User:Iwantmilk/sandbox

Ex-Easter Island Head is a post-minimalist ensemble founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, in 2009. It currently operates as a quartet consisting of Benjamin D. Duvall, Benjamin Fair, Jonathan Herring, and Andrew PM Hunt. They are known for using prepared tabletop guitars as percussion instruments, while composing and performing music that "explore[s] group interplay, repetition and melodic invention through purposefully limited means". The Quietus has described members of the collective as among "Merseyside's finest and most forward-thinking musicians".

The ensemble has emerged with a trio of Mallet Guitars recordings (2010–2013), to critical acclaim. While Mallet Guitars One (2011) and Mallet Guitars Three (2013) were voted among the best avant rock records of their respective years by The Wire, Mallet Guitars Two / Music For Moai Hava (2012) appeared under New Best Music on Pitchfork.

The collective's output has drawn comparisons to guitar-centric compositions by American no wave pioneers Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca, as well as to minimalist Steve Reich's ensemble works. Their music has also been likened to the styles of bands like Battles and Slint, as well as to "more avant-garde inclinations of performers such as Bang on a Can or So Percussion".

Formation and name
The ensemble initially formed as a duo of Aigburth multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Duvall and George Maund, who was then a music student at Liverpool University.

Duval coined the name, Ex-Easter Island Head, but its origin remains uncertain. In a 2012 interview with The Wire, he stated, "I can't remember how I came up with our name; it doesn't really mean anything".

1
The group's debut record Mallet Guitars One (2010) was recorded live at Liverpool's St Bride's Church by the duo of Duvall and Maund. The record was warmly received by the critics and landed on the best avant rock recordings of 2011 by The Wire.

2
Duvall, Maund, Chabeaux and Hunt. Recorded at the Kazimier Club in Liverpool.

This is when the group learned about the Moai head in the museum of Liverpool.

Later the group was joined by the members of a.P.A.t.T. Jon Hering and Ben Fair. Bowing with Allen keys and placing extra bridges under the guitar strings. Yuri Landman.

3
Duvall, Mound, Herring. Simialrly to the debut record, it was also featured in the end-year list of avant rock recordings of The Wire.

Large Electric Ensemble (2014)
Chabeaux, Duvall, Maund. This period has seen mulitple collaborations, starting from Dulall contributing a single chord to a project by Machinefabriek involving 150 artists. The ensemble invited American composer Arnold Dreyblatt for a collaborative project with funding from the British Arts Council in 2015. The cassette.

Twenty​-​Two Strings (2016)
Notably, the band has been repeatedly selected by the curators to perform during curated sections of the festivals. Such, in 2016 it was at All Tomorrow's Parties upon request from the comedian Stewart Lee. In 2017 it performed a set at the Dutch Le Guess Who? festival upon request from James Holden. Some other notable performances are at Birmingham international Dance Festival.

Interim Period (2018–2022)
Whistling Arrow. Lodge.

Norther (2023–present)
Andrew PM Hunt (Dialect, ex-Outfit) joined the band. In 2023 the band resumed its concert activity with appearances at Cafe Oto and Supersonic Festival, and currently working on a new album.

Discography
Studio albums Singles Collaborations Production and library music
 * Mallet Guitars Trilogy:
 * Mallet Guitars One (Low Point, 2010)
 * Mallet Guitars Two / Music For Moai Hava (Low Point, 2012)
 * Mallet Guitars Three (Low Point, 2013)
 * Large Electric Ensemble (Low Point, 2014)
 * Twenty​-​Two Strings (Low Point, 2016)
 * Two Commissions for Cassette Tape (Tombed Visions, 2014)
 * Lodge (not on label, 2020)
 * Norther (Rocket Recordings, 2024)
 * Whistling Arrow (God Unknown Records, 2019) — recorded under the moniker Whistling Arrow, featuring Charles Hayward, Laura Cannell, and André Bosman as collaborators
 * Mechanical Landscapes Vol. 1 (KPM Music, 2020)
 * Mechanical Landscapes Vol. 2 (KPM Music, 2020)

Music videos
 * Six Sticks (2016), from the album Twenty-Two Strings.
 * Twenty-Two Strings (2017), from the album Twenty-Two Strings.
 * Sixteen Snares (2017), from the album Twenty-Two Strings.
 * Norther (2024).
 * Magnetic Language (2024).