In a Duke Performances season devoted to music that characterizes “A Nation Made New,” no act might fit this epithet better than Dirty Projectors.
Led by the elastic-voiced Dave Longstreth, Dirty Projectors is an indie-rock group from Brooklyn known for their fusing of seemingly disparate genres. Though Longstreth released the first Dirty Projectors album in 2003, last year’s Bitte Orca gained the band a wider following and substantial acclaim as one of the most adventurous acts working in a contemporary pop medium.
“The music is to me exhilarating, really thrilling,” said Director of Duke Performances Aaron Greenwald. “What’s thrilling about it is the musical mind and precision behind it. There seems to be a swallowing or a digestion of impulses from Afropop to electronica to minimalism to Philadelphia soul harmonies. There’s just a willingness to put all of those things to service to make music that is effective, and affecting.”
Prior to Bitte Orca, albums like The Getty Address, which was recorded using chopped-up digital versions of orchestral and choral performances, and Rise Above—a from-memory cover of songs by hardcore legends Black Flag—had gained the group a reputation for difficulty, but their latest release served to largely change this notion.
“I think that Bitte Orca is a really magnificent album, and it seems to me that in many ways it’s not gimmicky, or saccharine, that it’s pretty directed,” Greenwald said. “It’s pretty intentional; there’s sort of an intentionality about the whole thing that I really appreciate. It puts you on edge, too, especially the way it deals with meter and those close harmonies. I like the way it puts you on edge—I think that good music does that.”
Co-sponsored by the Duke University Union, Dirty Projectors’ appearance at Duke is a part of Duke Performances’ “Inventors” series and comes in the midst of their touring behind Bitte Orca. Their other shows on the tour have included some of the most significant American rock venues, including Madison Square Garden and Terminal 5 in New York City and the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.
The success of Bitte Orca has had practical applications beyond the more conventional advantages of wider recognition.
“What’s exciting, I think, is that although this band has been around for a while, from the reviews that I’ve read, only now are they commanding enough money for performances where [Longstreth] can assemble a working band that could produce something akin to what’s on those records, specifically what’s on the last record,” Greenwald said.
Another singular aspect of the band’s show Tuesday in Page Auditorium is that it’s the first proper collaboration between Duke Performances and DUU, Major Attractions Director Karen Chen said. There were two instances of one group promoting the other last year.
“Aaron Greenwald actually approached us with the idea of co-presenting the show, and already had Dirty Projectors booked,” Chen said. “For Major Attractions, we’re always trying to reach as many different musical tastes as we can, and since we have the resources and in this case the opportunity to promote a more independent group, I think this was a really good chance for us to do so.”
In addition to the virtures of Dirty Projectors, Chen is hoping to use DUU’s brand to help advertise Duke Performances.
“It’s sort of putting our brand onto this show,” Chen said. “I think because we are part of the student body, by word of mouth we’re able to reach more students and make the show more accessible.”
Regardless of the circumstances behind the actual performance, Greenwald emphasized the importance of Dirty Projectors to Duke Performances’ season and how integrally they fit in with other featured artists like Merce Cunningham and Steve Reich.
“To many audiences, [Dirty Projectors] are a pop band, but to me it was important they be put next to these other innovators,” Greenwald said. “I felt like they had something to say next to those other artists when perhaps the great majority of pop artists have nothing to say.”
Dirty Projectors will be performing in Page Auditorium Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m., with Kenny Carr & the Tigers opening. Tickets are $26, $22 and $15 general admission and $5 for Duke students, and they can be purchased at the Duke University Box Office or online at tickets.duke.edu.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.