Eartheater

Eartheater is the pseudonym of New York City-based artist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and vocalist Alexandra Drewchin. As Eartheater, she distills a three-octave vocal range, experimental digital production and classical composition into works suspended between obsessively detailed sonic tapestries and almost recklessly gestural electronica. Her recorded output is enhanced by her viscerally emotive live performances that capture her fearless physical investment and gut-wrenching vocal sincerity.

After releasing her twin 2015 albums Metalepsis and RIP Chrysalis on Chicago’s Hausu Mountain, Eartheater signed to renowned experimental label, PAN, in 2018 to release her third full-length, IRISIRI. The record was heralded in the press for its shifting network of abstract songcraft, laced with sudden structural upheavals and collisions of mutated themes from numerous sonic vocabularies — classical, experimental, electronica, and metal to name a few. Guest spots on IRISIRI include contemporaries Odwalla1221 on “Inhale Baby,” and Moor Mother on “MMXXX.” 

In addition to her own material, Eartheater’s resume is extensive with original commissions for a range of institutions and ensembles, including an original composition for the artist Tony Oursler’s 2018 video installation, Tear of the Cloud. In 2018, Eartheater was tapped by the contemporary chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound to compose six original compositions that were later performed by the orchestra at Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, alongside musicians King Britt and Oren Ambarchi. The songs will be collected as an album and are anticipated for a formal label release in 2020. Drewchin also recently completed work on a project commissioned by UK culture council Outlands Network titled Fracture Patterns, writing and performing a custom score presented alongside a video backdrop by acclaimed U.K. visual artist duo Semiconductor, and culminating with a nine-city tour across the U.K. Prior to each performance, Drewchin conducted a vocal workshop for attendees and leading the choir as they were incorporated into the performance. 

Throughout it all, Drewchin has pursued an unflinching touring schedule as Eartheater, sharing bills with Actress, Oneohtrix Point Never, Jenny Hval, Yves Tumor, Juliana Huxtable, Gazelle Twin, Tim Hecker, Nicolas Jaar and performing at renowned international festivals like Unsound, Le Guess Who?, MIRA, and Warm Up at MoMA PS1. In 2019 alone, Drewchin has headlined more than 30 shows in North America, Europe and China, and performed at festivals CTM in Berlin and Donaufestival in Krems, Austria. 

Live performance is a central aspect of the Eartheater project, as Drewchin uses tension and improvisation to translate her intricate compositions into unforgettable corporeal expressions. Eartheater’s live show, as well as her latest album, prominently features the concert harpist Marilu Donovan (who also performs with LEYA).  Additionally, Drewchin has collaborated with art duo FLUCT, and in 2017, she starred in Raul de Nieves and Colin Self’s opera The Fool at legendary NYC performance art space, the Kitchen. 

This August, Eartheater released “High Tide,” the first single from her forthcoming mixtape Trinity, which she will self-release on her own recently launched imprint: Chemical X.