In the Upper East Side townhouse that the American Irish Historical Society calls home, a violinist ambled down the stairs while tuning her instrument and a harpist improvised with electronic sounds that came from the walls.
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Wall Street Journal
In the Upper East Side townhouse that the American Irish Historical Society calls home, a violinist ambled down the stairs while tuning her instrument and a harpist improvised with electronic sounds that came from the walls.
One of New York's scrappiest contemporary music groups is turning to opera. Beginning Friday and running through May 12 at the New Victory Theater on 42nd Street, the Metropolis Ensemble will accompany "The Firework-Maker's Daughter," a new opera by David Bruce, the promising 2012-2013 composer-in-residence at London's Royal Opera House.
Fuse: Questlove’s Electrifying ‘Shuffle Culture’ Concert
“Questlove spent most of the 75-minute set sitting quietly behind his drum set, a pick sticking out of his Afro as his head swayed to the strings of the Metropolis Ensemble… the highlights were uniquely electrifying. Deerhoof’s fanciful noise-rock paired surprisingly well with orchestral strings.”
Village Voice: Questlove Puts The World On Shuffle At BAM
“On one level, the premise was anticipatory, predicting a future where concertgoers won’t have the time or patience for a low-concept, single-band show. On the other, one could see the evening’s roots: in the mixtape, the DJ set, the all-star benefit concert, the R&B revue. And it was this marriage of old and new—analog and digital—that permeated the night, a constant reminder that, as Q-Tip famously told his daddy, things go in cycles.”
Brooklyn Vegan: Questlove brought 'Shuffle Culture’ to BAM
“For all of the pre-show talk about iPods, much of the vibe seemed to echo the beginning of the previous century. Metropolis Ensemble and Jeremy Ellis, the two acts that did most of the heavy lifting, focused on material that captured the pop of a record needle, the static of the AM radio band and the warbly tempos of an antique turntable.”
Capital: Questlove’s Post-iPod Humanism Brings Brilliant Cross-Genre Shuffling to the Concert Hall
“Meantime, a double string quartet pulled from the ranks of the Metropolis Ensemble - whose contributions had been mostly marooned from the other musicians during the night, truly shuffled off to the side—draped some gorgeous pizzicato playing of few simple arpeggios over the top. The arrangement wasn’t overcrowded; everything felt magically in balance - and yet there was a sense of group improvisation at work.”
NY Daily News: Brooklyn Shuffle
“We wanted to take some of the old and some of the new music and create a unique experience. It’s always interesting to take musicians with different backgrounds and have them play music none of them are really familiar with.”
Wall Street Journal: Questlove Shuffles to Brooklyn
“Questlove will join a genre-busting assortment of his favorite performers to offer a kaleidoscopic peek at his own aesthetic shuffle mode: from Rahzel ("the human beatbox”) to indie-rock wild card Deerhoof, to actress/industrial rocker/former porn star Sasha Grey—all tied together by the strings of the Metropolis Ensemble.“
Village Voice: Questlove’s Quest
"To Questlove, the concept of Shuffle Culture is something to be both celebrated and critiqued. It’s an approach to life that allows us to consume more information than ever before but at a rate that doesn’t always provide us the time to appreciate that knowledge.”
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