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Tyondai Braxton

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Tyondai Braxton
Braxton, 2008
Braxton, 2008
Background information
Birth nameTyondai Adaien Braxton
Born (1978-10-26) October 26, 1978 (age 46)
New York City, New York, United States
GenresAvant-garde, contemporary classical, experimental rock
OccupationMusician
Years active1998–present
LabelsWarp, Nonesuch
Websitetyondaibraxton.com
Braxton performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, 2012
Tyondai Braxton & the Wordless Music Orchestra perform Central Market at Alice Tully Hall 2011
Tyondai Braxton with Battles, Moers Festival 2008

Tyondai Adaien Braxton (born October 26, 1978) is an American composer and musician.[1][2][3] He has composed and performed music under his own name and collaboratively since the mid-1990s,[2] including in the experimental rock group Battles from its formation in 2002[4] until his departure from the group in 2010.[5]

Early life

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The son of avant-garde jazz composer Anthony Braxton, as a child Tyondai Braxton was exposed to the music of Warne Marsh, Paul Desmond, and John Coltrane through his father.[6] As a teen, he took musical inspiration from alternative rock bands Nirvana and Sonic Youth, as well as punk rock.[6] Braxton studied composition at the Hartt School of the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut where his teachers included Robert Carl, Ingram Marshall, and Ken Steen.[7]

Career

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In late 2002, Braxton co-founded Battles; he performed as the band's guitarist, keyboardist, and singer until his departure in 2010.[4][8] The group received worldwide acclaim for their debut album Mirrored (2007), which was hailed by Time and Pitchfork as among the ten best records of the year.[9][10] The 10-month tour for the record brought the band to such venues as the Cartier Foundation Museum in Paris, the Fuji Rock Festival in Northern Japan, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia for Brian Enoʼs Luminous Festival.[11]

Braxton's Central Market was released worldwide by Warp Records in September 2009.[12] The album, Braxton's second full length as a solo artist, features a large-scale orchestral score with performances by The Wordless Music Orchestra.[13] The album's name is a nod to both Stravinsky's Petrushka (the fairytale-like bazaar that opens that ballet) and the worldwide market crash of 2008.[14]

Central Market was premiered by Braxton and The Wordless Music Orchestra in the U.S at Lincoln Center,[15] followed by performances at the Library of Congress and the Walker Arts Museum.[16] The work premiered in the U.K at Steve Reich's 2011 Reverberation Festival, Barbican Centre, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra performing,[17] and was adapted for ballet by Baryshnikov Art Center resident choreographer John Heginbotham.[18]

In 2011, Braxton expanded his focus to an array of other commissions and performances, including a return to Alice Tully Hall to premiere TREMS, a new two-movement work for Bang on a Can All Stars;[19][20] the Barbican premiere of Uffe’s Woodshop for string quartet, performed by the Kronos Quartet;[21] and a duo with seminal composer Philip Glass for the New York edition of the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in 2012.[22][23] Central Market was then performed by the London Sinfonietta and Wordless Music Group at Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre in London.[24]

In 2013, Alarm Will Sound premiered Braxton’s piece for chamber orchestra and electronics, Fly by Wire, commissioned by and performed at Carnegie Hall.[25] Central Market was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall, and the world premiere of HIVE (a multimedia composition for two modular synthesizers players and three percussionists on five large wooden pods) appeared at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim.[19][3] HIVE was then premiered in Europe in Kraków, Poland at the Sacrum Profanum festival.[3]

In early 2014, Braxton collaborated with the electronic music pioneers Mouse on Mars, performing a new version of In C by the American composer Terry Riley as a part of the Stargaze festival in Berlin, Germany at the Volksbühne.[26] HIVE premiered in Australia at MONA FOMA in Hobart, Tasmania and at The Sydney Opera House in Sydney Australia, as a part of Sydney Festival.[3]

In the summer of 2014, Drum Corps International's Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps included Braxton's compositions Uffe's Woodshop and Platinum Rows in their second place musical program, TILT.[27]

In 2015, Braxton released HIVE1, his first solo album in six years and his first on Nonesuch Records.[28] Written and recorded throughout 2013 and 2014, the recording comprises eight pieces that were originally conceived for a performance work called HIVE that debuted at New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 2013.[28] Oranged Out E.P, comprising music from the HIVE1 recordings, followed in 2016.[29]

In 2018 Braxton premiered Telekinesis a piece for electric guitars, orchestra, choir and electronics at Queen Elizabeth Hall at South Bank in London with the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Singers.[30] It was performed in 2019 in Helsinki, Finland at the Helsinki Music Center with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.[31]

In 2022, Braxton released Telekinesis, the studio recording of his piece for electric guitars, orchestra, choir and electronics on Nonesuch.[32] In fall 2022, Braxton joined the faculty of the music department at Princeton University.[33]

Recorded work

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  • Death Slug 2000[34] (2000) – with Jonathan Matis
  • History That Has No Effect (2002), JMZ
  • Rise, Rise, Rise (2003), Narnack – split LP with Parts & Labor
  • Central Market (2009), Warp
  • Casino Trem (2015) featured on Bang on a Can Field Recordings Cantaloupe Music
  • HIVE1 (2015), Nonesuch
  • Oranged Out E.P (2016), Beatink Records
  • Music for Ensemble & Pitchshifter Delay (2017) featured on Yarn/Wire Currents 0
  • ArpRec1 (2017) featured on Brooklyn Rider Spontaneous Symbols In A Circle Records
  • Dia / Phonolydian (2021), Nonesuch
  • Telekinesis (2022) Nonesuch
  • Vacancy (2022) featured on Stargaze One Transgressive Records
  • Sunny X (2023) Cedille Records

With Battles

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Main article: Battles (band)

Collaborations

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References

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  1. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (9 April 2018). "Composer Tyondai Braxton: 'I'm at war with myself. That's what the piece sounds like'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b Shteamer, Hank (21 September 2009). "Tyondai Braxton unravelled". Time Out Dubai. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Vida, Ben (1 October 2014). "Tyondai Braxton by Ben Vida". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b Barclay, Michael (17 September 2007). "Battles: Life During Wartime". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  5. ^ Margasak, Peter (13 July 2017). "Former Battles front man Tyondai Braxton plays his first solo set in Chicago since 2006". The Chicago Reader. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b Coscarelli, Joe (15 May 2015). "Tyondai Braxton Talks About Punk, Percussion and Dad". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Yarn/Wire + Peter Evans + Tyondai Braxton". ISSUE Project Room. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  8. ^ Breihan, Tom (6 August 2010). "Tyondai Braxton Leaves Battles". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  9. ^ Vaziri, Aidin (30 December 2007). "Best overlooked albums of 2007". SFGate. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  10. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2007". Pitchfork. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Philippines Benefit Concert for Typhoon Yolanda". LPR. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  12. ^ Ratliff, Ben (14 September 2009). "Critics' Choice - New CDs - Tyondai Braxton - Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  13. ^ Battaglia, Andy (21 September 2009). "Tyondai Braxton: Central Market Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  14. ^ Hunter, Trevor (1 September 2009). "Tyondai Braxton: Central Market". New Music USA. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  15. ^ Pelly, Jenn (8 March 2011). "Live: Tyondai Braxton And The Wordless Music Orchestra Entrance A Sea Of Turtlenecks At Lincoln Center". The Village Voice. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  16. ^ Dombal, Ryan (11 October 2010). "Tyondai Braxton to Tour With Orchestra". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  17. ^ Hannah, Andrew (8 October 2012). "Ether Festival 2012: Best Fit speaks to Tyondai Braxton". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  18. ^ La Rocco, Claudia (13 May 2012). "Dance Heginbotham at the Baryshnikov Arts Center". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  19. ^ a b Pelly, Jenn (7 January 2013). "Tyondai Braxton to Debut New Work This Spring, Including Multimedia HIVE Piece". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  20. ^ Greene, Jayson (1 May 2012). "Report: Bang on a Can 25th Anniversary Concert". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  21. ^ Picard, Anna (28 January 2012). "Kronos Quartet, Hackney Empire, London The Enchanted Island, Metropolitan Opera, New York / UK Cinemas/ Radio 3". The Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  22. ^ Jarnow, Jesse (20 September 2012). "Tyondai Braxton On His ATP Collaboration With Philip Glass". The Village Voice. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  23. ^ "All Tomorrow's Parties 2012: Live photos". Time Out New York. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  24. ^ "Ether Festival - Tyondai Braxton and London Sinfonietta at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  25. ^ Smith, Steve (8 April 2013). "Alarm Will Sound, at Zankel Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  26. ^ Gwilliam, Alex (25 February 2014). "STARGAZE FESTIVAL". Crack Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  27. ^ Williams, David (29 July 2014). "REVIEW: Drum Corps International's Drums Across the Tri-State". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  28. ^ a b Walls, Seth Colter (12 May 2015). "Tyondai Braxton: HIVE1 Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  29. ^ Yoo, Noah (23 June 2016). "Tyondai Braxton Announces New EP to Benefit Gun Safety Organization". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  30. ^ "Tyondai Braxton TELEKINESIS - BBC Concert Orchestra". BBC. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  31. ^ "Tyondai Braxton — Mills Music Now". Mills Performing Arts. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  32. ^ Lovdahl, Ian (24 February 2023). "Tyondai Braxton - Telekinesis (Self-Released, 2022)". The Free Jazz Collective. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  33. ^ "Faculty Appointments: Tyondai Braxton & Nathalie Joachim". Princeton University Department of Music. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  34. ^ "Death Slug 2000 | Tyondai Braxton and Jonathan Matis". Braxtonmatis.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
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