arrington de dionyso

Arrington de Dionyso is an artist, musician, linguist, and instrument inventor based in Olympia, Washington. From 1995 until 2008 he was the leader of OLD TIME RELIJUN, a beloved art-punk combo that released eight albums with K Records. In 2009 he founded MALAIKAT DAN SINGA, melding free associative Indonesian translations of William Blake with dancehall rhythms and postpunk angularity. Now in 2018, THIS SAXOPHONE KILLS FASCISTS would not exist were there not a need for it. The project is a militant response to the ___________

ben bennett

Benjamin Bennett has worked as an improvising percussionist for 10 years, touring North America and Europe as a soloist, in various ensembles, and ad-hoc collaborations. He developed a unique approach to percussion which took the lineage of free-jazz, free-improvisation, Berlin reductionism, and extended technique playing as its foundation. In searching for an expanded sonic palette, and more fluid movement between various techniques, he distilled the drumset into a small collection of drumheads, stretched membranes, and other objects which offered a wide variety of unconventional sounds from very few materials, which could be rearranged into different combinations during a performance. This aesthetic development also translated to a practical advantage, in that this setup was small enough to fit into a backpack, freeing him from using a car to transport heavy percussion gear. He began touring by bus and bicycle, even completing a 7-day, 7-show bicycle tour through New England. Continuing on this path of aesthetic and practical dematerialization, or doing more with less, he has found ways to extend his performance practice into movement, voice, and video. While these newer outgrowths are a result of a radical and perhaps esoteric interpretation of the history of music, they have proven to be readable and accessible outside of the sphere of music.

In 2014, Bennett began a YouTube series entitled “Sitting and Smiling”, in which he sits cross-legged on the floor, smiling directly at the camera without moving, for four hours at a time. It can be viewed live, and is recorded for playback. His channel went viral in January of 2015, creating an internet/media buzz and getting coverage from The Atlantic, VICE, Gawker, TechTimes, and other outlets. It was live-streamed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and has received more than 11 million views worldwide.

Benjamin tours actively from his home base in Philadelphia, where he also continues his internet-based performances.

THIS SAXOPHONE KILLS FASCISTS

THIS SAXOPHONE KILLS FASCISTS IS NOT A “BAND”- IS NOT A “PERFORMANCE”- IS NOT TRYING TO “PROMOTE” A “NEW ALBUM”- IS NOT “PREACHING TO THE CHOIR” This Saxophone Kills Fascists opens the gates and calls upon the heavy medicine of MUSIC as THE HEALING FORCE OF THE UNIVERSE (Ayler) because we need this medicine now more than ever before. A Music of Resistance is found in the templates of Spiritual Free Jazz- through the guttural delivery of ancient horns and stretched skins a resounding echo cracks the foundations of the walls built to divide us.

THIS SAXOPHONE KILLS FASCISTS THIS SAXOPHONE GROWLS LIKE A PANTHER THIS SAXOPHONE SCREAMS LIKE AN EAGLE THIS SAXOPHONE CREATES IN THE FACE OF DESTRUCTION THIS SAXOPHONE WAILS FOR THE FREEDOM OF ALL PEOPLE THIS SAXOPHONE FLIPS THE MIDDLE FINGER THIS SAXOPHONE IS POWERED BY THE SUN AND THE MOON THIS SAXOPHONE REARRANGES ATOMS THIS SAXOPHONE BRINGS DOWN THE WALLS OF JERICHO THIS SAXOPHONE MARCHES ON WASHINGTON THIS SAXOPHONE SOMETIMES WHISPERS THIS SAXOPHONE SINGS WITH SEVEN VOICES THIS SAXOPHONE SPITS FIRE IN SEVEN LANGUAGES THIS SAXOPHONE NEUTRALIZES POISON THIS SAXOPHONE TURNS SWORDS INTO OTHER SAXOPHONES THIS SAXOPHONE IS A LION NOT A LAMB THIS SAXOPHONE TURNS WATER INTO WINE THIS SAXOPHONE TURNS OIL BACK INTO DINOSAURS THIS SAXOPHONE IS TUNED IN TO ANTI-AUTHORITARIAN FREQUENCIES THIS SAXOPHONE IS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL REPUDIATION OF ALL HIS LIES THIS SAXOPHONE IS A WAR CRY FOR INDESTRUCTIBLE LIFE THIS SAXOPHONE SEPARATES A SEA OF REEDS THIS SAXOPHONE IS THE DARLING OF THE UNDERGROUND THIS SAXOPHONE IS THE ESOPHAGUS OF CONSCIOUSNESS THIS SAXOPHONE BLOWS SWEET DEFIANCE THIS SAXOPHONE IS POSSESSED BY THUNDER THIS SAXOPHONE FLIES LIKE A FALCON AND STINGS LIKE A SCORPION THIS SAXOPHONE IS THE SOUND BETWEEN SOUNDS THIS SAXOPHONE FLIPS THE SWITCH THIS SAXOPHONE IS TOTALLY LIT THIS SAXOPHONE CURSES AND SPITS THIS SAXOPHONE IS THE TINCTURE OF RESISTANCE THIS SAXOPHONE IS AN EARTHQUAKE AND A MONSOON THIS SAXOPHONE FLOWERS IN THE CRACKED PAVEMENT OF CORRUPTION THIS SAXOPHONE’S OTHER SAXOPHONE IS A BROOMSTICK THIS SAXOPHONE IS AN ENERGY, NOT AN INSTRUMENT