A wide-ranging evening of experimental and improvised music in a variety of settings: compositions for computer by Carl Stone; talking machines/tapes/percussion/lap steel from the improvisational trio of Robert Millis, Dave Abramson and AF Jones; and spectral acoustic drone by Portland’s Broken Crow.
A pioneer of live computer music, Carl Stone has been hailed by the Village Voice as “the king of sampling” and “one of the best composers living in (the USA) today.” He studied composition at CalArts with Morton Subotnick and James Tenney and has composed electro-acoustic music almost exclusively since 1972. Recordings of his music have been released on New Albion, CBS Sony, Toshiba-EMI, EAM Discs, Wizard Records, Trigram, t:me recordings, New Tone/Robi Droli, Unseen Worlds and various other labels. A winner of numerous awards for his compositions, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Foundation for Performance Arts he has toured all over the world and is based in Japan.
The trio of Millis, Abramson and Jones have toured and worked together in several projects, last year releasing Live at the Good Shepherd Chapel on the UK label Sound Holes. Robert Millis is a sound artist and guitar player, Fulbright Scholar, and Guggenheim recipient known for his work with the Sublime Frequencies record label and Climax Golden Twins, and his explorations of early recording through projects like Indian Talking Machine and Victrola Favorites. AF Jones is a composer, and sound designer, improvising with lap steel, guitar and electronics. Recent sound design work includes the acclaimed What Is Man and What Is Guitar?: Keith Rowe. He runs the Laminal mastering studio and curates the Marginal Frequency performance series and record label. Dave Abramson is a drummer and percussionist who has recorded, performed and/or toured with Eyvind Kang, Secret Chiefs 3, Wayne Horvitz, Climax Golden Twins, Lori Goldston, Wally Shoup, Greg Kelley, Boredoms, among many others. He is known particularly for his work with Diminished Men.
Broken Crow is the trio of Caspar Sonnet (lap steel, pump organ), Joel Nelson (crank synth), and Sam Klapper (violin). Drawing from a contemporary take on acoustic folk/drone music, the trio settles into arched landscapes of spectral sound, using extended/prepared techniques and altered tunings to blend interdependent vestiges of vaguely familiar timbre, texture, and noise.