St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's Liquid Music Series to Present Ben Frost, 2/9

February 9 at Amsterdam Bar & Hall in downtown Saint Paul, The SPCO's Liquid Music program will present composer, performer and producer Ben Frost in a rare US appearance previewing new material and a new ensemble prior to a highly anticipated 2013 album release.

Frost's music is about contrast, influenced as much by classical minimalism as by punk rock and metal. Muscular yet cerebral, ambient yet urgent, his compositions merge guitar-based textures, musique concrète samples, and building-shaking amplified electronics into sweeping digital soundscapes. His compositions are created with an acute awareness of the listener and their comfort thresholds, exploiting every Extreme of pitch and volume.

Increasingly in demand for his exorbitant electronic production work, Frost has collaborated with artists as diverse as Björk, Sinfonetta Cracovia, Swans, Tim Hecker and label mates Nico Muhly and Sam Amidon. He was recently awarded Music Protégé in the The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and has spent the past two years learning from and working with music producer, theorist, and composer, Brian Eno. Frost has just completed scores on several film and stage productions and is currently writing his first opera, based on the Iain Banks novel, The Wasp Factory.

"One of the most interesting and groundbreaking producers in the world today... showing us the future of electronic music" (Boomkat), Frost makes a rare US appearance in Saint Paul, previewing new material and a new ensemble - including former Liturgy drummer Greg Fox (recently named NYC's "Best Drummer" by The Village Voice) and composer/multi-instrumentalist Paul Corley - prior to a highly anticipated 2013 album release.

The concert will take place on Saturday, February 9, 2013, 8:00pm at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall, Saint Paul. Ben Frost single tickets: $10. Call 651.291.1144, visit www.thespco.org or stop by the ticket office at Third Floor, The Historic Hamm Building, 408 Saint Peter St., Saint Paul, Minn. For more information, visit thespco.org/liquidmusic or call 651.291.1144.

In 2005, after receiving a degree in fine arts in Melbourne, Australia, Ben Frost relocated across the world to Reykjavik, Iceland, where he co-founded the Bedroom Community record label. His genre-defying work, influenced as much by Classical Minimalism as by Punk Rock and Metal, includes three emotionally powerful and critically acclaimed albums: Steel Wound, Theory of Machines and By the Throat. Frost's multidisciplinary collaborations have linked him with renowned choreographers Gideon Obarzanek, Erna Ómarsdottír and Wayne McGregor, and with artists as diverse as Amiina, Tim Hecker, Nico Muhly, Brian Eno and Björk. He recently completed the music for the Random Dance Company's production, Flesh in the Age of Reason, and written a new score of Tarkovsky's classic film, Solaris. Ben Frost also composed music for the 2011 film Sleeping Beauty, written and directed by Julia Leigh. ethermachines.com.

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