Woodwinds and electronics, pressed into slow, shadowy collages.
About
Larum is the Brooklyn duo of Micah Frank and Chet Doxas. They find their music through improvisation, drawing on musique concrète, spectralism, ambient minimalism, early music, fractured blues and free jazz.
Their earlier work treats old music as a toolkit rather than a script: two volumes reimagining the chants of 12th-century composer Hildegard von Bingen, and a live reading of Cornelius Cardew’s graphic score Treatise with Taylor Deupree.
Micah Frank
Modular synth, electronics
Founder of Puremagnetik. Builds sound with generative methods, field recordings and custom software. 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow.
Chet Doxas
Woodwinds, foley
Multiple Juno nominee. 100+ recordings; has worked with Carla Bley, John Abercrombie, Dave Douglas and Rufus Wainwright. Multiple Canada Council for the Arts grant recipient.
Forthcoming
The Plains
The Plains is a programmatic work set in the violent frontier of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.
Releases
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Treatise by Cornelius Cardew
Live readings of Cardew’s graphic score, recorded at Public Records (Brooklyn) and Fridman Gallery (New York), with Taylor Deupree on looping and processing. Cover art by Marcus Fischer.
CD (edition of 200) + digital
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The Music of Hildegard von Bingen, Part Two
New pieces built on Hildegard’s methods, with guitarist Bill Orcutt and cellist Okkyung Lee. Mastered by Taylor Deupree.
Cassette (edition of 50) + digital
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The Music of Hildegard von Bingen, Live at Public Records
Four Hildegard pieces recorded live at Public Records, Brooklyn, on December 4, 2022, with Emi Makabe on shamisen and voice. Mastered by Taylor Deupree.
Limited cassette + digital
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The Music of Hildegard von Bingen, Part One
Four Hildegard pieces and one original, through tape loops, field recordings and collage. With Mary Lattimore, David Torn, Michael Formanek, Jason Nazary and Kodomo.
LP, cassette, digital
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All the Roads
Tape drones and slow ambient fields.
Digital
Press
“An eerie ambient take on this magical music.”
Featured on BBC Radio 3’s Music Matters with Kate Molleson
“A soundscape that evokes aspects of the vintage Downtown Scene — the home turf of Bill Laswell and John Zorn — while maintaining a contemporary foundation.”
“Brooding electric chords over a trickling stream of static and field recordings, growing bolder with spurts of shredding and waves of reverb.”
Further praise
- “Both rigorous and free.” Chain D.L.K. · Treatise · ★★★★½
- “Still unpredictable and thought-provoking.” Percorsi Musicali · Treatise
- “Magical and magnetic.” We All Want Someone · “O Choruscans”
Also featured in
- Various Small Flames — premiere of “O orzchis ecclesia” with Okkyung Lee, 2025
- Talkhouse — “Hildegard von Bingen Is Alive in Gowanus, Brooklyn,” by Larum, 2025
- HörBar (DE) — review of Treatise, 2025
- Etherreal — review of Treatise, 2025
- Wave Farm — New Ear Festival listing, 2024
Live
Upcoming
- Jan 14, 2027Variations for Dusk, Brooklyn
- Feb 4, 2027Variations for Dusk, Brooklyn
- Mar 11, 2027Variations for Dusk, Brooklyn
Larum also curates Variations for Dusk, a monthly Brooklyn residency that brings the duo together with many of the leading voices in experimental music today.
2025
- Sep 29Public Records, Brooklyn — BlankFor.ms release party
- Sep 18WFMU — live set
- Jun 6HiFi Provisions — Variations for Dusk
2024
- Jan 5New Ear Festival, Fridman Gallery, NYC — with Taylor Deupree
2023
- Sep 26Public Records, Brooklyn — with Taylor Deupree
2022
December tour with Taylor Deupree, BlankFor.ms, Hotel Neon and others
- Dec 10Avalon Lounge, Catskill NY
- Dec 9Nova Arts, Keene NH
- Dec 8SPACE Gallery, Portland ME
- Dec 7Machines with Magnets, Providence RI
- Dec 4Public Records, Brooklyn
- Dec 1Fotografiska, NYC
- Sep 1Nublu, NYC — Variations for Dusk
- Jun 2Fotografiska, NYC — Variations for Dusk
- Feb 1Downtown Music Gallery, NYC
2021
- Dec 18Industry City, NYC — Variations for Dusk
- Nov 20Industry City, NYC — Variations for Dusk, with Jason Nazary
- Nov 4Bandcamp concert — A Darker Sun Pt 2
- Oct 16Variations for Dusk, Brooklyn — Larum Ensemble
- Oct 8Bandcamp livestream — Larum Ensemble plays Hildegard von Bingen
- Jan 22Industry City, NYC — Variations for Dusk
2020
- Dec 15IBeam, Brooklyn — Cardew’s Treatise, with Jacob Sacks
2019
- Oct 28Bushwick Public House, Brooklyn
- Jul 28Harpy Gallery, Rutherford NJ — with Amulets and Erotica
- Jul 21Downtown Music Gallery, NYC
- Jul 7IBeam, Gowanus, Brooklyn
- Jun 16IBeam, Gowanus, Brooklyn
Collaborators
Bill Orcutt, BlankFor.ms, Okkyung Lee, David Torn, Mary Lattimore, Taylor Deupree, Tim Berne, Lesley Flanigan, Michael Formanek, Brandon Seabrook and more.
Contact
- Press & booking
- hello@puremagnetik.com
- Label (Puremagnetik)
- hello@puremagnetik.com