Next Sunday in Houston: The Lepers Of Melancholy

November 7, 2010, 8pm
Binarium Sound Series
The Mekong Underground at 2808 Milam St., Houston, TX
The Lepers of Melancholy
Chris Becker (Houston, TX) - Laptop, Kaoss Pad
Paul Watson (Richmond, VA) – Cornet, Electronics, Vocals
Lynn Wright (NYC, NY) - Electric Guitar, Electronics, Vocals

Listen to Double from the forthcoming Lepers Of Melancholy EP.

“Several summers ago, Lynn Wright, Paul Watson and I spent a week with producer Grant Curry at his studio next to Louisiana’s Tangipahoa river to record as an improvising trio that would not shy away from songs, spoken word, and/or the joy of a good groove. My relocation to Houston since that summer has meant less contact with Lynn and Paul. So I'm excited to share that through some fortunate circumstances and timing, the three of us will combine our respective musical voices again November 7th, 8pm, at Johnathan Jindra’s Binarium Series for two sets of music we dare not describe in advance. However, Paul came up with a moniker for this project and it says as much as one can about what you will hear."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you, The Lepers Of Melancholy.” – Chris Becker

Multi-instrumentalist Paul Watson is a long time and influential contributor to Richmond, Virgina and the Southeast’s counter culture and experimental rock scene. A small sampling of the bands he has performed and/or recorded with include: Sparklehorse, One Ring Zero, Vic Chestnut, Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser, Eugene Chadbourne, ...and the Wiremen, Chris Becker, Glorious Company, Them Against Them, Ostinato, Sarah White, Tanakh, Tulsa Drone, Broken Hips, Spokane, South, Patrick Phelan, Blasco Ballroom, Cordero, Bee & Flower, Michael Hurley, Nina Persson, Plasmodium, Dexter Romweber, Rattlemouth, GriefBirds, Dirtball, Rainer Ptacek, Cracker, FSK, House of Freaks, Orthotonics, Gongs Of Violence, Half-Japanese, Hollow State. Ape In Essence, Albert Collins, Trans, Thunderbird Davis, the Cavemen. Paul Watson on My Space

Brooklyn-based guitarist/composer Lynn Wright has collaborated with a wide range of artists in the experimental rock, world, and new music scenes, including New Orleans gothic-soul songwriter James Hall, the Berlin chamber-pop ensemble Bee and Flower, Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone, Cordero, composer Chris Becker, and multi-instrumentalist Paul Watson. He currently works as a composer and producer of music for television, film, and dance; is a member of the electric Miles-influenced, Afro-Colombian music collective Gachupín; delves into improvisation with the Lepers of Melancholy, explores the collision of trance, minimalism and the spirit of Sonny Sharrock with the instrumental trio Ballroom Dance Is Dead, and leads his own, song-oriented band …And The Wiremen. Lynn Wright on My Space

The music of composer and laptop artist Chris Becker is equally inspired by rock and roll language, avant-garde jazz, dub compositional strategies, and musique concrète. His body of work includes compositions for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and mixed-media installations. He has received grants and awards from The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Meet The Composer, the American Music Center and The American Society of Composers and Publishers. Becker lives in Houston, TX. His current projects include collaborative performance and recordings with vocalist Alexandra Marculewicz Adshead and writing a monthly dispatch for the classical music website Sequenza21 about Houston’s contemporary music scene.