Niblock

Phill Niblock has lived in the same SoHo loft since 1968, when he spied a solicitous sign on a fire escape and transformed a forbidding industrial space into a home for experimental art.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

Then on Dec. 21, Mr. Niblock will leave his loft for downtown Brooklyn, where he'll host a concert of his own at the venue Roulette to mark the winter solstice.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

His renovation duties have since receded, but at 78 years old Mr. Niblock continues to loom on Centre Street.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

"I'm not sure I ever had a real conversation with him, but he saw the prints I was making and after a year he called me his favorite photographer," Mr. Niblock said.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

After moving to New York in 1958, Mr. Niblock started taking pictures of jazz musicians as a hobby.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

"The landlord was in hiding from the fire department," Mr. Niblock said.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

It will be the first of his solstice shows staged somewhere other than the loft, owing to significant crowds in recent years and a landlord eager to remove Mr. Niblock from his rent-controlled space.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

Ramin Talaie for The Wall Street Journal Composer and artist Phil Niblock at his Centre Street loft, where he's hosting his annual concert series this week.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

But from the beginning, Mr. Niblock followed his own idiosyncratic path.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011

"What makes him different from others who might be associated with him is the almost inscrutable, hands-off quality of his music," said Jim O'Rourke, a musician who has collaborated with Mr. Niblock and worked as a producer and a member of Sonic Youth, in an email.

Experiments With the Solstice in a SoHo Loft Andy Battaglia 2011