Bjork & Dirty Projectors @ Housing Works
May 11, 2009
As far as charity events go, this was one for the ages…And I only say that because Bjork typically plays massive stadiums; not 300 person capacity bookstore collaborations with perhaps the most talked about “indie” band of 2009. It seems hard to pick a highlight from a night that featured a mixed set of acoustic songs from the upcoming and soon to be critically acclaimed ‘Bitte Orca’ coupled with a brand new, never before heard suite of music composed by Dave Longstreth featuring Bjork and his bandmates (the lovely pairing of Angel Deradoorian and Amber Coffman). To top off the epic show, Bjork and Dave Longstreth manned the decks up at the Cooper Square Hotel rooftop, spinning everything from Beyonce to Tom Tom Club. All in all, the event was a success in terms of the amount of money raised, and even more so in terms of the good vibes and rare mix of talent in the room, (i.e David Byrne, M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, St. Vincent, and The National, to name a few)…Big thanks to Brandon, Amrit, and all the great guys at Streogum and Housing Works for all their hard work in putting this event together. Without a doubt, one of the most special/unique musical events in the city for quite some time..
Angel Deradoorian – Mind Raft
May 5, 2009
The solo recording debut of Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors’ 22-year-old bassist and vocalist), the Mind Raft EP is one of those special releases that has the innate ability to make one want to move in and listen more closely. Produced by fellow Projector Dave Longstreth, Deradoorian’s innate knack for composition has resulted in a surprising goth-folk album lush with guitars, flute, electronics, and the occasional string section. But the real appeal of this five song set, as Dirty Projectors fans can attest to, is Deradoorian’s voice, which exposes a raw emotion that seamlessly blurs the line between melancholy drone and soulful inspiration, and delivers fascinating intrigue in knowing that we are listening to an artist open up and find themselves before our very own ears.
