Name: Alan Licht (US) + Support | INKONST
Start: 2025-10-03T20:00:00+02:00
Location: Inkonst

Alan Licht is one of those rare musicians who moves fluently between noise and song, concept and instinct. Whether writing, curating, or playing, his work has always been about listening as a form of thought.
RIYL: Jim O’Rourke, Lee Ranaldo, Oren Ambarchi, Rhys Chatham, Aki Onda, Fennesz, Loren Connors, DJ Spooky, Tony Conrad, Sunroof!, Steve Reich, Experimental Guitar music, Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground, No Wave.
For over two decades, Licht has mapped his own path through the worlds of free improvisation, avant-garde cinema, downtown minimalism, and indie rock. As a guitarist, he’s shared stages with legends like Derek Bailey, Rashied Ali, Christian Marclay, and Jim O’Rourke, while also touring with cult icons including Arthur Lee, Tom Verlaine, and Jandek. With Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, he co-founded Text of Light, an ensemble that performs live scores to experimental films by the likes of Stan Brakhage and Hollis Frampton. Licht’s playing—often centered on loops, drones, and repetition—acts as both atmosphere and argument, making space for sound to unfold like language.
Beyond music, he’s a deep thinker and writer, with essays published in The Wire, Modern Painters, and The Village Voice. His landmark book Sound Art: Beyond Music, Between Media was the first major English-language survey of the genre. He’s also co-authored a long-form conversation with Will Oldham (Will Oldham on Bonnie ”Prince” Billy) and launched collaborative projects with Cory Arcangel and Howie Chen (Title TK). Recent work includes improvising with Aki Onda and Michael Snow, and a duo with Yeah Yeah Yeahs drummer Brian Chase.
https://alanlicht.bandcamp.com/