Bill Orcutt | |
|---|---|
 Orcutt performing in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | February 2, 1962 Miami, Florida, US |
| Genres | Free improvisation |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Website | palilalia |
Bill Orcutt (born February 2, 1962) [1] is an American guitarist and composer whose work combines elements of blues, punk, and free improvisation.
Inspired by seeing Muddy Waters in The Last Waltz , [2] Orcutt began playing the guitar as a teenager in Miami. An early group, between 1989-1991, was Watt with drummer Tim Koffley. An aborted 2021 release It's All Meat comprised recordings prior to Watt with Koffley and vocalist Lloyd Johnson. Orcutt is quoted as saying this was "almost a band". [3]
In 1992, he formed the band Harry Pussy with his wife, Cuban/American drummer and vocalist Adris Hoyos. [4] The group recorded three LPs and toured the US frequently, often in support of indie bands like Sonic Youth and Sebadoh. [5] Their music, which drew from American no wave, hardcore punk and free jazz was influential and "served as a progenitor for the Noise movement." [6] In 1997 the band dissolved and the couple divorced. [7]
Orcutt moved to San Francisco and took a long hiatus from music (bar the shortlived KKYLP project), returning in 2009, with an LP of solo guitar entitled A New Way to Pay Old Debts [8] [9] which was well received, ranking third of 2009 in The Wire's annual "Rewind" list. [10] His follow-up release How the Thing Sings was similarly praised, reaching number 3 on NPR's The Best Outer Sound Albums of 2011. [11]
Orcutt has issued a great many cassettes and singles in highly limited editions, usually through his labels Fake Estates and Palilalia Records. Fake Estates principally covers music produced through Cracked, an open source audio programme which he published in 2016. He describes it as a "free app for Mac OS. It’s a Javascript library and live coding environment for sound making". [12]
Since 2009, Orcutt has toured often [13] appearing at festivals in the US and Europe, including Hopscotch, Incubate, Le Nouveau Festival du Centre Pompidou, [14] Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Donau and Big Ears. [15] Typically a solo performer, Orcutt has also recorded or performed with Loren Mazzacane Connors, [16] Chris Corsano, Peter Brötzmann and Alan & Richard Bishop.
~ denotes a recording using Cracked.
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