indicated that I would be treated to a shrill vocal loop shoehorned into an anemic space bar-enabled rally of bleeps and tin cymbals. Such was not the case as the effects and vocals flourished under the composer's direction, given purpose as syncopated percussion and math-plucked melodies added the right amount of urgency. "Affectation'"s near 7-minutes is a rush of instrumental and vocal arrangement, its academia and soul culminating in a calm saxophone line (played by Gavin Templeton) that emerges a little past the midway mark. It's at that point where I was sold.

NOICE is scheduled to release on August 23rd, 2019 via Orenda Records. Check out the track below.

All info and links are courtesy of Clandestine Services.

NOICE presents a futuristic sonic landscape in a riling, cinematic album that plays out like a hypnotic space opera. In the face of our technologically exploding culture, Alexander Noice explores the elusive nature of identity and self-discovery amidst an increasing array of distraction and affectation.

Alexander Noice’s modern take on art-rock pulls on jazz, electronic music, and minimalist opera to create a sound that is inimitable and deeply personal. This amalgam of stylistic influences provides a variegated sonic bed for lyrics that delve into topics involving false pretenses pervasive in modern social contexts, and the search for meaning in revelations of science and technology. Grappling with counterintuitive manifestations of these trends, Noice dresses these themes in a sonic tapestry that marries mechanistic elements with undeniably human expression.

Relentless linear virtuosity in the guitar and saxophone intermingles with fervent, soaring operatic vocals, which either add to the band’s manic energy with sharp rhythmic articulations and lyrics, or cool it down with beautiful melodies. Thumping drums and electric bass fuel the engine of NOICE, with interjections of tailor-made samples, organically woven into highly intricate arrangements. The samples include Ethiopian vocal recordings, 808 drum samples, and recordings of children with stuttering speech syndrome, among many others. NOICE’s attraction to the extravagant visual and narrative aesthetics of filmmakers like Federico Fellini, Stanley Kubrick and Alejandro Jodorowsky make this band’s performances cinematic in scope.

NOICE sits in the cross-section of the cerebral and visceral, placing its explorations of modern culture front and center. The debut release by this ensemble on Orenda Records features an extraordinary batch of compositions by Alexander Noice, and is poised to be an instant classic from the Los Angeles underground music scene.

BIO
Alexander Noice is a composer, guitarist, producer and bandleader based in Los Angeles. Known for his highly personalized style of composition and playing, best displayed by his ensembles NOICE and Falsetto Teeth, Alexander has been a highly sought after musician in the creative music scene in Los Angeles and abroad for the past decade.

Noice has performed and toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan, and South America performing with many notable artists such as Charlie Haden, Wadada Leo Smith, Vincent Gallo, Art Ensembles of Chicago’s Famoudou Don Moye, Vinny Golia, Dorian Wood, and Daniel Rosenboom to name a few.

Noice first gained attention as a highly accomplished guitarist with an unmistakably strong command and unique voice on the instrument. It didn't take long before he was gaining recognition for his work as a composer displayed in a myriad of configurations and ensembles including string quartets, wind quintets, music for animation, and jazz/improvised groups. From 2008-2013 he led the highly revered art rock/punk trio Falsetto Teeth, and in 2016 Noice released his first solo electronic album called Music Made With Voicesin which he uses a single note sung by eight different people as the sole source material to create eight elaborate, fragmented, and beautiful sonic portraits that reflect our modern relationships seen through a digitized prism.

His newest project simply called, NOICE is a Los Angeles-based ensemble that seamlessly melds art rock, electronica, post minimalism, and jazz into a singular, mesmerizing sound. The ensemble is celebrated for their electrifying live performances - acrobatic in its execution and cinematic in scope. NOICE is Alexander's most personal and fully realized project to date, incorporating the diversity of genre, and musical neurosis that makes his music so inimitable. They are now embarking on the release of what will be their debut album, expected to be released in late summer of 2019.

LINKS
Pre-order: https://orendarecords.com/0069-noice

Website | Facebook | Orenda Records | Bandcamp

PAST RELEASES
NOICE Live Videos | Music Made With Voices | Falsetto Teeth

Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead