False Harmonics #20: Hilary Woods, Brandon Lopez Big Bad, Patrick Higgins

For the 20th iteration of False Harmonics, Pioneer Works ventures to Gowanus' Public Records to present an ecstatic lineup of new music that explores a varied sonic landscape featuring a trio led by Irish composer & sound artist Hilary Woods, the premiere of Nada Sagrada - a new piece for large ensemble by Brandon Lopez and new work for solo guitar and electronics by Patrick Higgins.

About the Artists

Hilary Woods is an Irish musician, born in Dublin. Working across song, sound, writing and analogue film, her evocative compositions are made in equal parts from field recordings, drone, piano, and voice. Signed as a recording artist to Sacred Bones Records since 2018, Hilary’s most recent album is the hypnotic and critically acclaimed Acts Of Light (2023). Her music has been described as “the stuff of Bosch paintings” made up of “stark and haunting compositions that stand on the edge of a knife.”

Brandon Lopez is a double bassist and composer living in New York City. His work deals with improvisation and finding new possibilities on the double bass. For Cleveland Review of Books, Dan DiPiero writes, “It is not the kind of soloistic performativity or frenetic get-it-all-out that characterizes so much free playing—but it is still free."

Brandon Lopez Big Bad features Cecilia Lopez, Chuck Roth, Camille Dietrich, Tom Rainey & Dennis Sullivan.

Patrick Higgins is an American composer, guitarist, and producer from New York City, known for his work in experimental and contemporary classical music. Higgins plays guitar and composes in the band Zs, described by The New York Times as "one of the strongest avant-garde bands in New York." Higgins bridges traditions including baroque chamber music, contemporary noise, electronics, and 20th-century minimalism, and has been heralded as a "one of the most gifted guitarists working today" (The Quietus).