Thursday April 13 * 7pm * TICKETS
Brooklyn based saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson and modular synthesist Matthew Ryals met on the subway. Well, actually they met at a show in Cleveland, but after reintroducing themselves on Brooklyn's finest subway line, the G train, they started to see they had a lot to talk about. Their open and engaging improvised sets seamlessly evolve across moments of intimate melody and walls of charged electro-acoustic sound. Combining textural approaches such as extended synthesizer techniques and circular breathing, the duo blurs preconceived roles and disguises the origins of timbre. Expect an adventurous and welcoming performance that is new every night.
Jonah Parzen-Johnson
Jonah Parzen-Johnson makes music for baritone saxophone that challenges listeners with experimental electronic textures and embraces them with warm approachable melodies. He is a long-time Brooklyn resident, but his circular breathing, multi-phonics and inclusively experimental baritone saxophone style owe a debt to Chicago, the city where he was raised. Jonah’s devotion to an almost vocal approach places him in new territory for the instrument. His performances are a deeply intimate experience, as he endeavors to share who he is, how he sees our world, and the temporary moments of community that we can all embrace together. Since 2015, Jonah has toured hundreds of thousands of miles playing solo baritone saxophone. He has performed on 4 continents, and in over a dozen countries.
Matthew Ryals
Matthew Ryals is a musician, sound designer, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. Primarily working with a modular synthesizer, his music explores aleatoricism, cybernetics, and unfixed forms. He thinks of his work as existing on an axis where one side is occupied by fully generative, self-playing systems and on the other fully improvisational, spontaneous compositions. As a 2022-23 New Music USA awardee, Matthew is collaborating with Jacob Sachs-Mishalanie on new material focused on developing generative processes at the macroscopic (structural) level. His new EP, Generative Etudes Vol 1.0, is out May 5th on the Seoul-based label, dingn\dents. It’s the first release in a larger suite devoted to the practice of generative composition using a modular synthesizer; a self-assigned project to record 30 etudes in 30 days. Each recording will be released in numerous versions, and each version will consist of the same tracks in the same order, but different takes of the system/patch running.
Alma Laprida
Alma Laprida (1985, San Miguel, Argentina). She studied piano at Julián Aguirre School of Music, Arts Management at the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero and Electronic Arts at the same University. Alma explores the territories among composition, improvisation, performance and installation. She works with trumpet marine, field recordings, synthesizers, lyre and other non-conventional instruments and objects. She played, performed and set installations in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Italy, Mexico and the United States. She released three solo albums, two collaboration albums and several pieces in compilations. After living and working in Buenos Aires for ten years, she’s been based in Maryland, USA, since 2021.
Mike Kuhl
Drummer, recording artist, educator, Mike Kuhl hails from the musical diverse city of Baltimore, MD. Kuhl’s open mindedness to all genres has allowed him to be a first call drummer for any situation. A graduate from Towson University and the University of Maryland, Kuhl has performed locally and throughout the globe alongside jazz greats Dave Liebman, Tony Malaby, Michael Formaneck, Dave Ballou, Tim Berne, Jason Rigby, Mark Guiliana, Ellery Eskelin and Claudio Roditi. Outside of jazz, Kuhl has shared the stage with many international acts such as Beach House, Arboretum, Cigarettes After Sex, Tom Tom Club, and The Ravonnettes. As a leader, Kuhl performs domestically and internationally with his various groups. Alongside his musical career, Mike is an accomplished Ba Gua martial artist. He believes the grace and power of the body movements of Kung fu go hand in hand with his style of drumming. Kuhl is currently an adjunct faculty member at Towson University teaching drum set lessons and coaching various ensembles.
Jeff Surak
Jeff Surak has been a fixture within the experimental community for many years, curating the Sonic Circuits festival, programming for Rhizome DC, and running his own Zeromoon label. His own work manifests non-linear narratives through lo-fi techniques and archaic technologies.