Ben Bennett, Preston Swirnoff

Intervals Arts presents an intimate evening of music with Ben Bennett and Preston Swirnoff. Ben Bennett is a Philadelphia-based improvising percussionist who plays a compact pile of self-made drums, stretched membranes, and other objects which are continually rearranged in the course of playing, and sounded with techniques of the hit, rub, and blow varieties. A branching path of musical de-materialization has led to other forms of performance, including self-vitiating monologues, and the long and repetitive YouTube series, Sitting and Smiling and Walking and Talking. His work tends toward themes of pointlessness, paradox, and stupidity. “The enigmatic musician and artist Ben Bennett has a mind-bogglingly wide variety of fascinating work that covers both poles of extremes. As a percussionist, his improvised performances are wild, exciting and constantly changing, using an arsenal of drums, cymbals, homemade instruments and found objects that are struck, rubbed or vibrated using air from his lungs, unlocking hidden universes of unfamiliar sounds.” -Ernie Paik Preston Swirnoff is a multidisciplinary artist, musician, and writer based in San Diego, California. Over the past 25 years he has worked in a wide range of genres and mediums to create an extensive discography, with a long history of performances and exhibitions worldwide. Working with live performance, sound sculptures, light, natural materials, and textiles, Swirnoff creates immersive environments that center on the primacy of ritual and the intimacy of physical presence. The common thread that runs through the work is the unbroken chain between our forgotten history and the challenge of being present today. His music engages the phenomenological aspects of sound and body, an exploration of sonority on different instruments, and the practice of structured improvisation cycles, sustained tones, and rhythmic repetition found in traditional cultures. Preston’s solo and collaborative projects have toured across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. He has composed music for film, art installations, and dance. INTERVALS Arts occupies that sacred, wobbly bridge between artistic spaces and practices. We work with artists, filmmakers, musicians, galleries, universities, publishers, art institutions, scrappy nonprofits, secret places in the wild, and everything in between. More Info below.