Electric Circus at Hidden Hall, Seattle
Hot Time in the Summer Time and Anthem of the Sun Ra (Space is the Place meets San Francisco, 1967)
Electric Circus, led by Wayne Horvitz, celebrates the intersection between the great movements in Avant-Garde jazz with the far reaching explorations of the great 60’s psychedelic bands.
Electric Circus is a 16-piece multimedia orchestra which creates wide ranging improvisations that are 1-part sonic madness, 1-part orchestral happenings, and 1-part dance floor grooves for a future generation. The music begins with granular chunks of classic funk, pop, soul, and rock riffs to instigate all manner of madness. The music is created using “conduction” to generate musical launch points and morphing structures.
Hot Time in the Summer Time features the music of: Martha and the Vandellas, George Gershwin, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Beyonce, Sly and the Family Stone, Violent Femmes, Led Zepplin, Chic, The Ramones, and The Beach Boys.
Anthem of the Sun Ra starts at its foundation with two iconic records, The Grateful Dead’s 2nd studio album. “Anthem of the Sun” and Sun Ra’s iconic recording “Space is the Place”. From there the band will mashup, reinvent and simply find pleasure in music from the Jefferson Airplane, Henry Threadgill, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Pharoah Sanders, Jimi Hendrix as well as songs from additional Grateful Dead and Sun Ra recordings.
“It’s simple,” says keyboardist and composer Wayne Horvitz. “Anthem of the Sun, and what Jerry Garcia did with his newly acquired 8-track, was the inspiration that led me to all the interesting music I have been enamored of ever since. By the time I heard Sun Ra in the early 70s, I was ready!”