# Metal Machine Trio

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**Metal Machine Trio** was an American musical group founded in 2008 by [Lou Reed](/source/Lou_Reed), [Ulrich Krieger](/source/Ulrich_Krieger) and [Sarth Calhoun](/source/Sarth_Calhoun). The group played instrumental and free improvised music, touching on various genres from free rock, [free jazz](/source/Free_jazz), [minimal music](/source/Minimal_music), [noise music](/source/Noise_music), [electronica](/source/Electronica), to [ambient music](/source/Ambient_music).[1] The group rehearsed to test ideas, but all performances were improvised.[2]

## History

The name of the group refers to Reed's unconventional 1975 noise album *[Metal Machine Music](/source/Metal_Machine_Music)*. The soundscapes of this dense, abstract, controversial album serve as a reference point for Metal Machine Trio's improvisations. The noisy, abstract music of the trio counteracts the expectations of Reed's regular audience for song-based rock music. The official flyer for the New York Blender Theatre stated: “No songs. No vocals.”[3] MM3's music has an eclectic approach to improvisation including ambient drones, electronic sounds, [noise music](/source/Noise_music), aggressive free playing, heavy distortion on guitar and saxophone, extended [feedback](/source/Feedback) passages, [raga](/source/Raga)-like drones, for which [the Velvet Underground](/source/The_Velvet_Underground) were famous, and occasional [rhythm and blues](/source/Rhythm_and_blues) and [heavy metal](/source/Heavy_metal_music) reminiscence.[1][3][4][5]

With MM3 Reed continued to cultivate his avant-garde side in a group setting. Other avant-garde outputs he ventured into since the 2000s included his improvisational meetings with [John Zorn](/source/John_Zorn),[6] who was surprise guest artist at the second night at Blender Theater,[4] [Laurie Anderson](/source/Laurie_Anderson) in their duo‚ Yellow Pony, and his electronic ambient drone release *[Hudson River Wind Meditations](/source/Hudson_River_Wind_Meditations)*.

The media reception of MM3 generally considered Reed tapping into a different part of his creative energy again, that for many years only held a place at the fringe of his rock output, reclaiming a part of his "musical legacy that has been neglected for too long".[1][7]

Reed found musical partners in Ulrich Krieger on electric saxophone and Sarth Calhoun on various electronics. Krieger, professor for composition and experimental sound practices at the [California Institute of the Arts](/source/California_Institute_of_the_Arts), had experience as a performer of contemporary composed music, [free improvisation](/source/Free_improvisation), [experimental rock](/source/Experimental_rock) and [noise](/source/Noise_(music)). Beside writing original electronic and chamber music, he had arranged *Metal Machine Music* for classical [chamber ensemble](/source/Chamber_ensemble) in 2002.[8] Sarth Calhoun produces electronic soundscapes and processes his fellow performers in real time. He uses the electronic controller [Continuum Fingerboard](/source/Continuum_Fingerboard)[3] and the [Kyma](/source/Kyma_(sound_design_language)) Workstation. He is member of the band Lucibel Crater.

The group premiered at [REDCAT](/source/REDCAT), part of the Disney Concert Hall Complex in downtown Los Angeles, California, on October 2 and 3, 2008, under the title "Unclassified: Lou Reed and Ulrich Krieger".[9] A live double CD of these shows, entitled *[The Creation of the Universe](/source/The_Creation_of_the_Universe)*, was released December 22, 2008 on Reed's own label Best Seat in the House.[10] The group played further shows at the New York Blender Theater at Gramercy on April 23 and 24, 2009.[5]

The group is now inactive following the death of Lou Reed on October 27, 2013.[11]

## Band members

- [Lou Reed](/source/Lou_Reed) – guitar, electronics
- [Ulrich Krieger](/source/Ulrich_Krieger) – tenor saxophone, live electronics
- [Sarth Calhoun](/source/Sarth_Calhoun) – fingerboard continuum, live processing

## References

1. [Ann Powers review in Los Angeles Times: Lou Reed and Ulrich Krieger, Unclassified at Redcat. Los Angeles, October 4, 2008.](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/soundboard/2008/10/lou-reed-and-ul.html)

1. Bose, Lilledeshan (2012-01-27). ["Metal Machine Trio's Ulrich Krieger: 'The trio is an update of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music in philosophical and aesthetic sense' - Orange County - Music - Heard Mentality"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184707/http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2012/01/metal_machine_trios_ulrich_kri.php). Blogs.ocweekly.com. Archived from [the original](http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2012/01/metal_machine_trios_ulrich_kri.php) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-07-18.

1. [John SW Macdonald in Spin Magazine: Lou Reed Unleashes Metal Machine Music in NYC. April 24, 2009.](https://www.spin.com/2009/04/lou-reed-unleashes-metal-machine-music-nyc/)

1. ["David Schultz in Earvolution: Lou Reed: Metal Machine Misery. May 06, 2009."](https://web.archive.org/web/20100112135840/http://www.earvolution.com/2009/05/lou-reed-metal-machine-misery.asp). Archived from [the original](http://www.earvolution.com/2009/05/lou-reed-metal-machine-misery.asp) on January 12, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2010.

1. [Ben Ratliff review in The New York Times: All Those Sounds From the Stage: Processed, and Not Always Pretty. New York, April 24, 2009](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/arts/music/25reed.html)

1. Lou Reed, John Zorn, Laurie Anderson: The Stone, Issue Three. Tzadik TZ 0004. CD. New York 2008.

1. The Wire #304: Soundcheck: Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio. The Creation of the Universe. June 2009. Page 51.

1. ["Faculty | The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts"](http://music.calarts.edu/faculty/ulrich-krieger). Music.calarts.edu. Retrieved 2013-07-18.

1. ["Lou Reed and Ulrich Krieger"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110927041818/http://www.redcat.org/event/lou-reed-and-ulrich-krieger). REDCAT. Archived from [the original](http://www.redcat.org/event/lou-reed-and-ulrich-krieger) on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2013-07-18.

1. [CD information from the Metal Machine Trio Website](http://www.loureed.com/metalmachinetrio/)

1. ["Lou Reed Remembered: The RS Obituary"](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lou-reed-velvet-underground-leader-and-rock-pioneer-dead-at-71-20131027). *[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)*. 27 October 2013.

## External links

- [Official website](http://www.loureed.com/metalmachinetrio)
- [Metal Machine Trio](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12703683/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Metal Machine Trio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Trio) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Machine_Trio?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.