Wex[EP]: Rob Frye

Practicing deep listening in nature reveals these essences, as Frye demonstrates while taking us on an experimental bird walk—slowing down and performing wood thrush song and manipulating field recordings from Missouri and Illinois. Special guests Ben LaMar Gay and JayVe Montgomery join to interpret a Charlie Parker melody in this sure-to-be-memorable event.

Rob Frye, “Evolutionary Sounds” (2020)
Rob Frye: pandeiro, cowbells, synth, field recordings

Charlie Parker, “Dewey Square” (1947)
Ben LaMar Gay: cornet
JayVe Montgomery: C melody sax
Rob Frye: alto flute

Recording of wood thrush by Matt Wistrand
Pickard School mural by Victoria Martinez

Based in Chicago since 2006, Rob Frye chases sound using woodwinds, synthesizers, bicycle tires, and birdsong. His project Flux Bikes is in its 10th year; Frye’s other current groups include Bitchin Bajas, Jackie Lynn, Exoplanet, and a duo with Ben LaMar Gay.

More about Wex[EP]
As today’s vocabulary has expanded to include “social distancing” and “essential businesses,” the Wex has entered into a conversation with some of our favorite local artists to bring you Essential Performances. With a nod to the short-form, often experimental nature of extended-play records, the Wex[EP] series seeks to document a facet of each artist’s practice and explore innovative ways of communing with one another during this rupture of routine.

Join us this fall as we chart a better tomorrow with the thinkers, players, movers, and makers to whom we continue to look for joy and inspiration. If you are able, please consider supporting each artist by using the links located on this page.
View the Wex[EP] lineup.

More about the artist
Rob Frye on Bandcamp
Flux Bikes on blogspot
@flux_bikes
Support Chicago Bird Collision Monitors