Homeroom presents
Comfort Music +
a live music + performance series, every Thursday in April at Comfort Station.
Thursday April 27th 7pm doors, 7:30pm show
$ suggested donation
Comfort Station
2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL
Pascal Niggenkemper - Double Bass
Seb El Zin - Ney, Saz, Guitar, Vocals
Irene Hsiao - movement
Cristal Sabbagh - movement
presented in conjunction with the Bridge
Artist Bios
Described by the New York City Jazz Records as "one of the most adventurous bassists on the scene” and by the Chicago Reader “genius for sound exploration” Franco-German bassist and composer Pascal Niggenkemper creates music bluring the lines between improvised, pure sound, and experimental music with a distinct musical language infused with new bass techniques.
The focus of his musical work is the extension of the sound horizon of the double bass: the acoustic modification of the sound using preparations as well as motors, where he explores the interaction between man and machine ('beat the odds').
The cultural exchange and dialogue, the interaction with musicians from different countries is central concern in Pascal's projects.
Living in Paris since 2016, his musical career as a child begins violin and piano before he begins to play the double bass as a teenager. In 1999 he moved to Cologne where he studied jazz and classical double bass at the Hochschule für Musik.
Composer, singer, multi-instrumentist and producer, Seb el Zin is known for being part of the futuristic psychedelic band ITHAK, and leading the Anarchist Republic of Bzzz, an international « All Star » musical project, collaborating with Archie Shepp, Arto Lindsay, Marc Ribot, Luc Ex, eRikM, Mike Ladd, Timba Harris, Juice Aleem, sensational…
He also worked with the american director JONAS MEKAS, the french pop star ZAZ, Luc Ex’s amsterdam based band “Naked Wolf”, the afghan pop star FARHAD DARYA, BOULOU FERRE, japanese singer Mami Chan, the turkish saz virtuoso Cem Yıldız, the french composer Christophe Chassol, the senegalese singer Pape Djiby Ba, Modou Gaye. sebelzin.com
Irene Hsiao makes dances with visual art in museums and public spaces, a practice that includes interaction with visual artworks and experimental engagement with artists, institutions, and the public. Her work includes site-specific durational improvisation, solo theatrical dances, and video studies of art by Emmanuel Pratt, Virginio Ferrari, and Tang Chang at the Smart Museum of Art, and Philippe Parreno and Cevdet Erek at the Art Institute of Chicago. She has performed with companies and projects in the US, Asia, and Europe. Her writing on theater, art, dance, literature, and science can be found in venues including the Chicago Reader, LA Review of Books, SF Weekly, Newcity, and Chicago Sun-Times.
Cristal Sabbagh’s performance practice, rooted in improvisation and Butoh, walks a line between the everyday, the divine, the personal, and the political. In embodying in her art transformational memories while simultaneously celebrating pop culture and the experimental, she challenges power structures and awakens viewer’s senses. Working both in a solo capacity and with collaborators, Sabbagh is equally attuned to individual perspectives and collective structures. In various configurations, these collaborators have regularly engaged in improvised performances, opening new avenues for Sabbagh’s material and conceptual exploration. Her practice also looks outward to portraits of the world around her, taking the forms of traditionally drawn portraits, figurative ceramic sculptures, and nontraditional portraits on ceramic mugs. Sabbagh labors over each piece, which act as homages, memorials, and resistants to white supremacy. Not only do these works infuse the user’s everyday coffee and tea rituals, but their ceramic forms will stand the test of time, potentially outliving the user by thousands of years and leaving traces of how we lived, as recorded by Sabbagh’s hand.
Homeroom acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.