A concert with Berlin-based Ukrainian artist Anton Kats and New York-based musicians Takuya Nakamura, Olivia Lucy Phillip, and Matt Evans.
Grounded Outer Space People was in residency at 1014 in June 2023. This nomadic music ensemble and artist residency is conceived by Berlin-based artist Anton Kats and was orchestrated by the semi fictional musician and storyteller ILYICH.
The newly formed ensemble inhabited a temporary studio at 1014, with Anton Kats and New York-based musicians, Takuya Nakamura, Olivia Lucy Phillip, and Matt Evans, who co-created a series of performances and interventions during the residency. This latest iteration of the project emerged in response to the military invasion of Ukraine. It traced the relationship between transmigration and music through collaborative readings, improvisations, listening sessions, storytelling, and cosmic relationality and invited the audience to unlearn predetermined relational models.
If Life Has an End, Why Wouldn’t Death? was an immersive public performance on Friday, June 9th at 6.30 PM that culminated the ensemble’s fleeting time together while materializing their shared research and ideas into visual, musical, and sonic elements.
This project was inspired by the complex narratives of Satellite Island, the artist’s hometown, in the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson. Kats’s artistic trajectory is informed by the urgencies and pragmatics of legalization, as he sought asylum in Germany in the early aughts. His practice explores the conditions of migration, ranging from concrete political struggle to transmigration, as a playful mode of figuring out the poetics of displacement.
ILYICH and Grounded Outer Space People was curated by Kari Conte and Benjamin Bergner. It is supported by Deutsches Haus at NYU, Goethe-Institut New York, and the German General Consulate in New York. Special thanks goes to the International Studio & Curatorial Program.
Event photos: Roshni Khatri
Anton Kats’s work is motivated by questions of agency and intentionality. Flexibly augmenting art practice through sound, music, performance, radio, and research, Kats develops responsive and site-specific projects exploring the interdependencies of learning, migration, and the non-normative. Kats’s practice embraces sculptures and installations, objects and drawings, concerts, lectures, performances, poems, films, radio shows, radio plays, vinyl releases, and publications. Kats’s works have been presented at the 10th Berlin Biennale, BBC 6 Music, Bergen Kunsthall, documenta14, Athens; Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin; Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India; The Lot Radio, Brooklyn; Roskilde Festival, Denmark; SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin; Serpentine Galleries, London; The Showroom, London; Sonic Acts, Amsterdam; Tate Modern, London; and Victoria and Albert Museum, London, among others. https://antonkats.net
Olivia Lucy Phillip (she/they) is an actor, singer, and songwriter. Olivia most recently played Kate Jones opposite Edie Falco in CBS’s TOMMY. Amongst many other projects, Olivia has starred in multiple original Broadway cast Broadway productions (Waitress, Disaster!, Frozen) as well as numerous West End productions (Priscilla, The Book Of Mormon, Ghost). Olivia is passionate about healing, and dedicates this, and every artistic endeavor to children suffering in silence in abusive households. Don’t suffer alone - childhelphotline.org
Photo by Maxime Giordani
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Takuya Nakamura has been playing piano, various electronic keyboards, and trumpet for decades throughout the world. Born into a musical family in Tokyo, Japan, Takuya began performing early. He studied at Kunitachi College of Music and earned his Bachelor's in Music Composition. With his interest in exploring harmony and theory in music, Takuya was introduced to the Lydian chromatic concept by Geroge Russell, as well as through works and interviews from Toru Takemitsu, Miles Davis and Bill Evans. In 1994, Takuya moved to New York and became an integral and sought-after part of NYC's vibrant music scene. With his diverse background, he has distinguished himself in his compositions and performances by fusing uncommon styles of music. Since Takuya moved to NY, he performed with Laurie Anderson and Robert Wilson. World tours include CocoRosie and Jojo Mayer. Additional studio projects include remixes for Quincy Jones, staged with Lee Scratch Perry, GZA from Wu-tang Clan. https://www.pianowarp.com
Photo by Alexia Webster
Matt Evans is a New York based drummer and producer creating electro-acoustic performances that explore the interconnectedness of landscapes, both real and imagined. Through the creation of albums, collaborations, and community projects, Matt uses musical mediums to offer contemplation on sustainable futures through researching and imagining equitable environments. His compositions draw inspiration from millennial esoterica, natural phenomena, and science fiction, resulting in hypnotic soundscapes from surreal sonic worlds. Combining a meticulous drum-driven approach with playfully processed keyboards and samples, Matt crafts a groovy, post-ambient music that’s been described as "hyperreal and phantasmal" (Wire Magazine), and "a form of chill complexity" (New York Times). Matt has presented solo projects at the Guggenheim, The Kitchen, Roulette, and 2220 Art+Archives and has released records with Moon Glyph, Whatever’s Clever, Dinzu Artefacts, NNA Tapes, Deathbomb Arc, New Amsterdam, Cantaloupe, Perfect Wave, and Thrill Jockey.
VENUE ACCESSIBILITY
Unfortunately, 1014 Fifth Avenue is in the process of being refurbished, and is not fully accessible in its current state. We apologize to our guests and kindly ask you to contact j.isaacs@1014.nyc if you need further information or assistance. We will do our best to enable everyone to join us.