Higgs is known primarily for his work as the sole lyricist and frontman of the band Lungfish, a four-piece dedicated to charting, in this listener’s estimation, nothing short of the evolution of all species, known and unknown. His art is of the cosmos, we on Earth merely lucky that it happens to be confined to our atmosphere, in our lifetime. Often we hear that a true work of art is meant to speak for itself, and with the work of Daniel Higgs the maxim rings truer than ever. It’s not that his artistic output – spanning three decades, numerous albums, books of poetry and collections of drawings – simply eludes classification, it defies it. 41 or Arcus Incus Ululat Higgs is a musician and artist from Baltimore, Maryland on whose behalf superlatives are destined to fail. Morning Glory Coffeehouse, 1806 Chislett St., Morningside. Bill Nace and Caethua will also perform.ĭaniel Higgs with Bill Nace and Caethua. Higgs appears Thu., April 2, at Morning Glory Coffeehouse in Morningside - though we can't guarantee exactly what he'll play.
How else to describe someone whose work comprises symbolism wrought from myth and religion, and holds a creepily apocalyptic air, yet still convinces us that we might "shed the world" rather than shun it? It's a cliché by now to call Higgs shamanistic, but it might be a disservice not to.
Love, Higgs tells us, is many things, among them "the sacred seam between waking and dream." "Love shovels puppet-heads into the fires of love," he adds, painting a vivid and surreal picture that wouldn't be out of place in his tattoo art or his paintings (an exhibit of his visual art was staged in London in 2007).
#Daniel higgs art full#
His oeuvre, solo and with Lungfish, is full of aphoristic phrasing, such as "the conjunction of everything with everywhere," and "the juncture of two parallel lines." Higgs's lyrics defy Western convention the closest analogues might be the mysticism of Rumi or Zen koans. "Love Abides," from the most recent disc, spans 14 minutes, matching a simple folk melody that spans Eastern and Western influences with a lyrical investigation of one of Higgs's favorite subjects: the nature of love. The latter are epic pieces, not unlike Lungfish tunes freed from the constrictions of the rock band. Higgs's solo music ranges from noise-scapes (1998's Cone of Light) to mouth harp improv (2003's Magic Alphabet) to fully-formed and lengthy contemplations, set to an oddly tuned banjo ( Metempsychotic and 2006's Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot, on Thrill Jockey). Higgs (it stands for "Arcus Incus Ululat," in case you were curious). The most recent, 2007's Metempsychotic Melodies, was released by Holy Mountain under the name Daniel A.I.U. Since the 2005 demise of Dischord Records band Lungfish, Higgs has toured with the music of several solo releases.
In his hometown of Baltimore, his beard has received votes for mayor. Other rumors abound: Some of his own tattoos are said to glow in the dark.
He once was known widely as a tattoo artist who didn't take orders: A Higgs tattoo would be what Higgs chose, or rather, what he divined from whatever higher force he was channeling. The once (and future?) Lungfish singer and lyricist is a punk-rock medicine man, high on tautological contradiction and subject to stories that are difficult to prove or disprove. It's difficult to describe Daniel Higgs without tapping into his mythos.
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