Diamond Terrifier
Diamond Terrifier's (Sam Hillmer of ZS) Himalayan Appalachia was released on Sockets Records on limited-edition cassette tape on Sept. 17. This first full release under the Diamond Terrifier moniker features two 20-minute solo tenor sax workouts. Side A of Himalayan Appalachia sees Hillmer moving between long waves of stretched notes to fluttering and back again. Side B transitions to an echoey soundscape complete with hand percussion and noisier sax-pedal crescendos.
Himalayan Appalachia was recorded on July 10th, Hillmer’s 33rd birthday. “We had the idea to record on my birthday like 5 days ahead of time. Ben Greenberg (ZS) let us use the space, Rich Zerbo got out his mobile, analog tape machine, and Laura Paris (Trouble) got the projections and the videos ready to go. Lastly, my buddy Nate came through and took pictures. It was an awesome thing to do for a birthday, and I recommend it to anyone who makes records.”
For Hillmer, the point with this record, and with everything that Diamond Terrifier does, “is to make music on the saxophone that is outside the spirit of the available niche the instrument has cultivated to date. From the self important catharsis of free jazz and the urban angularity of bop, to the vague sexuality of adult contemporary, there is really no place to call home as a saxophonist with a certain aesthetic sensibility. So it’s trying to make the world I want to live in. Imagining the saxophone as an instrument that never fell into the hands of monster technicians and unctuous stylists. Like, an instrument with the profile of, say, some random flute you pick up somewhere. But then you just really go for it!”
Sam Hillmer (aka Diamond Terrifier) has been active in New York City since 1996. Hillmer has lead several ensembles under his own name and co-founded the chamber ensemble/band "ZS". He is also a founding member of Wet Ink, a not-for-profit new music presenting organization, Representing NYC, a Hip Hop based youth development group, and the art duo Trouble. Hillmer appears regularly in and around New York, across North America, in Europe, and in Japan.
Diamond Terrifier
Himalayan Appalachia
SCKTS028
$5 + shipping
SIDE A:
1. Two Witnesses
2. Three Things
SIDE B:
1. One Point
2. Five Dark Ages
This release is also available digitally via Bandcamp:
