Seabrook, Brandon

Primary Scene: Brooklyn/New York

Brandon Seabrook is a guitarist, banjoist and composer living in New York City where he has established himself as one of the most unique and volatile guitarists of his generation. His work focuses on the intersections between improvisation and structure through fragmented and rapidly changing soundscapes, angular composition; and a massive dynamic range than can change in a joyous nanosecond. He has released six albums as a leader covering everything from pulverizing art-metal to chamber jazz. Rolling Stone Magazine noted “The fiercely dexterous musician has lunched a number of bands combining serious chops with manic intensity and a left- field compositional vision.”

Seabrook honed his guitar skills at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He has since performed extensively in North and South America, Mexico and Europe, as a solo artist, bandleader and collaborator. He has been summoned by the likes of Anthony Braxton, Nels Cline, The Flying Luttenbachers and Joey Arias for his idiosyncratic blend of spiked improvisation and severe technical facility. He has been profiled in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Downbeat, Fretboard Journal, NPR and The Wire.

Seabrook Power Plant, the nuclear trio donned “a manic clusterfuck of merciless banjo torture” by the Village Voice, is Brandon’s brainchild, blending the brutal energy of punk-rock with the intricate execution of through-composed avant jazz. The band has released two albums to much critical acclaim. Time Out New York praised the band’s eponymous debut as “not only one of the most baffling experimental releases of the year it’s also one of the best.”

Brandon is an accomplished solo artist, named Best Guitarist in New York City by the Village Voice 2012. In 2014, New Atlantis Records released his first solo album titled Sylphid Vitalizers. Noisey called the album a “dissonant guitar army…(with) mind-blowing prog-rock complexities – all at mind-numbing breakneck speed.” Brandon has presented his solo work at Pioneer Works, Sonic Transmissions Festival, Secret Project Robot, NK Berlin, The Smell, Lawrence University and the Ruidismos Festival in Lima, Peru.

In 2017 Brandon released his large ensemble record “Die Trommel Fatale”. This work is a poly-rhythmic exploration of the dark side of the drum, layering cello, bass, electronics, voice and guitar against dichotomous drummers. The NY Times commented on the album “it passes you through a gauntlet of anxiety promising you little more than cataclysm at the other end”. 2017 also saw the debut release from his trio “Needle Driver” featuring Allison Miller on drums and Johnny DeBlase on bass. The Chicago Reader recognized the trios “propulsive confusion and airtight precision”. This coming September 2018 Astral Spirits will release the debut album “Convulsionaries” from the Brandon Seabrook Trio featuring Daniel Levin on cello, and Henry Fraser on bass.