Sound / Simulacra: Davu Seru

On Wednesday, July 25th, 2018 Sound / Simulacra at Jazz Central Studios will feature Davu Seru. This monthly series in collaboration with Cody McKinney explores musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process. Sound / Simulacra brings together some of the Twin Cities most unique voices to “recreate, distort, and create the hyperreal.”

Set I – Davu Seru (percussion)

Set II – Davu Seru (percussion) + John Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, synthesizer, electronics)

Improvising musician, percussionist, and award-winning composer, Davu Seru, performs regularly in the Twin Cities and abroad as a jazz musician. Like many jazz-rooted musicians influenced by “new music” experiments with extended technique, his approach to the drum set is as much nostalgic as it is technophilic. Consequently, his style is striking for its attending to sound, silence and melodic line as much it does rhythmic pattern—and as a skilled ensemble player he is known for his “big ears.” In the past fifteen years those ears have afforded Davu the opportunity to perform and record with musicians such as Milo Fine, Anthony Cox, George Cartwright, Dean Magraw, Paul Metzger, Jack Wright, Douglas R. Ewart, Evan Parker, Donald Washington, Nicole Mitchell and Rafael Toral.

Beside any number of spontaneous ad-hoc groupings, Davu currently leads No Territory Band and works in a trio with French clarinetist Catherine Delaunay and French bassist Guillaume Seguron. He has also curated concerts series for improvised music (in Chicago and Minneapolis) and collaborates in multi-media performances with dancers and visual artists.

Sound / Simulacra: Zosha Warpeha

This Wednesday, June 27th, 2018 is Sound / Simulacra at Jazz Central Studios featuring Zosha Warpeha on violin, voice, and electronics. This is a monthly series in collaboration with Cody McKinney which explores musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process. Sound / Simulacra brings together some of the Twin Cities most unique voices to “recreate, distort, and create the hyperreal.”

Set I – Zosha Warpeha solo (violin, voice, electronics)

Set II- Zosha Warpeha (violin, voice, electronics) + John Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, synthesizer, electronics)

Zosha Warpeha is a genre-crossing violinist, vocalist, and composer from Minnesota, currently based in New York. Steeped in improvisation, her music draws inspiration from a wide range of folk traditions and contemporary music. Her approach to blending voice and five-string violin brings an unique dimension to her sound. She also performs regularly on the hardanger fiddle, a traditional instrument of Norway, fully embracing the resonance and shimmering qualities of its sympathetic strings. Current musical projects range from the contemporary chamber ensemble Stratus Quartet to the ambient electro-acoustic duo visible worlds. Recent multidisciplinary collaborations include improvisatory performances with the Joffrey Ballet School and the experimental theatre group Exquisite Corpse Company. She has performed in many musical contexts at festivals and venues across the US, as well as internationally at the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and has been a recipient of artistic awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

VIDEO: Full Sets from Studio Z Nada Showcase

I performed this version of Vocalise Sintetica at on Friday, June 8, 2018 at Studio Z for the Nada showcase. The recording was captured by Mike Hodnick. In addition to the improvised elements, what makes this different from previous versions of the piece is that Studio Z is close to home, so I was able to bring my favorite instrument, the Moog Sub 37 for lead lines, melodies, drones, and arps. All the sound heard in this piece was generated by the AVGM (Audiovisual Grain Machine) controlled by an iPad, a Novation Circuit with custom samples and patches, a Minifooger Delay, and the Moog Sub 37.

This was an amazing evening of performances. The sets from Michael Flora, Mike Hodnick (Kindohm), and Spednar were all excellent. Mike also shared video of his own set of “tightly coupled audio and visuals” that he premiered at the event, which is definitely worth checking out:

Read on for the the official press release:

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Sound / Simulacra: Lucas Melchior

This Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 is Sound / Simulacra at Jazz Central Studios featuring Lucas Melchior. Lucas and I have worked together in many capacities over the last 6 or more years. Last summer at Northern Spark Lucas was an integral part of Un:heard Resonance along with Mike Hodnick, Chris LeBlanc, and myself. It will be a pleasure to host Lucas at Sound / Simulacra. This is a monthly series in collaboration with Cody McKinney which explores musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process. Sound / Simulacra brings together some of the Twin Cities most unique voices to “recreate, distort, and create the hyperreal.”

Since 2006 MKR has been writing and performing electronic music in the Twin Cities. Winner of the Minnesota Emerging Composer Award in 2012, his music exists at the intersection of dance music and more ambient and experimental styles. Oscillating between extremes, lush downtempo break beats evolve and yield to breakneck rhythms, melodies, and bass. At times warm, simple, and human and at others cold, digital, and impenetrable the music of MKR revels in its influences and exposes a broad spectrum of timbres and moods.

Set 1: Lucas Melchior (electronics)
Set 2: Lucas Melchior (electronics) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics), John C.S. Keston (Rhodes, piano, synthesizers, electronics)

http://bit.ly/soundsimulacra

VIDEO: John C.S. Keston at ISSTA

Last September 2017 I performed at the Irish Sound in Science Technology and the Arts Conference (ISSTA.ie) in Dundalk, Ireland (video by Daryl Feehely). The performance makes use of a custom Max patch controlled by an iPad, a Novation Circuit, a KeyStep, and a Minifooger Delay pedal. It occurred to me that it might be interesting to share the roots and evolution of this piece, so here goes. Continue reading