Fridman Gallery's New Ear Festival is a bold exploration of avant-garde sound and contemporary art. The festival features a diverse lineup of artists pushing the boundaries of sonic innovation, embodying one of Fridman Gallery's core missions—to help restore the creative, experimental spirit of downtown Manhattan. The seventh iteration of Fridman Gallery's New Ear Festival takes place January 5-7, 2024. All three nights will be streamed live on the Live from Fridman Gallery Wave Farm Radio channel and Friday and Saturday night performances will be broadcast live on WGXC 90.7-FM. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.fridmangallery.com/new-ear-festival.

Sunday night features Nepenthae, Le Son 7, and HxH.

Nepenthae’s slow moving and visceral sonic world draws upon diverse influences ranging from noise, doom metal, free jazz, and spectralism, invoking a full spectrum vibratory experience, oscillating between stasis and movement, and the material intensity of low frequency sound. Nepenthae’s unique instrumentation features: 17-string electric bass (Zach Layton), contrabass, (Henry Fraser), and drums (Greg Fox).

CURATED BY ((LE SON 7)) Le Son 7, a sound art gallery based in France, on the eve of its first exhibition in New York (from 9 – 14 January, 570 Broome Street, 10013 NY) presents a one-hour guided listening session of multi-channel and stereo pieces. The gallery only works with audio, there is nothing to see. On the program are two stereo pieces, a compelling study of climate change in California by Bernie Krause and a sonification of the oscillations of stars by Caroline Devine, a four-channel deep-listening contemplation of different cities by KMRU and two eight channel works: a supernatural evocation of the ancient symbols by Beatriz Ferreyra and a tribute to a departed friend from Stephen Vitiello.

HxH is the improvisatory electro-acoustic duo of Lester St. Louis and Chris Williams. The duo utilizes a mix of trumpet, cello and electronics to build worlds traversing through acoustic sound, grainy textures, expansive pools of sounds, breaks, cuts and beats. The approach is conceived as an expansiveness that holds a personal intimacy. HxH wants to bring the listeners in, tune them to the experience and take a long trip. HxH functions as a vehicle to bring together the mass of references and influences Chris and Lester share and create ways to crystalize those ideas in real, expanded time to an experience over minutes or hours.