This Wednesday, September 18th, marks fresh beginnings for The Englert in Iowa City as they introduce their new concert series Track Zero. The mission of the new series is to introduce the Iowa City area artists riding the current wave of alternative music. Each performance will bring its own unique sound to various venues in the city. The series also gives opportunity to local artists by giving them the opening slots to show off their projects to a wider audience.
The inaugural show to the series’ inaugural year will be performed by New York based multi-instrumentalist and composer Emily Wells. Wells, who released her album Regards to the End last year, will bring her hyper-layered style of chamber pop to The James Theater. Her one-person band performance fills the air with lush orchestral sounds of clarinet or violin flickering like shady leaves. This is accompanied by rolling, murky swells of electronic synth sounds and her shrill, reverberating voice. Her music gives the atmosphere of a dreary, cold, rainy afternoon where the reflections of streetlights streak across the pavement. Fitting for the oncoming fall months, or of beauty in industrial decay mentioned in her album.
Image via Emily Wells
Lex Leto will open the performance, and therefore the entire series itself. The KL!NG (formally Penny Peach) collaborator and multi-instrumentalist creates minimalistic electronic music that feels on the cusp of being ambient. They have released a 7-track album Right Here, and a new single my bike / my wife in July and August respectively. Their solo project’s music is very fitting to Wells as an opener, as their music also plays as compositions arranged to eerie, enveloping moods. Leto takes a more intimate, DIY style approach to their music, recording and producing it themself.
Emily Wells and Lex Leto open the inaugural Track Zero series this Wednesday, September 20th at 7:30pm at The James Theater in Iowa City. Other artists coming to Iowa City for the series include Kassa Overall, Kate Bollinger, Tennis, Madison McFerrin, Sen Morimoto, and ZORA, who will all be performing in the upcoming weeks.
