Diamond Terrifier

On November 29th, 2011 at 6pm, the Clocktower presented Diamond Terrifier, a project of Sam Hillmer involved extended saxophone improvisations, affected through a complex series of pedals, that flows from soothingly soft and textured to shockingly sharp and back again. Sam is the founder of Zs, a youth Hip Hop presenting organization in Bed Stuy called Representing NYC, and a conceptual art installation duo called Trouble, as well as acting as facilitator and organizer for Carnegie Hall's Weil Music Institute and The Beacon Center for Arts and Leadership.

For this performance, he showcased works he was developing for an album called "KILL THE SELF THAT WANTS TO KILL YOURSELF," due out of Northern Spy in 2012, produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear.

Organized by the Clocktower's Curator of Performance and Installation Joe Ahearn, Above The Law is a performance and installation series highlighting young and emerging artists and musicians. Titled in reference to the various legal offices and agencies that occupy the floors in the Clocktower’s City-owned building, Above The Law challenges preconceived notions about pop and avant garde art and music by featuring artists, bands, and performers who draw from both traditions.

Diamond Terrifier

Recorded live in the Clocktower for our music series curated by Joe Ahearn, Diamond Terrifier (the solo manifestation of saxophonist Sam Hillmer of the band ZS) builds drones into textures and roaring torrents of processed sound and audio artifacts. All of this in the echoey tower of our upper gallery on nice December day in 2011.

Representing NYC and Downtown Electric

Clocktower's Jake Nussbaum profiles Representing NYC, an organization which finds outlets for underrepresented musicians and bands around the city. Founded by Sam Hillmer in 2007, Representing NYC connects artists to record labels and producers, locates settings for live performances, and helps generate publicity through a variety of media. Hillmer has worked with The Fly Girlz, 9/11 Thesaurus, Zulu P, Marley G, and Downtown Electric, who visit the studio and discuss cuts from their latest mixtape Never Give Up, recorded at Issue Project Room. Downtown Electric is a group of 7 musicians who met in downtown Brooklyn. Their mixtape Never Give Up was released in December 2014, and features a percussion-heavy, hypnotic sound, with production from Alpdog and Diamond Terrifier (Sam Hillmer). They are supported in this interview by Kyle Farrell and Taryn Harris.