Advertisement
Black Editions Presents an evening of two London based artists: Experimental Drummer, Producer, Composer, Improviser **VALENTINA MAGALETTI** and Synth/Vocal/Guitarist and Sound Artist **NORDRA**.**Valentina Magaletti** is a drummer-composer and multi-instrumentalist with an inventive approach to drums and percussion. Her versatile technique, which can incorporate anything from vibes and marimba to contact microphones and found objects, results in a style that is forever evolving. Feeling just as comfortable performing behind a delicate ceramic kit as she does hammering out motorik rhythms, her creative take on percussion has resulted in a diverse discography and many interesting collaborations.
As a drummer, Magaletti moves effortlessly between the seemingly disparate worlds of alternative and mainstream music. She has played with artists such as Jandek, Pat Thomas, Deb Googe, Malcolm Mooney, Thurston Moore, Steve Beresford, Steve Shelley, Lafawndah, Mica Levi, Sampha, Nicolas Jaar to name a few. In addition to collaborating with the gamelan Ensemble Nist-Nah and drummers Malcom Catto, Julian Sartorius and Charles Hayward, she has played with stalwarts of the experimental underground scene like Gnod’s Marlene Ribeiro, Wire’s Graham Lewis, and Thighpaulsandra (Coil). In 2017, Valentina participated in The Can Project, standing in for the late Jaki Liebezeit, at London’s Barbican Centre.
Magaletti’s compositional credits are just as elaborate: with Tom Relleen, she was one half of Tomaga, the critically acclaimed electronic duo; with Al Wootton, she creates irresistible claustrophobic dub as Holy Tongue; with Pino Montecalvo, under the Avvitagalli alias, Valentina improvises intricate sonic collages; alongside percussionist João Pais Filipe, as CZN, she constructs hallucinatory rhythmic worlds, which are as fragile as they are eternal.
Perhaps her most accessible project is Vanishing Twin, the trio with Cathy Lucas and Susumu Mukai aka Zongamin, that explores the spaces bridging jazz and psychedelia. In contrast, Better Corners – Valentina’s remote collaboration with Matthew Simms (Wire, Memorials) and Sarah Register (Kim Gordon Band) – utilises an array of treated sound sources like prepared piano, flutes, and modular boxes to generate abrasive drone-laden soundscapes. Following the impulse to explore uncharted territories, Magaletti teamed up with production duo Raime. Christening the project Moin, the trio created Moot! for Nic Tasker’s AD 93 label in 2021. As a solo artist Valentina often investigates texture. Batterie Fragile (unjenesaisquoi, 2022) sees the percussionist play a ceramic drum kit conceived by Yves Chaudouët. Magaletti employs wire brushes, wooden reeds and rubber beaters to summon unusual sonic characteristics from the porcelain. In a similar vein, A Queer Anthology of Drums (bié Records, 2022) – originally released on Cafe Oto's Takuroku imprint – reflects on her queer identity, the ritualistic aspects of improvisation, and the opressive realities of lockdown life by collaging together low-fi drones, field recordings and modulated percussive objects. The result is a melancholy montage that bears traces of influence from the visual arts: Dada, Surrealism, Art Brut.
While studying drums, early exposure to both prog and bebop styles engendered an appetite for experimentation. With each new project, Valentina is developing fresh nuances and searching for new ways of teasing out sound from her signature instrument. For Magaletti, playing the drums is akin to an unfolding narrative: stories that eschew spoken language in favour of rhythm, pulse, and vibration.
Valentina Magaletti is based in London.
*The works of musician and sound artist* **Nordra** *create an intriguing wholeness through her masterful ability to deconstruct musical structure in a language of industrial music and noise.* Having within them an almost orchestral dimension (with the appearance of each element having its place and purpose) the results present an adventurous quality through apparent dub, techno, and musique-concrète influences, without lacking in any depth of emotion.
The alchemy of her live performance has led to her sharing the stage with artists of a psychotropic nature like beak>, Demdike Stare, SUMAC, Anthony Braxton, Yves Tumor, and OXBOW.
Nordra’s past releases PYLON III \[2020\], self-titled \[2017\], and PYLON II \[2018\] quickly rose to international critical acclaim, the latter charting #20 on The Wire Magazine’s Best Album of the Year, and #1 on The Wire Magazine’s Best Noise and Industrial Album of the Year. She has performed extensively, presenting her music at Donaufestival, Skanu Mezs (Sound Forest) Festival, Timezones Festival, Pioneer Works, Cornish Playhouse, CAOS Museum, amongst many other museums, contemporary art spaces, concert halls, churches, and festivals throughout Europe, North America, Canada, and China. Khot has been enlisted to play in the touring bands of other artists including Daughters, Zola Jesus, Marissa Nadler, and Cassandra Jenkins.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
2220 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057, USA, United States
Tickets