Phill Niblock

Starting in the mid-'60s, American minimalist composer Phill Niblock was active in multimedia endeavors. His shows usually incorporated film footage (generally long takes of non-Western people working), or other visual elements such as slides, video, and photography, often presenting more than one of these simultaneously with his music. His music itself was characterized by multiple tones sounding simultaneously for long stretches, creating a very dense, seemingly static sound. Niblock had relatively few recordings, but some argued that his music was so inseparable from whatever physical space it was performed in that recordings couldn't do them justice anyway. Nevertheless, he began curating the CD series of the Experimental Intermedia Foundation with <a href="spotify:artist:3yX5L54KNk0sSmBscmv1Bv">David Behrman</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:18s8ftSiRSKAp0tpj1ALH1">Lois V. Vierk</a>, to remedy this situation for himself and other modern composers. He was involved in EIF during the late '60s, became producer of their presentations in the early '70s, and director of the organization in 1985. After becoming the organization's director, his shows visited a number of art museums and spaces in North America and Europe, including MoMA, London's Institute of Contemporary Art, and Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. He received numerous grants from organizations including the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation, and taught at the City University of New York since 1971. Phill Niblock died on January 8, 2024, at the age of 90. ~ Joslyn Layne, Rovi