Solo percussion music recorded by Andrew Stoltz, October 2010. Released March 2011.
"...a steady pulse is played, on end, in this case on congas, woodblocks, claves and a bit of vibraphone. That's it, but Hennies does that with great care and style, and lots of dynamics...Very concentrated, very minimal, yet very rich. Once more an excellent release." - Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly
Solo percussion music recorded by James Talambas in Ft Worth, TX 2009-2010. Released October 26th, 2010.
"Here we have a perfect example of beautiful music being made with a minimum of means...It is interesting and mesmerizing and dumbfounding, all at the same time...another rich sound world to pay close attention to." - Jeph Jerman, Squid's Ear
"...really worth returning to...Its this kind of thinking and exploration that has informed Alvin Lucier’s work for so many years, and Nick Hennies seems to be continuing this tradition onwards with a fair amount of style. Lovely cover image as well." - Richard Pinnell, The Watchful Ear
"For the careless listener perhaps simple (but gentle) banging on a single instrument, but if you listen closely some beautiful textured, minimal music arrives. The natural successor I'd say to many of Steve Reich's percussion pieces with the strict approach of Alvin Lucier. This must sound great when heard live. Excellent release." - Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly
"Wonderful, obsession morphing into fascination...a really enjoyable disc." - Brian Olewnick, Just Outside
Music for drums, recorded 2009-2010
Limited edition of 100
"...this is not an easy to access release. One has to listen close and careful to the silent character of these pieces, but within lies a lot of beauty...an excellent work." - Frans DeWaard, Vital Weekly
"...a wonderful stew of low, silky drones and surface clatter...maintaining a constant presence but feeling quite atmospheric and elemental; difficult to describe but a very unique sound. Solid, excellent disc." - Brian Olewnick , Just Outside
"Hennies has crafted an amazingly gorgeous drone record that is almost entirely ethereal. It's barely there and it never moves. And I'm pretty sure there's no processing either, meaning all of these sounds are coming straight from the drums. It's incredible." - Justin Snow, Anti-Gravity Bunny
Music composed and recorded by Nick Hennies.
Source material: poetry recitations by Charles Nichols, snare drum, no-input mixer, wine glass (with thanks to Kunio Kato), ice cubes, guitar, piano, "Coal Creek March" as performed by Marion Underwood (circa 1927), "Soldier's Joy" as performed by Taylor's Kentucky Boys (circa 1927)
Photo and design by Johnny Utterback
"A fine recording, quite stirring and movingly conceived. Very different from standard fare. Get it." - Brian Olewnick, Just Outside
"Normally such spoken word releases are not my cup of tea, but in the thirty minute piece, they are presented with some distance, leaving room for some great music. Excellent release, very intimate" - Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly
"...sobering and powerful...with nuanced musical framing." - Jesse Goin, Crow With No Mouth
"The longer and harder you stare into Hennies' ruminations the more that comes to surface." - Justin Spicer, KEXP
"Hennies overlays electronic clusters just shy of envelopment, closing with a swathing hum and sounds of a ghostly mountain band. In terms of depth, power, and evocation, Lineal is about as maximalist as one can get." - Clifford Allen, Paris Transatlantic
Music for maracas
Source material: poetry recitations by Charles Nichols, snare drum, no-input mixer, wine glass (with thanks to Kunio Kato), ice cubes, guitar, piano, "Coal Creek March" as performed by Marion Underwood (circa 1927), "Soldier's Joy" as performed by Taylor's Kentucky Boys (circa 1927)
Limited edition of 49
Music for no-input mixer
Limited edition of 75
"... very well structured and considered, keeping to a subdued volume range but allowing things to fluctuate-and-hold in a very natural series of patterns, balancing between changes in timbre and (slow) pulse." - Brian Olewnick, Just Outside
"... low in volume, high in quality." - Vital Weekly #665 (full review)
Download full album (Out of print)
Five improvisations for guitar recorded direct to cassette with no overdubs or effects.
Limited edition of 3
Percussion quartet composed by Jürg Frey (1996-2001). Performed and recorded by Nick Hennies in Austin, TX (2010-11). 67 minutes, edition of 150.
"Beginning to end, the whole recording is unspeakably gorgeous." - William Hutson, The Wire
"This is a beautiful soft minimal percussion work that demands something from the listener - concentration especially during the quiet parts - but which also gives back a great Zen like experience. Hennies is a busy man, but so far I didn't hear a bad work by him." - Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly
"Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of Hyperbolas" by Alvin Lucier
Music performed and recorded by Nick Hennies
"Hennies' version is a great one. An excellent execution of a great piece...this one should be on repeat for a while." - Frans deWaard, Vital Weekly
"By concertina-ing his rate of attack against the sustained sinewave, Hennies uncovers a sub-clause within acoustics that scatters microtones around the recording environment." - The Wire
"There is a powerful meditative quality to Still and Moving Lines that's hard to exhaust...has never been far from my stereo since it arrived last spring." - Molly Sheridan, New Music Box
"This is a gorgeous recording, beautifully realized by Hennies and a must-hear for anyone interested in Lucier's music." - Brian Olewnick, Just Outside
"...raindrop plinks of xylophone against a near-painful whine, or the sound of two ball-bearings clacking over a warm oscillating undertow. Submitting to these auditory effects can be a sublime experience." - Joshua Meggitt, Cyclic Defrost
Music for four bass drums composed by Radu Malfatti.
Performed and recorded by Nick Hennies.
"breath-taking low-end thunder, laced with pregnant pauses ; incredible. my personal favorite entrant in the series thusfar ..." - Mimaroglu Music
Recorded live in 2005 at the Scottish Rite Temple, Austin, TX.
Chris Cogburn - percussion
Juan Garcia - electric bass
Nick Hennies - percussion.
Recorded in San Diego, August 2003.
Tucker Dulin - trombone
Nick Hennies - drum set
Recorded live at the No Idea Festival, 2004.
Mike Bullock - contrabass
Tucker Dulin - trombone
Nick Hennies - percussion
Heat is rather a good title for this music, which, despite being predominantly quiet and slow, manages to build up quite a head of steam in its own lumbering way, as Dulin and Bullock go head to head in a grisly low-end battle like two hippos squabbling in a mud bath, accompanied by the at times disconcerting friction of Hennies' percussion." - Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic
