By Jorge Casuso

March 7, 2016 -- Other-worldly sounds will invade the Santa Monica Library this month when composer Ulrich Krieger performs excerpts from his four-hour "Universe" for saxophone and electronics.

A discussion by the composer and a performance of selections from the work's two final parts -- “Quantum,” for amplified saxophone, and “Cosmos,” for saxophone alone -- will take place Wednesday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium.

Krieger has described his work as being “in the experimental fields and fringes of contemporary Pop culture: somewhere in the limbo between Noise and Heavy Metal, Ambient and Silence.”

A champion of new music, Krieger has collaborated with Lou Reed, the former singer and composer for the legendary band Velvet Underground, and the experimental minimalist composer LaMonte Young, whose trance-inducing compositions have had a lasting impact on modern music.

Krieger also has collaborated with Japanese noise musician Merzbow and Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo, whose sonic excursions have stretched the possibilities of the electric guitar.

Krieger recorded the first two parts of “Universe, “ReSpace,” for saxophone-controlled feedback, and “RAW,” for electric saxophone and pedals," as a new double-CD on the XI (eXperimental Intermedia) label.

His other recordings include performances of works by iconic avant garde composer John Cage and an adaptation for chamber orchestra of Lou Reed’s “Metal Machine Music” (MMM), a one-hour excursion into modulated feedback.

Reed's composition has been considered everything from a joke to fulfill his contractual obligations with RCA to the ultimate conceptual punk album. Rolling Stone compared its sound to "the tubular groaning of a galactic refrigerator" and "a night in a bus terminal.”

"Lou was blown away and he loved it," Krieger said in an interview. "For me it was giving back something, because MMM had been a big influence on me."

A professor of composition and experimental sound practice at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Krieger's compositions have been performed by groups including the Soldier String Quartet, Zeitkratzer and the EAR Unit.

Krieger's performance is part of the concert series Soundwaves, which "features innovative music on the third Wednesday evening of each month," library officials said. The series is sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library.

The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and on a first-arrival basis.

The Santa Monica Public Library is wheelchair accessible. For special disabled services, call Library Administration at (310) 458-8606 at least one week prior to event.

For more information, visit smpl.org or contact the Santa Monica Public Library at (310) 458-8600.