2024 PROGRAM

  • BEN BENNETT + guests

    Saturday July 27 7pm

    at Crescent House in Mission Hills

    $15 donation requested

    RSVP available soon

    BEN BENNETT is a Philadelphia-based improvising percussionist who plays a compact pile of self-made drums, stretched membranes, and other objects which are continually rearranged in the course of playing, and sounded with techniques of the hit, rub, and blow varieties. A branching path of musical de-materialization has led to other forms of performance, including self-vitiating monologues, and the long and repetitive YouTube series, Sitting and Smiling and Walking and Talking. His work tends toward themes of pointlessness, paradox, and stupidity. 

    “The enigmatic musician and artist Ben Bennett has a mind-bogglingly wide variety of fascinating work that covers both poles of extremes. As a percussionist, his improvised performances are wild, exciting and constantly changing, using an arsenal of drums, cymbals, homemade instruments and found objects that are struck, rubbed or vibrated using air from his lungs, unlocking hidden universes of unfamiliar sounds.”  -Ernie Paik

  • CHARLES CURTIS, SAMARA LUBELSKI AND MARCIA BASSETT, slides by BARRY WEISBLAT

    Monday March 11 7pm

    at Crescent House in Mission Hills

    $20 donation requested

    RSVP Only with limited capacity

    A very special and rare intimate cello performance by Charles Curtis, featuring works from his upcoming 4-night residency at Cafe Oto in London. We are also happy to welcome Marcia Bassett and Samara Lubelski for their first duo performance in San Diego with color gel slides by Barry Weisblat.

    Called by ArtForum "one of the great cellists" as well as "spellbinding and minimal," CHARLES CURTIS has woven a unique career through the worlds of classical performance and musical experimentation.

    For more than thirty years Curtis has been closely associated with the legendary avant garde composer La Monte Young. As soloist and as director of Young's Theatre of Eternal Music String Ensemble, Curtis has participated in more performances and premieres of Young's music than any other musician.

    MARCIA BASSETT is a NYC-based artist working in the areas of sound collage, improvisation, and visual creations. She frequently joins others in collaborative multimedia projects. Recent collaborations include BEMI improvisation with Ted Gordon and light experiments by Jeffrey Perkins; Margarida Garcia, Manuel Mota, and improvisations with Samara Lubelski.

    SAMARA LUBELSKI is a player of multiple instruments within the broad waters of song, and abstract improvisation, she has also been involved in various art-music provocations; Hall of Fame, The Tower Recordings, MV/EE, duos with Marcia Bassett and Bill Nace, Thurston Moore’s band (Chelsea Light Moving), and German collective Metabolismus.

    BARRY WEISBLAT is a Sound Artist/Improviser and Electronic Instrument Builder. Extensive experiments with electro-magnetic devices, solar technology, homemade and modified circuits for application in sound generation/manipulation, audio engineering and photography.

    The address and directions to Crescent House, our intimate location in Mission Hills San Diego will be included with RSVP confirmation.

  • SEE and HEAR NO EVIL Film and Music Series: A Jenn Nkiru Tribute

    Saturday March 9 3:30pm FREE

    Digital Gym Cinema 1100 Market St. San Diego, CA 92101

    Presented by BLACKTRONIKA and INTERVALS ARTS

    We are honored to present 3 short films by Grammy Award winning director and visionary JENN NKIRU. Born in London of Nigerian decent, Nkiru has established herself as one of the most powerful forces in contemporary visual art. Nkiru is an alumnus of Howard University with an MFA in Film. From her first short film En Vogue to her Grammy winning Brown Skin Girl by Beyonce, Nkiru has captivated audiences with her powerful examples of unapologetic Blackness.

    ____________

    SEE AND HEAR NO EVIL

    Curated by Preston Swirnoff and King Britt

    Each month we will present from visionary directors (or multiple short films) that represent the ideas of freedom and possibility. The films will be followed by surprise guest musicians who will improvise a response to the film for a full circle experience of souce and influence.

  • TUVAN SHAMANISM and THROATSINGING with Chingiz Kam, Arrington de Dionyso, and New Tongues

    Friday Jan 26 7pm

    at Crescent House in Mission Hills

    $10-20 donation requested

    Intervals Arts is proud to present an evening of Tuvan Shamanism and Throatsinging with Chingiz Kam and Arrington de Dionyso, with an opening set by New Tongues. Chingiz Kam is an initiated hereditary shaman from Tuva now living in New York City. He will conduct an authentic ritual for powerful healing adapted for the space while sharing his personal "Algysh" an ancient genre of spirit-song used by Tuvan shamans in every sacred setting.

    Arrington de Dionyso will present “Voice Mask” a musical performance ritual utilizing improvisatory structures to showcase an entrancing virtuosity with a variety of extended vocal techniques such as traditional Tuvan throatsinging combined with simple elements such as aluminum foil and PVC pipes to enchance the “soul” of vocal sound.

    As a “punk ethnomusicologist gone rogue”, Arrington has traveled the world in search of primordially potent sounds. He’s worked extensively within the Jathilan trance music traditions of East Java, the Master Musicians of Jajouka (Morocco), and is a devoted student of Siberian shamanism.

    New Tongues is a collaborative sound art and music collective based in Baja, Mexico and San Diego, California. Founded in 2023 by artist and musician Preston Swirnoff, New Tongues is an adventure in interdisciplinary collaboration. With an emphasis on live performance and immersive sound environments, the group uses sound sculptures, field recordings, and traditional instruments to craft electroacoustic song forms that celebrate intimacy, relationship ecologies, and structured cycles for improvisation.

    This performance will feature Zane Alexander S.B., a composer, performer, and community music organizer living in San Diego whose work has been featured at Mingei Museum, Project [BLANK], Art Produce, the Athenaeum Art Center, San Diego New Music, San Diego City College, and CalArts.

    The address and directions to Crescent House, our intimate location in Mission Hills San Diego will be included with RSVP confirmation.

  • SEE AND HEAR NO EVIL FILM AND MUSIC SERIES: Sun Ra Space is the Place (1974) with special musical guests

    Intervals Arts & Blacktronika present See and Hear No Evil

    A Monthly Film and Music series w/ secret musical guests

    Curated by Preston Swirnoff and King Britt

    Beginning Jan 20 7pm

    at Digital Gym Cinema SOLD OUT

    Each month we will present a film from visionary directors (or multiple short films) that represent the ideas of freedom and possibility. The films will be followed by surprise guest musicians who will improvise a response to the movie for a full circle experience of source and influence.

    For the series premiere, we are excited to present SUN RA- SPACE IS THE PLACE (1974) directed by John Coney and written by Sun Ra and Joshua Smith. Long regarded as a seminal work of Afrofuturism, Space is the Place is an experimental film about the liberation and transcendence of Blackness, with music as the vehicle. Through the interstellar world of Sun Ra and his vision for the expanded possibilities of a soul merged with musical freedom beyond earthly constraints, featuring a legendary soundtrack by The Sun Ra Arkestra.

    2024 is the 50th Anniversary of this important film.

    Free Admission with RSVP. 18+ More info soon!

Summer 2023 Program

  • PARTICLE FM presents Josh Cheon of Dark Entries

    Fri Sept 22 8pm-1am

    INTERVALS is happy to host this Particle FM event!

    Particle FM is proud to present Josh Cheon (he/him). Josh is a San Francisco-based artist and founder of the influential label Dark Entries. It’s hard to overstate Josh’s influence in the electronic music world, exposing a younger, queer generation to the lost era of 80’s analog music. The label has a dedicated bin in nearly every major San Diego where you’ll find Patrick Cowley’s gay porn soundtracks, obscure Italo disco, new age ambient, and contemporary dance music. Josh’s dedication to documenting and exhibiting work from forgotten synthesizer pioneers and important figures in LGBTQ+ music history is inspiring for many of us DJs on the station and we’re delighted to have him perform at our next event.

    About Particle FM:

    Particle FM is a DIY community radio station based in San Diego and established in 2021 by a diverse group of artists, DJs, and music nerds. The station represents an intersection of cultures, identities, and musical styles. Particle FM’s focus is on building a platform for women, LBGTQ, black, latino, asian, indigenous, immigrant, and underrepresented artists to showcase their work.

    Tickets $10. 21+ event

  • DENJA HARRIS

    Opening Sat Aug 19 7:00pm

    Gallery Hours by Appointment Aug 20-Sept 15

    join us for the opening of DENJA HARRIS at INTERVALS! Denja will present a site-specific installation, including new large-scale pieces interacting with space and light. The opening night will feature live music, DJ’s, a special pop-up experience in the loft, and a selection of rare natural wines. Details to come!

    The show will be on display through Sept 15, with select gallery hours throughout the month by appointment.

    Denja Harris is an emerging artist from South Bay, San Diego creating experimental fiber art and soft sculptures. Intentionally sourcing second-hand and dead-stock yarn, she creates layered, free-form abstract patterns and works that take shape in an organic process.

    Denja’s work has been featured in solo exhibitions, group shows, and workshops at Mingei International Museum, Art Produce, Mortis Studio, and others.

    Find Denja on instagram at @brownacidgoods and her website brownacidgoods.com

    Curator Statement:

    I’ve been admiring Denja’s work from a distance since I first saw her installation in the window at Mortis Studio in Golden Hill a few years ago. Her creative energy and keen spirit shines through the colorful, tactile, multidimensional pieces that she crafts with both skilled precision and just the right dose of wild freedom that comes from following her own rules. While Denja’s work is unique and different in substance, its spirit immediately reminded me of the joyful environments of colorful textiles created by Swedish artist Moki Cherry, one of my favorites!

    When I began considering which visual artists I’d like to invite to do site-specific work at INTERVALS, Denja was the first person who popped into mind because I could already see and feel the many ways she would enliven the room when given the opportunity to make larger scale pieces that can interact with space and light. I also know that gallery visitors will have an immersive experience because of how we will present her work in the space. Interaction and three-dimensional viewing will bring people closer to the pieces as they become part of the room, not just a wall display. I’m excited to have Denja on board and look forward to presenting the new work she is dreaming up for this special show!

    -Preston Swirnoff / INTERVALS

  • POSTPONED: QUADRA live performance & sound installation

    Due to the tragic death of musician and artist Rick Froberg, who was part of the QUADRA group for this performance, this event will be rescheduled to a future date TBA.

    Points of Action and INTERVALS present QUADRA: a site-specific quadraphonic sound environment designed by San Diego musician Jason Soares. With some of SD’s most revered underground musicians playing multiple sets of long-form improvised music using modular synthesis and traditional instrumentation.

    The lineup for this iteration of QUADRA includes Soares with Rick Froberg (Drive Like Jehu/Hot Snakes), Mike Egington (Earthless), and Arturo Ulloa (Physics).

    The evening will include an elaborate modular synth pop-up installation in the warehouse space, limited edition screen prints of QUADRA artwork, a donation bar, and other surprises!

    Free RSVP required for entry. $10-20 donation requested upon arrival to support artists and space.

Past Program

  • OPENING PARTY! with New Tongues sound/\art trio + DJ’s + Lang Books pop-up

    Sat Apr 15 8pm

    Our opening night is sold out!

    Live Performance by NEW TONGUES sound/\art trio (Preston Swirnoff, Kathia Rudametkin, Xareni Lizarraga)

    DJ’s Laurie Piña, Alejandra Frank, Pablo Dodero

    Lang Books Loft Pop-Up

    Curated Selection of Natural Wines from Central Europe

    21+ RSVP Required

  • Joseph Keckler (NY) + Mala Forma Dance + Mystery Cave + SD New Verbal Workshop

    Sat Apr 29 7:00pm

    Joseph Keckler, NY’s operatic songsmith, trickster performance artist, raconteur poet, and many other things performs his San Diego debut! Called New York’s “best performance artist” by Village Voice and acclaimed by everyone from the New York Times to Artforum to Bomb and the Wall Street Journal, Keckler‘s Tiny Desk on NPR and several other mind blowing performances have been attracting fans and audiences quickly. For his performance at INTERVALS Joseph will perform a solo set with video, voice, spoken word, and probably other things we haven’t been told about.

    San Diego New Verbal Workshop is a newly-formed community choir that specializes in experimental works showcasing extended vocal techniques. For their upcoming performance at Intervals, they will present Cornelius Cardew's "The Great Learning, Paragraph 7." This piece features a paragraph from Confucius that has been translated by Ezra Pound and is performed as a cloud of slowly evolving pitches. Cardew places emphasis on communal singing, where performers listen and match each other, a technique also observed in Pauline Oliveros' Sonic Meditations. With its Cageian influence, the work provides both structure and freedom to the performers, creating a unique experience for each performance due to the element of chance.

    Mystery Cave is composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer John Christopher Harris II. Mystery Cave has released 4 LP’s and 4 EP’s of electronic music with roots in classical, ambient, dub, new age, club, and LA beat music. Mystery Cave has performed over the past 13 years at venues such as Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, The Casbah, and Che Cafe.

    Mala Forma Dance, led by Justin Morrison, will perform with music by improvisers Everything Will Be Okay.

    RSVP to attend.

    $10 donation requested at the performance to support artists and the space. Thank you.

  • Béla Tarr: Wreckmeister Harmonies

    Sat May 20 7:00pm

    Screening of Wreckmeister Harmonies, dir. Béla Tarr (Hungary 2000) 2hr 25min.

    INTERVALS secret library: Laszlo Kraznahorkai’s Melancholy of Resistance.

    Hungarian wine, beer, mineral water.

    Loft: DEMOKRATA magazine covers - Budapest 1980’s flyers + samizdat literature. Hungarian underground cassettes.

    Tickets $10 general / $15 with ltd broadsheet

See and Hear No Evil Film & Music Series at Digital Gym Cinema

See and Hear No Evil Film & Music Series at Digital Gym Cinema