On November 11th, 2011, MGMT performed an original 45-minute piece at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York to mark the opening of an exhibit celebrating the artist Maurizio Cattelan. Now, the band has finally released that performance as a live album, appropriately titled 11-11-11. The project, of course, arrives today – 11-11-22.
MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser were commissioned to write music in response to the 2011 Cattelan display, which suspended 130 pieces of art from varying heights. “We’re creating a musical experience that works for the building and for the construction and presentation of the Cattelan exhibit,” the duo said at the time. “It’s an art exhibit done in a completely original way, so it deserves music which is completely original.”
After debuting their composition at a private museum event on 11-10-11, MGMT performed the music for the public on 11-11-11, the first of event of its kind at the Guggenheim. In addition to a digital release, the performance will be pressed on on black and colored vinyl. Pre-orders for the vinyl release are ongoing, with the LPs are expected to arrive in Spring 2023.
MGMT’s last album was 2018’s Little Dark Age, while a few years back they shared the 12-inch single “In the Afternoon” B/W “As You Move Through the World.”
11-11-11 Artwork:
11-11-11 Tracklist:
01. Introduction
02. Invocation
03. Whistling Through the Graveyard
04. Forest Elf
05. Tell It To Me Like It Is
06. I Am Not Your Home
07. Unfriend
08. Who’s Counting
09. Interlude
10. Whistling Past the Graveyard
11. Under the Porch