Rhys Chatham tackles climate change in music in Brooklyn

At 67, New Yorker Rhys Chatham spent most of his life in France. But he returns to his hometown for a concert called "The Sun Too Close to the Earth" on October 4 and 5 at the ISSUE Project Room, as part of the FIAF Crossing the Line Festival.

In this piece, the artist, a pioneer of minimalist music in the United States who collaborated with Philip Glass and Meredith Monk in particular, will talk about the dangers of climate change in music. "It's my daughter's faultjokes the artist. She is 28 years old, she is French and speaks English and has studied environmental management. Like other young people of her generation, she feels she will not inherit the Earth".

The piece was composed for several instruments: electric guitars, percussion, keyboard, trumpet in particular … A reflection of the eclectic tastes of this American jack-of-all whose father was harpsichordist and who poured into the clarinet, the horn or the flute and electric guitar. "Music is a vocation for me. I never had a doubt about what I wanted to do. When I had money problems, my father said to my wife: above all, do not stop him from making music"He recalls. His career took flight in the 70s. Rhys Chatham crosses the path of La Monte Young, pope of minimalist music (or repetitive). He is passionate about this style that uses repetition as a production technique.

After a concert of the punk rock band Les Ramones in 1977, he "fall in love"From the electric guitar and begins to compose for this instrument. Very quickly, he thinks big and aims at large guitar ensembles. In 1989, he wrote a piece for 100 guitars and, in 2005, the city of Paris, where he lives since 1987, he ordered a composition for 400 for the Nuit Blanche.

In recent years, he has returned to softer instruments for his ears, such as trumpet and flute. His show at Crossing the Line translates this return to wind instruments. In addition to "The Sun Too Close to the Earth", he will introduce his audience two other compositions: "On, Suzanne", a duet for harp and percussion, and "The Possessed", which he will play on the bass flute .