Sound for Silents: Film + Music on the Walker Hillside
Thursday, August 16, Free
Dusk (about 8:30 pm)
Walker Commission
Grab a blanket, pack a picnic, and head to the Walker hillside for eclectic evening of new music and silent films from the 1920s. For this special Walker commission, local electro virtuoso Martin Dosh and his ensemble Dosh Quintet (Dan Bitney of Tortoise, Sarah Elstran, Mike Sopko, Joey Van Phillips along with James Buckley) present intriguing and new live cinematic scores set to silent works from the Walker’s Ruben/Bentson collection. Tunes from DJ Sean McPherson of 89.3 The Current and food trucks add to the mix for the perfect summer night out.
The evening’s program of short avant-garde films will include experimental and colorful abstract works Lichtspiel: Opus I (1921) and Opus II, III, and IV (1923–1925) by German filmmaker Walter Ruttmann, as well as an excerpt from his historical documentary city portrait, Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Grosstadt) (1927), made in collaboration with Alberto Cavalcanti.
The screening will also feature American filmmakers Charles Sheeler and Paul Strand’s short documentary of New York in the early 20th century, Manhatta (1920–1921).
DOSH QUINTET
Martin Dosh, or “Dosh” as he is known, has been making independent music since 2002. A longtime mainstay of the Twin Cities indie music scene, Dosh has recorded with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie, Fog, Jel, Odd Nosdam, Andrew Bird, Redstart, Def Kith, Vicious Vicious, Lateduster, The Cloak Ox, Goulden Balls and Gaelynn Lea, among others. He works with multiple instruments: keyboards, drums and samplers; incorporating multiple disciplines into a tough-to-pin-down sound.
He released his debut album Dosh, as well as Pure Trash, The Lost Take, Wolves And Wishes and Tommy on the indie label Anticon, and 2013’s Milk Money was released on Graveface Records. He has self-released several records on his own Dosh Family imprint, as well as two collaborative EPs with Ghostband, also on Anticon Records. He has done remixes for many artists from Eyedea and Abilities to Bon Iver, and has opened shows for Tune-Yards, Tortoise, Sylvan Esso, and more. And although he’s played alongside Andrew Bird, Jeremy Ylvisaker and Mike Lewis everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House to the Colbert Report, his favorite venue remains the 7th Street Entry.
Mike Sopko
Mike Sopko is a guitarist, songwriter and instrumentalist, from Cleveland, Ohio. He is a founding member of numerous bands including $pellcheck, Yellowstone Apocalypse, Togishi, Glimpse Trio, Cascading Liquid Rainbows, And Then Came Humans, and The Golden Measure. Sopko has recorded and performed with musicians such as Bill Laswell, Dosh, Los Lobos, Thomas Pridgen, Dave King, Tyshawn Sorey, Hideo Yamaki and more.
Sarah Elstran
Sarah Elstran is the Minneapolis-based artist behind The Nunnery. The layers of The Nunnery’s voice build into a chorus. The Nunnery is about the collaboration of music, art and audience.
Dan Bitney
Jazz musician Dan Bitney is a member of the band Tortoise, a five-person multi-instrumentalist collective (Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Doug McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker).
Joey Van Phillips
Kansas-native Joey Van Phillips comes from a family of drummers. He majored in music at St. John’s University. After graduating, he played everywhere he could while working in musical theater. He has collaborated with the likes of P.O.S, Dessa, Sims, Cecil Otter, Jacob Mullis, Amy Hagar, Aby Wolf, Open Mike Eagle, Mally, Kristoff Krane, Omaur Bliss, and Joe Horton.
“Meet James Buckley, the hardest-working musician in the Twin Cities” —City Pages
Buckley appeared on Bon Iver’s album 22, A Million, nominated for Best Alternative Album in the 2017 Grammy’s. He is also heard on the new P.O.S album Chill, Dummy and he has performed live with Lizzo on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.