DESCRIPTION:
Ex-Easter Island Head are a Liverpool based ensemble that plays in a variety of set ups: going from solo, to duo, to trio, quartet or even as a collective of nearly 30 members. They have played shows alongside British jazz musicians Portico Quartet; award winning Philip Jeck; revered improv-group Aethenor; and have even collaborated with Rhys Chatham and Dustin Wong. Their music has been played on BBC Radio 3, and magazine The Wire has dubbed their debut record 'Mallet Guitars One' as 'a three chord punk mission statement turned into a neo-classical manifesto'.

At WEYA 2012, they will collaborate with numerous musicians from Nottingham's rock and experimental music scenes to realise a new work for massed electric guitars and percussion.

Incorporating the extended playing techniques explored on the group's releases Mallet Guitars One and Mallet Guitars Two -- struck 'mallet guitars', prepared 'third bridge' harmonic guitars - as well as percussion ranging from Tibetan singing bowls to school bells, Ex-Easter Island Head will present a piece that incorporates the pulsing repetition of minimalism alongside the chance processes of group interaction. Drawing influence from the guitar orchestras of Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham as well as ambient music, drone, Balinese Gamelan, and the music of the South Pacific, the piece can be expected to move from tightly structured interlocking rhythmic canons to horizon-wide devotional
drones, expressed in a language of otherworldly harmonics and sustained overtones