Mem1 is touring the West Coast this November, with dates in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Mem1 | mem1.com | myspace.com/mem1la Mem1 seamlessly blends the sounds of cello and electronics to create a limitless palette of sonic possibilities. In their improvisation-based performances, Mark and Laura Cetilia's use of custom hardware and software, in conjunction with a uniquely subtle approach to extended cello technique and realtime modular synthesis patching, results in the creation of a single voice rather than a duet between two individuals. Their music moves beyond melody, lyricism and traditional structural confines, revealing an organic evolution of sound that has been called "a perfect blend of harmony and cacophony" (Forced Exposure). Hailing from Los Angeles, Mem1 has traveled extensively, performing at Roulette (NYC), REDCAT / Disney Hall (LA), the Orange County Museum of Art, Electronic Church (Berlin), the Laptopia Festival (Tel-Aviv), the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, and the Borealis Festival (Bergen). In 2007, they were awarded an artist residency at Harvestworks in New York for the creation of a new surround sound piece entitled Sonodendron. They have since taken part in residencies at STEIM and Kunstenaarslogies in the Netherlands and USF Verftet in Bergen, Norway. In 2009, they created a site-specific installation for the Museums of Bat Yam (Israel); their work has been screened and installed at venues including the Sundance Film Festival, Fringe Exhibitions (Los Angeles), and the Hordaland Kunstsenter (Bergen). Their third full-length album, +1, consisting of collaborations between Mem1 and artists such as Steve Roden, Jan Jelenik, and Frank Bretschneider, was released in Spring 2009 by Interval Recordings. Mem1 is touring the West Coast this November, with dates in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. For detailed information on venues or artists sharing the bills, click on the links below. Portland | Dunes | 1905 NE MLK | Wed. Nov. 4 | 9pm | $5 Pulse Emitter | Daniel Menche Seattle | Rendezvous / Jewelbox Theater | 2322 2nd Ave. | Thurs. Nov. 5 | 10pm | $6 Steve Barsotti + Dale Lloyd | Wyndel Hunt | Tiflin Vancouver | Blim | 197 17th Ave. E | Sat. Nov. 7 | 8 PM | $5-10 sliding scale Jeffrey Allport + Chandan Narayan | Andrea Young | André Cormier | Robin Streb | Jamie Drouin San Francisco | Luggage Store New Music Series| 1007 Market St. | Thurs. Nov. 12 | 8pm | $6-10 sliding scale 15 Degrees Below Zero Los Angeles | Redcat Lounge | 631 West 2nd Street | Sun. Nov. 22 | 2:30pm | Free qqq | Spastic Colon Pulse Emitter | synthnoise.com | myspace.com/pulseemitter Pulse Emitter uses a homemade synth outfitted with photocells to realize his self-described "cosmic music," which indeed evokes sonic asteroids hurdling through deep space. His aim is to remove the human element from music by "taking data from nature" (ionic disturbances and other atmospheric phenomena) and patching it into his gear. He has been creating numbing drone, noise and ambient music with handmade synthesizers since 2002, and has an impressive portfoilio of CDrs, tapes and vinyl releases. [top] Daniel Menche | esophagus.com | myspace.com/danielmenche1 Daniel Menche has established himself as a musician with a sense of focus and determination uncharacteristic in a genre known for its randomness and chaotic structure. Rather than creating "noise," he strives for order and cohesiveness. His presentation of sonic structures is similar to the way a writer depicts a story, an allegory seems to arise, which uses confusion as a symbol for the imaginative process of total sound purity; aural intensity is not a representation of confusion or the chaotic, but a concerted effort to provoke and stimulate the listeners imagination by generating intensely powerful sounds and music. Daniel Menche's work originates from the idea that there is no restriction to the potential sound sources and especially sonic energy. Any sounds - all sounds are used and exploited to create the music. There are absolutely no barriers or biases in what can be used and have been used. Self made and recorded sound sources, percussion and instruments are the main emphasis in creating a living and emotional feeling to Daniel Menche's form of contemporary music. Subtle and patient compositions rely on long, dense layers of droning sounds, while abrasive pieces rely on sounds amplified and processed to extreme levels, pushing the full spectrum of frequencies to the most threshold of limits. Other explorations are intense percussion work that resonates primal chaos displayed gracefully without ever being just "noise". While avoiding the theoretical aspects of music-this is sound work that follows the path to explore new emotions for music to obtain a one on one personal impact with pure sound. Daniel Menche's craft straddles many hard-to-define boundaries and genres; it is an effort to provoke confusion in order to enhance the mystery of it; an effort to establish each release as a sonic identity. This is not the music of the masses; rather, it is the music of individuals who are adventurous in experiencing challenging music. Indeed, Menche has amassed a sizable discography on some the most discerning independent labels in the world. Constantly performing live extensively throughout North America, Europe and Japan with performances that are intense and powerful. Characterized as both extremely loud and patiently subtle, Daniel Menche's live performances define its own sonic presence, an entity that gives form to an emotional rawness with highly textural and dominating sounds. This is dedicated music that expresses the undisciplined purity of emotion. Characterized by forcefulness of sound, music that strives for one goal: vehement beauty. [top] Steve Barsotti | kazbar.org | myspace.com/ragmatic Steve Barsotti is a sound artist and educator who lives in Seattle yet sorely misses the food from his native land, Chicago . He has ventured into various approaches to art making including photography, printmaking, performance, invented instruments, improvisation, object recording, location recording, phonography, electro-acoustic-pull-strange-sounds-from-everyday-objects, and there is sure to be more. The common thread has always been a close examination of easily bypassed details; image from angles that you would not normally see, sounds that can only be heard through contact mics and amplification, sonic qualities of materials that are used in everyday life. He is a currently a member of the Seattle Phonographers Union, a field recording wielding group of improvisers. The Union is described as " moving beyond habitual experience of sound and uncover what is foreign in the familiar and familiar about the foreign; to explore what we hear and relearn what we know" They have been performing together for five years. (www.kazbar.org/spu) His previous life in Chicago involved him in various organizational activities including In the Eye of the Ear, an organization dedicated to the promotion of artists who use sound as a primary medium of expression, where he co-curated and co-produced several festivals under that name. He was an original member of W.A.L.K., a collective of artists that did performance and installation work outside the traditional white wall gallery setting. Their performances were durational in nature, sometimes lasting for weeks. They performed in an abandoned department store, a park field bath house and in a 13th century observatory in Vilnius , Lithuania . and he worked with Experimental Sound Studio for over six years, a not-for-profit arts organization for the promotion of innovative sound art in Chicago . There he worked as manager of their recording facilities, a freelance recording engineer, an instructor in technical and conceptual workshops and volunteer for various projects associated with the organization such as the Chicago Soundscape Project, the Sounds from Chicago Radio Program and BONES, a CD series of Chicago based sound artists. [top] Dale Lloyd | and-oar.org | myspace.com/dalelloydsound Over the course of 15+ years, Dale Lloyd has been a sound artist, label owner, graphic designer, producer, musician, and visual artist. In 2001, he founded and/OAR, a recording label focused on presenting unique environmental recordings, sound art, avant-garde and electronic music. From 2001 to 2005, Dale produced the highly regarded series of field recording compilations for Phonography.org. Prior to 2000, Dale spent much time involved in some capacity with critically acclaimed music groups, production projects, and recording labels revolving around less conventional forms of pop/rock music such as Lucid, Cindytalk / Bambule, Pram, Moonshake, My Diva, and After The Flood (a studio project that worked with Cindytalk, Labradford, WIndy & Carl, Bowery Electric, Steve Ball (formerly of League Of Crafty Guitar Players), Jeffery Taylor (of Climax Golden Twins), Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive), My Diva, Marc Olsen/Sage, Sky Cries Mary, John Massoni / Maxine, among others. And while a member of My Diva performed live with groups such as Flaming Lips, Lush, Medicine, Sky Cries Mary, Sage, Love Battery, Jessamine, Common Language, Maxine, Bewitched (Sonic Youth spin off band), among others. The sound work of Dale Lloyd has been released by labels such as and/OAR, Overheard And Rendered, Alluvial Recordings, Bremsstrahlung Recordings, Conv, Sirr.ecords, Non Visual Objects, Sonic Arts Network, Mu label, Mystery Sea, Petite Sono, S'Agita Recordings, Staalplaat / Open Circuit, Leerraum, Tiramizu, Accretions, Psyclone, Phonography.org, æ, World Domination / CZ Records, Praxis, Space Age Recordings, Shadow Puppet Recording Company, Labile Music, Throat, and Sonicabal. Links to MP3 works can be found on the DISCOGRAPHY page of his site, and have been issued by 12k / Term, EARlabs, Bremsstrahlung Recordings / Trans>parent Radiation, Stasisfield, Tiln Digital Diffusion, and microsound.org among others. [top] Wyndel Hunt | dragonseyerecordings.com Wyndel Hunt works as a sound designer, composer, and fine artist in Seattle.  His sound work is often a juxtaposition of delicate harmony beneath surfaces of abrasive noise.  Described as "geo-tonic", and "administered anaesthetics", Hunt's detailed music holds suspenseful tension by mapping transitory emotional experience onto synthetic static design. [top] Tiflin | tiflin.com Tiflin and a little white sleeping pill ran away at code words. Took Saturday downtown, took sooburbial Valencian necktimes, cut ties, melt pies, with quirk to the side dash made a decide now ended up Upper West Side. Tiflin will be performing the following works for toy piano: Trimer for Toy Piano and Tape by Christian Banasik / Little White House (Underpass to the Foundation) 1:00 p.m by Alan Shockley / Miracle Ear for Toy Piano and Metal Pipes by David Lang. [top] Jeffrey Allport | myspace.com/jeffreyallport Vancouver-based percussionist Jeffrey Allport approaches the physical nature of his chosen instrument  through a variety of preparations and implements to liberate a unique palette of sounds. Respecting each carefully extracted tone, thump and scrape in addition to the silence from which they are borne, his exploratory improvisations inhabit minute sound worlds, eschewing the grand gesture. [top] Chandan Narayan | myspace.com/chandannarayan Chandan Narayan records and performs with the autoharp both as a soloist and in ad hoc groupings. He is involved in the ongoing projects: Glass Plates (Vancouver), Benito Cereno (Philadelphia), Handle Bear (Toronto), and Beak Full of Rubies (Ann Arbor). [top] Andrea Young | quatuorbozzini.ca Andrea Young is a vocal performer and composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music. In 2001 Andrea completed an Undergraduate Degree in Vocal Performance and Composition from the University of Victoria, BC, Canada. Performances at the University of Victoria include Pierrot Lunaire and Das Buch den Hängenden Gärten by Arnold Schoenberg, Folksongs by Luciano Berio, and Socrate by Erik Satie. Voice and composition teachers include Susan Young, Christopher Butterfield, and John Celona. Between 2001 and 2003 Andrea traveled throughout Europe visiting art galleries and concert halls, experimented with her voice, and created performance art installations for Open Space Gallery in Victoria and Vancouver New Music. Long Term Residencies at the Banff Center of the Arts 2003 and 2004 led to the creation and performance of Azari-Cortège, for orchestra and santur with performer Amir Amiri. Performances of this work were given by Vancouver Symphony Orchestra conductor Bramwell Tovey, and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Rosemary Thomson. Vocal Performances during this time include Op.3 Five Songs by Anton Webern, and Einige Sätze aus den Südelbuchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs, Op.37 by Geögry Kurtág. By 2005, Andrea decided to continue her education by returning to Europe and engaging with computer music. In 2007, Andrea completed a Masters Degree in Sonology from The Royal Conservatory, The Hague, Netherlands with teachers Paul Berg and Kees Tazelaar. Pink Noise by composer Hector Bravo Benard was performed at the Muziekgebouw aan 'T IJ, Amsterdam, Netherlands and her electroacoustic composition 'T Tijnk 2007 was performed at the ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany. Returning to Canada in 2007 led to the creation of Voice/wire: 1, a collection of new works for voice and electronics. The resulting performance was given in Victoria in February 2009. New works for voice, piano and electronics are in development, and the final result will be performed throughout Canada and the United States in the Spring of 2010. Andrea's electroacoustic work Infinitesimals will be premiered by violist Robin Streb; Young will also perform composer André Cormier's En Monochrome for voice and electronics. [top] André Cormier | emsis.ca | myspace.com/andrecormier André Cormier's work has been presented in Canada, the US, Europe and New Zealand. He has written for solo, small and large chamber ensembles, as well as music for opera, dance and collaborative work with visual artists. His works have been commissioned from a variety of artists in Canada, the US and Europe. In 2004 he founded Ensemble Ordinature and has since served as artistic director. He produced their debut recording of Kurt Schwitters' Ursonate, which is featured on ubu.com and was favourably reviewed in UK new music magazine The Wire. Along with violist Mieka Kohut and artist Donna Kelly, Cormier co-founded CO·LAB, a multi-disciplinary collaborative project. In 2008 he launched Éditions musique SISYPHE (emsis.ca) a music publishing house focusing on experimental music. Cormier is an Acadian, originally from Moncton NB, and has lived on the west coast since the early nineties. In July 2009, with the help of the Canada Council, he undertook an intensive one month composition study with Antoine Beuger in Düsseldorf, Germany. While in Düsseldorf, Begegnung, a concert programme entirely dedicated to some of his string works was presented by members of the Quatuor Bozzini as part of the Klangraum Series 2009 at the Düsseldorf Kunstraum. In March 2009, Redshift presented the complete cycle of Infections at Pacifique Cinématèque Theatre in Vancouver, and the full cycle of Bactéries was given at Listen/Space, in New York in April, 2009. His piece Piling Sand—Piling Stone 2 was featured at the inaugural concert of Listen/ Space, in Brooklyn, NY. Ensembles that have presented Cormier's work include musica intima (Can), Park Lane (Can/US), Erreur de type 27, (Québec), Nu:BC (Can), The Tempest Flute Ensemble (Can), Suna no onna (Can/US), Vancouver Miniaturist Ensemble (Can), Aventa (Can), ctrl+alt+repeat Large Ensemble (LA), Quatuor Bozzini (Montréal), Audiamour (Germany/Greece), Saint Crispin's Chamber Ensemble (Can), Motion Ensemble (Can) Lost Dog New Musik Ensemble (NY), Guthrie/Streb (LA), OXO Ensemble (NY), New Century Players (US), Redshift (Can), BEAMS Electroacoustic Ensemble (Can), 60x60 Project (US), New Century Players (US). Soloists that have presented Cormier's work include violinist Clemens Merkel, vocalist Andrea Young, cellist Jessica Catron, harpist Susan Allen, violinist Johnny Chang, violist Mieka Kohut, and his work has been broadcasted on CBC, Radio Canada, Radio New Zealand, KZSU (LA), Wandelweiser web radio (Germany). His music is available on Vox Novus' release of the 60x60 Project (2004-2005) as well as at www.emsis.ca. [top] Robin Streb | myspace.com/duosunanoonna Robin Streb is an active performer and teacher from Vancouver, BC, Canada. She holds the position of assistant principal viola with the Vancouver Island Symphony and has performed with the Victoria Symphony, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and the Kamloops Symphony. She is a member of Melange Chamber Ensemble and the Vancouver Miniaturist Ensemble. Robin has performed in the Los Angeles area with the Okiro Series, Tonoi Ensemble, CTRL+ALT+REPEAT, New West Symphony, and various events at the California Institute of the Arts. Robin earned her BMus. from the University of Victoria (1999) and her MMus. from Rice University (2002). In addition to her performing schedule, she also teaches at the Vancouver Waldorf School and the Vancouver Academy. [top] Jamie Drouin | jamiedrouin.com | myspace.com/vrsnmusic Jamie Drouin's (Canadian, b.1970) soundwork explores the subtleties of experience, with a specific interest in the way audio can dramatically alter perceptions of both physical and temporal space. Incorporating field recordings and synthesized sounds, Drouin's works create intricately detailed patterns and textures which, while retaining references to corporeal sources, seek to expand and transform audience perceptions of familiar habitat. Drouin has collaborated with several international artists including Skoltz Kolgen, Karl Kliem, Yann Novak, 3x3is9, Lance Olsen and others. He has exhibited and performed worldwide, including Mutek (Montreal), TodaysArt (The Hague) Decibel Festival (Seattle), the Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art, Henry Art Gallery (Seattle), General Public (Berlin), La Placard (Montreal). His compositions have been published on Oral, Dragon's Eye Recordings, Rope Swing Cities, Infrequency, and Cryoworks. [top] Drouin is the co-founder of Infrequency Editions and SPLICED curating works by a diverse group of sound artists. 15 Degrees Below Zero | 15dbz.crunchpod.com | myspace.com/15degreesbelowzero The story of 15 Degrees Below Zero began on May 13, 2000, with Imperial Floral Assault Unit. Gary TVG of The Violet Grind put together a band for what was supposed to be a one-off performance on KSZU, Stanford University's radio station, for their annual Day of Noise, 24 hours straight of noise performances. The members were Gary, Michael Addison Mersereau (of CTC, Cipher Utopia, and 18 Frames Per Second, amongst others), Daniel Blomquist (of Decibel, which has slowly mutated into The Twittering Machine), and I, Mark Wilson (then about to start my own project Conure). Prior to this performance, only Mike and Gary had collaborated together before, one recording of which can be heard on The Violet Grind/Cipher Utopia release on Troniks. In fact, this was going to be my first time working with music at all (besides some self-taught amateurish drumming in high school). Due to time crunches, we did not have time to rehearse prior to the show, and since we had to start five minutes after Mike and Gary arrived at the station, we really had no idea what we were going to do. We just went ahead and played. As mentioned, this was meant to be a one-off performance. After listening back to the recording of our set, we knew we couldn't allow that. We were amazed at what we had pulled off, especially considering the factors mentioned above. (The recording was available on our split release with Stolen Light, Conure, and Goose.) So we continued as IFAU for another six months, releasing a few items, playing several shows, and receiving mostly positive responses. However, in January, 2001, Gary decided he wanted to go his own way, and he split up the project. Despite the disappointment, Dan, Mike, and I decided to continue working together. The name 15 Degrees Below Zero was decided on in February, 2001, and we began our first recordings a month later. We've played numerous west coast shows as well as the Providence Noise Fest in Rhode Island. Crunch Pod released a posthumous set of live IFAU material along with a set of live 15DBZ material. Our first CD (an EP) was released mid-2004 on the same label, and the full length follow up CD was released two years later on Force of Nature. Our first vinyl release was released on .Angle.Rec. in August of 2007, our second full length CD was released on Edgetone Records in 2008, and our third one was released in April of 2009 on the same label. Initially, 15DBZ's music was all structured improvisation (as was the case with IFAU). However, over time, composition has become very central to our work, both in the "studio" and in the live environment. Improv still has a part in what we do, but now it's within the framework of our compositions. Thanks to the promoters, bands, labels, and friends who have helped us. As always, special thanks go to Ben Arp from Crunch Pod for the level of support he's given us almost since the inception of IFAU. Much of the recognition we've received so far is due to him. [top] qqq | mprntbl.com With their new trio, qqq (pronounced "cues"), Glenn Bach, shea M gauer, and scott A peterson explore the quieter realms of live improvisation. The three perform together in Double Blind and Intense Situations of Peril, while gauer and peterson perform under the moniker smgsap and as adopted members of Soon. [top] Spastic Colon | spasticcolon.org Jorge Martin - lover of old-fashioned glazed donuts. Martin has played with such noise/rock groups as Sleestak and Unicorn. He was co-proprietor of the Impala Café (downtown Los Angeles), a space for experimental music performances (back in the mid to late 90's). Currently he does sound-engineering duties at events for SASSAS (as well being an advisor to SASSAS). (In his spare time, he loves to overuse parentheses). For fun, he maintains the LOS ANGELES SOUND CALENDAR, a calendar of local experimental arts events. Jorge currently works at the University of California, Irvine - Department of Biological Chemistry. He is studying various aspects of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSH or FSHD). Check out his lab webpage at: http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/biochem/Winokur (he's the one wearing the awful green shirt) Erik Hoffman - lover of peanut-dipped devil's food donuts. In addition to being a wireless network technician at Downey Unified School District, Erik is the founder and sole proprietor of the very prolific experimental record label Ground Fault Recordings. He has managed to release thirty titles under the Ground Fault name, in a five-year period. He has also collaboratively released seven other CDs with San Francisco based, Auscultare Research and five book/CDs projects with Errant Bodies Press. Ground Fault has managed to release some of the best experimental and noise recordings at an amazingly low price. The Ground Fault Recordings mail order catalog is a constantly changing selection currently containing about 800 titles. Check it out at www.groundfaultrecordings.com [top]