More info on Brown Unveristy's website here - https://www.brown.edu/academics/music/events/meredith-monk-and-anne-waldman-performance

José will be in studio at Triskelion Arts & Chez Bushwick (Brooklyn) physicalizing the visual ideas, concepts, and dance for his first visual EP LQQK.  Rehearsals will be open the first week of April.

Meredith Monk has spent more than five decades exploring and expanding the capacity of that most essential instrument: the human voice. Returning to BAM after the ecstatic hymn to compassion On Behalf of Nature (2014 Next Wave), Monk and the four women of her peerless vocal ensemble present a new work, continuing their investigation of the interconnected, ineffable relationship between humans and the natural world.

Pairing voice with movement, instrumentation, and a site-specific video installation, Cellular Songs contemplates the fundamental unit of life and its relation to the universe. Drawing inspiration from biological processes—layering, division, replication, mutation—Monk looks to underlying systems in nature that can serve as a prototype for human behavior in our tumultuous world.

Music and direction by Meredith Monk
Costume design and scenography by Yoshio Yabara
Lighting design by Joe Lavasseur
Sound design by Eli Walker

Commissioned by BAM

Full program via BAM Website here - > https://www.bam.org/theater/2018/cellular-songs

Meredith's history @ BAM  > https://www.bam.org/artists/meredith-monk

More info coming soon!

https://nattivogel.com/

José assists the incredible company of Cellular Songs by Meredith Monk at Ms. Monk's residency at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

Public Performance Sunday, November 12th at 7pm at Crowell Concert Hall, Wesleyan University.

José performs in 'Artifice,' by Nine Lives/Dance by Pat Catterson at Triskleion Arts.

Part of INTERSECTING DanceGuest Curated Series:Jessica Gaynor

Visit here for more info on Jessica's full curation.  

"The “body sings and the voice dances” in this program that captures the kinetic energy and pioneering philosophy of Monk’s six-decade exploration of the human voice as an instrument, transmitted and luminously present in this multidimensional, multiperceptual work."

For more information please visit Lincoln Center's website directly. 

José works alongside Madeline Barasch and Sean Leo as they produce the CUNY Prelude Festival curated by Andrew Kircher.

Weren't able to make it to the festival - watch our video archive here! http://howlround.com/livestreaming-the-prelude-2017-festival-martin-e-segal-theatre-center-new-york-wed-oct-4-fri-oct-6

For full festival lineup please visit http://preludenyc.org/

LQQK

LQQK

LQQK

LQQK

LQQK

Join us at Queenslab in Ridgewood, Queens, for a work-in-progress showing of Meredith Monk's latest work "Cellular Songs."

For tickets click here - http://meredithmonk.org/calendar/upcoming.html

José performs new music from LQQK at

The Party by Ostbahnhof

April 28th at Lot 45

 in Brooklyn

José has recorded a version of Queen's 'Somebody to Love.' The visual cover premiered at 12pm EST on Logo New/Now/Next

KICKSTARTER FUNDING

LQQK, THE WAY I LOOK

    CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MY FIRST EVER VISUAL EP, LQQK, VIA KICKSTARTER!

       LQQK, The Way I Look, is my first visual EP featuring 6 original songs, choreographies, and concepts in a digital format.  With glam-electro pop sound, high quality filmmaking, performance art, and athletic dance, LQQK, The Way I Look celebrates queer thought, physicality, form, and function.  Think Beyoncé's  Lemonade - I will explore my history and most intimate experiences with sexual identity.

        LQQK is slated to be my most personal work yet; it is a declaration of my own queer presence and pride.  This is me - who I am, how I think, and where I am going.  Through the songwriting I cracked through my own inauthenticities and developed a fuller expression of myself.  At the end of the day, LQQK is the dream come true from a fearful youth to a multifaceted artist.  

Check out my work at the links below!

•      My visual cover of Queen's Somebody to Love!
•      José on NPR: on Orlando, and the very first seedling ideas of LQQK
•      My cover of Adele's When We Were Young | Press: Elite Daily / Idolator 
•      Performing at the New Museum X DKNY in 'On False Tears and Outsourcing,' Cally Spooner's First U.S. Solo Exhibition

     By funding LQQK, you are supporting a team of diverse, hard working young artists. I am beyond grateful to have a committed and talented group who collaborate to help me execute my vision. I am young emerging artist in New York City making recorded music, and visual art using dance as my medium. I perform in on/off-Broadway shows, museum installations, and choreograph frequently throughout major U.S. cities.

    100% of your contributions will directly produce LQQK, The Way I Look.  Investing in LQQK couldn't be more timely as the arts need your support and solidarity right now. The current political climate is doing it's best to erase LGBTQIA+ stories - your support shows you believe and celebrate rebellious art and my rebellious spirit.  I refuse to hide or feel ashamed because of who I am. In fact, I choose to celebrate who I am, and believe you should too. 

By giving to this Kickstarter, you are directly funding: 

 - One full week of in-studio sessions at Studio G, a Latin Grammy Award-Winning location with incomparable musical equipment, instruments, and support staff to ensure the highest quality sound production. (+$8K)

 - On location at one NYC Soundstage, and four days oncampsite in Hudson Valley, NY (potentially Ashokan Arts, TBD post Studio, filming August 2017). (+$3K)

 - Artist Compensation for all contributing to the project:

• Cesar Gonzalez (Music Production & Engineering, Berklee College of Music ‘11), LQQK’s Sound Engineer and Musical Producer 
• Wayland Bell (School of Visual Art ‘14), Director of Photography
• Charlie Purdom (School of Visual Art '14), Director
• Rebecca Hidalgo, my choreographic assistant and muse 
• Solid Goold Band - Albert Goold, Steve Conroy, Cory Metrick
• All performers working on set, including Special Guest Appearances (re: Dior Vargas, Rify Royalty)

Thank you so incredibly much for taking the time to read this, and for potentially contribute to this really exciting work.  Please share with anyone you think might appreciate/have interest in my work!  

x

José & the LQQK team

Jose will play some of the songs written for his first ever visual EP 'LQQK' in Amsterdam, NL.

THE LEGEND OF YMA SUMAC will premiere at The Laurie Beechman Theatre March 15 at 9:30 PM, with additional performances March 22 and 29 at 9:30 PM. Written and directed by Steve Willis (videographer for Jinkx Monsoon and Sharon Needles), who was friends with the late star, the "live documentary" cabaret stars drag queen Scarlet Envy as Sumac. The show incorporates many of Yma's greatest hits, including Malambo No. 1, Mozart's Queen of the Night, and Claire de Lune. The show incorporates previously unseen video footage of Sumac, shot by Willis, with video editing and projections by Spencer Rothman. Tickets are $22 advance ($25 at the door), and may be purchased at www.SpinCycleNYC.com, or by phone at 212-352-3101. The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located inside the West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42 Street (at Ninth Avenue). There is a $20 food/beverage minimum at all performances at this venue.

Born in Peru in the early 1920's, Yma Sumac moved to New York in 1946, and began performing in clubs throughout the city. Her five and a half octave vocal range made her a standout, and she was signed by Capitol Records in 1950. The release of her first album, Voice of the Xtabay, launched a period of fame that included performances at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, London's Royal Albert Hall, and London's Royal Festival Hall (before the Queen). Her exotic looks, arresting stage persona, and unique vocal stylings made her a hit throughout the 1950's. She released a total of six albums in the 1950's, featuring lounge music Hollywood-style versions of Incan and South American folk songs. She appeared in the 1951 Broadway show Flahooley. She toured the world throughout her career. In the 1980's she was "rediscovered," playing lengthy sold-out engagements at the Ballroom in New York and the Cinegrill in Hollywood. Her songs are heard on the soundtracks of many films, including Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Spy Games, and Happy, Texas. Sumac died in Los Angeles on November 1, 2008.

Scarlet Envy is a transcendental supermodel rooted in downtown glamour, redefining bone structure as New York City knows it. Simmering somewhere between Kentucky bourbon barrels, and the editorial allure of Fashion Week, Envy embraces both inner and outer beauty and is honored to be playing such a legendary performer as Yma Sumac.

Steve Willis is a filmmaker, photographer, and music video director. As a music video director, he has made videos for numerous artists, including Mary J. Blige, Patti Labelle, Maxi Priest, Dawn Robinson, Miranda, and many others (including RuPaul's Drag Race stars Jinkx Monsoon and Sharon Needles). He directed the documentary Wet Dreams with Rebecca Romijn, and is currently working on a documentary about Yma Sumac, who he befriended in 1987.