Lori Goldston and percussionist Dave Abramson perform new and improvised solos and duos.

Lori Goldston has performed prolifically throughout the Pacific Northwest for decades, and tours throughout the US, Mexico, Canada, Australia and Europe. Her work is emotionally charged and nuanced, drawing connections between far-flung idioms, and exploring timbral thresholds of her instrument. She collaborates with a wide range of composers, actors, film makers, bands, writers and choreographers, including Earth, Nirvana, Jessika Kenney, Eyvind Kang, Mark Mitchell, Duane Linklater, Stuart Dempster, Vanessa Renwick, Lynn Shelton, Embryo, Jim Fletcher, Lonnie Holley, Steve Von Till, Ellen Fullman, Mirah, and many, many more.

Dave Abramson is a drummer and percussionist. He grew up playing in the hardcore and metal scene on the east coast and studied visual arts in upstate New York, where he began to play improvised and experimental music. Since moving to Seattle in 2002 he has recorded, performed and/or toured with folks such as Eyvind Kang, Secret Chiefs 3, Wayne Horvitz, Climax Golden Twins, Lori Goldston, Paul Hoskin, Wally Shoup, Greg Kelley, Boredoms, etc. Abramson is a member of the bands Master Musicians of Bukkake, Diminished Men, Spider Trio, Telescoping, and has composed music for the Maureen Whiting Dance company since 2004. He has toured throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada and can be heard on albums released by Tzadik, Sub Pop, Drag City, Abduction, Conspiracy, Web of Mimicry, and Important Records.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: For the safety of all, please wear a mask covering nose and mouth to this event.

FOREST FEST brings a NYC/San Diego-based, collective percussion quintet, The Forest (Gustavo Aguilar, Leah Bowden, Andrew Drury, Lesley Mok, and Michael Wimberly) to Seattle for two nights of sonic exploration with percussionist Bonnie Whiting, clarinetist James Falzone, and the UW Percussion Ensemble. Using drums as wind instruments, dustpans played with violin bows, and inspiration from Ed Blackwell, M’Boom, Contemporary New Music, Asian percussion traditions, and more, FOREST FEST challenges 21^st century musicians and listeners to find new pathways to a habitable future in a forest of possibilities.

April 1 Program:

Sound Field 1 (world premiere)
composed by The Forest (Debut Performance)

(D)ruminations for Edward Blackwell: Mu First Part & Mu Second Part (world premiere)
composed by Andrew Drury, with guest performers James Falzone (clarinet), Bonnie Whiting (percussion)

Presented by Continuum Culture & Arts, FOREST FEST was instigated by Seattle native Andrew Drury in collaboration with Bonnie Whiting and James Falzone. Since moving from Seattle to New York in 1998 Drury has been called “one of most innovative and bold drummers on the modern music scene” (All About Jazz), and “a phenomenon to watch perform as his playing often transforms the instrument itself” (Free Jazz Blog). Both nights utilize timpani, mallet instruments, gongs, drum sets, concert bass drum, hand drums, piano, small percussion instruments, and found objects.

This event is made possible with the support of Continuum Culture & Arts, a non-profit organization, and Jazz Road, a national initiative of South Arts, which is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This event is also supported by the University of Washington Music Department, Cornish College, and Common Tone Arts.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: King County & WA State have lifted their mandate requiring masks and proof of vaccination. Masks are recommended but optional for this event.

FOREST FEST brings a NYC/San Diego-based, collective percussion quintet, The Forest (Gustavo Aguilar, Leah Bowden, Andrew Drury, Lesley Mok, and Michael Wimberly) to Seattle for two nights of sonic exploration with percussionist Bonnie Whiting, clarinetist James Falzone, and the UW Percussion Ensemble. Using drums as wind instruments, dustpans played with violin bows, and inspiration from Ed Blackwell, M’Boom, Contemporary New Music, Asian percussion traditions, and more, FOREST FEST challenges 21^st century musicians and listeners to find new pathways to a habitable future in a forest of possibilities.

March 31 Program:
Trio (Bonnie Whiting, Lesley Mok, Leah Bowden)
UW Percussion Ensemble
Solo (Andrew Drury)
Duo (Bonnie Whiting, James Falzone)

Presented by Continuum Culture & Arts, FOREST FEST was instigated by Seattle native Andrew Drury in collaboration with Bonnie Whiting and James Falzone. Since moving from Seattle to New York in 1998 Drury has been called “one of most innovative and bold drummers on the modern music scene” (All About Jazz), and “a phenomenon to watch perform as his playing often transforms the instrument itself” (Free Jazz Blog). Both nights utilize timpani, mallet instruments, gongs, drum sets, concert bass drum, hand drums, piano, small percussion instruments, and found objects.

This event is made possible with the support of Continuum Culture & Arts, a non-profit organization, and Jazz Road, a national initiative of South Arts, which is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This event is also supported by the University of Washington Music Department, Cornish College, and Common Tone Arts.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: King County & WA State have lifted their mandate requiring masks and proof of vaccination. Masks are recommended but optional for this event.

Emerge from the chill of winter to the promise of spring: 1 butoh dancer, 1 grand piano, 2 electric guitars, 2 sets.

For this evening’s performance, butoh dancer Joan will be joined by Randy Shay on piano for the first set in a homage to her teacher butoh master Kazuo Ohno. After intermission, Michael Shannon and David Stanford lay down tracks of ambient sounds for a reprise of the second butoh piece she created and performed in Tokyo in the late 1980s.  

Known as Kogut Butoh, Joan Laage has been performing and teaching butoh and collaborating with area and international performers since she settled in Seattle in 1990 after studying butoh with masters in Tokyo. Collaborations include Amy Denio, Rob Angus, Noisepoetnobody, Stephen Fandrich, Jeff Greinke, Scott Adams and Seattle Kokon Taiko. Her group Dappin’ Butoh was well-known in the Seattle Fringe Theater Festival for 10 years. Joan is a co-founder of DAIPANbutoh Collective (since 2010), which produces an annual butoh festival. Her background includes contemporary dance, traditional Indian and Indonesian dance and music and yoga. Her work is influenced by her years of practicing Tai Chi and her profession as a gardener. This past two summers Joan has been performing free outdoor events with Michael Shannon, David Stanford, Joey Largent and others on area beaches and in public and private gardens. She also created the Keeping Afloat Project with dancers performing on our lakes’ docks and swimming platforms.

Randy Shay, a Seattle resident for over 20 years, is a versatile composer/singer/songwriter whose main instruments are piano and guitar, but also bass, mandolin, viol, and zither. He plays original solo compositions at art openings and meditation/dance events and has played in groups such as African music band Spirit of Ojah, folk & blues with Jimmy Free as Acoustic Snacks, and the multi-genre duo Tones with Kirk McNaught. A few influences are: Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Paco De Lucia, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, Bob Marley, Ralph & Carter Stanley, Bill Monroe, JS Bach, Dominico Scarlatti, Ray Charles, Robert Johnson, BB King, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, John Lennon. Joan and Randy have been neighbors for 15 years during which Randy has attended all of her Homestages and other performances. Now he’s  looking forward to their first collaboration of many.

Michael Shannon is a Seattle based musician/performer active since 1979 who has worked with groups in San Francisco such as Plateau Ensemble, Lethal Gospel, < < < (pronounced ‘ku ku ku’), Aquarium Music, Joyo, Kahunas, Earnerve, Blue World, Appliances, Wish Radio, Broken Mask, Trigram and in Seattle with the Animist Orchestra, Aono Jikken Ensemble in addition to producing solo material. He has also composed for and worked as a sound designer for a number of Seattle-based modern dance choreographers. His solo work has been released as a series of cassettes by Joy Street Studios (his own label), and on many cassette/CD compilations around the world. He is featured on the CDs, Meander by Blue World, and Coincidentiae Mirabiles with Jeph Jerman, Dave Knott, Susie Kozawa, and Miroslaw Rajkowski, as well as releasing a solo LP, Laguz, on Anomalous Records. His work involves improvised interactions of East Asian, North African, Middle Eastern, and western instruments, with tape, field recordings and electronics that result in unique compositions of quiet, stately beauty. 

Originally from Massachusetts, David Stanford’s music includes creating soundtracks, electronic and classical. He studied at Cornish College of the Arts. David has played with Brendan Murray, Jason Lescalleet, Animist Orchestra, Eye Music, and Gyre. 

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Following current mandates from King County & WA State public health officials, all audience members at this performance will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination status and/or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry. Windows will be open, weather permitting. Given the constantly changing nature of the pandemic, all events are subject to cancellation on short notice. Check back here on the day of the show for updated info.

Violinist and composer Luke Fitzpatrick presents an hour-long solo work entitled The Dreamer.  Stemming from the anxiety of our current time, The Dreamer is an experiential piece that explores the themes of isolation, longing and duality.  Audience members are encouraged to move around the space during the performance. 

For the continued safety of all present, audience members are required to wear a mask covering nose and mouth for this event.

Spätzer is a creation from multi-disciplinary artist Aiken Bömers-Muller. Living through generative-based compositions, Spätzer’s sound designs balance the formalist approach of traditional ambient music with a tumultuous underbelly of chaotic sensibilities. Coming from a theater background, Spätzer focuses on storytelling through his music and performances. Some have called this post-ambient, some have remained silent. Muller is a part of REALMOREREAL and the artistic director of Radio Brennpunkt, a station focused on showcasing creative commons music.

wiley soule is Clayton, a Seattle based electronic musician, sound designer and voice artist who explores the infinitely rich, often tumultuous emotive open space at the nexus of noise, ambient, goth-industrial, bass, musique concrète and electroacoustic music. In his waking hours he also pursues a career in social work, fully committed to the healing and growth of others while chasing art as life through-theme. His debut EP, Been Midnight, can be found on Bandcamp and all other major platforms. His upcoming EP, Like Kaiju Vermin, will descend this spring, 2022.

The Force of Listening is a concert series hosted by REALMOREREAL sharing sounds and musical explorations of the potential of listening. This series shifts the focus from music as an end-point, to music as a dialogue for practicing the future. This dialogue begins with the artists’ investigation of a communal topic and continues as they “report” their findings through sound performance. File under experimental, avant-garde, and shit’s getting real. 

In this performance, we invited Spätzer and wiley soule to explore the homeless epidemic in our nation, and Seattle specifically.  

Spätzer took the hyper-focused route of studying and incorporating the works of Bill Jarboe, a Seattleite and musician who died unhoused in 2020. 

wiley soule offers an aural meditation on the constraints common to the state of homelessness: the steady denial of access, the gauntlet of casual judgement cast by often still-housed peers, the losses that cascade in at a gale’s pace. This piece is an appeal to empathy, a casting about for the space where the outpaced grief can be shared and hope fashioned into something like real tenderness. 

Curated by Omar Willey for Nonsequitur’s NonSeq series.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: King County & WA State have lifted their mandate requiring masks and proof of vaccination. Masks are optional for this event.

Two trios of master improvisers will reverberate the rafters with electric and organic sounds: experimental guitar trio Lotus Lungs and Bentley/Campbell/Levin.

Lotus Lungs is composed of three accomplished Seattle guitarists: Bill Horist, Matt Benham, and Tom Scully. Their backgrounds range from punk rock and electronic music to jazz and classical. They use special effects and prepared guitars to create unimaginable sounds, and no two performances are alike. If you thought you knew the guitar, prepare to be surprised.

They’ll be joined by the trio of Bentley/Campbell/Levin. That’s electric violist Heather Bentley, percussionist Greg Campbell, and harpist Carol Levin. Drawing from deep experience spanning jazz, classical, world music and free improv, this trio promises to generate organic yet futuristic sounds in their first Seattle appearance together.

Presented by Right Brain Records.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Following current mandates from King County & WA State public health officials, proof of vaccination status or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry, and all audience members will be required to wear a mask covering nose and mouth. Windows will be open, weather permitting.

Experimental harpist/composer Elisa Thorn and violinist Meredith Bates have been playing together in many contexts for the past ten years, including their project Gentle Party which just released its sophomore album, God Complex. The two will be presenting improvised works creating visceral sound worlds with ample electronic processing, extended techniques, classical virtuosity and ambient minimalism.

Elisa Thorn is a harpist/composer living in Vancouver, BC. Combining her technical classical background, exploration of electronic processing and experience working in a variety of contemporary music worlds, Elisa’s music is propelled by two artistic objectives: firstly, how to create music that is both abstract and accessible; and secondly, how to lead a band with harp in a way that does not compromise sensitivity with its boldness, or generosity with its curiosity. Interested in the intersection between composed and improvised music, she is involved with many projects including HUE, The Giving Shapes, and Gentle Party. Her electroacoustic sound world is designed to leave you wondering where the sounds came from. Emerging and dissolving into an ambient landscape, you may hear her influences from Pauline Oliveros, Vijay Iyer, Björk, Radiohead, Arthur Russell, Stevie Wonder, Fiona Apple, Debussy, and the distinct style of the West Coast creative music scene. 

A talented improvisor and performer, award-winning violinist Meredith Bates is known for her elegant and virtuosic sound. She has spent most of the past twenty years recording and performing around the world in celebrated ensembles, such as Pugs and Crows, Gentle Party, and projects led by Vancouver music icons Tony Wilson, Ford Pier, Leah Abramson, and Peggy Lee. Recently, Meredith has founded a new instrumental sextet Like the Mind, with renowned improvisors from Canada and Sweden (Peggy Lee, Lisa Ullen, Lisen Rylander Love, Elisa Thorn, and Emma Augustsson). Her ambient and experimental debut solo album, If Not Now (2020, Phonometrograph) is inspired by our relationship to one another and our natural surroundings. Meredith lives on unceded Coast Salish territory and is the artistic director of the Vancouver Improvised Arts Society (VIAS), a non-profit organization aimed at supporting the creation and presentation of improvised works by womxn, BIPOC, and LGBTQ2S+ artists.

Curated by Omar Willey for Nonsequitur’s NonSeq series.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Although we will not require proof of vaccination status to attend, for this event we are still asking that all audience members wear a mask covering nose and mouth.

Modular Seattle presents (re)connect, SF Bay Area duo electric.kitchen’s evening of experimental electronic music and visuals exploring reconnecting after two years of isolation for performing artists. The whole evening connects its parts into a journey, newly traveled every night.

The Seattle performance of (re)connect includes local musicians Demetrius Patin and WabiSabi. The evening journey includes time for each of them to perform their explorative solo electronic work, as well coming together to play both composed and improvised sections.

Mark Lentczner works with electronic sonic elements – analog synthesizers, sampled sounds, drum boxes, handmade electronics, effects boxes – using them in ways that skirts the line between recognizable musical forms, and journeys in sonic space. The music is all conceived for live performance, using many different ways to interact with electronics, building on the energy of live creation with an audience.

Bill Waitroski uses modular video synthesis and video feedback to create abstract visual interpretations of the hidden energy fields that surround us. The live performed visuals expose a secret, subtle, sometimes unruly world, lying just outside our normal field of perception.

Demetrius Patin creates music in layered patterns of polyrhythms, lush echos, and chewy distortion; this sound is meant to move you. If not physically, then emotionally. With hints of classical, jazz, and progressive rock the sound is unique, beautiful and driving. 

WabiSabi (DB Pawlan) performs ambient soundscapes and textures featuring percussive and melodic elements. Much of his work incorporates Asian-influenced inspiration, manifesting itself in the dichotomy of the Japanese notions of wabi and sabi.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Following current mandates from King County & WA State public health officials, all audience members at this performance will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination status and/or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry. Windows will be open, weather permitting. Given the constantly changing nature of the pandemic, all events are subject to cancellation on short notice. Check back here on the day of the show for updated info.

Kin of the Moon (Seattle) and Strange Interlude (LA) team up for the first of an ongoing series of collaborations titled STRANGE MOON, featuring six newly commissioned works for flute, viola, cello, harp, vox/piano, and electronics.

Back in 2019, Kin of the Moon and Strange Interlude hatched a plan to commission some of our favorite composers to write ten minute works featuring our combined ensemble of flute, viola, cello, harp, vox/piano, and electronics. Things went globally sideways, and instead of unveiling our STRANGE MOON new repertoire in Fall of 2020, we are well into 2022 with even more excitement and appreciation for these gorgeous creations.

Composers Wayne Horvitz, Sarah Bassingthwaighte, Nebal Maysaud, Michaud Savage, Abbey Blackwell, and James Falzone have crafted exquisite pieces for this performance that represents Kin of the Moon’s return to the live Seattle stage. All the works contain through-composed as well as improvised elements. We are thrilled by these texts, and the sonic, textural, and architectural imagination lying within these compositions, and we can’t wait to share these new pieces with everyone! This program is STRANGE MOON I – next in the series will take place in Los Angeles in May with different repertoire.

Kin of the Moon is Leanna Keith, flutes; Heather Bentley, viola; Kaley Lane Eaton, vox/keyboard. Strange Interlude is Lily Press, harp, and Simon Linn-Gerstein, cello.

Presented by Nonsequitur.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Proof of vaccination status or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry, and all audience members will be required to wear a mask covering nose and mouth. Windows will be open, weather permitting.