Supersonic & Thrill Jockey present…
In Conversation: Marisa Anderson & William Tyler
with Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo)
Thursday 7 October 2021, 19:00 BST
Live stream via Bandcamp Live
*This conversation is $1 to watch with the option to pay more if you can. We ask if you’re in a position to, you please contribute what you can afford. Your donations will help support production costs.
We’re excited to partner with Thrill Jockey as we continue our series of online talks.
Streaming via Bandcamp live, we’re delighted to present the duo Marisa Anderson & William Tyler in conversation with Yo La Tengo guitarist Ira Kaplan. The event will feature a conversation between the three guitarists, with an audience Q & A, followed by live performances of music from Anderson & Tyler’s Lost Futures, their new album out on Thrill Jockey records.
Guitarists Marisa Anderson, William Tyler and Ira Kaplan distill deeply rooted and varied traditions into distinctive voices all their own. In this new edition of our Supersonic In Conversation series, we dig into three luminary guitarists’ deep knowledge of guitar music, the making of Anderson & Tyler’s debut collaborative album Lost Futures (released this August via Thrill Jockey Records).
On Lost Futures, Anderson and Tyler’s guitars dance through lush arrangements and pastoral duets serpentine and reverent. The kindred musicians first collaborated in the days following a Portland show commemorating the life of the late David Berman. As Anderson tells it, “There was an obvious and immediate affinity musically and personally which led to the feeling that we should try and do something together, but in January of 2020, both of us had pretty full schedules so it was more of a vague idea to do something, someday… then COVID hit.”
With tours sidelined and the increasing tensions of isolation, unrest and ecological disaster looming, the duo set to composing and collaborating remotely. Tyler joined Anderson in Portland for a week before recording as protests across the city escalated and raging wildfires cast a dangerous haze. Against the tumultuous backdrop the duo found harmony in their quick, organic development as a compositional team. Rich ballads and breezy rambles flourished as the duo explored new rhythmic techniques and elaborated on unused riffs.
In uniting to meditate on their musical practices together, the two guitarists composed music filled with the joy of playing together while having a sober tone reflective of the troubled state of the world around them. No stranger to collaboration, Marisa has loaned her skills to many notable names, including Sharon Van Etten, Circuit Des Yeax, Matmos and many more. Tyler was a member of Lambchop and Silver Jews beginning in 1998.
“guitarists refining their craft to its most essential properties, tapping into the serene, timeless qualities of the instrument.” – Pitchfork
Ira Kaplan is the co-founder, vocalist & guitarist of Yo La Tengo – an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo have been called “the quintessential critics’ band” and maintain a strong cult following.
____________________________________
