Loren Connors, Alan Licht - The Blue Hour (Live) (2024) [Hi-Res]

Recorded at Café OTO last year, 'The Blue Hour' is a rare, noir-tinged performance, with Loren Connors playing piano (!) and guitar, and Alan Licht responding with guitar and effects.

To commemorate the release of 'At the Top of the Stairs', Connors and Licht's grand reunion after almost a decade not playing together, they arranged to appear at OTO for two nights. On the second night, Connors surprised the audience- the first time he's ever played piano in one of the duo's collaborative sets, and among only a few times he's been spotted playing the instrument live at all.

Unlike the duo's more drone-heavy material, 'The Blue Hour' is closer to the music they played when they first started jamming together, over 30 years ago. Connors' piano is a revelation, as expressive as his guitar playing and keenly matched by Licht's cautious, slow notes and elongated feedback wails. When Connors switches to guitar, and Licht sculpts his into an organ-style hum; Connors' trembling notes are silhouetted against Licht's drones and given a level of high drama that's unexpected to say the least.

On the flip, Connors poises in front of the piano again, playing slow, solemn, Satie-like phrases alongside Licht's gentle strums. It's luscious, soft-hued material that shows the ease at which Licht and Connors are able to shift the mood - just before it comes to a close, day turns to night again as tempered feedback wisps around ominous string slams and circumspect riffs.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Loren Connors, Alan Licht - Part I (18:24)
1.02 - Loren Connors, Alan Licht - Part II (12:39)