Charlemagne Palestine

The minimal music pioneer presents his piano-drone music with stuffed animals.

American artist Charlemagne Palestine is considered one of the pioneers of minimal music alongside La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Philip Glass. He became known in the New York avant-garde music scene of the 1970s, when he would perform almost daily at St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue and improvise on the carillon for hours. After releasing several albums, including his important work »Strumming Music« (1974), he gave up making music and turned to installation art. Over two decades later, a younger generation of musicians, including Nick Cave and Thurston Moore, described Palestine’s music as an important influence on their own art. His albums were re-released, and he created new works and collaborations (with Rhys Chatham, Pan Sonic and Michael Gira, among others). Now Charlemagne Palestine lives in Brussels and performs his enchantingly beautiful music, usually accompanied by a horde of stuffed animals, in churches, art institutions and concert halls around the world.