The American percussionist, composer, and songwriter David Van Tieghem (b. 1955) is something like a musical equivalent to astronomy’s “hypothetical astronomical object”: while evidence of an irresistible gravitational pull can be felt in deep reaches of the cosmos, its source is enshrouded in darkness, revealing glimpses of celestial power to astute observers. For David Van Tieghem, these observers include a dizzyingly impressive cast of landmark musicians with whom he has composed and performed.

David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Arthur Russell, Laurie Anderson, Steve Reich, Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, Debbie Harry are just a few from an exhaustive (and ongoing) list. He has also composed music for Pulitzer and Tony-winning dance and theatre, for productions starring Adam Driver, Christopher Walken, Molly Ringwald, Bradley Cooper, Keith Carradine, Orlando Bloom, among others. And he has even appeared, with toy raygun and kitchen utensils, on David Letterman and, in NASA labcoat and Egon Spengler glasses, in performance at the Guggenheim for German national television. And yet, his trio of (staggeringly beautiful, utterly unique) solo albums released from 1984-1989 remain out of print - the mysterious force behind a highly influential orbit. The above achievements notwithstanding, David Van Tieghem will likely be a discovery for a lot of listeners.