AUDREY CHEN is a Chinese-American musician who was born into a family of material scientists, doctors and engineers, outside of Chicago in 1976. Parting ways with the family convention, she turned to the cello at age 8 and voice at 11. After years of classical and conservatory training in both instruments, with a resulting specialization in early and new music, she parted ways again in 2003 to begin new negotiations with sound in order to discover a more individually honest aesthetic.

Now, using the cello, voice and analog electronics, Chen’s work delves deeply into her own version of narrative and non-linear storytelling. A large component of her music is improvised and her approach to this is extremely personal and visceral. Her playing explores the combination and layering of a homemade analog synth, preparations and traditional and extended techniques in both the voice and cello. She works to join these elements into a singular ecstatic personal language.

Recently, her primary focus has been her SOLO project but she is also involved in many various collaborations. Among musicians, she has worked with Phil Minton, Tetuzi Akiyama, Toshimaru Nakamura, Ko Ishikawa, Elliott Sharp, Aki Onda, Phill Niblock, Frederic Blondy, Jerome Noetinger, C. Spencer Yeh, Alessandro Bosetti, Mats Gustafsson, Mazen Kerbaj, Michael Zerang, Tatsuya Nakatani, Le Quan Ninh, Joe Mcphee, Susan Alcorn, Michele Doneda, Paolo Angeli, Gianni Gebbia, plus many more. Some current projects include: duos with Phil Minton, Frederic Blondy, Robert van Heumen, Katt Hernandez, Nate Wooley, and Id M Theft Able. Trio with Nate Wooley and C. Spencer Yeh. Plus three new quartet projects with Jeff Carey/Morten J. Olsen/Raed Yassin, Miya Masaoka/Hans Grusel/Kenta Nagai and also with Frederic Blondy/Michael Johnsen/Jerome Noetinger.

Chen has performed in Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Taiwan, Canada and the USA. She is currently based in Baltimore, MD USA but primarily maintains an active touring schedule throughout Europe. www.myspace.com/audreychen

ADACHI Tomomi (family name is ADACHI), born in Kanazawa, Japan in 1972, is performer, composer, sound poet, installation artist, occasional theater director. He studied philosophy and aesthetics at Waseda University in Tokyo. He has played improvised music with voice, live electronics and self-made instruments. He had composed works for his own group “Adachi Tomomi Royal Chorus” which is a punk-style choir. He has performed contemporary music: vocal and performance works by John Cage, Cornelius Cardew, Christian Wolff, Tom Johnson, Dieter Schnebel, TAKAHASHI Yuji, YUASA Joji and Fluxus including world premier and Japan premier. He is the only performer of sound poetry in Japan and has performed Kurt Schwitters’s “Ursonate” for the first time in Japan. He has made several sound installations and original instruments (e.g.”Tomomin”, his hand made electric instrument is familiar with many musicians). In the field of theater music, he has collaborated with some experimental theaters and dancers, especially he worked in duo group “VACA” with Un Yamada; contemporary dancer, from 2000. He also has organized many concerts which picks up experimental music, sound art, collaboration work and inter-disciplinary performance in Japan and Germany, include concerts for Chris Mann, Trevor Wishart, Nicolas Collins and STEIM in Japan. He has performed with numerous musicians including Jaap Blonk, Nicolas Collins, Carl Stone, SAKATA Akira, ICHIYANAGI Toshi, TANAKA Yumiko, dj sniff, Jerome Noetinger, FURUDATE Tetsuo, Dickson Dee, Zbigniew Karkowski, Johannes Bergmark, Erhart hirt, MAKIGAMI Koichi, Butch Morris, Jon Rose, OTOMO Yoshihide in Japan, United States and Europe. He has presented his works in many kinds venues include IRCAM/Centre Pompidou, Waker Art Center, STEIM, Experimental Intermedia Foundation, Tonic, The National Museum of Art Osaka, Super Deluxe, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, La Mama Theatre Melbourne, Anthology Film Archives, 21th Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa and Vooruit. As a critic, he has written some articles of visual art, music and performance art on papers and magazines. He had participated in the art theory bulletin “Method” 2000-2001. He started visual art (video and installation) in 2003. He directed Japanese premiere of John Cage’s “Europera5″ in Suntory Summer Festival in 2007. Recently, he is focusing his activities on solo performance (with voice, sensors, computer, self-made instruments), sound poetry (especially to the unknown great Japanese sound poetry tradition), video installation and workshop style big ensemble with non-professional voice and instruments.

http://www.adachitomomi.com

Myo – CD Release Party! Myo is the solo project of Cory O’Brien (b. 1980), a self taught hacker, computer musician and electro-acoustic improviser. Contact mics on polycarbonate sheets and feedback networks programmed in Pd and Max/MSP are the preferred tools. His music has been described by Vital Weekly as “louder, dirtier, gritty and angular, but still with ingredients of microsound”. Other projects and collaborations include Never Work (with Kenneth Yates of Harm Stryker, Insects with Tits), Makioki Sisters (with Jeff Surak / Violet) and Clouds-Out (with video artist Jesse Hartgraves). He currently lives and works in Washington, DC. Copies of his new CD on zeromoon will be available. http://myosound.com/

Bastard Squid Implant – Mutant spawn of Blue Sausage Infant, Pilesar, Nine Strings (Chester Hawkins, Jason Mullinax, & Gary Rouzer) all playing things, things, and yet more things. Such breeding is known to happen around these fertile parts.

Ghaphery/Barbiero: Duo of winds and double bass exploring improvisation at the intersection of sound and atmosphere.

Jimmy Ghaphery: Alto & tenor sax & flutes. From Richmond, VA. Original member of punk jazz outfit Hotel X touring and recording through the first 2 releases on SST Records (1992-1994). Since that time an increasing focus on free improvisation and extended techniques. Has performed and/or recorded with Matt Heyner, Coby Batty (Fugs), Pat Best (Pelt), Danny Finney (Rattlemouth/Orthotonics), Fred McGann (Pataphysical Revue), Sam Byrd, Pat Lawrence, Tim Harding, Technical Jed, Ian Davis, Jason Bivins, Michael Thomas Jackson, and Caustic Castle. Active projects include UPPERCASE, nOcAse and lowercase improvisation with New Loft and Ghaphery/Bivins/Davis. Recently completed “Path”, the fifth in an ongoing series of self produced releases of solo improvisations, which can be found on the netlabel, Music is Big Place http://www.archive.org/details/music-is-big-place.

http://www.myspace.com/newloft

http://www.myspace.com/ghapherybivinsdavis

A native of New Haven, CT, double bassist Daniel Barbiero has been active in experimental and improvised music in the Baltimore-Washington area for several years as a performer, composer, and bandleader. His music reflects his long-standing engagement with scalar and free improvisation, aleatory and graphic composition and contemporary extended string technique. In addition to performing with his own ensembles, he has supported Blue Note recording artist Greg Osby and composer Robert Carl. Recent/current projects and collaborations include Nine Strings, The Mindbreath Trio with Perry Conticchio, The Third Object Orchestra, work with pianist Nobu Stowe and electronic sound sculptor Lee Pembleton, and the ambient/surrealist/huh? trio Mercury Fools the Alchemist. In addition, he plays with Nancy Havlik’s Dance Performance Group.

http://www.myspace.com/dbarbiero