The Four Louies is a mind-boggling piece of maximalist minimalism by Bill Orcutt, mashing together the droning Four Organs by minimal music pioneer Steve Reich with the Kingsmen’s proto-punk hit single “Louie Louie.” Just like the original Reich piece, it’s a lavish feast of sound, slowly sizzling over the course of its two 10-minute sections, but fattened here with the raucously electric and distorted sounds of early rock & roll. The album’s first pressing sold out quickly and started selling for triple the original price online, so we’re happy to see a repress now available from Orcutt’s Fake Estates / Palilalia.
In a rare treat for local weird music lovers, Bill Orcutt has assembled a large ensemble—including, on maracas, William Winant, a Bay Area legend who has worked closely with John Zorn, Sonic Youth, and Steve Reich himself—to perform the piece live this Saturday, May 31 at the Lab. Rounding out the billing is opening support by Oakland’s math punk goofball virtuosos Gumby’s Junk.
