# artists

name: Elizabeth Wolff
description: 19th century classical piano
homepage: wolff
photo: /artists/img/wolff.jpg
society: NONE
page: wolff
bio:
Pianist ELIZABETH WOLFF has developed a large following both as a chamber musician and as a soloist. She has collaborated with such noted string quartets as the Shanghai, the Brunswick, the Rosamonde, and the Zapolski, and has participated in music festivals including Music Mountain, Aspen, Music at La Gesse, Mohonk, The Beethoven Festival, and the Festival de Musique en Lorraine.

Founder and Director of Music at Lake Willoughby, Miss Wolff has also been on chamber music faculties of Summertrios and Music Mountain. Currently, she is Co-Director of Chamber Music Retreats at Vassar.

Miss Wolff is recipient of numerous awards and sponsorships including the Pro Musicis Foundation's International Award, The Belsky Music Award, a Music at La Gesse Fellowship, and The Jerome Foundation debut recording grant. In New York, she has been presented as soloist for three consecutive seasons on The Distinguished Artist Series at The Tisch Center of the 92nd Street 'Y', at Merkin Concert Hall and Florence Gould Hall by Pro Musicis, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and at Weill Recital Hall. As well, she is often featured pianist in live radio broadcasts on WQXR, WNCN and WNYC. Other United States solo concert performances include The Phillips Collection in Washington DC, The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, The Schubert Club in St. Paul, and numerous Pro Musicis sponsored national recital tours. Miss Wolff's appearance at London's Purcell Room received rave critical acclaim and was followed with highly successful tours of Austria, Holland and France. She was invited back to Vienna to perform works of Brahms in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his death.

Miss Wolff's affinity for and love of the piano works of Rachmaninoff have garnered special notice. She was guest soloist on WQXR's "Russian Nights" special broadcast, she conducted master classes as well as performed in recital at the renowned Rachmaninoff Institute in Tambov, Russia, and most recently she performed for the International Conference of the Rachmaninoff Society in London and Vienna. Of Miss Wolff's recording of the Six Moments Musicaux, Opus 16, American Record Guide noted, "I have never heard anything quite like the enchanting soft playing in No. 5, and No. 6 is a remarkable performance...a stimulating and musical pianist." This disc has been re-issued, and included on it is a premiere recording of the two sets of Moments Musicaux (Opus 7 and 84) by Moritz Moszkowski.

Elizabeth Wolff's commitment to teaching is demonstrated through the broad range of her educational activities. These include an adjunct lectureship at Hunter College, presentations for The College Music Society, her lecture/recital series entitled Minding the Score, chamber music coaching in affiliation with The 92nd Street YMHA School of Music and with Chamber Music Associates, and her class of individual students. Miss Wolff received a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Science degree from The Juilliard School where she was a scholarship student of Rosina Lhevinne. Other teachers include Seymour Bernstein, Jeaneane Dowis, and Benjamin Kaplan.


name: Emavision
description: the sound of trees falling between East n' West
homepage: emavision
photo: /artists/img/emavision_tree.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: emavision
bio:
Emavision is a musical collective formed by Evan Chen and Ma Shangyou, based in Beijing, China.

Evan Chen, is a keyboardist, composer, producer who spent 18 years abroad, studying with masters like, William Kraft and Steven Sondheim. He worked in theatre, opera, film and TV.

Ma Shangyou, a music producer and multi- instrumentalist, grew up in Xinjiang Province and performed around China for years.

Facing the fall of music business model, they see the true meaning of their music making. Together, they built a studio in a village outside of the city, so they can groove at night and dream in the light. They travel to remote regions of China, searching for the songs and words that are forgotten by the cities.

The music they are making interweaves the ambience of Chinese ethnic sounds with the world of acoustic, electro beats. It's from China but not for yoga or meditation. The love for their tradition doesn't stir fear in their creative process. They believe only through transformation the wealth of their culture can be enjoyed widely by the people in the world.

For more information about Emavision please go to their Mypsace page.


name: Emiel Stopler
description: Filmic composer and acoustic fingerstyle guitarist
homepage: emiel_stopler
photo: /artists/img/emiel_stopler_new.jpg
society: BUMA
page: emiel_stopler
bio:
Dutch composer and fingerstyle guitarist Emiel Stopler began his musical studies as a teenager, playing the clarinet and the drums. At the age of seventeen his interest in music became more serious and he took up classical guitar lessons while studying engineering at college in the U.S.A.

After returning to his native Netherlands, he abandoned his engineering studies in favor of continuing with his guitar lessons. He studied classical guitar for two years at the Codarts Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and followed this with nearly two years studying composition at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent in Belgium.

Emiel started composing music shortly after he began his guitar lessons, writing short pieces for solo guitar. As time progressed, he moved onto writing chamber music. Emiel's compositions have been performed by various ensembles around the world, including the Turkish guitar trio Triobio, the Providence Mandolin Orchestra in the U.S.A. and the Strijktrio Sciolto from the Netherlands. He has also collaborated with American electronic music artist General Fuzz, for whom he recorded several guitar tracks. In 2008, Emiel won third prize in the Italian composition contest the Accademia della Chitarra di Brescia.

In the field of film music, Emiel is also active. He wrote music for a presentation in the Frisian Museum of Nature in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands en is producing stock music for film and videoproductions.

Emiel likes to compose in a variety of styles, influenced by pop, jazz and film music. However, his unique musical signature is always present in his work.

In addition to his musical career, he is also a published author in the Netherlands.

You can find out more about Emiel on his website.


name: Emma Wallace
description: angst-free modern ragtime
homepage: emma_wallace
photo: /artists/img/emma_wallace.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: emma_wallace
bio:
I am a maker of songs for those wearing rose-colored glasses, those who love life and happy endings.

For persons who prefer their artists tortured, I fear I am not your cup of vodka.

I started concentrating seriously on music when I turned seven and my piano teacher said, "Although Emma is a real sweet girl, her older brother has all the talent." Needless to say, I have been passionate about working on my music ever since.

My most prominent influence is Sting. There is no close second in influences because Sting is just my favorite. Always has been.

But my love for jazz greats- both performers and writers (Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick, Jr., George Gershwin, Cole Porter) definitely creates the tone of music. I also love wonderful and unusual songwriters: George Michael, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Emily Loizeau, etc.

In a kind review of my most recent album, the writer says, "Fun and sexy, Emma Wallace's catchy tunes will have you singing along with the refrain before you've even finished listening to them once. I love her intelligent humor and clever wording which make me listen carefully and then laugh out loud every time I hear her songs. I highly recommend this album, her older albums... to anyone who is a romantic at heart."


name: Emmalee Crane
description: ambient, orchestral drone music
homepage: emmalee_crane
photo: /artists/img/emmalee_crane.jpg
society: BMI
page: emmalee_crane
bio:
Like most children, Emmalee's first experience of making music was with a plastic recorder and a number of other ill-advised toy whistles and trumpets. It was from here that she followed a not unpredictable but quite successful progression to the oboe, clarinet, and English and French horns. She studied (and is a great lover of) Romantic and Modern classical music, with a particular fondness for Debussy.

Perhaps the most important twist in this so far dull history involves Emmalee's other fascination: electronics. Being adept at dismantling all manner of gadgets from an early age, she naturally developed a secondary musical affinity for analog synthesizers and other voltage-driven trinkets of noisemaking. She is now equally at home with a soldering iron as a woodwind, and is a great believer in circuit-bending*. Today, Emmalee blends woodwinds, horns and analog synthesizers with found sounds and bent circuits to create ambient, orchestral drone music reminiscent of Mark Hollis and Stars Of The Lid. Emmalee Crane was born in Toronto in 1983. She now lives in San Francisco with an unruly collection of instruments and her dog, Bash.

* as long as you don't mention the time she totally wrecked a Juno 106

For more information visit her website.


name: Emmas Mini
description: glamorously femme electropop
homepage: emmas_mini
photo: /artists/img/emmas_mini_3.jpg
society: NONE
page: emmas_mini
bio:
emma's mini is a duo based in Seattle, WA.

They first started making music together in March of 2002 and in April of 2003 they self-released their first album, beat generation mad trick.

The album received high praise from local fans and solid air play on KEXP 90.3.

Taking their cue from bands such as lamb, Massive Attack and Moloko, emma's mini is creating a new and exciting sound, seamlessly blending Suzanne McClean's rich, lush vocals with Demian Shoemaker's innovative beats and soundscapes.


name: Endless Blue
description: Trashy Beats, Melancholy Keys, Sultry Vocals
homepage: endless_blue
photo: /artists/img/endless_blue.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: endless_blue
bio:
Strongly influenced by the fruits of the downtempo Bristol sound of the early nineties, Endless Blue's music spins the trip-hop style in a new direction while staying true to their roots.

They infuse trip-hop's "signature" lo-fi beats, vintage synths, and jazzy bass with guitar and songwriting that leans toward the indie-rock vibe of their original home of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sprinkled into these grooves are eclectic snippets of other genres, from synth-pop to industrial to loungecore to staright-up rock. Finally, bringing it all together is a female voice that is a blend of numerous eras, from the torch singers of the '40s to the classic female rockers to the modern trip-hop singers.

Endless Blue, formed by vocalist Laura Hillman and producer Nick Mitchell in 2003, rose from the breakup of the Madison/Minneapolis electro-rock band STATE4. Leaving behind the frenetic, guitar-driven sound of their previous band, the duo quickly set off into the realm of dark downtempo. As the sound matured and the songwriting continued, Endless Blue added a second vocalist, jazzy crooner Amanda Oechsle. The trio recorded and released their self-titled debut, hitting the road for a short tour mid-2004.

In 2005, Mitchell and Hillman decided to relocate south to Milwaukee. Oechsle decided to leave Endless Blue and stay in Minneapolis, while the remaining members began work on their second release, Smoke Through It. The second Endless Blue album garnered significant college and public radio play, and the band toured regionally to support it. Mid-2006 found the band working on their next release and taking a break from live performance. The third release, Fever Dreams, was completed in late 2008 after a long three years of work and rework.


name: English Ayres
description: traditional early English music
homepage: english_ayres
photo: /artists/img/english_ayres_jeni.jpg
society: NONE
page: english_ayres
bio:
English Ayres is a circle of musicians dedicated to performing early music, traditional and English music in such a way that it is never boring. We aim for a fresh sound, and lively storytelling.

Jeni Melia has studied with Mary Bainbridge and Ruth Holton, and has participated in masterclasses with Emma Kirkby, with whom she has studied privately. She sings with the Concord Singers and has performed solos in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Faure's Requiem, Pergolesi's Salve Regina, Mozart's Laudate Dominum, Vivaldi's Gloria, Arne's Shakespeare songs, Handel's Messiah, and a song cycle, Love's Bitter-Sweet, specially composed for her by Paul Edwards.

She has been recorded performing the music of Paul Edwards, on the CD No Small Wonder (Lammas Records), and has released four CDs, of lute songs and folk songs, "The Last of Old England"; "The Lost Art of Wooing"; and "Sister Awake!"; (all of which are available on Magnatune) and Land of Lost Content featuring songs for voice and violin by Holst and Vaughan Williams.

Recent engagements to date have included recitals at The Barns in Carlton, the Leicester, Lincoln, Richmond, and Brighton Early Music Festivals, the King of Hearts centre in Norwich, Hengrave Hall in Suffolk and the Ateneu Comercial do Porto, Portugal, the Langholm and Eskdale Arts Festival, the Ripon Music Festival, the Krakow Lute Festival, Le Puy Notre Dame (Loire valley), at the Heriot-Watt concert Society, Ediburgh, and at the Lute Society (where Jeni has also performed with the noted lutenists Chris Wilson and Nigel North). With accompanist Chris Goodwin, she has recently featured on the Radio 3 In Tune programme.

Chris Goodwin took up the lute at the age of 19, and for the last 13 years has been Secretary of the Lute Society, and editor of The Lute; he has also edited and published collections of lute songs from original manuscript sources.

Has appeared on the Radio 3 In Tune programme, on the Radio 4 Today programme, and as a musician in the feature film Shakespeare in Love, in Reeves' Rogues: Blackbeard on the Discovery Channel, in ITV's Have I been here before? and has played briefly on BBC's The Weakest Link, Channel 4's Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything, Big Brother and University Challenge Professionals.

He has played on three CDs with the group Passamezzo, and four with the soprano Jeni Melia. He has sung in numerous choirs from childhood and played the lute and sung in a number of ensembles, including the folk/early music fusion group Andwella, and The Giltspur Singers. He is a founder member of English Ayres.

Recent engagements include providing incidental music for the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Henry VIII at Stratford-on-Avon, giving the opening recital and lecture in the first Krakow Lute Festival, and playing at private functions for Ringo Starr, for the Home Secretary, John Reid, and for Sir Jock Stirrup, Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Helen Price studied music at Kings College London and then gained a Masters in Musicology at Royal Holloway where she studied female singers in Restoration London.

Helen combines a career in arts sponsorship with singing and conducting. She has conducted numerous productions with Grosvenor Light Opera and is Musical Director of a chamber choir, The Marble Hill Singers, in Twickenham.

In 1998 Helen founded Contrafactum, a chamber choir for young talented singers and with them has performed at festivals and cathedral services across the UK including Chelsmford, Guildford and Coventry. As a singer, Helen is a member of the professional choir of St James' Spanish Place, Marylebone, and of the Renaissance Singers, one of the UK's longest established choirs specialising in early music.

Alison Kinder read music at Oxford and then studied viol with Alison Crum at Trinity College of Music, being awarded the college's Silver Medal for Early Music Studies.

She is a founder member of the ensemble Passamezzo with whom she performs regularly on viols and recorders, and is a member of Chelys consort of viols. Alison is a keen teacher both privately and at a number of Early Music summer schools and courses, and she directs the Early Music for Youth Summer School.

Alison Price performs regularly with chamber and church choirs around London, most recently the Renaissance Singers and the Orlando Chamber Choir. She has attended courses run by Robert Hollingworth, David Allinson and JanJoost van Elburg.

Alison read English at Jesus College, Oxford, and has an MA in Early Modern Studies from King's College, London. She works in the Old Master Paintings department of Sotheby's in London.

Arngeir Hauksson after graduating in his native Iceland, studied the classical guitar and lute with Robert Brightmore and David Miller at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, in London.

Arngeir now specialises in music from the medieval, renaissance and baroque periods on authentic plucked instruments: the gittern, lute, guitar, cittern and theorbo, but he also has been known to play the hurdy-gurdy and percussion.

He regularly plays with the ensembles The Sixteen, Ex-Cathedra, Bardos Band and Wyrewood in Britain and abroad as well as performing in productions with The English Touring Opera, Glyndbourne and The Shakepeare's Globe Theatre.

Chris Hunter has been a member of the Renaissance Singers, the country's longest established specialist early music choir, since its re-formation in 1992. With them he has performed under early music specialists such as Edward Wickham, Robert Hollingworth and David Allinson.

In the early '00s Chris performed many concerts across Germany as the bottom line of the male voice ensemble Hofkapelle. He performs regularly in London with the professional early music ensemble Musica Contexta and with them has recorded CDs of the sacred works of Arcadelt and Byrd's Great Service. He has also appeared on many classical recordings for such diverse groups as the Vasari Singers and Ealing Abbey Choir, and his session work includes feature film and TV soundtracks, and platinum-selling pop albums.

He is a member of the professional choir of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, the national musicians' church, which has resulted in many appearances on BBC TV's 'Songs of Praise', and sings with other professional church choirs across London.

Rebecca Austen-Brown is a specialist in performance on recorder and early strings, and performs throughout the UK festival network, Europe and the US, as well as recording for BBC Radio 3 and 4.

She is the driving force behind medieval/trad ensemble Bardos Band, and is one of the five members of the Fontanella recorder ensemble. She has appeared as a soloist with the Britten Sinfonia, The Orchestra of the Swan, and has recorded with I Fagiolini, and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Her interest in both improvisation and traditional music from around the world is fuelled by folk/electronic duo Wyrewood and collaborations with Horses Brawl. Rebecca teaches recorder at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, London College of Music, and Surrey University. She has given classes at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Birmingham Conservatoire, and is regularly invited as an adjudicator in the UK and in Hong Kong.

Lindsay Braga studied violin at the Royal Northern College of Music with Richard Deakin and Wen Zhou Lee.

She has gone on to do regular work over several years as a first violin with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic. She has also played with many other orchestras including the Welsh National Opera, the English National Ballet, the Goldberg Ensemble, the Halle Orchestra, English National Opera, Scottish Ballet, and the Manchester Camerata.

She has been involved with the education team of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, leading workshops in schools. Since her recent move to Devon, she also begun playing with the Ten Tors Chamber Orchestra, and she leads the Four Seasons String Quartet.

"Jeni has a voice that is pleasing confident but unassuming...there is no self-conscious attempt to seek a beautiful sound: it is there anyway but doesn't get in the way"
Early Music Review

"...they find the right, modest touch in which all the attention is drawn to the songs"
Nostalgia Magazine


name: Ensemble Al Asdeka
description: spicy and hypnotic melding of Arabic and Jazz
homepage: al-asdeka
photo: /artists/img/asdeka.jpg
society: NONE
page: al-asdeka
bio:
Ensemble Al-Asdeka takes listeners on a melodic journey melding traditional Arabic music from long ago and far away with modern instrumentation of jazz and rock. The fiery guitar work of D. Adam Estner, velvety and evocative flute melodies by Daniel Giacobazzi weave a prismatic tapestry accentuated by driving Middle-Eastern rhythms played by Kathy Roberts creating a sound that is uniquely their own. Their first CD was produced by Robyn Robins, former founding member of the Bob Seger Silver Bullet Band, who has mastered over 60 platinum albums for artists over the world. It was released in late December of 2007; and in 2008 was chosen as "Editor's Pick" at CD baby, the world's largest independent online music store.

Founded in 2005 by tabla-player Kathy Roberts after years of living off and on in North Africa with versatile guitarist and composer, D. Adam Estner, and Daniel Giacobazzi, a long-time artist of many instruments and genres;, the ensemble churns out hip shaking tunes that are greater Middle-Eastern in flavor, seasoned with rock and jazz influences.


name: Ensemble Carpe Diem
description: Early music featuring Italian affetti from Switzerland
homepage: carpe_diem
photo: /artists/img/carpe_diem.jpg
society: NONE
page: carpe_diem
bio:
The Ensemble Carpe Diem Geneve was founded in 1992 by Florence Boeuf-Albert and Lisette Aubert-Milleret. This group performs works from the 16th century to the 18th century with great attention to authenticity.

Carpe Diem, which in Latin means "Seize the day" that is "taking advantage of the moment" seemed like a good motto to express the ephemeral nature of music and the urgent need to share its pleasures. The musicians who compose it are all graduates of the center of Early Music in Geneva or the Schola Cantorum, two institutions known for their teaching of early music. They work in different formations and teach mostly in Geneva.

Geneva is the city where they meet to create new programs and have worked for 20 years, this has forged strong friendships amongst all the members of the group. Their album Dolci miei sospiri offers a look at the Italian secular music of the seventeenth century and reveals some aspects of Baroque affetti, contrasts and colors. The desire is to explore the different facets of the feeling of love, to express the contrasts of joy andsadness, through dances, fantasies, songs and madrigals.

Lisette Aubert-Milleret - viola da gamba.

Studied at the Centre for Early Music in Geneva in the class of Ariane Maurette.

She graduated in 1989 and completed her training in one year from Jordi Savall at the Schola Contorum Basiliensis.

She is part of various ensembles (Isabella D'Este, The Boreades, Carpe Diem and Arcane) with whom she regularly gives concerts in Switzerland and abroad.

She has also participated in several recordings and teaches the viola da gamba in private.

Florence Boeuf-Albert - recorder and viola da gamba.

Born in Geneva, studied at the Conservatory of Music in that city and received her graduate teaching in recorder at the Conservatory of Music in 1981. Continued her training at the Centre for Early Music in Geneva and with Gabriel Garrido received her certificate in 1982. Perfected in Paris for two years with Nicolas Burton-Page. In 1983, she chose to expand her training as a musician by studying the viola da gamba and obtained a certificate with honors in June 2003 after six years of study with Roberto Gini at the Centre for Early Music in Geneva.

Since 1979, she has taught flute at the Music Conservatory of Geneva. From 2002 to 2006 at the Popular Music Conservatory and since 2009 at the University of music of Geneva she has taught methodology to recorder students. She founded the "Ensemble Carpe Diem Geneva" with Lisette Aubert-Milleret in 1992 and the ensemble "All the delights" with Genevieve Faessler in 2005. She plays with other ensembles as a gamba player and recorder player and supports regular choirs in the Geneva area in Swizerland as well as France and Italy. Florence will record an album, in september 2011 with l'Ensemble Polhymnia, playing Charpentier under the Geneva composer, Eric Gaudibert.

Monique Bolli-Eigenmann - recorder and lute.

Born in Geneva, she undertook her musical studies at the Centre de Musique Ancienne in Geneva. She received her certificate in 1987, and the professional degree of the Company Swiss music education.

Monique has taught at the Conservatory of Music of the Coast and currently teaches privately. She is involved in various early music concerts in Switzerland, France and Italy.

Christoph Pidoux - bassoon.

After being trained in reeds rebirth and following on from courses in France, Christoph undertook studies of the bassoon (Renaissance and Baroque) at the Centre de Musique Ancienne in Geneva with Claude Wassmer and graduated in 1992 with Lorenzo Alpert.

He participates in concerts in Switzerland with Senfl Ludwig Michel Piguet and other Baroque ensembles.

Jonathan Rubin - lute.

Jonathan was born in Sydney and graduated in 1952 in lute from the Schola Cantorum in 1977. As continuo, he has participated in countless productions of Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Jean-Claude Malgloire and Michel Corboz. From 1976 to 1982, he played in operatic productions in Zurich, as well as recordings and films of three Monteverdi operas performed by the duo Harnoncourt / Ponnelle.

He has taught at the Geneva Conservatory since 1980 and teaches regularly in Israel, Germany and Hong Kong. Since 1986, he has played with Les Arts Florissants under the direction of William Christie. In addition to numerous recordings for Teldec, Erato, Harmonia Mundi and others, he has recorded an album of music from the sixteenth century of lute and bass viol at Gallo. He has published several works in Tree Edition, including an unusual transcript of two Gymnopedies by Erik Satie.


name: Ensemble Electra
description: electrifying music from the Italian Baroque
homepage: ensemble_electra
photo: /artists/img/ensemble_electra.jpg
society: NONE
page: ensemble_electra
bio:
Ensemble Electra is comprised of recorder player Vicki Boeckman, cellist Joanna Blendulf and harpsichordist Jillon Stoppels Dupree.

Vicki Boeckman is an active and passionate performer of all styles of music and plays all sizes of recorders. Her travels and performances have taken her across the United States as well as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, England, Scotland and Germany. Her various recordings can be heard on the Kontra Punkt, Classico, Da Capo, Horizon, Musical Heritage America, Paula, Kadanza, and Primavera labels.

In great demand as a teacher of the recorder and related performance practices, Vicki coaches and teaches at workshops and seminars all over the United States and in British Columbia. She was chosen to be the recorder in-resident at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in 2005 and 2010. She is current Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Early Music Workshop and is the Music Director for the Portland Recorder Society. Vicki has been on the faculty of the Music Center of the Northwest in Seattle since 2005, and with colleague, Darlene Franz, is the resident recorder teacher for the 3rd grade recorder program at West Woodland Elementary. She is also on the faculty for the newly launched early music program at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

Since settling in Seattle in 2004, Vicki has been a featured soloist with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Portland Opera, Philharmonia Northwest Orchestra and the Skagit Symphony. In addition to co-founding Ensemble Electra, Vicki is a returning guest with the Medieval Women's choir led by Margriet Tindemans, and the Gallery Concerts. Her duo with recorder maker David Ohannesian is a popular addition to the Early Music Guild's School Programs, and is often asked to return to the same schools year after year.

Vicki resided in Denmark from 1981-2004. She taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen for 12 years, and at the Ishoj Municipal School of Music for 23 years. She co-founded a regional recorder orchestra for children and teenagers which continues to flourish and grow. She was also co-founder of two Danish-based ensembles, Opus 4, and Wood'N'Flutes, with whom she continues to perform as often as possible in spite of the geography.

Joanna Blendulf has performed as soloist and continuo player in leading period instrument ensembles throughout North and South America. Ms Blendulf holds performance degrees with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University, where she studied with Stanley Ritchie, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Alan Harris. In 1998, she was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate for her accomplishments on baroque cello from Indiana University. Joanna performs regularly with the Portland, Seattle and Indianapolis Baroque Orchestras, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra and American Bach Soloists.

Ms. Blendulf is also an active chamber musician, performing, touring and recording with the Cascade Consort, Catacoustic Consort, Ensemble Mirable, Reconstruction, the Streicher Trio and Wildcat Viols. Joanna teaches modern cello, baroque cello and viola da gamba privately and in workshops and master classes across the country and has directed the Collegium Musicum as an adjunct professor at the University of Oregon. Ms. Blendulf's summer engagements have included performances at the Bloomington, Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals, the Aspen and Ojai Music Festivals as well as the Carmel and Oregon Bach Festivals. Her recording of the complete cello sonatas of Jean Zewalt Triemer with Ensemble Mirable can be found on the Magnatune label.

Jillon Stoppels Dupree has captivated audiences in such cities as London, Amsterdam, Chicago, New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. Her playing can be heard on the Meridian, Wild Boar, Orange Mountain, Decca and Delos record labels, and she has also appeared live on BBC England, Polish National Television, CBS Television and National Public Radio. She has been a featured artist at the York (England), Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals, the National Music Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Santa Barbara Art Museum, and numerous universities and colleges. The New York Times described her world premiere recording of Philip Glass's Concerto for Harpsichord and Chamber Orchestra as "superb."

Ms. Dupree collaborates with numerous international musicians, including recorder virtuoso Marion Verbruggen, viola da gamba master Wieland Kuijken, violinists Stanley Ritchie and Jaap Schroeder, and sopranos Ellen Hargis and Julianne Baird. Her ensemble collaboration includes performances with Musica Pacifica, The Newberry Consort, Music's Re-Creation, the Seattle Symphony (with whom she has recorded), and the Seattle Baroque Orchestra. She has taught harpsichord at the Oberlin College Conservatory and the University of Michigan, and currently serves on the faculty of Seattle's Accademia d'Amore Baroque Opera course. She is also on the faculty of the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle in addition to teaching master classes at the University of Washington.

Ms. Dupree was a recipient of a Fulbright fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist's grant. Ms. Dupree's teachers included Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman, and Lisa Goode Crawford. She is the founding director of Seattle's Gallery Concerts early music series.


name: Ensemble Libro Primo
description: A fantastic classical violin and lute duo interpreting Baroque composers
homepage: ensemble_libro_primo
photo: /artists/img/ensemble_libro_primo.jpg
society: PRS
page: ensemble_libro_primo
bio:
Ensemble Libro Primo is a truly fantastic classical duo interpreting Baroque composers. It consists of violonist Sabine Stoffer and lutenist Alex McCartney.

The Swiss violinist Sabine Stoffer performs as a baroque violinist throughout Europe. She plays with different ensembles in the UK and abroad (Les Passions de l'Ame, Brecon Baroque, Le Concert d'Astrée, etc.) and is a member of the Ensemble Meridiana. Furthermore, her chamber music groups include the duo Libro I with the lutenist Alex McCartney, the Otium Ensemble and The Poker Band Club. She also plays regularly as a leader with La Nuova Musica.

Sabine's career as a chamber musician has taken her to many festivals, such as the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music London, the Händel Festspiele Göttingen, the York Early Music Festival, the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht and the Davos Festival young artists in concert. Together with the clarinetist Nils Kohler she organises the music festival Kapellenkonzerte in the Kulturkapelle Biglen (CH).

Sabine is the winner of the Kiefer Hablitzel Stiftung 2008, the Marianne und Curt Dienemann - Stiftung 2008, the Steinitz Bach Prize 2009 and the 'Göttinger Reihe Historischer Musik' 2010/11 of the Händel - Gesellschaft Göttingen (with Meridiana). In 2011 she received the Coup de Coeur award for the promotion of young musicians from her hometown canton of Berne.

Alex McCartney has a performing schedule which takes him to concert halls across the world. Alex is a resident artist with his own record label Veterum Musica.

In 2015 he released his debut solo album Mésangeau's Experiments to critical acclaim: "McCartney's interpretation of this reflective music is stylish and sublime." [LSA]. His second solo album Elizabeth's Lutes (released in June 2016) was similarly well received: "Alex McCartney's playing is sensitive and musical, and the recording picks up the sound of the lute very well." [Early Music Review]. His latest album Toccata: Touched; theorbo music by Kapsberger was released January 2017. Alex is also a BBC Introducing artist and performs occasionally on BBC Radio 3.

Alex performs as a soloist with artists such as Iestyn Davies, Ensemble Libro Primo, Ensemble Marsyas, The Gabrieli Consort, Cupid and Death, La Nuova Musica, and Poeticall Musicke. As a continuo player Alex's playing has been described as "sinewy and sensuous, ornaments rarely exaggerated" [Observer]. He holds principal positions in La Nuova Musica and Poeticall Musicke and is delighted to perform regularly with all the other UK-based baroque orchestras.

Alex is a life member of The Royal Society of Musicians. He teaches the lute at the University of Aberdeen and at home in Glasgow. He has also created an Online Lute Tutorial.

In his spare time Alex enjoys making lutes.


name: Ensemble Mirable
description: rare and extraordinary music of the Baroque
homepage: mirable
photo: /artists/img/mirable.jpg
society: NONE
page: mirable
bio:
Ensemble Mirable (Mirable - old French, meaning astonishing, strong, powerful) is a San Francisco Bay Area based period instrument ensemble that originated in 1996 at Indiana University's Early Music Institute where Joanna Blendulf and JungHae Kim were then studying.

Since its inception, the group's focus has been on exploring the many variations in continuo performance across different baroque styles and on bringing the music of lesser known composers to the public's attention. Mirable has built an impressive reputation over the ensuing years, earning awards from Early Music America and critical acclaim for performances to enthusiastic audiences in San Francisco and throughout the United States.

Over the past decade, in addition to live performances, Mirable has been engaged in producing a series of high quality compact disc recordings that now includes Triemer Six Cello Sonatas, The Virginalists, Conversations Galantes, D'Anglebert Pieces de Clavecin, 1689 Paris, and Influenza Italiana.


name: Ensemble Vermillian
description: Richly textured 17th and 18th century cello and recorder
homepage: vermillian
photo: /artists/img/vermillian.jpg
society: NONE
page: vermillian
bio:
Ensemble Vermillian was founded by sisters Barbara Blaker Krumdieck and Frances Blaker to explore the potential for color and texture possible in the virtuosic compositions for cello and recorder written in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.

Based in Davidson, North Carolina and Berkeley, California, the members of EV have traveled to meet, research, rehearse, and perform together since 2000. Having studied at conservatories in Denmark, the Netherlands, Ohio, and Indiana respectively, they use a blended approach to rearrange and reinterpret Baroque music to create a sound that's both resonant and relevant.

On Stolen Jewels, Ensemble Vermillian present richly vibrant reinterpretations of several Baroque master composers: Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Rosenmuller, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Johann Krieger, Phillipp Friedrich Boddecker, and Johann Michael Bach-the distant cousin and father-in-law of Johann Sebastian Bach.

In keeping with the Baroque ethic of reusing and recycling, this recording presents performances of 17th-century German music adapted for Ensemble Vermillian by recorder virtuoso Frances Blaker. "I love violin music but cannot play the violin," she writes, "so I steal the music and rearrange it for my own instrument." This attitude and creative process is very much at home in the world of Baroque music, and creates an opportunity to appreciate previously undervalued aspects of these composers' works.

Ensemble Vermillian is comprised of members (left to right) Elisabeth Reed, Katherine Heater, Frances Blaker, and Barbara Blaker Krumdieck.


name: Entheogenic Sound Explorers
description: Dubby, hypnotic ambient with a sense of hope and being
homepage: entheogenic_sound_explorers
photo: /artists/img/entheogenic_sound_explorers.jpg
society: NONE
page: entheogenic_sound_explorers
bio:
Entheogenic Sound Explorers (ESE), are the italian musicians Stefano Contini and Piero Marchesi.

When painting their musical landscapes, they seek for inner and cosmic consciousness with the use of elements of Nature, melodic synthsounds, varied rhythmic elements and hidden voices. The crispy, warm and organic infused ambient with occasional parts of guitar and bass creates a lovely, timeless sound with psychedelic flavours and presented in a clear, transparent sound spectrum.

Over the years and different albums the band have taken several musical influences and channeled them into something that is truly their own. But if comparisons must be made it could be with The Orb or Future Sound Of London. Expect a masterful blend of analog and digital sounds, which will carry you away on a psychedelic journey through the gardens of dubby, hypnotic ambient with a sense of hope and being.

As the Band says:

"With our Music we would like to encourage self and cosmic consciousness, respect for Nature and sacred plants, and development of the human being through exploration of the self, arts and meditation. To explore the dimensions of the magic garden, whether it be vegetable, animal or more spiritual and cosmic, is to undertake a trip toward our deeper perception, which recalls the multiple faces of our vital cradle, Mother Earth, Gaia. What we want to represent is a range of vibrations that can only be discovered through careful listening. By using certain sounds that are close to our emotional and spiritual sphere, we want to represent our origins, our roots, which in everyday life aren't always represented at their best, but which can certainly help in taking a better approach toward our existence."

For the full discography check: esesound.bandcamp.com


name: Eric Kamen
description: Urban Flamenco
homepage: eric_kamen
photo: /artists/img/eric_kamen.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: eric_kamen
bio:
Eric Kamen is a New York City born-and-bred musician, composer and producer.

At 13 years old, like so many kids of his generation ... right up through today's generation, he jumped on the Rock 'n Roll band wagon, teaching himself to play guitar, bass and piano. By 14, his band got a gig opening for Richie Havens RIP, at the Cafe Wha in Greenwich Village in NYC. 'We were all so young, my mother had to drive us to the Club, with all of our equipment, wait and drive us home again'!

Eric's involvement with Rock continued throughout High School, College ... and beyond. After graduation from College, Eric took a year-long tour of Europe, which from a musical perspective, was certainly an eye-opener! Realizing that young kids of his own generation playing Rembetika in clubs in the Plaka in Athens or Flamenco in Spain - who were every bit as soulful as Jimi Hendrix made a deep and lasting impression!

Well, so did the early Hip Hop artists and producers of the 80s and 90s! 'Babyface is still my hero! No matter who else comes along - the Neptunes or Kanye, as gifted as they admittedly are! ... Babyface was the first to create modern RnB as we know it IMHO'.

Capitalizing on modern digital recording, Eric built his own digital home studio and started writing tracks and producing young RnB and Hip Hop artists ... for 15 years.

In a two-week break between producing engagements, largely out of boredom, Eric recorded a CD using his own instrumental tracks from his work as a producer, but using his Spanish guitar instead of singers or rappers. He (timidly) put the tracks on Myspace (in 2005 ... before Facebook) and was very surprised by the reaction. 'Within a few months, I had 500,000 Myspace fans. This was a bigger reaction than we got from any of our RnB or Hip Hop artists!'

Putting 2-and-2 together, Eric understood that the global appeal of merging contemporary RnB beatz with more traditional 'old world' music held a lot of appeal on a global scale.

Since then, Eric has created 2 more World Music fusion CDs and is just abut to launch a 4th this summer. 'All 3 albums are playing very actively on most Internet Radio stations and Social Media sites ... and selling quite well.'

For Eric, 'This is the beginning of a very exciting journey. That Indonesia, Turkey and Mexico are my three biggest countries, with my own country coming in at around 7 or 8 ... and ages 14-17 is my biggest fan base ... is positively weird!' ... but that is what the Internet is all about ... it's VERY democratic!

'While I never in a million years intended this to be a political statement, one can't help notice that music from around the World, from the US, from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa can all work together so well cannot be overlooked! In the end, we are all the same!'

You can find out more about Eric on his website.


name: Eric Zivian
description: virtuoso fortepianist plays Chopin
homepage: eric_zivian
photo: /artists/img/eric_zivian.jpg
society: NONE
page: eric_zivian
bio:
Eric Zivian was born in Michigan and grew up in Toronto, Canada, where he attended the Royal Conservatory of Music. After receiving a diploma there, he left home at age fifteen to attend the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree. He went on to receive graduate degrees from the Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music.

He studied piano with Gary Graffman and Peter Serkin and composition with Ned Rorem, Jacob Druckman, and Martin Bresnick. He attended the Tanglewood Music Center both as a performer and as a composer.

Mr. Zivian has given solo recitals in Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area. He has played concertos with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the Portland Baroque orchestra.

Since 2000, Mr. Zivian has performed extensively on original instruments. He is a member of the Zivian-Tomkins Duo, a fortepiano-cello duo that has performed throughout the United States. He is also a member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and has performed with the Empyrean Ensemble and Earplay. He is a frequent guest artist on the San Francisco Conservatory's faculty chamber music series.

Mr. Zivian's compositions have been performed widely in the United States and in Tokyo, Japan. He was awarded an ASCAP Jacob Druckman Memorial Commission to compose an orchestral work, Three Character Pieces, which was premiered by the Seattle Symphony in March 1998.


name: Erik Ask Upmark
description: Scandinavian music on the Celtic harp
homepage: erikaskupmark
photo: /artists/img/erikaskupmark.jpg
society: STIM
page: erikaskupmark
bio:
Erik Ask-Upmark is one of very few harpists playing Scandinavian music on the Celtic harp. October 2007 saw the release of his first, critically acclaimed solo album - incidentally the first album ever featuring exclusively Swedish folk music on solo harp! Erik has earned the official title of "Riksspelman" (Master musician of the Realm) and is also a master player of another little-known instrument, the unique Swedish bagpipes. He also plays the Baroque double harp (Arpa doppia) with ensembles such as Concerto Copenhagen and Ensemble Mare Balticum. He performs early music and Nordic roots music both as a soloist and with his groups Svanevit, Dram and Falsobordone and tours all over the world.


name: Ernesto Schnack
description: solo guitar and other madness
homepage: ernesto_schnack
photo: /artists/img/ernesto_schnack.jpg
society: NONE
page: ernesto_schnack
bio:
Combine the hauntingly beautiful sounds and guitar-work of Michael Hedges with Tool's dark polyrhythms, and you start to get an idea of where Ernesto Schnack is coming from.

His music is a blend of bittersweet melodies, polyethnic grooves and metal-influenced intensity, all channeled through his acoustic guitar. After finishing his composition studies at Berklee College of Music in 2001, Ernesto moved back to his native Panama where he released his first solo album, Wood. He then went on to work with various rock and jazz bands, including Hacienda Libre, Natha, Calle Mood and Los Intelectuales.

With Hacienda Libre he won third place in Panamarock's first competition for new bands and formed part of the resulting compilation CD. In 2006 he was part of the Panama Jazz Festival with Los Intelectuales, followed by the first Boquete Jazz Festival a year later. Eventually, Ernesto decided to focus on his own music again. In 2008 he relocated to Berlin and took the opportunity to start from scratch. This meant sitting alone with his guitar and exploring various influences, finding his own unique voice along the way.

The result is A Work in Progress, released in early 2011. In Ernesto's own words, it's "a musical template of things to come."


name: Ernst Stolz
description: Renaissance and Baroque beautiful music revealed by Dutch gambist and multi-instrumentalist
homepage: ernst_stolz
photo: /artists/img/ernst_stolz_new.jpg
society: NONE
page: ernst_stolz
bio:
Ernst Stolz is engaged in various aspects of music education. One of his major activities is the teaching of piano lessons at his music studio. Ernst is an experienced and much sought-after piano teacher, and has worked as a teacher of music in secondary education. He enjoys giving music lessons to both children and adults, and he considers these activities an important mission.

Ernst is a performer of early music (Renaissance and Baroque). He thinks it is of great importance that he is engaged himself, in making music at a high level. He primarily focuses on the viola da gamba, but also plays harpsichord. It is his conviction that there are always new things to learn in music and from the music itself. Ernst has received his training at several Dutch institutes of music, including The Royal Conservatory.

He studied recorder with Micheal Barker, harpsichord with Bob van Asperen, forte- piano with Stanley Hoogland and voice with Meinard Kraak. Ernst received his piano lessons from Sumiko Nagaoka at The Utrecht Conservatoire, where he graduated as a teacher/musician. In addition, he studied choir conducting in Tilburg with Louis Buskens, as well as music education in Rotterdam.

Apart from the many hours of teaching, he practices his various instruments on a daily basis. It is his conviction that there are always new things to learn in music. Other teachers include Bernard Kruijsen, Marjanne Blok, Jaques Ogg, Max van Egmond, Erik van Nevel and Rebecca Stewart. For some time, he also worked with viola da gamba players such as Wieland Kuijken, Freek Borstlap and Jose Vasquez. Frequently, Ernst participates in early music consorts and Cantata performances. His fine instruments have been built by Marco Ternovec and Floris van der Voort among others.

The playing of the viola da gamba, occupies a central place in his musical future. It is his intention to promote this wonderful instrument by public performance and the giving of private lessons. Ernst Stolz is available for basso continuo parts and playing Bach cantatas and the like. He performs frequently together with harpsichordist Karel Smagge.

The music recordings that he publishes on YouTube, amongst other things, have turned gradually into a substantial part of his music practice. In these video clips, Ernst performs various works from his vast repertoire in accordance with period performance practice. For many years, Ernst worked as a music teacher for Stichting Buitenkunst. Apart from the teaching activities at his own music studio, Ernst is also frequently occupied as a choral conductor.

His daily uploads on YouTube, have become an important part of his work. Many positive reactions are the result of this effort and moreover he got also attention from composers, colleagues, concert-organizations and even his music is used in an Italian film by Serena Nono (daughter of Luigi Nono).

Ernst is planning some recordings with other musicians for the coming years and some solo work like the works by Tobias Hume. Ernst Stolz is also a performer of Medieval music and his publishing plans are also in this field.

In Ernst's second release with Magnatune he works with Romeo Ciuffa and Karel Smagge on the release Ciaconna.

Romeo Ciuffa approached music for the first time when he was eight through a local band experience, when he took his first flugelhorn classes. In 1989 he joined a French horn class at the Conservatoire of "S. Cecilia" in Rome, where his supervisor was Luciano Giuliani. Consequently he studied bass tuba and trombone at the same Conservatoire.

His concert activity and personal insight into the historical aspects of music allowed him to study different styles, starting from traditional chamber and solo repertoire until ancient music specifically related to the XVII and XVIII centuries. Mr. Ciuffa has been deeply touched and impressed by this kind of music.

Karel Smagge was born in 1948 and studied harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, Netherlands with Bob van Asperen. He also studied with Frans Bruggen, Don Smithers, Alan Curtis and Marius van Altena. As well as courses with Gustav Leonrd, Ton Koopman and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

He is conductor of several choirs and also worked as the conductor or harpsichordist with the Monteverdi Ensemble (Gelsenkirchen), Pro Cantione Antiqua (London), Concerto Vivo (Dortmund), de Stadtische Oper (Dortmund), The Spirit of Gambo (NL), The King's College Choir (Cambridge) and Collegium Aureum (Koln) .

Karel has also played on many early music festivals, in Radio broadcasts and was a lecturer for European universities.


name: Eternal Jazz Project
description: gentle jazz from Sweden
homepage: ejp
photo: /artists/img/ejp2.jpg
society: STIM
page: ejp
bio:
It's an eternal process: composing, playing, putting different people together, and then recording or playing live. That's why we call the band the "Eternal Jazz Project."

Pianist Lars Lundell is the driving force behind it all. EJP's music is described by many as calm, melody-based and gentle, with a special Swedish touch. Original compositions and melodies are tightly connected to improvisation on saxophone, piano, guitar, double bass, and drums.

The players in EJP are: Lars Lundell, piano, electric piano; Soren Svedestig, saxophones; Henrik Norman, double bass; Hans Rolin, drums; Johan Nilsson, guitar.

Jazz on!


name: Etherine
description: ambient melodic electronica.
homepage: etherine
photo: /artists/img/etherine.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: etherine
bio:
etherine is the solo project of Michael Weeks, focusing on ambient melodic electronica. Using sequencers and analog and digital sound sources, Michael builds flowing pieces of momentary beauty.

24 days is a concept album - over the period of a month, Michael wrote one composition per day, exploring sounds and sound design as well as various methods of arrangement and sequencing.

The end result is the 21 tracks available here - showing the most successful pieces from this exploration.

This is etherine in it's infancy, growing through the learning process and finding a rhythm of songsmithing and sound design, while showing a maturing songwriter exploring technology.

Gleam is the second album by etherine - a blend of physically modeled instruments as well as analog and digital synthesizers.

Building melodious passages and movements of ambient space, Michael explores counterpoint through melody and sound.

Perfect listening for winter nights and summer mornings, or whenever bliss is eluding you.

Other Michael Weeks projects include IVILION and The Wretch.


name: EuchMad
description: Hypnotic and touching, Euchmad immerses us in a fantasy world
homepage: euchmad
photo: /artists/img/euchmad.jpg
society: SACEM
page: euchmad
bio:
EuchMad is a French composer, producer, and audio engineer. Releasing catchy productions in genres of Electro, Trip-Hop, Classical, and Modern style, he switches between Folk and Core-Electro in an elegant and coherent vibe.

Influenced by Soul, Pop, and Classical music artists like Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat, Thomas Newman, Yann Tiersen Trentemoller, Plaid, Pantha Du Prince, Bibio, FourTet, MountKimbie, and Bonobo. Euchmad's creations appear in French documentaries, TV shows, and movies while collaborating with local associations.


name: Evgeny Bardyuzha
description: Russian electronica using breaks, atmosphere and chillout
homepage: evgeny_bardyuzha
photo: /artists/img/evgeny_bardyuzha.jpg
society: NONE
page: evgeny_bardyuzha
bio:
Evgeny Bardyuzha is an electronic music producer living in Chelyabinsk, Russia (the place where the meteorite exploded!) working mostly on trance, progressive, breaks and other genres akin to those. He's had a lot of singles and remixes on various trance labels including Armada, Neuroscience, Dub Tech and others which were supported by Tiesto, Markus Schulz, Paul Oakenfold, Ferry Corsten and other big DJs.

As a DJ himself, Evgeny played in many clubs across Russia until maybe marriage and kids made him want to mature from typical club music and compose something more complex and original. Alongside this was a desire to release his music independently, without the need to hang on to top DJs for support.

Now Evgeny works only on studio projects exploring the world of music licensing for himself. He has released three albums and is now trying to work as an independent electronic artist.

You can find out more about Evgeny on his website.


name: Exhalation
description: mesmerizing cinematic compositions with a touch of rock
homepage: exhalation
photo: /artists/img/exhalation.jpg
society: NONE
page: exhalation
bio:
Exhalation is Austin Crosby, a musician and a producer that studied at the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences and has been creating and performing music for years. He's honed a lot of his musicianship through live performing at local churches and being raised in an instrumental household in his early years. Austin currently resides in the midlands of South Carolina and has been producing music for eight years.


name: Eyot
description: the Nirvana of European Jazz
homepage: eyot
photo: /artists/img/eyot.jpg
society: NONE
page: eyot
bio:
EYOT is the band from Nis, Serbia. Their musicrepresents the musicians hungering for a fresh sound, blending theculture of jazz, the sophistication of classical piano, the gritty elements of East European folk music, and just a hint of smooth electronic fusion.

In 2009 they were one of the three winners of Umbria Jazz Balkanic Windows Competition; many domestic and international festivals followed later (Niavill Jazz Fest, World of Jazz in Dubai, DOKfest in Munich, Alarma Punk Jazz in Sofia, Veisa Jazz / Saransk, Midem Off / Cannes...), along with club gigs on regular basis.

The most prominent jazz web-site "All About Jazz" voted them as Video of the day and Mp3 of the day.

In 2010/2011 they had their album Horizon launched in USA, Croatia and Serbia.

EYOT is a winner of the MIDEM OFF 2012 Competition.

Quotes about EYOT

"EYOT has made an emphatic and impressive recording debut."
Bruce Lindsay - www.allaboutjazz.com

GREAT variations of sound. DO NOT SKIP THIS ONE. It's so much more than just jazz.
www.thesirenssound.com

EYOT is surely one of the most quality and promising young bands out there right now.
www.prog-sphere.com


name: Falling You
description: haunting, ethereal pop ambient
homepage: falling_you
photo: /artists/img/falling_you2.jpg
society: BMI
page: falling_you
bio:
Falling You (John Michael Zorko, with the vocals of Dru Allen, Aimee Page, Jennifer McPeak, Sara Ayers, Krista Tortora, Victoria Lloyd, Erica Mulkey and others) is known for ethereal, emotive music-music best heard when the moon is high and the atmosphere, serene.

Known for fusing dark ambient soundscapes with darkly beautiful female vocals, Falling You speaks a melancholy, yet hopeful language, recognizable to all. If the lifeless moon could sing of the blue-green world it orbits, it might sound something like this.


name: Farallon Recorder Quartet
description: renaissance recorder ensemble
homepage: farallon
photo: /artists/img/farallon.jpg
society: NONE
page: farallon
bio:
The Farallon Recorder Quartet gives inspiring performances of a vast and varied repertoire extending across time and genre. Bach and Gershwin, Ockeghem and Serocki; sedate, wild, sublime, cutting edge and traditional, Farallon Recorder Quartet does it all with style.

Formed in 1996, the Farallon Recorder Quartet takes its name from the rugged Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco. The quartet applies extensive knowledge of performance practices to music from eleven centuries, reaching out to modern audiences in an accessible and exciting manner. Farallon has performed for the Phoenix Arizona Early Music Society, Bay Area Recorder Series, Atlanta Early Music Alliance, at the American Bach Soloists Summer Festival, and with world-renowned guest artist Marion Verbruggen. Farallon's debut CD, a collection of sacred and secular works by the 16th century composer Ludwig Senfl, was released January 21, 2005.

Farallon Recorder Quartet performs on numerous types of recorder from renaissance to modern, from sopranino to contrabass, from 6 inches to 6 feet tall. Dutch recorder builder Adriana Breukink made a set of ten renaissance recorders especially for Farallon. The quartet performs all its renaissance music on these spectacular instruments, creating a warm and wondrous tone of beauty.

While devoting much of their concert programs to renaissance and baroque music, Farallon Recorder Quartet is also active in performing 20th and 21st century music, both well established works, and newly composed pieces, some of which have been written for the ensemble.


name: Father of Sam
description: rock, alternative rock, indie rock, psych rock
homepage: father_of_sam
photo: /artists/img/father_of_sam.jpg
society: NONE
page: father_of_sam
bio:
The band Father of Sam was formed in the summer of 2008, when Alec (vocals) met Stephan Kuziv (guitar) in one of the fast food joints in Brooklyn. Stephan dropped a guitar pick on the floor, while looking for some change in his pocket, after that Alec asked him if he was a musician.

Their discussion about music interests turned into an exchange of home made demos. They clicked right away. Alec realized that his psychotic vocal style and at times violent and depressing lyrics, could benefit from Stephan's unusual sense of melody and spontaneous guitar playing.

That was the beginning of the project called Father of Sam. Later on they wrote over a 100 songs, influenced by many artists, including: PJ Harvey, Grinderman, Beck, Radiohead, The Beatles, etc. The line up of the band changed multiple times, except for the two founding members.

Check out their official video here, and visit them on their website or Facebook page.


name: Federico Moscogiuri
description: Original and evocative lute music
homepage: federico_moscogiuri
photo: /artists/img/federico_moscogiuri.jpg
society: NONE
page: federico_moscogiuri
bio:
Federico Moscogiuri was born in Florence, Italy. Despite living much of his life away from his native country and eventually setting up home in the UK, he retained a strong connection with the city of his birth, developing a gradual but keen interest in its Renaissance past, including Renaissance music and the lute in particular. Soon after having the good fortune of finding an exceptional teacher in Manuel Minguillon, he began composing his own pieces.

Through his music, Federico seeks to capture and give expression to a wide range of feelings, thoughts, reflections, sensations and memories from lived experience. A common theme in much of Federico's work is feelings and recollections from early childhood - the lost Eden of innocence, when sensations are at their most vivid.

Federico lives in Hertford, UK, with his wife Kerry and their two boys, Luca and Raffaele, all of whom have provided inspiration for his music. Along with his music, Federico continues to pursue a full-time career in the voluntary sector in London.

In life,

Savour each experience,
But look beyond the transient.

Strive to your potential,
But know that you are small.

Share your light with others,
But also let theirs in.

Be at peace with others,
But also with yourself.
...And make beauty.

Read an interview with Federico here.


name: Felixdroid
description: austere, personal, dreamy music
homepage: felixdroid
photo: /artists/img/felixphoto.jpg
society: NONE
page: felixdroid
bio:
Felixdroid (Nick Wallbank) undertook classical piano lessons at an early age and composers such as Bach, Debussy and Satie quickly became firm favourites. Whilst working his way through piano exams he also developed apenchant for experimentation, the placing of sticky tape to the strings, or drawing pins into the hammers began to open his ears to new timbres and new possibilities. Some years later whilst attending Art School in he was introduced to a recording studio where his appetite for new musical colours such as Cage, Reich, Stockhausen would feed his creativity and subsequently influence him.

His current work ranges from simple and sometimes haunting piano pieces to complex electronic soundscapes. "The Longing" represents his most personal and inward looking work to date and features mostly acoustic sounding instruments such as piano, cello and vibes. It is mostly contemporary classical in genre and draws on his influences such as Max Richter and Sylvain Chauveau

Felixdroid is excited by the vast sonic landscape that exists and strives to embrace all influences to enhance his work.


name: Fernwood
description: Music played by hand on instruments made of wood
homepage: fernwood
photo: /artists/img/fernwood.jpg
society: BMI
page: fernwood
bio:
Frail and haunting, beautiful and dreamy, the music of composer team Todd Montgomery and Gayle Ellett has a unique, yet familiar feel. Both of them have been composing and performing music professionally, for over thirty years each. Working under the name "Fernwood", their cinematic music blends the beautiful sounds of Greek & Irish bouzouki, sitar, acoustic guitar, Chinese ruan, Turkish cumbus, Moroccan oud, mandolin, harmonium, rababa, gimbri, dilruba, bulbul tarang, jal tarang, dotara, tenor banjo, swarsangam, gopichand, upright bass and rhodes piano.

Todd Montgomery and Gayle Ellett are currently exploring new areas of folk-psyche music. Contemporary yet Traditional, their music has a strong pan-cultural feel. By combining elements of Pastoral Acoustic Psychedelic music, with the sounds of Traditional American, Irish, Eastern European, Asian, and Middle Eastern music, they have created a hybrid style that is uniquely their own.

GUITAR PLAYER Magazine discribed their music as "Wonderfully melodic, expertly layered, masterfully interwoven, luscious yet rootsy".

Their music has a strong autobiographical feel that accurately portrays a sense of who they are and where they live. Recorded in their Malibu studio, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, their music is a reflection of their lives in Southern California as well as the previous work they've done in the areas of Film and TV composition, Traditional World music, Rock and Jazz.

They are also working with numerous film directors from around the world, on a wide variety of projects. These include artistic, commercial, and NGO films from: Holland, India, Brazil, UAE, Finland, South Africa, Thailand, Australia, Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, New Zealand, Italy, France, UK, Belize, Indonesia, Cuba, and Mexico.


name: Fiddle Whamdiddle
description: foot-stomping, heart-pumping, head-bobbing music that snags audiences and reels them in!
homepage: fiddle_whamdiddle
photo: /artists/img/fiddle_whamdiddle.jpg
society: BMI
page: fiddle_whamdiddle
bio:
Fiddle Whamdiddle is the exciting cross-pollination of two award-winning instrumentalists from Fort Collins.

Vi Wickam, twice the Colorado State fiddling champion and a 4-time finalist in the Grand Masters' Fiddler Contest, says: "Music is in my blood. Every note I play is for nourishment".

Steve Eulberg who has won 5 prizes in the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship and 3 times been a finalist in the National Hammered Dulcimer Championship, says: "Playing dulcimer makes me feel like I'm dancing on strings".

Their facility with their instruments, their knowledge of and delight in a wide variety of tunes and styles, and welcoming rapport with audiences weave together to produce toe-tapping performances that nourish and inspire audiences of all ages.


name: Firehead Jerry
description: a catchy blend of pop/folk/electro
homepage: firehead_jerry
photo: /artists/img/firehead_jerry_logo.jpg
society: NONE
page: firehead_jerry
bio:
FireHead Jerry consists of two brothers, Ben and Dan Lieberman, who write, perform, produce, and mix all of their original music.

Born and raised in New Jersey, they have since moved out to San Francisco where they have begun recording and releasing albums.

The band's combination of introspective lyrics, pop song writing sensibility, and surreal sonic textures gives them broad appeal to a variety of fans.

Ben and Dan began playing music and writing songs since they were kids. They officially put a band together, with their friend Drew, before the three of them even entered high school. When discussing potential band names, nothing seemed to stick for some time, until that is, Drew's 6-year-old brother named their new pet gerbil, "FireHead Jerry".

So sometime in 1994, the band FireHead Jerry was born. They played local gigs at schools, parties, coffee shops, and even put together their own festival at a local park. The band had to split after Ben and Drew went to different colleges, and Dan was still in high school. Years passed, and there was little hope the band would ever reunite.

Years later, Ben and Dan Lieberman both decided to move out to California and pursue their love and passion for music. Dan started his own record label, Room 3 Studios, and shortly thereafter, FireHead Jerry was reborn, as the two brothers began writing and making music again.

Today, FireHead Jerry has released 4 albums to date and has had their music appear in 2 short films and one feature film. They are constantly writing new music and plan on releasing new material as often as they can.


name: Firesphere
description: Big epic dark heavy and soul shaking
homepage: firesphere
photo: /artists/img/firesphere.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: firesphere
bio:
Hailing from Orlando Florida, Firesphere is a dynamic industrial rock/metal band combining techno and epic cinematic soundtrack to create a totally different and unique sound. Fireshphere was created and fronted by the enigmatic dark PRIEST and the equally dark and hypnotizing Japanese beauty ROSEMARY BUTTERFLY. Joined by BLACKSMITH (guitar), ROADBLOCK (guitar), MASON (drums) and ALCHEMIST (bass), together they bring a dark ageless quality to their music and live show.

Based on the Japanese model of big music and big visuals (ala X Japan, Hyde), the listener will not soon forget the well crafted and moving songs of Firesphere nor will they easily forget the intensity of a live performance.

Firesphere's concept/brand is centered around a group of 'immortals' led by Priest and Rosemary who came together in the 21st century to form Firesphere. Each member is their own individual character with a backstory related to that character. Priest and Rosemary found each member during the early part of the 1800's after forming the Order of the Cross and Dragon.

Firesphere will capture you in their dark cold embrace and hold you there forever (listen to the music).

For more information on Firesphere you can go to their website.

Priest (Vocals/Guitar)

Simply called Priest, he has been around a very long time. As the story is told, he was once an Egyptian High Priest to the Pharoh Amenhotep III during the 18th Dynasty and performed a dark ancient ritual that gave him immortality. Disliking the sunlight and living at night under the cover of the dark, some have said he is one of the undead, a strigoi but, this is only fanciful talk whispered by those who wish to remain unnamed.

Priest abandoned his Pharoh and began his many journeys leading him to every part of the world thru the millenium. Finally, after spending countless years in a Catholic monastery somewhere in the darkest reaches of Eastern Europe atoning for his sins he finally left the solitude of the Church in 1867, traveling to Japan where he found his one true love, the enigmatic Rosemary Butterfly. Dark and brooding, Priest says very little. Rather, he allows the music to speak for him.

Rosemary Butterfly (Vocals/Keyboard/Piano)

Rosemary Butterfly hails from the cold dark mountains of Northern Japan. No one is quite sure of her age but, from what little is known about her, she is simply ageless.

Japanese legend has it that she was born the child of the Dragon Mother, one of Japan's first Gods, and of a human. It is said Rosemary lived a life of solitude on her mountain home, never loving, never knowing love until the day she met Priest. Finally, she had found the other half of her own dark soul.

Of course, these are all just rumors quietly spoken of among the Japanese people in the surrounding villages even to this day. Whatever she may be, her love for Priest knows no rival. Rosemary has a haunting and alluring voice that has the power to capture the mind, heart and soul in its snare.

Blacksmith (Guitar)

Forged from the ancient battelfields of time and cast into the world we know. From the fire and steam of his lair emerges Blacksmith. It is told in stories passed down through the ages that Blacksmith was very well known throughout the land. Great armies knew of his craft and his almost supernatural ability to forge steel into weapons of incredible destruction.

It is also told Blacksmith carries a great price for creating such weapons. The souls of the innocent who lost their lives because of his creations would forever haunt him. It is said that on the darkest of nights you can hear his strings of steel crying to the heavens a song for those lost souls.

Roadblock (Guitar)

Born to Sir Walter Rittenhouse in the early part of the sixteenth century, the man who many years later would become known as Roadblock, grew to become a famed Knight in the King's court.

Known far and wide for his strength and kindness, overtime he came to detist the cruelty and injustice the King raught upon his subjects. It is said that, one cold winters night a witch in the guise of a beautiful maiden brought the Knight a small glass vile of a blood red elixar. She told him that it would allow him to continue living long after mortal men had passed on, maybe even forever. He drank the bitter elixar, the burning fluid coursing thru his veins.

With a renewed purpose, the Knight set out to fight against his King and for the people he treated with such cruelty. Centuries passed and the age of the Knight eventually came to a close but, for Roadblock, his campaign against injustice continued thru the ages no matter where he found it.

Mason (Drums)

At dawn on October 13, 1307, agents of King Phillip hungry for gold and treasure, began arresting members of the infamous Order of the Knights Templars. Although many Templars were found and placed in shackles, many more escaped and disappeared into the mists of time with their treasure.

As the story goes, hired by the King in 1308, a young but gifted mercenary set out to hunt down the remaining Templars and find the treasure. His task was simple, kill as many Templars as he could lay his hands on and bring their vast treasure back to the King. This talented mercenary's name was Mason. For centuries, he stalked the secretive and elusive Templars even after King Phillip was long dead.

Those who encountered Mason thru the years always noted that he never seem to age. They would say that he must have surely made a pact with the Devil himself to remain forever young. 700 years later Mason now puts his mercenary aggression and skills into his drums but, he will always be that young mercenary at heart. Fact or fiction? No one really knows.

Alchemist (Bass)

It is told that, many centuries ago a man, known today as Alchemist, was in search for a way to turn base metals into gold. His was a dark art and considered the work of the devil at the time. Alchemist toiled day and night looking for that one combination of ingredients that would finally help him achieve his dream, the ever elusive Philosopher's Stone.

One dark moonless night, as Alchemist worked into the wee hours of the morning, he struck upon elements that, when combined, put off a cloud of thick black smoke which filled the room. The smoke filled his nostrils and he quickly passed out. When he awoke the next morning he found everything as it had been the night before but, he was somehow different.

As the years passed, Alchemist found that he never grew sick and did not grow old but, he paid a high price for immortality. Anyone who looked into his face would die so, he forever after had to keep his face covered, hidden from those around him. Although he had not found the Philosopher's Stone he so desparately desired he had found, quite by accident, the elixir of life. Now, as bass guitarist for the band Firesphere, he turns metal, not into gold but, into thundering music.


name: Five Star Fall
description: effervescent pop rock
homepage: fivestarfall
photo: /artists/img/fluid.jpg
society: SOCAN
page: fivestarfall
bio:
From the dazzling liquid guitar loops of "Mercurial Girl" to the analog synth telegram embedded in "What Planet Are We On?", the restless Canadian lads of Five Star Fall are known for tricking out their sparkling pop with lots of satisfying sonic detail. Along with Michael Shotton of Von Groove on drums, Tom Lewis and Gordon Deppe (of 80's innovators The Spoons) layer and lather up the sound with old effects pedals, Kraftwerk-era drum machines, and hall-of-mirrors self-samples that work perfectly with their upbeat sense of retro-space age wonder.

This mixed hi-fi/lo-fi approach works particularly well on Automatic Ordinary, which finds the band experimenting with its collection of effects and toys more than ever before-a preoccupation that makes this album a treat for the headphone inclined (there's even a song called "Headphones"). Deppe has a string of hits behind him-Nova Heart, Romantic Traffic, and Arias & Symphonies-yet his voice is as fresh and buoyant as ever on Automatic Ordinary, as is his kaleidoscope guitar work. Lewis is the former music director and bassist for Fefe Dobson and Amanda Marshall, and his industry know-how and professionalism really shine through on this album; the tracks are tight, polished, and impeccably arranged. Not to mention, Lewis somehow manages coaxes synth-like groans from an old Fender bass while Shotton delivers fast, intricate rhythms in the way that only a drummer with real heavy metal experience can. Melodic and meteoric , the well-crafted songs of Five Star Fall seem always to be rocketing forward toward some better tomorrow. Catch them if you can.


name: Flurries
description: a fresh, textured fusion of classic meets modern art rock
homepage: flurries
photo: /artists/img/flurries.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: flurries
bio:
A musician since he was old enough to forge a drum set out of pillows, Northwest native Michael Johnson taught himself the drums, piano and guitar by the time he passed his driver's license exam.

As a teen, he was inspired by the adrenalline of classic rock and early 80's alternative rock but aspired to the lyrical storytelling of the piano-man himself, Billy Joel. As songwriter, bass player and pianist for the sucessful Portland bases rock band, Camaro Hair, Johnson garnered praise from the press for his energetic stage presence and delivered three commercially sucessful studio albums over the course of a decade.

After disbanding in 2005, Johnson took stock of his vault of unfinished material and with a fellow Camaro Hair drummer Christain Cochran and local producer Stephan Hawks on guitar; together they crafted what would become the ambitious debut album of his new band, Flurries.

Writing songs about loving madly, driving gladly and letting go; with a style that is reminiscent of progressive rock supergroups Rush, Yes and Asia, and 80's new wave icons Roxy Music and A-Ha; the album's big sound is layered with heavy guitars, light harmonies and Harold Faltermeyer-esques keyboards that come together with a weightless, almost ethereal feel.

Johnson's emphasis on song craft is ever present, blending these elements of classic rock, 80's new wave and moderen guitars into something musically diverse and unusual, yet strangely familiar.

Flurries' self titled debut is grittier than pop but peppered with hook that will keep you humming along.


name: Fortune's Wheel
description: a spirited rediscovery of the riches of medieval musical traditions
homepage: fortunes_wheel
photo: /artists/img/fortunes_wheel.jpg
society: NONE
page: fortunes_wheel
bio:
Fortune's Wheel is a spirited collaboration of four distinguished early-music performers devoted to rediscovering the riches of medieval musical traditions. Their performances combine a meticulous attention to vocal sonority and instrumental virtuosity with an engaging sense of theater and improvisation. Their deep experience and personal warmth have won them a devoted following wherever they appear.

Fortune's Wheel made its debut at the 1996 International Festival of Early Music in Mexico City, where critics acclaimed the group's "style, diction, tuning, perfect balance, and total engagement with the music." Since then, the ensemble has been presented by early music concert series in San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Tijuana, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Houston, Jackson, Tucson, Columbus, Cambridge, and Duke University. They have also appeared at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Berkeley Early Music Festival, the Amherst Early Music Festival, The Cloisters and the Frick Collection in New York City, Yale University's Collection of Musical Instruments, and many other series.


name: Four Stones
description: groove soaked ambient chill
homepage: four_stones
photo: /artists/img/victor_bw2.jpg
society: NONE
page: four_stones
bio:
Victor Stone (aka fourstones) is a DIY remixer, musician and producer in Berkeley, California. He has been remixing and collaborating online with musicians from all around the world since 1998. In the past year his remixes have appeared on albums by Lisa DeBenedictis, c. layne, Brad Sucks, falik and others. He has produced the collaborative remix albums "Ridin The Faders (Magnatune Remixed)" 1 and 2.

Victor is the project lead for Creative Common's remix site ccMixter.org. He is currently an active member of the ccMixter community, regularly contributing remixes and code to the site.


name: Francesca Genco
description: chants from deep within the heart
homepage: genco
photo: /artists/img/genco.jpg
society: NONE
page: genco
bio:
Francesca Genco is a singer, sound healer, interdisciplinary artist and teacher. She has been singing and playing music since she was a wee tot. From the age of 6, her parents would often find her writing songs at the piano on little pieces of paper with a red pencil. Being quite prolific, she would sometimes write up to 7 songs a day!

It is her great pleasure to create music with both professional musicians and those who simply love singing and playing with the cosmos and all beings in it. She has been leading improvisational chanting and sound healing circles and embodied singing workshops for 10 years. Francesca is the founder of Song of the Body, which offers classes, workshops and retreats in sound healing, yoga and creative expression through voice, rhythm and movement.

She has received several grants for her projects and performances, including a grant from the San Francisco Foundation in 1996 to create and lead GIRLS RULE!, an arts-based empowerment group for teenaged girls. She was also a co-founder of the Philadelphia Contact Improvisation Dance Festival, which she co-directed with Leah Stein for 3 years.

Her private practice is in Berkeley, CA. She also facilitates workshops and private sessions on the East Coast and in Europe.


name: Francois Couture
description: Canadian composer, musician, orchestrator, arranger and sound designer
homepage: francois_couture
photo: /artists/img/francois_couture.jpg
society: SOCAN
page: francois_couture
bio:
Canadian composer, musician, orchestrator, arranger and sound designer, Francois Couture, a man of boundless musical imagination, continues to fearlessly blend modern electronic rhythms with subtle ethnic and even classical motifs.

With nine albums under his belt, ranging from new age to world beat to neo-classical, his music draws the listener into the ever-changing World of his creations. And this World turns out to be very exciting. He explores the musical universe and its mysteries, fusing everyday sounds with string orchestras, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and electronic sounds, all exquisitely produced and taking the listener on a journey through the entire musical spectrum. An alchemist who likes to push the boundaries between ethnic music, folk, ambient and electronic, Francois Couture is one of those rare musicians who always amazes with his fresh and innovative style and surprising combination of sounds. His music gets airplay and praise around the World.

His latest album, After the Rain, along with Downtown Ride, Dal Segno, Mysteria rosarii, Yahndawa, Tape Speed, My Little Book, Ludovica, and Quallunuak. His album,Yahndawa' merges a string orchestra with songs of the Wendat people. It was received with much enthusiasm, winning several awards and nominations. This was not his first exploration of aboriginal music. The very intense and highly successful Qallunak (2005) features Inuit-inspired music. Ludovica is a tribute to Coutures hometown, Quebec, Canada. In the passionate Tape Speed, the listener gets lost in Coutures shimmering melodies and orchestrations.

Francois Couture is also regularly commissioned as a composer, sound designer and musical director for major festivals and events at home and abroad, such as The 400th Anniversary of Quebec and The Quebec Winter Carnivalin Quebec City, Canada, Just for Laughs and Montreal in Lights in Montreal, Canada, and The Wall of Sound in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Awards:
Among the many awards and nominations Francois Couture has received, his album Yahndawa, won the 2013 Native American Music Award for Best Producer and the 2012 Eworld Music Award for Best World Music. This album was also nominated for Best New Age album by the 2013 Independent Music Awards, Best Producer by the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and Best World Music by the Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA).

Other albums and productions honored with awards or nominations were Dal Segno for Best New Age Music by the HMMA, and The Wall of Sound in Lausanne, Switzerland, which won the Live Design Excellence Award.

You can find out more about Francois on his website.


name: Fresh Body Shop
description: modern alt-rock with a bluesy folk touch
homepage: fresh_body_shop
photo: /artists/img/fresh2.jpg
society: NONE
page: fresh_body_shop
bio:
Fresh Body Shop is an Alternative/Pop/Rock band based in Nantes (France). It was created by Pedro in 2006, as an acoustic solo project first. In 2007, Oli, Djenf and Francois joined the band and FBS started playing gigs. The band recorded a lot of new songs, mostly influenced by the 90's, with a modern electro-rock touch, and decided to release some demos under creative commons.

Some buzz started as the demos stayed 7 months on the first page of Jamendo, relayed by podcasts, blogs and webzines. Fresh Body Shop played in many cities in France, such as Paris, Nantes, Lyon. In 2009, the band recorded a 16 track album called "The Ugly Army".

Recent Performances


name: Funkinchely
description: Experimental Funk with hints of exotic beats and world grooves
homepage: funkinchely
photo: /artists/img/funkinchely_low.jpg
society: BMI
page: funkinchely
bio:
Funkinchely is an Experimental Funk band fused with hints of exotic beats and world grooves such as Reggae, Detroit Techno, Funk, Gospel, and Hip Hop. Admired by such groups as Bob Marley, J.C. Lodge, Aswad, Cybotron, Twilight 22, George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars, William Bootsy Collins, The Winans and Mahalia Jackson to name a few.

The list of musicians who have passed through or are still active in the ranks of Funkinchely read as:

Andre' Lyons as (Geichidan) Keyboards, Vocal, Bass Guitar, still active.
Herb Lampkins as (Silky Slim) Electric Guitar, Electric Drums, Vocals. God bless him.
Andre' Lampkins as (Rasta Mon) Lead Guitar and Vocals. Still Active.
Tony Piccolo as (himself) Drums and Percussion. Still Active.
Andre' Latour, Engineer and Vocals. Still Active.
Kim Hines as (Tonya L.) Lead Vocals. Inactive.

All have done time in one of the most endearing garage band which is now Funkinchely.

Early Instruments Include: Casio VL-Tone, and Casiotone CT-310 Piano Synthesizer.

Recent Shows: Opening Act for Rex Smith in Hollywood CA in April 2016.

Funkinchely has been around since December of 1981 as a high school band and is still performing today.

You can hear more tracks from Funkinchely on their Soundcloud page.


name: FUR
description: melodic fury meets post-punk, shoegaze, alternative
homepage: fur
photo: /artists/img/fur.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: fur
bio:
Two years ago, FUR founders Ryan O'Rourke and Michael O'Conner began building the band out of its noise-pop origins. They took years of recordings and began crafting a sound. Wallowing through hissing drum loops and dissonant guitar tracks, they assembled what they wanted to unveil to the public. With drummer Zach Pliska joining the line-up, they set out to play the Detroit scenes. After certain modifications and a year of playing out, they decided to scrap the entirety of their songs and start over again.

FUR defies the lo-fi, gloomy, washed out aesthetic of shoegaze rock and also the freaked-up-firestorm, trippy aesthetic of psychedelic. Pedal-wrung, winding guitar roars and big booming bass may be intrinsic to their dark, aggressive rock, but the group came from humble beginnings: basement writings between O'Rourke and O'Connor where "we didn't even have amps; we had no idea about guitar toning or about pedals.."

They'd met at Champagne family gatherings (as both dated respective sisters, Johanna and Jennifer) and wound up "learning to play our instruments" together, "meeting at Radiohead," and enduring "a series of craigslist misadventures (to find a drummer)" as they pieced together what would become FUR, a propulsive, staticy-shadowed synth-dressed rock that culls melodic sensibilities from new-wave and post-punk but an edge a more metallic, industrial rock provocations.

"For some reason I was under the impression that Detroit was a very sort of blues-based, garage-rock, guitar-bass-drums kinda outlet," O'Rourke said. "So, for the longest time I was avoiding making aggressive, darker music." Through high school and college, O'Rourke wrote/composed constantly, "a lot of sounds and textures" onto his computer. "I listened to a lot of Nine Inch Nails and I think it was sort of returning to that influence and finally coming to terms with it as what I do, and what I like, it was not being afraid.."

With Champagne on synth, O'Connor said, "it gives us a different feel. You have this darker, more cluttered sound then you've got this nice, clean synth on top of it." The synth is key to FUR's enduring melodic sense, conjuring "those great 80's groups." O'Connor and O'Rourke talk about their earlier musical discussions, which Cure album's better, Disintegration or Pornography, or the charm of Modern English records, the elegance of, yes, even the Carpenter's John Denver even.

You can find out more about FUR on their website and MySpace pages.


name: future_former
homepage: future_former
photo: /artists/img/future_former.jpg
society: NONE
page: future_former
description:
deeply relaxing, inspirational electronica in a style somewhere in-between Schiller, Vangelis and Enigma

bio:
future_former is the artist name of Danyel Gloser from Frankfurt/Main (Germany). Growing up in a not particularly musical family but with a lot of music arround him, Danyel developed a passion for music after having set eyes on a piano and an organ as a child. At the sweet age of 11, he took matters in his own hands and went looking for a keyboard to be able to learn composition. Due to a lack of possibilities at school and at home, Danyel had to learn making music by myself. Though, there was no lack of idols to aspire to: be it Vangelis or Michael Cretu (Enigma, Sandra), there were many artists from whose work he could learn. Among the many influences he mentions were bands like "Duran Duran", "Pet Shop Boys" and "Dan Reed Network", whose music he had listened to in his early teens.

At the age of 18, Danyel took a summer job and bought a state of art synthesizer workstation from his first money. This was the first time that he was able to compose and produce music in a more complex way. He was now able to combine several instruments to create real songs, music that he had always wanted to compose.

The coming of age of the Techno/Trance phenomena in the early 90 's marked the beginning of several years of clubbing and Trance music. Most notably Ralf Hildenbeutels "No Fate" caused Danyel to get addicted to this type of music. There exist several tracks on his Soundcloud that are testament to this emotional impact. :-)

In the following years, Danyel was going the classical way of a modern music producer, invested in tons of hardware synthesizers and studio electronics, computers and software. He built and installed music studios, and he composed & produced several songs/tracks with his friends.

The first official release of his own music happened in 2007 through "Liedschatten", a Chillout label from Keno Hellmann, Hamburg (Germany). Among his first songs to be released were "Princess", "Orange Sphere" and "Lazy Fish".

Later, Danyel became aquainted to many of the musicians whose music he had formerly admired and who continue inspiring his work.


name: FUZZIT
homepage: fuzzit
photo: /artists/img/FUZZIT.jpg
society: SAZAS
page: fuzzit
description:
your go&#45;to source for eclectic mixes between jazz, house, fusion, electronica, drum & bass, funk and downtempo music

bio:
FUZZIT are Stane Spegel (composer, arranger, producer) and Jure Pukl (saxophones).
The LP "QuaziJazz" is their first musical collaboration and brings to us ten musical cocktails mixed from all kinds of electronic music (house, drum & bass, chillout…) and jazz improvisation blends with melodic, sexy and catchy riffs.

Stane Spegel aka Monom aka Stanislav (The artist formerly known as HouseMouse) is a composer, instrumentalist, producer and author of multimedia content. He released sixteen independent music albums and eight as a member of various music projects. As a member of the collective Microtrip, he appeared at all major Central European electronic and experimental music festivals of the past twenty years. His work has been published in several national and international compilations and is available on most of the world's online music services. http://www.monom.si/

New York based Jure Pukl is one of the most profilic and creative saxophonists of the younger Slovene jazz generation. Pukl obtained a university education abroad and studied classical and jazz saxophone at the University of Vienna as well as at The Hague Conservatory of Music. Pukl then won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. He completed his masters degree in music at the Graz Academy of Music. Throughout his studies, Pukl performed and recorded extensively. Besides being involved in his own projects, he worked with a number of great musicians from different fields in music, such as Dave Liebman, Branford Marsalis, Esperanza Spalding, George Lewis, Maceo Parker, Vijay Iyer and Jeff "Tain" Watts … He published 8 Albums under his own name and received rave reviews from all over the globe, among others in the influential Downbeat, The New York Times, Jazzwise, Jazz Podium and All About Jazz. https://jure-pukl.com/


name: Galliarda
description: Renaissance and Baroque music from Byrd to Handel
homepage: galliarda
photo: /artists/img/galliarda.jpg
society: NONE
page: galliarda
bio:
With its present line-up, Galliarda was formed in 2010. Sara Stowe and Wendy Hancock had already met when recording Renaissance music together in Oxford for The Gift of Music label back in 2002. Ian Gammie then joined on viola da gamba, and brought with him a huge interest in and knowledge of Spanish and South-American music in particular. Studying Spanish and French at university, and having a family connection also helped. All three players had previously worked together on various occasions. The latest to join was Richard MacKenzie, recommended by the eminent lutenist Lynda Sayce, for his outstanding ability on early plucked instruments.

Sara Stowe - Soprano, percussion
One of Britain most versatile performers, Sara first studied piano and harpsichord at the Royal College of Music where she won a scholarship, the continuo and the Raymond Russell harpsichord prizes. A British Council award and vocal studies in Italy followed and she met and worked with Luciano Berio.

Her ability to characterise her voice in so many different styles has led her to perform and record with a wide range of new and early music groups including: Matthew Spring (broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 , Classic FM and recording on Chandos), The Academy of Ancient Music (Decca), New London Consort (Decca), the Broadside Band, Sinfonye, James Wood (Continuum), Gemini and Singcircle. She has also featured twice on BBC Radio 4© Woman Hour. www.oxfordimedia.com/sara.html

Wendy Hancock - Recorders, flute and viols

Wendy is a music graduate of Exeter University. After gaining an MA in the Interpretation and Editing of Renaissance and Baroque Music at Nottingham University, she continued her research into 17th-century English music for an M.Phil, entitled 'The Origins of Basso Continuo in England 1585-1625'.

She has studied the baroque recorder with Michel Piguet and the baroque flute with Lisa Beznosiuk and Rachel Brown. For ten years she was editor of Chelys, the journal of the Viola da Gamba Society, and is still very interested in the viols and their music. In Nottingham she founded the Holme Pierrepont Opera Trust for the performance of Baroque opera on period instruments, and in 1985 founded Musica Donum Dei. Wendy has revised the entries pre-1700 of the Penguin Dictionary of Music, and written extensively for Encarta on musical subjects. She now performs, teaches, writes, reviews and edits and also teaches part-time for Nottingham University. Her musical interests are wide-ranging, but she is particularly interested in 17th and 18th century performance-practice and placing works in an (entertaining!) historical context. Her interests apart from music include mythology, history, the visual arts, literature and cookery and she is currently teaching courses on performance-practice and Handel. www.philidors.co.uk.

Ian Gammie - Viola da gamba

Ian Gammie is known primarily as a viola da gamba specialist, having for many years been a driving force in the English Consort of Viols.

His first love, however, was the guitar and he is an expert performer on a wide variety of early plucked instruments. He is also an authority on the Irish poet/balladeer Thomas Moore. www.boxandfir.com/PAGES/performers/gammie.htm.

Richard MacKenzie - Theorbo, Baroque guitar, Renaissance lute

Lutenist Richard MacKenzie is rapidly gaining recognition as a soloist and collaborative artist on Renaissance and Baroque lutes, Renaissance and Baroque guitars, vihuela, orpharion and theorbo.

In 2011 Richard completed a degree in music at The Queen's College, University of Oxford. Whilst studying at the university he was also a keen solo performer, performing seven solo recitals in some of the most diverse concert venues across Oxford. Presently he continues to occasionally study lute with the internationally renowned lutenists Jakob Lindberg and Jacob Heringman, having previously studied at Chetham's School of Music with Hugh Cherry and Martin Shepherd, a school where has was awarded three prizes, including those for 'Early Music' and for 'Academic Music'. In 2012 the Lute Society of Great Britain published his first edition, a critical edition and reconstruction of the ensemble works from Giovanni Battista Granata's Armoniosi Toni (Bologna, 1684). Richard also possesses diplomas in recorder and clarinet performance, and was principal clarinettist for the National Children's Orchestra in his youth.

Richard is an experienced recorder, guitar, piano and academic music tutor, tutoring up to A-Level, and also tutoring ABRSM theory grades. He has taught lute seminars and masterclasses involving members of the student community both at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance and the University of Chichester. Richard also has conducting and piano accompanimental experience, once directing a staged performance of Handel's 'The Choice of Hercules'. www.richardmackenzie.site50.net/1_4_About.html.


name: General Fuzz
description: atmospheric downtempo
homepage: general_fuzz
photo: /artists/img/generalfuzz2.jpg
society: NONE
page: general_fuzz
bio:
James Kirsch aka "General Fuzz" studied electronic music at Oberlin College. Oberlin is in Ohio, near Cleveland, and not much else.

One day, a small yet innovative company called Propellerheads came up with a stellar piece of music software called Reason which completely changed Kirsch's approach to music, allowing him to condense a large studio's worth of equipment onto his desktop computer. He started tooling around with the software and got very inspired. So much, that he made an album, called General Fuzz(2002).

A few years later, Kirsch discovered a new piece of software called Live, created by Ableton. This software integrated a musical technology called VST, which allowed him use all sorts of new virtual instruments. Live also has sophisticated digital audio recording capabilities, which meant he could start having talented friends come over and work on recordings collaboratively.

Kirsch finished up Messy's Place just in time for Burning Man 2005, where he gave 500 copies of it to unsuspecting people. In the months that followed, he received a flood of emails from people, praising it, and decided to do a more formal release for the album.


name: Geoff Cawthorn
description: solo piano works
homepage: geoff_cawthorn
photo: /artists/img/geoff_cawthorn.jpg
society: APRA
page: geoff_cawthorn
bio:
Lyrical, evocative, haunting, cinematic, and deeply personal, Geoff Cawthorn uses simple themes and melodies as starting points for piano improvisations that lead along twisting pathways following where the music leads. The music draws from influences in jazz, folk song, and minimalism but has a simplicity and directness that is refreshing.

"A few years ago I decided to record some of the musical ideas I had been playing around with. I wanted to tell musical stories that had an emotional core but were not sentimental, but honest and real.

I was living by the seaside in Sydney and the ocean was a huge influence. The sound of waves, the feeling of being underwater, floating, light passing above, the shimmering surface of the water, the blues and the greens. The sea is always changing too, the repetition of the tides, the waves, there's sense of motion, but it's also immutable and unchanging."

Geoff grew up in small town New Zealand and taught himself piano, later having a few lessons, then played in bars to help fund University study. A successful career as a filmmaker and TV director allowed him to channel his love of music into films about music and musicians.

"Subconsciously a lot of pieces evoke images for me - they are like the soundtrack to imaginary films. And in fact several pieces are variations on music I have composed specifically for films I have made."

Geoff's musical influences include Miles Davis, Eleni Karaindrou, Bach, Yann Tiersen, Steve Reich, Keith Jarrett, Bob Dylan, Craig Armstrong, Paul Bley, Debussey, Wasilenski Trio, Mike Nock, Michael Nyman, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Brian Eno, Arvo Part.


name: George Clifford
description: Lutes and early guitars
homepage: george_clifford
photo: /artists/img/george_clifford_low.jpg
society: NONE
page: george_clifford
bio:
George Clifford is a versatile musician, equally at home playing the organ and conducting the choir at his local parish church in East Grinstead, West Sussex and singing bass, tenor and countertenor in choirs around the UK as playing the violin and viola. He became interested in historical performance during his undergraduate violin studies at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), and has now completed a Masters degree in baroque violin, having studied with Simon Standage and Matthew Truscott. George was awarded the prestigious DipRAM for an outstanding MA final recital.

Musicians George has worked with include Trevor Pinnock, Sir Charles Mackerras, John Butt, Edward Higginbottom, Laurence Cummings, Richard Egarr, Steven Devine, Lisa Beznosiuk, Pavlo Beznosiuk, Rachel Podger, Margaret Faultless and Mark Padmore and he has played with groups including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music, the International Baroque Players, New Century Baroque, Charivari Agreable, Guildhall Graduates Baroque Orchestra, The Amade Players, Poeticall Musicke, The Regent's Soloists, RAM Baroque Orchestra, Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra and La Nuova Musica. George has also recorded CDs with the Love Handelers, International Baroque Players, and New Century Baroque with the choir of New College, Oxford. George was a participant in the 'Ann and Peter Law OAE Experience for young players' in 2011 on both violin and viola.

When George is not busy playing he enjoys singing, mostly in amateur choirs, but occasionally as a soloist. He is a member of the choir of St Swithun's Church, East Grinstead (as well as being Deputy Organist), East Grinstead Choral Society, Kent Chorus, the London Orpheus Choir, Meridian Voices, In Spiritu Chamber Choir and 5 in a Bar.

George is generously sponsored by Hilary Weston.


name: Gerard Satamian
description: Exquisite original melodic pieces
homepage: satamian
photo: /artists/img/satamian4.jpg
society: SOCAN
page: satamian
bio:
Of Armenian origin, composer, pianist and teacher, Gerard Satamian was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. Although his family could hardly support their basic needs, his mother, noticing his early musical inclinations, arranged for him to take private piano lessons.

At the age of 13 he entered the Beirut National Conservatory of music. At school in Lebanon, Satamian excelled in literature and languages, and for many years immersed himself in the French writers and poets. His early years were filled with the musical traditions of many cultures and styles: Armenian, Arabic, and Western, such as Romanticism and Impressionism.

In 1977, during the Civil War in Lebanon, Satamian moved to Armenian to continue his piano studies at the Gomitas Conservatory of Music in Yerevan. There he was exposed to the Armenian and Russian composers. He also pursued his love for singing through vocal coaching, finding voice and most natural and expressive instrument. He received his Masters degree in piano, in 1982, but vocal music had found a special place in his heart.

In 1983, Satamian left Lebanon with his family for Los Angeles. Deeply affected by the tragedies of the war in Lebanon he turned to the Scriptures for answers. For the next 10 years he taught piano while concentrating most of his energy on his spirituality.

Although Satamian never studied composition formerly, he always knew he had a gift for writing melodies. Having moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1989 he further developed his composition skills. Chansons sans Paroles (1989) written originally for voice and piano and the Suite Lyrique (1994) are short stories inspired by images of the past and people he knew.


name: Ghost of Maine
description: finely crafted metalwork
homepage: ghost_of_maine
photo: /artists/img/ghost_of_maine_1.jpg
society: NONE
page: ghost_of_maine
bio:
05 thru 06
Ghost of Maine started in 2005 with a group of friends in Muncie, Ind. that had been playing in and out of bands together since 1999. This lineup included drummer, Adam Wilson. Quickly gaining a strong fan base in central Indiana, the band self released their first EP, "My Girlfriend Sleeps Four Feet Above the Sheets." In 2006, Ghost of Maine signed with local indie label Measure 4 Measure Records and began recording their second EP, "Shark Tales".

2007
Measure 4 Measure absolved and although finished, the abum was not released. Determined to broaden their horizons with or without label backing, the band headed out for a two week stint, playing in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, South Carolina and Kentucky. In the Fall, Jesse Boggess stepped in on second guitar and the shred extravaganza was taken up another level.

2008
Taking the time to reconstruct goals, work in new members and work on writing, Ghost of Maine began the year on hiatus. After a couple months the band picked up where they left off, on the road as weekend warriors. They continued rocking the Midwest, adding Illinois and Wisconsin to the list, and released their self-titled EP. In August, Ghost of Maine was voted "best unsigned metal band" in a survey on Myspace Music and was the featured Metal artist on the site's main page. A couple of months later, the band put music up for purchase on iTunes, Amazon and Rhapsody.

2009
Without skipping a beat, Ghost of Maine started 2009 with a few lineup changes. James Roberts took the reigns as frontman. Personalities, musical playing and writing styles instantly clicked and the band quickly wrote and recorded two tracks in Cleveland, Ohio for their upcoming album, "Persistence of Vision." Since their formation, Ghost of Maine has played more than 250 shows in nine states, allowing them to be a self sufficient band for nearly 5 years. With little outside help, Ghost of Maine has managed to pay for t-shirt and CD printing, recording, travel and tour expenses, including the purchase and upkeep of the band van, Mary Jane.

   Photos credit: Luke Ryan Photography
   
2010
   Ghost of Maine began the new decade with another move to progress the musicianship and overall sound. New guitarist Jesse Curtis stepped in just in time to help record the band's fourth EP, Persistence of Vision. After recording, he teamed up with Jesse Boggess and both moved to seven string guitars to help continue the growth of this Midwest metal band and take Ghost of Maine song writing to new heights. The band quickly wrote and recorded, Rendition, a promotional bonus track for the EP that foreshadows the progressive tone and musicianship to come in the near future.
   
In mid 2010 Andrew Wellman came to join as the bands most seasoned bassist to date. Gearing up to release an EP, Ghost of Maine accepted an offer from Magnatune (a fore runner in the music business to offer easy sales and licensing of music) to help sell and promote Persistence of Vision. Never losing momentum, the band finds themselves today completely in sync, pushing limits and each other, looking toward a promising future.
   

   
"Ghost of Maine is one of the few silver linings to the cloud that is metal music. Their music proves that this world still needs a headbangers ball (let alone an MTV) because this is the kind of stuff that made metal relevant again. Like something straight of a horror movie soundtrack, their music is aggressive enough to set the mood for bloodshed, yet articulate enough to gain a strong and appreciative following. There's just enough hook and melody to sweeten their sound for rock fans, the right touch of technique for progressive fans, and all the balls anyone could ask for to get their metal on. With two consitstently strong EP's to date, Ghost of Maine is destined to join the ranks of metal's finest."
   Ian Shannon - SecondSetOfEars.com.
   
For more on Ghost of Maine, please go to their MySpace page.


name: Gianmarco Leone
description: Emotional piano explorations
homepage: gianmarco_leone
photo: /artists/img/gianmarco_leone.jpg
society: SIAE
page: gianmarco_leone
bio:
Gianmarco Leone in 2009 obtained a "Diploma in Media Composition" under the guidance of Richard Attree. Recently, he scored the feature film "The Nowhere Son", produced by Next Actor Studios, and provided original music for an international Geox/Red Bull campaign.

He released his first piano album, "Cradle of Dreams", in 2009. In 2012 he released the orchestral album "Dawn of Hope" and his second piano album, "The Birth of a Dancing Star". He steadily collaborates with music production companies in Los Angeles, to provide original music to famous TV channels (A and E, TLC, Discovery) and trailers. He's currently working on music for the innovative videogame "In Verbis Virtus" by Indomitus Games.


name: Gilles Zimmermann
description: viola da gamba creating new world music
homepage: gilles_zimmermann
photo: /artists/img/gilles_zimmermann.jpg
society: SACEM
page: gilles_zimmermann
bio:
Gilles Zimmermann is a composer and multi-instrumentalist dedicated to the viola da gamba. He creates an original form of contemporary improvised music, using elements from medieval, world, jazz, contemporary music, as well as various popular music, with no boundaries.

Gilles plays acoustic and electric viola da gamba over laptop and Live Ableton. Apart from Western culture (Bach, Satie, Ravel, Monk to Hendrix and Frank Zappa), his musical sources are European (from Ireland to the Balkans through Andalousia), and Arabian, Indian and African.

After nearly 18 years of blues/rock/jazz guitar and bass, Gilles lived 8 years in London, then moved to Bavaria and changed to the viola da gamba in 1993. It took him some years to (re-)gain the same level as on the guitar. The viola da gamba changed his vision of music completely. Though he does like some of the Baroque music for the viol, this music is not his world and he wants to show all the facettes of this wonderful instrument in all sorts of other musical contexts.

Gilles Plays with open-minded, mostly oriental musicians (Persian, Indian, Arabian). The album The Missing Link features modern viola da gamba with Indian and French musicians. Music comes from the muses, not the museums!

You can also find out more about Gilles on his website.


name: Giorgio Costantini
description: Intense and minimalist new-classic piano and cinematic orchestration
homepage: giorgio_costantini
photo: /artists/img/giorgio_costantini.jpg
society: SIAE
page: giorgio_costantini
bio:
Born in Venice and trained in electronics, Giorgio Costantini has been a working musician since his early twenties, touring the world with Italian great pop artists the likes of Renato Zero, Fiorella Mannoia, and Michele Zarrillo.

He played keyboard and synth in more than 1,200 concerts touring in Italy, USA, Canada, Brazil, UK, France, Germany and Turkey. Among the most important venues, the Royal Albert Hall Theatre, the Sporting d'Ete in Montecarlo, the National Theatre of Taipei, the "New Year Concert" in Piazza del Popolo in Rome (with an audience of 150,000 people and TV live broadcast).

During his career, Giorgio Costantini has played and worked in recording studios as an arranger, programmer and producer in more than 40 albums for various artists, that have won a total of 23 golden disc awards in Italy and Portugal. He has been also a member of the RAI Orchestra (National Radio and TV orchestra) and accompanied in Festivals and TV show such artists as Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, Michael Bolton and Jose Carreras.

Exposure to such a depth and range of artists have given Costantini a rich palette of experience to apply to his own music, which is evident in his concerts. Cited as compositions of "lush orchestral works with moody scores and distinctive sparking percussion", the journey through the Costantini' songs transcends merely listening to music and reaches into a listener's emotions with evocative grace.

The 2009 tour for "PianoPianoForte" the title of the first solo album had the honor of opening with a concert at the National Theater of Taipei, the largest classical theater of Taiwan. The single "Elegia" secured the top download spot for iTunes in Italy in January 2009, and the entire album charted as high as number seven for Italian iTunes downloads at the same time.


name: Glen Bledsoe
description: experimental rapid-fire electronic compositions
homepage: bledsoe
photo: /artists/img/bledsoe_1.jpg
society: NONE
page: bledsoe
bio:
I was born to loving but rather unmusical parents. My father's singing repertoire was limited to "The Old Gray Mare" performed with a toneless and impish gusto which I only heard two or three times that I can recall. My mother tells me she used to be able to pick out tunes on the piano one-handed. As a high school senior I bought my first album: "Al Hirt Plays the Theme from The Green Hornet." I plead humble beginnings.

My freshman year at college I received an all-important Christmas gift: a $13.95 guitar from JC Penneys. This may sound like the apocrypha of a slightly disoriented blues musician, but I have friends who will swear to the truth of it. And like all new and dedicated players, I played it until my fingers were ragged and sore if not actually bleeding.

Under the influence of the devil instrument my musical tastes expanded beyond the themes of television shows. At first, I learned to play the music of Mississippi John Hurt, John Fahey, and then as my skill increased, Leo Kottke and Ton Van Bergeyk. Even from the beginning though I wrote my own tunes-albeit in the styles of others. Over several decades I listened to classical, jazz-fusion, pop-rock, and many other kinds of music which had nothing to do with guitars.

After trying my hand at many different careers including store clerk, chemical technician at a steel mill, raw materials sampler, custodian, musical instruments sales- and repair-person, house husband, art gallery director, artist-in-residence, semi-pro musician and T'ai Chi instructor, I settled on elementary school teacher. Part of my training as a teacher included a class on educational technology. Technology and learning quickly became my area of expertise, and today I am Educational Technologist (a noble-sounding title for a catch-all plate of responsibilities) in the Molalla River School District in Oregon. I also write monthly technology and education columns for several different teacher publications. In the mid-90's, I discovered digital sound design. My music world went sploosh. And maybe squish, too. Brace yourself, brothers and sisters. I gave up fingerpicking.


name: Gokul Salvadi
description: Experimental Carnatic Indian music for the inquisitive mind
homepage: gokul_salvadi
photo: /artists/img/gokul_salvadi.jpg
society: STIM
page: gokul_salvadi
bio:
Indian composer and singer Gokul Salvadi is a Carnatic musician who has been writing music since 1998. He started as a Carnatic Vocalist (Traditional South Indian Classical Music) and later, as a composer, he developed his passion for exploring the world of music.

Gokul's music is strongly based on Ragas and fused with influences from around the world.
"So many things fused in this yet all flows so well. Very relaxing and focused."

Trained as a singer in Indian classical music, Gokul developed interest in producing fusion music and soundtracks, his music being featured in TV programs across the globe.


name: Gonzalo X Ruiz
description: baroque oboist extraordinaire
homepage: ruiz
photo: /artists/img/gonzalo.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: ruiz
bio:
Gonzalo X. Ruiz is one of America's most acclaimed historical instrument soloists. He is joined by the sublime continuo team of cellist Joanna Blendulf and harpsichordist Katherine Shao. The ensemble is named after Francois LaRiche, one of the first great oboists, and a Zelig-like character. He influenced the writing of Purcell, Handel, Telemann, Bach, and Vivaldi, and was a bit of a Johnny Appleseed for the oboe. LaRiche & Co. is committed to reviving and preserving the legacy of the oboe's 18th Century Golden Age. The San Francisco Classical Voice raved about LaRiche's debut: "...a spellbinding program. Though the members of LaRiche shone individually, it was their ensemble playing that made the afternoon truly remarkable".

Gonzalo Xavier Ruiz has appeared both as principal oboist and concerto soloist with most of the leading period instrument groups in America and has performed widely in the U.S. and Europe under conductors such as Christopher Hogwood, Nicholas McGegan, Jordi Savall, Gustav Leonhardt, Reinhard Goebbel and Mark Minkowski. His playing is featured on numerous recordings of solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire. Equally accomplished on the modern instrument, he has performed as principal oboist of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, New Century Chamber Orchestra and the Pacific Chamber Symphony among others. Mr. Ruiz was a prizewinner at the Brugges Early Music Competition in Belgium and for many years has been professor of oboe at the Oberlin Conservatory's Baroque Performance Institute. He has also taught at the Longy School in Cambridge and given master classes at Indiana University. An active chamber musician, he has made numerous reconstructions and arrangements, notably from the works of Bach and Rameau. Twice he's been a featured recitalist at the annual convention of the International Double Reed Society. Mr. Ruiz is an acknowledged expert in historical reedmaking techniques, and over two dozen of his pieces are on permanent display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. With his ensemble American Baroque Mr. Ruiz is also active in the field of contemporary music and was awarded the 2000 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Ruiz also performs with American Baroque.

Baroque cellist Joanna Blendulf, a native of Sweden, has diverse musical interests, performing in chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the United States. She received her musical training at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University, where she studied with Stanley Ritchie, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Alan Harris. In 1998, Joanna received the prestigious Performer's Certificate from the Indiana University faculty for her achievements on baroque cello. Spending much of her time in transit, she is currently performing with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Jubilate Baroque Orchestra, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Bach Choir. Joanna is an active chamber musician, touring with Mirable, American Baroque, Bimbetta, Musica Pacifica and The Streicher Trio, all based in the San Francisco Bay Area where she resides. She was named runner-up in the 2000 EMA/Dorian Competition for her recording of the Jean Zewalt Triemer cello sonatas and has recorded on the Dorian and Eclectra labels.

Katherine Shao, harpsichordist and writer/composer, has performed with many of California' finest classical ensembles, including the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Magnificat, and the San Francisco Symphony. A Master's Degree recipient from the University of Indiana's School of Music, she also works frequently in the contemporary music realm, and has incorporated new music and performance art elements in many of her endeavors, including the production of her unique work, The Path to the New Music, a radio drama about the composer Anton von Webern, for which she was the author and executive producer. She is the managing director of the award-winning ensemble, American Baroque, and appears on numerous recordings. In addition to her creative endeavors, Ms. Shao is a senior manager at a local software company, and takes care of her two young children.


name: Grayson Wray
description: rock in the style of the 1960's British Wave
homepage: grayson_wray
photo: /artists/img/grayson_wray_2.jpg
society: BMI
page: grayson_wray
bio:
Who is Grayson Wray, you ask?

Well he's been working on music in relative obscurity for a while. He did two Great City albums a few years ago which received some excellent reviews.

Keyboard Magazine for one, and had a number of songs in the top ten, including number one on quite a few college stations. Great City even had some airplay on KROQ, a major station in Los Angeles.

Before that Grayson had some successful local bands that played a lot on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. He also played the Hollywood Bowl before a crowd of fourteen thousand.

Grayson's main passion in life is creating music. He has a tendency to isolate himself.

He prefers the studio over playing live, although he loves playing for a large responsive crowd. This last year he's been writing and producing in his studio and is currently planning to put a band together.

He has a wide range of music influences including Classical music, The Beatles, Neil Finn, David Bowie, dance music and many new artists such as Gomez, Beck, Air, The Flaming Lips, Cornelius, Elliot Smith and Bjork.

Well that's it for now, from Grayson and happy listening and enjoy your life.


name: Greg Annussek
description: a catchy brand of alternative roots rock
homepage: gannussek
photo: /artists/img/gannussek.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: gannussek
bio:
Greg Annussek first picked up a guitar in his early 20s with the aim of learning a few chords and strumming along with some classic tunes by the Beatles and Elvis Costello. Within a few years, this freelance writer from New York City was moonlighting as a singer-songwriter, producing a catchy brand of alternative rock blended with elements of country and folk. To some music critics, his roots-rock echoes and memorable hooks have called to mind the likes of Jakob Dylan, Matthew Sweet, and Ron Sexsmith among others.

Greg's debut CD "Little Palaces" explores a variety of styles and moods, from the indie rock of tracks like "Young Again" and "In the Movies" to the twangy alt-country of "Long Way Down." As Shredding Paper magazine put it, "Annussek sleekly takes parts of pop, western, and electrics, and mixes it into a non-acoustic version of the singer-songwriter tradition. It's nice to see the tradition stretched in directions beyond its standard confines." Songs from Greg's CD have been licensed by the Big Brother reality TV show as well as by the Travel Channel, the Fine Living Network, and other cable TV channels.


name: Greg Williams
description: looped acoustic guitar layers
homepage: greg_williams
photo: /artists/img/greg_williams.jpg
society: {}
page: greg_williams
bio:
Greg Williams has been an active guitarist, composer, educator, and all-around churl in the Sacramento, CA area for almost 20 years. He has performed, written and recorded in various musical disciplines including contemporary classical, electronic, acid jazz, folk/rock, heavy metal, and specialized music for radio, television and film.

His works have been broadcast on NPR, Capitol Public Radio, and other local television and radio stations, and he co-wrote and produced the 2002-3 theme music for the Sacramento Kings basketball team. He has been awarded 3 Sacramento music awards for his work in the acid jazz/funk group The Mind Club, and has been featured in Electronic Musician and 20th Century Guitar magazines.

His most recent work is the 2007 CD "A Circle of Hidden Intentions", in which he combines solo acoustic guitar and live-looping technology to create minimalistic, multi-layered, grooving instrumental pieces all perfomed live in real time in his home studio. Greg performs regularly throughout Northern California, and he has performed in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

Greg has also played prestigious electro-acoustic music festivals such as the Edinburgh Fringe Arts Festival in Scotland, the Y2K7 International Live-Looping Festival in Santa Cruz CA, and the Northern California Festival of New American Music. Greg received his BM in classical guitar performance at Sacramento State under Dr. Richard Savino, and his MM in Composition under Stephen Blumberg.

Greg is currently on the faculty at Sacramento State teaching beginning guitar classes and general education music history classes, and spends his summers and winters performing, composing, and recording. Greg is also an avid home brewer, and enjoys brewing and consuming such beers as Dunkelhead Dunkelweizen, Pride of 38th Street Bitter, and Blackheart Stout.


name: hands upon black earth
description: solid, sensual, organic, languorous electronic music
homepage: hube
photo: /artists/img/hube_1.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: hube
bio:
Hands upon black earth. Solid, sensual, organic, electronic music, timeless and multi-layered, seamlessly interwoven with live instrumentation, and rooted in diverse and complimentary musical genres. Respectfully grounded in tradition, but pursuing the freedom necessary to break new ground, hands upon black earth is another step in the evolution of electronic-based music.

In hands upon black earth, composer and performer bobby cochran has created a collection of songs as diverse as they are connected, eluding simple categorization. Tying the project together is an occult pattern of will, desire and worship, driven by a sincere passion, fueled by a persistent discontent with his own limitations.

Sensual and pensive. Meditative and exultant. Flowing, languorous beats with a hard and unrestrained backbone. Inspired words. Pain and passion. Desire and expectation. A union of love and will. These are some of the elements that unite to create hands upon black earth.

Containing layered symbols and hidden devotions, hands upon black earth is a representation of a process of personal exploration and expansion, pushing against convention and expectation. A widely varied yet continuous, lush, 63-minute electronic and acoustic tapestry of auditory experience, this album is a doorway to the seen and unseen.


name: Hanneke van Proosdij
description: vibrant harpsichord-music
homepage: proosdij
photo: /artists/img/proosdij/proosdij_harp1.jpg
society: NONE
page: proosdij
bio:
Hanneke van Proosdij is renowned for the elegance, virtuosity, and expressiveness of her playing. She performs regularly as soloist and continuo specialist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Festspiel Orchester Goettingen, Voices of Music, Concerto Palatino, Magnificat and American Bach Soloists. She has appeared as a guest artist with Hesperion XX, Concerto Koln, Chanticleer, Orchestre dAmbronnay, Gewandhaus Orchester and the Arcadian Academy. She received both her solo and teaching diplomas from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague where she studied recorder, harpsichord and composition.

Together with David Tayler, Hanneke cofounded and codirects Voices of Music. Hanneke is a cofounder of the Junior Recorder Society in the East Bay and was the director of the SFEMS Medieval Renaissance Workshop for seven years and now directs, together with Rotem Gilbert, the SFEMS Recorder Workshop. She has recorded over forty discs for Magnatune, BIS, Koch, Musica Omnia, Carus, AVIE and Delos. Hanneke enjoys reading books, downhill skiing and hiking.


name: Hans Christian
description: new age meets Indian cello
homepage: hans_christian
photo: /artists/img/hans_christian.jpg
society: BMI
page: hans_christian
bio:
Composer, Producer and Musician all under one hat.

Hans Christian's work in all of these capacities has been documented on countless recording projects, from his participation as a cellist, bass player or multi-instrumentalist, to his collaborations with other artists as a producer and engineer, and to his works as a composer of solo recordings and of RASA's CDs.

Most of Hans' musical life was spend in recording studios - from first recordings at the age of 16 with a local flamenco group called Duo Flamenco in his home town Hannover, Germany; to recordings in Hamburg at the famous Deutsche Gramophon studios and a local facility called Studio Hafenklang. From there he went to Hollywood to pursue a life as bassist and cellist, performing and recording first with local underground bands and later with popular artists (Robbie Robertson, Sparks, Toni Childs, Gene Clark and others). Picking up clues from recognized producers T-Bone Burnett, Chad Blake, Daniel Lanois, Mitchel Froom (all of whom he met during sessions) and others, Hans developed a foundation for his work as a composer, producer and engineer.

His first instrument being the cello, Hans' musicality evolved around Western classical music. Technique and discipline were the building blocks for his musical education, although these were quickly augmented with his choice of the bass guitar as a second instrument (and leading to the subsequent immersion in rock music). The foundation for a rich musical career was thus prepared. His interest in World Music, especially from India, led him to pick up the Indian sarangi and sitara (a small customized sitar) and the Scandinavian nyckelharpa. Hans has played on countless albums, given hundreds of concerts, and produced many projects, including his collaborations with Kim Waters under the name RASA (visit rasa-music.com for lots of information) and several recent solo recordings.

Recent solo projects include new instrumental releases called Undefended Heart, Sancta Camisia and Cinema Of Dreams. His work as a producer and mix engineer keep him busy with ongoing projects throughout the country, ranging stylistically from classical and folk to electronic and Indian devotional music. His most recent projects include several CDs with Sikh artists (Gurunam Singh, Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa, Simrit Kaur). Hans also recently signed with Banshee Music as a staff composer for TV and advertising.

Please visit these websites for lots of info about his professional work:
recordingstudio330.com
allemandemusic.com
rasa-music.com

Hans' album the Rumi Symphony is a collaboration with Andrew Harvey.

Andrew Harvey has taught at Oxford University, Cornell University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, The California Institute of Integral Studies, and the University of Creation Spirituality as well as the at various spiritual centers throughout the United States.

He was the subject of the 1993 BBC film documentary "The Making of a Modern Mystic" and appears also in "Rumi Turning Ecstatic" and "The Consciousness of the Christ: Reclaiming Jesus for A New Humanity". Andrew Harvey is founder/director of the Institute of Sacred Activism and co-founder of Wisdom University's New Chartres School.

On Han's latest album You are the Music of My Silence he is in collaboration with Harry Manx.

Harry Manx has spent years fusing Eastern musical traditions with the blues, switching effortlessly between conventional guitars, harmonica, banjo and the Mohan veena, a 20-stringed instrument invented by Indian mentor Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

Manx is often referred to as the Mysticssippi Blues Man, because of his expertise in melding both East and West and therefore creating musical short stories that wed the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. Over the last 10 years, Harry Manx released 11 Albums and has garnered seven Maple Blues Awards, six Juno nominations, the Canadian Folk Award in 2005 for Best Solo Artist and won CBC Radio's Great Canadian Blues Award in 2007. He recently received yet another Juno Nomination for Blues Album of the Year for his release, Bread and Buddha in 2010. www.harrymanx.com


name: Harlan Williams
description: beautiful dark and airy guitar compositions
homepage: harlan_williams
photo: /artists/img/harlan_williams.jpg
society: NONE
page: harlan_williams
bio:
...Guitarist Harlan Williams' Music is Wild and Wonderful, Dark and Airy, Heavy and Haunting ...A New Twist on Classical Guitar...

Family

I grew up in a very artistic home. My mother fueled the constant creativity. She's a pianist, artist, and actress, currently painting murals in a small town in Mississippi, along with calligraphy and sculpting. My older sister was also very artistic, doing sign painting, piano, violin, and sparked my interest in music. I started playing guitar at age 16.

Road life

About half way through college I got an offer to play with a band touring the east coast. I was the youngest member of a pretty bad bunch of guys who grew me up really fast. While the rest of the group were busy with nefarious activities, I used (most of) the time rehearsing. My rehearsal ritual started at sound check at the club, after lunch at the hotel, before the show at the club again, during the breaks between sets, then a couple of hours after the show. I was determined to be the next guitar great, concentrating mostly on soloing. Writing our own music wasn't even a consideration. I came off the road and made a move to Nashville with my brother who's a tremendous drummer, drum writer, and also a singer. He really could change my songs into something different, always improving the idea. We moved to Los Angeles to form a very different musical sound. We really made a great song writing team.

Classical music

At this time, I really started picking apart classical music and trying to figure out what made the composers tick. Mozart's Requiem really had an impact on me - I listened to it every day for at least a year - I started picking apart the violin parts and realizing how amateur the rock musicians were compared to the great classical writers of the past. Each classical piece had more notes in it than a whole rock album and was much better written. I stopped worrying about the basic arrangements of modern music and started pulling ideas from Brahms and Bach. I had found something wonderful.

Artwork

Frustrated with having to depend on other musicians, I left for Louisiana at age 30 to pursue my paintings. One of the newest pieces is the cover of "The Glass Desert" CD. I don't really have the time to paint now because the music ideas are flowing. I do have sketches and ideas for future paintings but I'll need to have more of my time freed up before I can tackle another one - I put so much effort into a painting, I get to the point where I don't know whether I like it anymore or not. The image is seared into my mind where I know every detail of it before I look at it - I've had a few times when I really thought I was going a little nuts, putting a little too much pressure on myself to get the desired result.

New music

The newest music is so much fun for me. I used to have obstacles and now they're gone - in a band you always have to write around another instrument - now I just write and build on my ideas - I love it.

For more information about Harlan, please go to his website.


name: Harper's Hamper
homepage: harpers_hamper
photo: /artists/img/harpers_hamper_celia.jpg
society: PRS
page: harpers_hamper
description:
well loved and lesser known British carols for the festive season, performed with single voices and instruments

bio:
The members of Harper's Hamper all met Celia while she was working as a harpsichordist and early harpist. Having researched and arranged lesser known carols from Baroque and Victorian times, she performed them together with some of her friends at Christmas and the idea of making a recording was born.

Celia Harper worked for many years as a keyboard continuo player and latterly double harpist, playing and recording with most of Britain's early music ensembles in concert and opera. She was for many years particularly associated with Kent Opera's baroque productions under Sir Roger Norrington and has worked with conductors such as Harry Christophers (The Sixteen), Paul McCreesh (Gabrieli Consort and Players), Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Christopher Hogwood.

She has taught as a singer's style coach on early music at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh and also with the European Union Baroque Orchestra. Her interest in researching 17th and 18th century music led to her devising several series of music programmes for S4C, the Welsh Television Channel and in "All Hayle to the Days", an album of carols from the 17th century to Victorian times.

Celia started composing in 1994 and has had works premiered by Michael Chance and Fretwork, Robin Blaze, Dame Felicity Palmer, Canterbury Chamber Choir, Chiswick Baroque and the Joyful Company of Singers among others. Her ensemble Sulis has been involved in ground-breaking research into music and healing at Bristol Cancer Help Centre.

In 2007 Celia won prizes in the English Poetry and Song Society's song writing competition, and the ensuing song cycle "Songs of Gloucestershire" to poetry by FW Harvey was premiered by bass-baritone Michael George in 2008. In 2009-2010 Celia was Composer in Residence at Holy Innocents Church, Hammersmith and her commissioned Mass for Childermas Day was premiered in January 2010 and repeated in January 2011. Celia's 3 Sulis CDs are all available on Magnatune.

Eirian James was born in Wales and studied at the Royal College of Music with Ruth Packer. After studying she was soon in great demand and is now recognised as one of Britain's leading singers, with a flourishing operatic, concert and recording career.

Her British appearances have seen her on the stages of all our leading opera companies. She has sung major roles with Covent Garden, English National Opera, Opera North, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera and Kent Opera (which played a very important part in her early career and gave her many leading roles.) She has also performed for Sadlers Wells, Buxton Festival, the Singer's Company and the Edinburgh Festival.

Her international career has taken her to many of the major opera houses of the world, including Netherlands Opera, Opera de Lyon, Geneva Opera, Munich and Dresden Opera and Houston Opera. Eirian has worked with eminent conductors including Sir Colin Davis, Jeffrey Tate, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Roger Norrington, William Christie, and Mark Minkowski among others. She has also appeared on many recordings.

The concert platform continues to play an important part in Eirian James' work. She has been seen in the BBC Proms, at the Aldeburgh Festival, the Barbican and with the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra. Some notable concerts have included Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen in Lyon, Beethoven's Mass in C in London with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Mozart's C minor Mass in Edinburgh and Paris with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Haydn's Harmonienmesse with Sir Roger Norrington, Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Gluck's La Corona at the City of London Festival and concert performances of Cosi fan tutte with Sir Neville Marriner in Paris. With the Akademie fur Alte Musik she has performed Irene (Theodora), Cyrus (Belshazzar) and Queen of Sheba (Solomon) all three broadcast live on Radio.

She is no stranger to TV either, having hosted many music series on Channel Four Wales. Her most recent operatic appearances were Falsirena (La Catena d'Adone) an opera of Domenico Mazzocchi (17th century) in Innsbruck and Antwerp, and Zerlina at San Diego Opera.

Julie Kennard read music at the University of Southampton and then went on to the Royal College of Music to study singing with Ruth Packer.

Julie has always specialised in oratorio although early on in her career she took lead roles in several operas. She has appeared in all major UK concert halls and Cathedrals and in many venues abroad. In Ireland, she was a soloist in Mahler's Eighth Symphony for RTE Television and Bach's Mass in B Minor; in Italy, Poland, Switzerland and France she performed the role of Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas; in Iceland she featured as soprano soloist in John Speight's Symphony No. 2 for the Symposium of Nordic composers - a work she has subsequently recorded. Verdi's Requiem has also played a large part in Julie's career and to date she has sung 80 performances of that great work.

English music has featured strongly in her repertoire and she has sung numerous performances of Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony, Elgar's The Kingdom and Apostles, Herbert Howells' Hymnus Paradisi and Britten's War Requiem. The War Requiem was highlighted in a television documentary of Britten and showed Julie singing in a commemorative performance from Coventry Cathedral with CUMS and Stephen Cleobury.

Solo recitals in Luxemburg and at the Three Choirs Festival have featured Schumann's "Frauenliebe und Leben", "Les Nuits d'ete," by Berlioz and "On this Island" by Britten, "The Four Last Songs" by Strauss and a recital for soprano and organ featuring a new commission by Pavel Novak - "The lake of heavenly Desires". She was the soprano soloist in a programme of words and music celebrating the life of Admiral Lord Nelson with Richard Baker as the narrator and also in a programme featuring Dame Judi Dench and her family.

Julie's recordings show her versatility - they include Monteverdi's Christmas Vespers, Haydn's Nelson Mass with St. Paul's Cathedral and Howells' "Hymnus Paradisi" with Vernon Handley and the RLPO.

Julie also enjoys teaching singing at the Royal Academy of Music and is the Artistic Director of the Grove Park Music Festival. She is married to Michael George.

Michael George, established as one of Britain's most versatile bass-baritones, was a chorister at King's College, Cambridge under Sir David Willcocks. He studied at the Royal College of Music, where he was a major prize-winner and has appeared with all the leading UK orchestras and ensembles, both throughout Britain and extensively abroad.

Michael has worked widely as a recording artist, and releases include The Dream of Gerontius, The Messiah, Bach's St. Matthew Passion,and St. John Passion,Schubert's Mass in A Flat with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Boyce Odes with the Hanover band, Bach Cantatas and Masses with King's College Cambridge and Stephen Cleobury, numerous recordings with Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, the complete Purcell series with Robert King and The King's Consort and much music with Philip Pickett and the New London Consort, including Monteverdi's "Orfeo".

Performances have included Bach's St Matthew Passion with the Bach Choir, Purcell's "Faerie Queen" in The Netherlands, Cherubini Requiem with Muti, Elgar's "Apostles" and many other works at the Three Choirs Festivals, Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" with the Halle and Mark Elder, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Sir Neville Marriner in Brisbane and major tours of Handel's Messiah with Christophers and The Sixteen in Europe and Japan. He has sung with the Vienna Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the LPO. Recent engagements and future plans include "L'Enfance du Christ" in Denmark, Handel's Saul in Holland, a tour of St. John Passions with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, Commendatore in Don Giovanni in Moscow, Riccardo Primo in Basel, Semele and Fidelio for Scottish Opera, further performances of Orfeo all over Europe for Philip Pickett, Messiah in Aarhuis, Paris and with the RLPO, Haydn's Seasons with St Louis Symphony Orchestra, Mozart's Requiem with the Bach Choir and concerts in Montreal. Bach's St. John Passion in Milan and Haydn's Creation in Israel. He sang Aeneas in a new Jonathan Miller production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in several European countries in 2008 and 2009.

In 2010 he performed Acis and Galatea in many European cities with Philip Pickett. He is performing in a new production of Purcell's Fairy Queen in several European countries in 2011, again with Philip Pickett and The New London Consort

Neil Jenkins, who has been a professional singer for over forty years, began as a Chorister at Westminster Abbey, and a Choral Scholar at King's College Cambridge. He subsequently studied in the Opera School at the Royal College of Music and made his debut in London in October 1967.

For the next ten years he sang and recorded with the Deller Consort, under the direction of Alfred Deller, whilst establishing himself as an opera singer. He was a principal tenor with Kent Opera for the entire twenty years of its existence. In the 1970s he was appointed as an RCM singing professor by Sir David Willcocks, for whom he became a regular soloist with the Bach Choir, especially in the Bach Passions.

He has carved out a unique career, being equally at home as an Operatic, Oratorio and Recital singer; and combining this with an increasingly important role as a musicologist. In 2003 he was appointed to a Cambridge Fellowship to enable him to write a book about Handel's favourite English tenor: John Beard. He has delivered scholarly papers to conferences on Handel and 18th century London Theatrical life.

Neil has translated and edited all of Bach's major choral works for the New Novello Choral Edition, and Haydn's choral works for King's Music. He has produced several song albums for OUP and Kevin Mayhew Ltd.

He has recorded under such eminent batons as those of Bernstein, Britten, Marriner, Mackerras, Chailly, Nagano, Andrew Davis, Hait ink, Norrington, Parrott, Gardiner and Hickox. He is also known for his performances of contemporary music, where he has been directed by Rattle, Henze, Oramo, Atherton, Penderecki, Lutoslawski, Jac van Steen, Boulez and Previn.

Neil has sung wit h all of Britain's leading opera companies, particularly at Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera and WNO. For New Sussex Opera he has sung the tit le roles in Britten's Peter Grimes, Rossini's Count Ory and Mozart's Idomeneo; and for Kent Opera he took the title roles in Robinson Crusoe, Count Ory, and The Return of Ulysses. Performances since 2000 have taken him to New York, Chicago, Berlin, Paris, Lyon, Amsterdam, Geneva, Santiago, Dublin, Belfast and Tel Aviv. His performances in Glyndebourne Festival's Lulu and Higglety Pigglety Pop and Kent Opera's King Priam are available on video. He has had a huge success in the two Monteverdi productions recently at WNO (The Coronation of Poppea and The return of Ulysses), and he rejoined WNO in 2008 for a production of Verdi's Falstaff, starring Bryn Terfel which was broadcast on Radio 3 and seen on S4C TV.

In 2004 Neil was honoured by the Worshipful Company of Musicians with the presentation of the "Sir Charles Santley Memorial Award" for his achievements in his singing career, and his labours in producing new scholarly Bach editions for Novello. Neil is President of the Haywards Heath Music Club, the Shoreham Oratorio Choir, Basildon Choral Society and the Grange Choral Society of Bournemouth; Vice-President of Brighton Competitive Music Festival and Huntingdon Philharmonic Society; and is a Patron of the Goldsmith's Choral Union.


name: Hazelmain
description: bitter-sweet pop with hints of jazz, rock and country
homepage: hazelmain
photo: /artists/img/hazelmain.jpg
society: APRA
page: hazelmain
bio:
Led by the gorgeous, fragile vocals of Charmian Kingston, Hazelmain's music is bitter-sweet pop with hints of jazz, rock and even a little bit of country.

Written and recorded by multi-instrumentalist Connor Fitzgerald (with a little help from his friends!), 'Sooner or Later' was recorded during the members' last months of university in NSW, Australia. While real life led the project to end before it began, the music and the good memories remain.


name: Healing Muses
description: early music for healing
homepage: hadidian
photo: /artists/img/healing_muses_low.jpg
society: NONE
page: hadidian
bio:
Healing Muses is a non-profit organization founded by Eileen Hadidian to bring soothing music, played on Celtic harp, to Bay Area medical centers. The program creates a peaceful sound environment for hospitals, clinics, hospices, convalescent homes, retreat centers and homebound individuals.

Using a combination of medieval, Renaissance, and music from the Celtic and American folk traditions, Healing Muses promotes relaxation and reduces anxiety during stressful hospital stays and procedures. Patients and staff experience the power of music to calm and soothe in noisy, high-anxiety environment.

Eileen Hadidian gave many of the last years of her life helping others heal through music by way of the nonprofit she founded. Her involvement with music for healing grew out of her own experience with breast cancer, which claimed her life in December 2012 after many years of inspirational struggle.

She used music for her own healing, and began to play for other cancer patients. Through Healing Muses she explored ways in which music can be used to help soothe critically and chronically ill people.

Eileen appeared in concert throughout the Western United States. She was the recipient of the Albany Woman of the Year Award for 2010, one of thirteen women honored by California Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner.

Patrice Haan has played harp with Healing Muses since 2004 and served as Healing Muses' Executive Director since 2012.

Best known for her vocal performances with the Oakland-based jazz ensemble Leftover Dreams, Patrice is increasingly recognized for her songwriting and poetry. She has released three albums of original music for harp, voice and other instruments. Healing Muses' latest album, entitled A Garden of Healing (2010), includes two of her original songs.

Since her first experience of music for healing, as part of a care-giving team for a friend dying of cancer, she has continued to look for ways music can touch and comfort the deep part of the self.

Maureen Brennan is an accomplished performer, playing both classical and Celtic music on the Irish harp.

She has toured throughout the U.S. and Canada in a variety of ensembles, specializing in traditional dance music, and song of Ireland and Scotland.

Maureen continues as a soloist for Irish and Scottish events. She teaches at workshops and conferences throughout the U.S., and has recorded five CDs, including the acclaimed Harpestry collection.

Natalie Cox was a founding member of Healing Muses and is featured on Dolce Musica; she is now pursuing other music projects.

You can find out more about the Healing Muses and their current work on their website.


name: Heavy Mellow
description: relaxing acoustic guitar duets
homepage: heavy_mellow
photo: /artists/img/heavy_mellow_5.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: heavy_mellow
bio:
"Your music added just the right touch to our little script."

"Thank you, and Magnatune, very much for allowing us to use your wonderful music. I'm sure you're going to be very pleased when you view the film ..."

"Your music plays a prominent role in setting the story's mood and overall tone."

Acoustic based Heavy Mellow is a relaxing blend of folk, jazz, grass and classical. Combining finger-style, rhythm and lead, this instrumental string music creates a sound that the name implies, not fitting neatly into any one genre.

This music has been used in several independent films (see quotes above), commercials, background sound and other applications, as well as for personal listening and live performances. Heavy Mellow has released two albums, with more expected in the future. The first, Acoustic Abstracts is a collection of duets with a simple, refreshing feel. The second album Horizons follows in the same vein, but with more layers to yield a bit fuller sound including bass, percussion, and additional instruments on some tracks.

Heavy Mellow is Barry Sulkin and Paul Hadley Davis. Sulkin (on left) plays finger-style guitars - six and twelve-string steel, classical, and dobro - in a variety of tunings, along with mandolin and harmonica. Davis plays lead guitar, mandolin, bass, and keys. They first met while attending the University of Virginia, then re-connected in Nashville, where they helped form the Americana band Back Creek. Later they started Heavy Mellow as a side project to pursue original instrumental music and fill requests for live performances in smaller settings. They continue to play and record, working out of Nashville and western North Carolina.


name: Hector Mukomol
description: ambient travels through a personal universe
homepage: hector_mukomol
photo: /artists/img/hector_mukomol_small.jpg
society: NONE
page: hector_mukomol
bio:
Hector Mukomol is an Ukrainian electronic musician, composer and follower of the Ambient style.

Based in Kyiv, Ukraine, Hector Mukomol is of the best-known artists working in the Ambient, New Age, and Electronic genres. His beautiful and mysterious soundscapes take the listener far out of this world, as well as deep inside the inner space towards the unexplored territories of consciousness. Hector's music can be the perfect soundtrack to feature films, documentaries, and TV specials about nature, travelling, religion, meditation, space, planets, UFOs, and extraterrestrials.

Since 2000 actively involved in psychoacoustics, he has explored the influence of sound and music on human consciousness.

Hector Mukomol released his first CD "Immersion" in 2002. In 2004 he created the "El Saman" project. Author of music for A. Shapiro film "Happy people".


name: Heifervescent
description: Shimmering indie guitar pop with orchestral moments
homepage: heifervescent
photo: /artists/img/heifervescent.jpg
society: NONE
page: heifervescent
bio:
Heifervescent is the never ending, ongoing, infinite, perpetual, and all those other words that mean 'a seemingly long time', music project of Andy Doran. Starting way back in the 90s, Andy was singer/guitarist with indie band 'Monkeyland' for about 6 years. The band spent time playing gigs alongside UK indie favourites of the time such as Shed Seven, The House of Love, The Railway Children and many others and received much radio airplay including Radio One.

When Monkeyland dissolved, Andy spend a few years engaged in mix media projects and worked on video and animation productions with one of Manchester's baggy bands - Inspiral Carpets and various other bands on the Mute label, but quickly returned to joining another band - 'Cannula', this time just playing guitars and producing.

In 2002, Andy began to produce tracks, alone under the name 'Heifervescent' and the debut album Hoofed and Dangerous was a big step back to naivety and pop sensibility, but with few twists and turns. The album received an enormous amount of plays with the growth of internet radio stations and music sites.

2003 brought the second album, Verbal Bandit, which was more folky, acoustic and raw. The difficult third album came in 2004 called Murder in the Garden which had more of a hard edge than previous albums.

The most successful and most listened to album came in 2005 and was called Pondlife Fiasco. As with all the Heifervescent albums, Pondlife Fiasco was released under a Creative Commons license and ensured that listeners could easily give the album a try. The album was one of the most listened to Creative Commons albums and continues to get many plays and downloads.

The Glue Factory album was put together a few years later from tracks that just didn't fit with any of the previous albums, and so is more of an eclectic mix.

In 2011, Andy re-recorded many of his early compositions from his days in 'Monkeyland' and released them in the shape of 'Further Adventures in Monkeyland'

As well as the Heifervescent works, Andy actively writes and records music for specific requirements - for film, video, motion graphics and advertising, recording all instruments and programming himself. Often described as a one man band, Andy often pushes the envelope a little further to become a one man orchestra and production suite.


name: Heir to Madness
description: dark and dynamic progressive rock
homepage: heirtomadness
photo: /artists/img/heirtomaddness.jpg
society: BMI
page: heirtomadness
bio:
Heir to Madness is Jason Wiscarson's solo project. It's a dark and brooding melodic whirlwind. Commanding, yet sophisticated drums augment ethereal and sometimes scathing guitars.

Clean and other-worldly vocals top it off for an unusual counterpoint of haunting beauty and unforgiving aural assaults.

But HTM is not just about the music, it's about music with something worthwhile to say. Being a medium for growth and change is intrinsic to the music's purpose. The name "Heir to Madness" was not coined by accident. We are all heirs to the madness of this world. The madness that destroys the earth, kills millions, lets millions die, that separates, hordes, and gives rise to the ego.

HTM's first release, The Citadel, is about that ego, the mind-construct, and all its intricacies. The ego is much like a citadel. It is the stronghold of our person, our idea of our self. It is to be defended at all costs. High walls and weapons-at-the-ready protect the fragile idea of our imagined importance and keeps us "safe". Yet that "safety" has an extremely high price. That price is your very self. When you enter the citadel you relinquish your freewill, to be subjugated to the holy ego forevermore. Some will pay homage to it, others will anger it. Either way, you will be at its every whim.

The ego has a peculiar way of clouding your perceptions. You'll see what it wants you to see. You'll hear what it wants you to hear. Revoking the ego's supremacy is the key to leaving this self-made fortress, and in doing so, we end the master/slave relationship and escape everything that society, parents, school systems, clergy, and government has drilled into us since birth. Freedom from the ego is freedom from every distorted idea you ever had about yourself. Without the ego, we have nothing to defend, and with nothing to defend, we have nothing to fear.


name: Hollywood Drunks
description: a swirling vortex of Rock, Funk, Rap,and Alternative
homepage: hollywood_drunks
photo: /artists/img/hollywood_drunks.jpg
society: BMI
page: hollywood_drunks
bio:
After completely losing his dead dry hair by 17, Eric Winzenried realized at a young age that life has a way of forcing its stereotypical imprint on the soul. Since then, writing and recording music has been a way for him to forget the various bad hairstyles he attempted throughout the 90's (for instance, the infamous bald guy with pony tail look). He's had the privilege of working many exciting shitty jobs. From office supplies replenisher to food delivery specialist, from wrangler of the mentally ill, to naked guy in plays, all his experiences have influenced the eclectic nature of his music. But it wasn't until he found himself divorced at 28, displaced, and sharing a tiny studio apartment with giant sized cockroaches that he finally found his voice as a singer-songwriter.

Self-deprecating humor, sarcasm, and their not-so-distant cousin, anger, are a common link throughout both their albums HOORAY!! and SWELL. Songs such as "You Can't Stay at My Apartment" which deals with the psycho uninvited house guest who never leaves and "Therapy" which tells the charming story of a crystal meth smoking ex-girlfriend are examples of Winzenried's lyrical style. The music itself is a synthesis of different genres including hip hop, pop, rock, glam, reggae, and alternative. However, they all share the same message: if you are able to laugh at the humorous fragile nature of life, you'll stop viewing yourself as a victim and take back the controls.

Around L.A., this group of alcoholic misfits are also know as The Hollywood Drunks, especially since the name Winzenried is too hard to spell, pronounce, or even look at without becoming completely exhausted. In hindsight, they realize now that it was a bad name choice but alas they are stuck with it like an old cold sore that never leaves, thus, the entirely not subtle name change to Winzenried aka Hollywood Drunks. They are currently getting ready to record their new album for a 2015 release but if you're looking for a great off the wall holiday album check out their classic HOLLYWOOD DRUNKS CHRISTMAS.

You can find out more about the Hollywood Drunks on their website.


name: Homeless Balloon
description: Ambient chill to ease your pain and tease your brain
homepage: homeless_balloon
photo: /artists/img/homeless_balloon.jpg
society: TONO
page: homeless_balloon
bio:
Homeless Balloon is the music project of Helge Krabye, a Norwegian composer, sound designer and multimedia artist, born in 1953 in Oslo, Norway. Helge has (under his real name) composed music for television documentaries, radio plays, fantasy stories and multimedia projects as well as signature melodies and musical jingles since the late 80's.

In his music, he is known for combining acoustic instruments with experimental, electronic sounds. His music is inspired by both world fusion, electronica, acoustic, classical, jazz and film music. Homeless Balloon has released six audio CD's and two digital EP's. The music is downtempo chillout grooves and ambient soundscapes inspired by acid jazz, electronica, world fusion, acoustic and film.

Helge Krabye learned to play violin at the age of six, and he picked up the guitar as a teenager. In his early thirties he started experimenting with computers, MIDI and synthesizers, and his background in classical music has made his compositions suitable for moving pictures.

You can find out more about Homeless Balloon on their website.


name: Horstreich
description: noisy, friendly, fierce and beautiful, rock and roll
homepage: horstreich
photo: /artists/img/horstreich.jpg
society: NONE
page: horstreich
bio:
Definitely a pronunciation task but Horstreich from Augsburg, Germany don't sound a bit like you'd expect them to. Take the Franz out of Ferdinand, stir it with sticky hooklines and then smash it all up with loads of furious rock'n'roll. A mind boggling craze that will screech to a brake just before it reaches disaster and leave the crowd all over excited and desperately longing for more.

While their hometown Augsburg is starting to become famous for German pop music, Horstreich keep on playing their own game. It's noisy, but friendly, fierce but beautiful, and it's got all you need, if toe tapping just isn't quite enough. Horstreich have been touring for more than thirteen years and recorded 7 lps. with gigs all over Germany and Europe (GB, CZ, FR) they have made a racket in many places and got people jumping many times. Besides open airs, clubs and festivals, they have also gigged unique occasions like supermarket concerts and an unplugged tour through Augsburg's pubs or the London architecture biennale. and there sure is loads more to come!

With Horstreich's album "Tinytension", the band has grown in sound and taken on a slight 80s atmosphere. If you get the chance to see the band perform live, be prepared for loads of energetic bouncing, charismatic racket making and mind boggling breath taking. Or, as the press would say, "...a bundle of energy with a voice like the Cure's Robert Smith, the band, all clad in black...produced a blistering performance and an encore which got the crowd really jumping for the first time."

You can find out where they are playing and much more about them on their website.


name: Howard Ferre
description: Ambient, new age, neoclassical, jazz
homepage: howard_ferre
photo: /artists/img/howard_ferre.jpg
society: BMI
page: howard_ferre
bio:
Howard Ferre is an Ambient (Neo-classical/New Age) composer who has been creating original music, soundtracks and sound design for the theater, film and video for over 25 years and has been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike.

"It's a hard-to-pin-down disc that embraces spacey floats, so-cool jazz flavors and post-rock melodies with equal ease... This Journey's End is clearly just the beginning."
Hypnagogue

"For me the most poignant pieces are the wistful, meandering Wax Branches where beautifully fragile piano lines take the lead over airy synthetic washes and the equally reflective Reaching Out, where the electronic soundscaping is a little more prominent, suggestive of heavenly light and weightless reverie, once more with sensitive, melancholy piano phrases pulling at the heart."
Morpheus Music's Blog

Howard was always mesmerized by how music and sound brought so much emotion to a performance. His earliest inspiration came in the second grade, when he was introduced to the organ. As several of the sounds were being demonstrated by one of the teachers, he remembers marveling at how one person can perform and compose fully orchestrated sounds all by himself. Fascinated by this, he grew up with an extensive movie soundtrack collection and became influenced by Peter Gabriel, Arvo Part, Philip Glass, John Williams, Miles Davis and Pink Floyd. As the years went on, he accumulated a wide variety of synthesizers, samplers and recording equipment and now Howard brings the audience into the show with his ear for the truth in sound and his passion for the way it touches a listener with emotion.

Howard continues composing music and Sound Design, through Ferrestudios, in the South Florida area for various productions and theatre groups. He is also working on a new album coming out soon and an original musical project to be announced in 2012.


name: Human Response
description: melodic electronica
homepage: human_response
photo: /artists/img/humanresponse3.jpg
society: NONE
page: human_response
bio:
Human Response is the electronica side of Jan Hanford.

She is a classically trained musician in piano and composition but is as passionate about electronica and its various subgenres as she is about J.S. Bach.

She creates electronic music with layers of melodic and rhythmic interaction. Her extensive use of the minimoog gives her music a vintage analog sound which she continued when her music evolved using digital samplers and sequencing.


name: Hunter and the Dirty Jacks
description: Retro Fresh Rock & Roll Soul
homepage: hunter_dirty_jacks
photo: /artists/img/hunter_dirty_jacks.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: hunter_dirty_jacks
bio:
Hunter & The Dirty Jacks are a very entertaining and versatile rock & roll band from Los Angeles, California. Blues and roots rock with a vintage sound and modern edge... originals, covers, full electric and rocked to the roof on Sunset Blvd., or all acoustic in a serene setting, both have been done to extreme success.

Hunter & The Dirty Jacks are fronted by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Hunter Ackerman, and anchored by Jon Siembieda and Carmelo Bonaventura on guitar, Aaron Barnes on bass, Brian Lara on drums, and Moana Avvenenti on background vocals.

We have experience playing several casinos in and out of state (Fantasy Springs Rock Yard, Avi Casino, Blue Lake Casino, Bear River Casino, Tropicana Casino, Cher-ae Heights Casino and Feather Falls Casino for example), House of Blues Sunset, House of Blues Anaheim, Saint Rocke, Coach House, Harvelle's, Observatory, Detroit Bar, The Press, Still Water, Whisky a Go Go, Viper Room, and many other venues.

Acclaimed, world-class blues/rock guitar legends Coco Montoya, Eric Sardinas, Phil Gates, and Jimmy Vivino have come down and sat in to jam with the band all within the last several months. The bandmates have collectively shared the bill with bands of the likes of Tommy Castro, Eric Sardinas, Dave Mason, Walter Trout, Cinderella, Led Zepagain, Wayward Sons, Wild Child, War, and many others.

The band has also had extensive press to date - (it) Magazine, ShockBoxTV, 88.1 FM KKJZ, 100.3 FM The Sound L.A., Whoa Magazine, Influentza Magazine, Blues Rock Review, Music On The Left, Santa Monica Mirror, Southland Blues Magazine, Patch, The Argonaut Newspaper, LAnightlife.com, Cliche Magazine, American Blues Scene, Skope Magazine, and 88.9 FM KUCI.

You can find out more about Hunter & The Dirty Jacks on their website.


name: Hwy E
description: excellent new school feeling hip-hop
homepage: hwy_e
photo: /artists/img/hwy_e2.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: hwy_e
bio:
Highway Entertainment Records is a record label that was founded in 2005 by Robert-James Lee (R.O.B.) and Nathaniel Smith, jr. (Nate). It is located between the outskirts of two small towns, Ferriday and Clayton, LA. The label was started because the founders knew that the chances of them scoring a deal from a major would be nearly impossible to achieve from the area where they resided.

The idea was to start a label, create a unique style and just make good music for fans everywhere to hear. For the past 4 years they have basically been honing their skills to be able to compete on a mainstream level. They have however, managed to release 3 albums prior to the release of their lastest album "Concordia's Finest".

Their work includes:
Hwy E. Presents: The Compilation vol. 1 - Officially Released Album 2005

Operation Shutdown: The Compilation vol. 2 - Street Album 2006 (officially released by Sonicwave International)

Players & Hustlers - Street Album 2007

Concordia's finest is the first album where everything from the production, recording, mixing and mastering was done in-house. Hwy E brings a type of new school feeling hip hop flavor for your ears. The current group consists of 6 individuals. Robin - female vocalist/rapper
Nate - rapper/producer/male vocalist
R.O.B. - producer/rapper/mix engineer
ill Friss - rapper/producer
Flamez - rapper/producer
Lloyd Boi - rapper/producer/dj engineer

This is the beginning of something new. Expect Hwy E to make good music for the next several years to come.

For more information visit their MySpace page.


name: Hybris
description: gothic darkwave hard-edged rock
homepage: hybris
photo: /artists/img/hybris2.jpg
society: NONE
page: hybris
bio:
Hybris was formed during a cold winter in the city of "Kiel", in Northern Germany in 1998. The local musician scene was mostly represented by heavy- and trash-metal bands, but gothic and other dark music styles are quite popular at several clubs and local events. 7 musicians had the dream of creating powerful melancholic music - representing the emotions of the local gothic rock community.

Gothic rock has as many facets as other music styles and a poll of 7 different musicians will have at least 14 opinions about the right way. The first try at Hybris ended without any success and only 2 half completed songs. The lack of success led to disharmony and the band came apart.

Those members of the band, who had decided to not give up, were in a difficult spot. Gothic rock musicians are not as common as representives from other music styles and even in the coldness of Northern Germany there won't be so many guitarists with the "right" emotions. So they've decided to start an experiment. Instead of working with 7 musicians with very strong emotions about "the right" style of gothic music they opened the band for musicians with wider and different experience in different music styles - and due to that a more experimental approach to the right music style.

One of the new members was Janis Schibalski a former guitarist and songwriter of a glam rock/party-metal band. Despite his changed preferences (more serious, darker music instead of event driven music the differences between him and most of the other members could not be bigger. Hybris was never planned as a project of friends - it was planned as an experiment, a melting pot of emotions, ideas and extremely different individuals. It was a courageous plan with a strong dedication to at least local succes. This led to the band name: Hybris (which means Hubris in English).

Helge Barth (Bass), Anne Kampmann (Backing Vocals) and Thyra Christmann (Keyboards) were the most "classical" gothic musicians, Malte Volquardsen (Drums) had several roots in Punk, Folk and other music styles. Bent Maczewski (guitar) was the bands representive of solid rock music, Gerret Goos (Lead Vocals) had several roots in gothic rock and metal and Janis Schibalski (guitars) with his long experience as live musician and songwriter completed the band.

An era of hot emotions started in the Hybris rehearsal room - conflicts, discussions but the strong will to achive results. Rotten Flowers was the first result of the melting pot process. Based on an old song of Janis, the band managed it to create a symbiosis out of everyone's influences and emotions. A real conjointly-created work and a sum that was more than its parts.

Strife changed to euphoria and the band quickly recorded the song together with "Final Trust" to create a demo CD. Helge handed copies of the demo recording to local DJs of Gothic Clubs and Events and --very ungothic-like-- the members of Hybris nervously awaited the first reactions of the audience. The result was much better than expected. Rotten Flowers and also Final Trust were dancable (note: which means dancable for gothic-fans :P) the DJ urged to make clear, that this was really a demo recording of Hybris and some visitors of the event asked "Which band was it? Never heard it before!"

Motivated by the first success, Hybris worked on additional material and completed the last song for the first live-gig only days before the event. The impressive Voice of Gerret and the multifaceted gothic-rock of Hybris lead to several gigs in northern Germany and the CD-Recording "The First Words" which marked the zenith of the band history.

Success ushered strife.

Some members of the band wanted bigger influence to the songwriting and the direction of the music, others wanted to invest more money for the "Big deal" and others wanted to concentrate on live events.

Another cold winter in Northern Germany, and the band fall apart. Flowers rot, Hybris died, but the music is still remembered - which describes the Album "The First Words" and the emotions in this music in a better way than long stories can tell.


name: Icicle
description: He Who Sings Thinks No Evil
homepage: icicle
photo: /artists/img/icicle.jpg
society: SOCAN
page: icicle
bio:
Born and raised in communist Bulgaria, Krassy Halatchev (aka Icicle) grew up with a few tight friends who were true music maniacs. Being one of them as well, he studied and analyzed every note of the repertoire of his favorite bands (Pink Floyd, The Police, Depeche Mode, The Cure). With a little help from his friends (and band mates) he bought his first bass guitar - a Fender Music Master. It turned out to be the best investment he ever made, for it changed KrassyÕs life.

Following years of ardent practicing and playing in garages and clubs, the skilled musician fled from his native country and landed in Montreal one freezing-cold winter day in 1990. His brother-like peers from the band The Clouds accompanied him in this new and exiting adventure. At the time they were passionately devoted to the 90Õs psychedelic rock. After many subway and club gigs, considerable magazine and newspaper coverage, and two full-length albums, the members of the band decided to explore new horizons, this time separately.

In 1996 Krassy joined the band Chiwawa. Produced by Steve Witfield (The Cure, The Mission, The Trash Can Sinatras) and recorded at The MissionÕs studio in Bristol, ChiwawaÕs first album "The Sick World of Yona" won the attention of the media. Becoming a core member of the group, Krassy composed and sang a major part of ChiwawaÕs seven albums worth of material.

In 2014 Icicle released his first solo album, "Resurgence". Multifaceted and very seasoned, this 13-piece oeuvre represents a passage door between the past and the future, a quintessence of lessons learned and dreams that lay ahead.

His second album, "Theorems" cements Icicle's musical path where pop, rock and funk elements reminisce of the 80s, 90s and 2000s. It curls upward on a journey of his lifeÕs spiral.


name: Idlemine
description: A solid hybrid sound of Instrumental Rock
homepage: idlemine
photo: /artists/img/idlemine_new.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: idlemine
bio:
Idlemine's sound is a hybrid of Experimental, Instrumental Rock. An eclectic sound coupled with pounding drums and phenomenal bass and guitar riffs. Their Element is deep. The guitar always shines bright and they have very intelligent song compositions to boot. Idlemine is hip and fresh, an overall gem with every instrument telling a story with seamless pieces from beginning to end leaving you on edge with heart wrenching instrumentation.

Idlemine has great production and track fabrication furnishing us with a colossal sound. In short, this band manages to construct epic tracks where the music literally speaks for itself.

Consisting of a three piece group forged in 2002 and based out of Salt Lake City, UT, you can jam along with Idlemine on Rockband and find their music utilized in a surprising amount of TV shows, action sports films, videos, short films and compilation CDs.

They have toured extensively throughout many parts of the US (236 shows in 4 States and counting), and continue to play live Locally and nationally.

You can find out more about Idlemine on their website.


name: Immune
description: apocalyptic rock
homepage: immune
photo: /artists/img/immune_new.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: immune
bio:
Immune is the marching band to either the apocalypse or redemption - take your pick. To them it might be the same thing. As the Doomsday Clock ticks and tocks its way toward oblivion, they have chosen to abandon the path of least resistance in favor of authenticity and musical defiance. Calling the broken metropolis of Los Angeles home, Immune has performed at Ozzfest and Mayhem Festival and have had their music featured in numerous feature films and television shows. Currently hard at work on a new EP, they have recorded with legendary producers and engineers including Sylvia Massy (Tool, System of a Down) and Bryan Carlstrom (Alice in Chains, Social Distortion).


name: in giro
description: defiantly homemade pop rock music
homepage: in_giro
photo: /artists/img/in_giro.jpg
society: NONE
page: in_giro
bio:
in giro is Catherine Fail DePrince, David Anthony Parker, and Wayne DePrince.

This trio is always on the move, in motion, out and about. They pick up things on their travels, pluck them from limbs, absorb or excavate or simply remember them. And during layovers, they stitch these together and sing. Being in giro means living change. And ever-seeking, the band makes music that ever-seeks. Called to a more radical simplicity, in giro creates what's necessary to help us shed some skin and move on lighter and more free. Walking a line between the bitter and the sweet, in giro yearns to synthesize revolution and surrender; revolution is obvious(!), and so are surrender to beauty and perfecting the challenge.

Music as a struggle for harmony organically reflects this dynamic through its flux and flow and continual change in tempo/key/style/voice. The cycling themes/leitmotifs come from so-called "dram rock", drama-infused indie/alternative rock. Making leaps and breaking free is a dramatic personal endeavor, and what in giro creates serves as propulsion for their adventures out of this world and into a better one.

As points on their trajectory towards freedom, the defiantly homemade music is free/gratis, the tools are free/libre, and in giro work with free/independent artists.

let’s go .... in giro!


name: In Nova Cantica
description: carols and chansons from the 13th - 17th Centuries for dancing, festivities and mayhem
homepage: nova_cantica
photo: /artists/img/in_nova_engan.jpg
society: NONE
page: nova_cantica
bio:
Hausmusik was created to allow Bay Area music lovers to experience chamber music in small, intimate settings, recreating the ambiance in which much 14th-18th-century music was performed at court, in small chapels, or in the drawing rooms of private homes, for family, friends and patrons. Beginning as a series of intimate, informal concerts in Bay Area homes, Hausmusik moved into the parish hall at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Albany, making it a real community concert series the first such series in the city of Albany, for which director Eileen Hadidian received the city's 1992 Citizen of the Year in the Arts award.

Over the years, Hausmusik has helped support local musicians, particularly those interested in trying out new programs and exploring the crossover between early and ethnic music. The concerts, which were held in the St. Alban's parish hall an intimate yet acoustically live room reminiscent of an English manor house presented a varied cast of performers drawn from the wide pool of early music talent in the Bay Area. Each concert featured a different theme, spanning the late Middle Ages through the 18th century.

In Nova Cantica featured soprano Elisabeth Engan, tenor Neal Rogers, Eileen Hadidian on flute and recorder, Shira Kammen on vielle, violin and harp as well as singing alto, Kit Roberson on vielle and viola da gamba, and David Tayler on lute and baroque guitar.

Each of these musicians was or has become well known and a highly respected member of the Early Music community in the Bay area and the United States.

Elisabeth Engan has performed and recorded with the American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Theater of Voices directed by Paul Hillier, and Magnificat. She has been a soloist with the San Francisco Bach Festival, the Carmel Bach Festival and the Berkeley Early Music Festival, and was an artist/fellow at the Bach Aria Festival at Stonybrook.

Elisabeth was one of only two women to have performed with the acclaimed male a-capella ensemble Chanticleer, and toured nationally with them in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610. She holds a degree in voice from Mills College, and has has studied early vocal techniques with Julianne Baird. She has recorded for the Reference and Musical Heritage Society labels.

Neal Rogers has been a prominent figure in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, having appeared in concert with nearly every major ensemble. Past engagements have included solo roles in Arvo Part's Passion according to St. John, Bach's St. John's Passion and Handel's Judas Maccabeus, among others. Neal has performed and recorded with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Magnificat, Theatre of Voices, California Bach Society, San Francisco Bach Choir and Pacific Mozart Ensemble.

For ten years he was a member of Chanticleer, a twelve-voice male a-capella vocal ensemble, performing in concert throughout the United States and Europe. He has recorded on the Harmonia Mundi, Nonesuch, Koch International, Lyrachord, Teldec and Chanticleer labels.

Eileen Hadidian received her DMA in Early Music from Stanford University. She has appeared in concert throughout the western United States, and was the founder and artistic director of Hausmusik, an early music concert series in Albony, CA showcasing local musicians in new and innovative progrums.

She is the recipient of the annual Citizen in the Arts Award, given by the City of Albany to honor a significant contribution to the arts. Eileen's encounter with cancer has led her to explore ways in which music can help critically and chronically ill people by promoting relaxation, diffusing pain, and reducing anxiety.

Her non-profit organization, Healing Muses, brings healing music to Bay Area hospitals, hospices and convalescent homes, and is the recipient of grants from the east Bay Community Foundation and The Institute of Noetic Sciences.

Shira Kammen received her degree in music from UC Berkeley and studied vielle with Margriet Tindemans. A member for many years of Ensembles Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova and Medieval Strings, she has also worked with Sequentia, Hesperion XX, the Boston Camerato, Anne Azema, Kitka, and the King's Noyse, and is the founder of Class V Music, an ensemble performing on river rafting trips.

Shira happily collaborated with singer/storyteller John Fleagle for fifteen years, and performs now with several new ensembles: Fortune's Wheel, a medieval ensemble; Ephemeros, a new music group; Panacea, an eclectic ethnic bond; and Trous Bras, a dance bond devoted to the music of Celtic Brittany. She has started hcr own recording label, Bright Angel Records.

Kit Robberson specializes in early bowed instruments, specifically vielle and violas da gamba. She studied at the University of Texas in Austin, where she became involved with performing, teaching, and promoting early music. She has performed in Texas with the Clearlight Waites, The Texas Baroque Ensemble and La Follia.

In California she has appeared in concert with Heliotrope, Nova Albion, the San Francisco Consort, Sotto Voce, La Primavera, and Maria Mayhem. She has also performed on the viola da gamba in modern music venues with Salut Matelot, Rudy Challard and the Nonchalants and Missy Robak. Kit studied viola da gamba with Jordi Savall and Rosamund Morley, and most recently studied and performed vielle with Margiet Tindemans in the "Zomerzang" touring project in Spain. She has recorded with Heliotrope on the Koch label.

David Tayler received his B.A. in music and interdisciplinary studies from Hunter College and his M.A. and Ph.D in musicoloey from UC Berkeley, where he studied performance practice with Joseph Kerman, Richard Crocker and Daniel Heartz. He is a member of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and director of the Bay Area Collegium Musicum and Ensemble Pandore.

David has appeared with American Bach Soloists, Tafelmusik, the San Francisco Opera and Symphony, the Dallas Bach Society, the Oregon Bach Festival and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, among others, and has recorded over fifty discs for Harmonia Mundi, Koch International, ORF, Sony, Reference, Arabesque, BMG, RCA and Teldec.

As a specialist of the art song of the early seventeenth century, he has performed in lute song recitals throughout Europe and the United States.


name: Indidginus
homepage: indidginus
photo: /artists/img/indidginus_2.jpg
society: PRS
page: indidginus
description:
n. Riddims (Music. Dubstep, dub, dancehall and global bass music, incorporating slide didgeridoo in live performances ~ DidgeriDubstep)

bio:
Indidginus, purveyor of quality riddims since 1996, specializes in dubstep, dub, dancehall and global bass music. His authentic, expressive and eminently danceable live performances draw on his diverse array of influences.

Always a crowd pleaser, his incorporation of slide didgeridoo into his performances in an unusual and inspired take on the tribal instrument forms an integral part of his signature live sound.


name: Individual Choice
description: Classy and elegant jazz-rock grooves
homepage: individual_choice
photo: /artists/img/individual_choice.jpg
society: SIAE
page: individual_choice
bio:
The band Individual Choice was born in Rome in August 1998 when guitarist Ian Rigillo, bass player Ivano Adamo and drummer Paolo Delogu met in a practice room and decided they quite liked playing together.

The intention of the band was to propose a set of original, instrumental pieces that would be enjoyable both for the musicians involved and for the potential listeners. The pieces played had to be therefore, both technically challenging and harmonically and melodically pleasing. Much of the repertoire was born during band practices. Paolo would propose a drum beat, Ivano a bass riff and Ian would then go home to work on the ideas using Cubase as a music editor. The result was an explosive mixture of funky bass lines, progressive drum breaks and jazzy guitar melodies.

A few years later Ivano opened up his own recording studio called Feedback Studio and Paolo decided to leave the band. He was substituted by Roberto Marziali on drums and Luca Benvenuto was asked to join in as the keyboard player. By the year 2003, Individual Choice had been gigging successfully for various years and with a recording studio at hand and Luca's expertise as a sound engineer as well as a musician, the time was now ripe to record an album.

Make Your Choice is entirely self-produced with a lot of care and time used both in the recording and in the mixing. From the prog and heavy rock feel of Hole in the Stomach, to the spacey and relaxed 6/4 tempo of Timewarp, to the humorous and bouncy Packman, to the obsessive rhythm of Jungle Jazzin', to the jazz fusion experiments in Fusian, to the celtic sounds of Scott, to the funky bassline of Moving Head, this album is a unique blend of different styles, harmonies and rhythms.

Ivano, Luca, Roberto and Ian hope this can be your choice as well as ours.


name: Industrial Sound Bank
description: the sounds that shake the masses
homepage: insoba
photo: /artists/img/insoba.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: insoba
bio:
Industrial Sound Bank (a.k.a. In.So.Ba.) is a one man electronic project from NYC. Created by Eric Neuman, the aggressive grooves and catchy hooks are a blending of 90s techno with modern trance and dance pop.

Eric Neuman's first electronic compositions date back to side projects he started while between bands. "I can remember hearing danceable drums in tracks by White Zombie and KMFDM and thinking that they were on to something... and I wanted to try it."

He spent years trying to find balance between his love of rock and passion for electronic music, and has slowly found his niche. After releasing a collection of never heard before tracks in 2011 as "The Disk Platter Spins," Neuman left his band to put all of his focus on electronic music.

Straddling the line between over the top production and simple hooks, Neuman is dead set on creating memorable and catchy songs that serve well on both the dance floor and in headphones.


name: Ingrid Matthews and Byron Schenkman
description: baroque violin & harpsichord
homepage: matthews
photo: /artists/img/matthews-schenkman.jpg
society: NONE
page: matthews
bio:
Violinist Ingrid Matthews is the Music Director of Seattle Baroque Orchestra, and one of today's most respected exponents of her instrument. She won first prize in the prestigious Erwin Bodky International Competition for Early Music in 1989, and in 1990 joined Toronto's Tafelmusik, with whom she performed extensively on three continents. Matthews also worked with many other leading North American period-instrument ensembles before founding the Seattle Baroque Orchestra in 1994 with harpsichordist Byron Schenkman.

In addition to her work in Seattle, she has served as concertmaster for the New York Collegium under Andrew Parrott and held the same position for the prestigious Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra. She has served as guest director and soloist with many other prominent period-instrument groups from Los Angeles to Montreal. Among the most-recorded baroque violinists of her generation, Matthews has won international critical acclaim for a discography which ranges from the earliest solo violin repertoire through the great Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach. Of the latter recording, the critic for American Record Guide writes "this superb recording is my top recommendation for this music... on either modern or period instruments."

Ingrid Matthews has served on the faculties of the University of Toronto, the University of Washington, Indiana University, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the International Baroque Institute at Longy and Amherst Early Music. She is a graduate of Indiana University, where she studied with Josef Gingold and Stanley Ritchie.

Byron Schenkman is founding pianist of the Mira Trio, with violinist Gabriela Diaz and cellist Alexei Gonzales. Previously artistic director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, he received the Erwin Bodky Award for "outstanding achievement" by the Cambridge Society for Early Music in 1999. Since 2001 he has been performing as a modern pianist, including solo recitals in Boston, Peterborough, Seattle, Vancouver, Winston-Salem, and on a Chilean tour sponsored by Partners of the Americas. He has also appeared as guest pianist with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston, the Daedalus Quartet, the Northwest Sinfonietta, and Philharmonia Northwest. Highlights of the upcoming season include his New York solo recital debut at the Frick Collection, a program of piano solos and trios by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn at the Library of Congress, and a Mendelssohn concerto with Philharmonia Northwest in Seattle.

In addition to his love of performing, Schenkman greatly enjoys teaching about music. His masterclasses on 18th-century performance, informal lecture-recitals, and lively pre-concert talks are always enthusiastically received. In 2006 Schenkman was voted "Best Classical Instrumentalist" by the readers of the Seattle Weekly. His CD of Haydn Piano Sonatas has been acclaimed for its "elegance, wit, and refinement" (American Record Guide), "imaginative, cleanly articulated form" (Seattle Times), and "astonishing sense of humor" (All Music Guide).

Schenkman is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and received the Master of Music degree with honors in performance from the Indiana University School of Music.


name: Intersonic Subformation
description: Deep Space auditory exploration as seen through a prism of primeval human emotions
homepage: intersonic_subformation
photo: /artists/img/intersonic_subformation_new.jpg
society: NONE SOCAN
page: intersonic_subformation
bio:
Intersonic Subformation is an ambient music project of Toronto-based producer and recording artist Richard Lisaj.

He creates a colorful atmospheric blend that is as equally well suited for cinematic use as for headphone indulgence. It is exploration of dreamy soundscapes that offer expensive views of Cosmic Vistas rewarding the listener with raw, awe-inspiring, emotions.

Attention to details, lush sound design and pristine production place these compositions somewhere in the netherworld between dark and melodic ambience, with a healthy dose of pure electronic space music.

If a common thread running through the work of Global Communication, Steve Roach, Aphex Twin and Tripswitch can be imagined, then this is the sonic palette which Intersonic Subformation makes its own.

Richard has also released music as Dubtrak and Art Sonic.

Under Dubtrak moniker he has been delivering a unique blend of dub, global beats and psy-trance-electronica since 2008 and released two full-length albums of original material, collaborated with a sitar player Ragaboy, remixed tracks by Dubmatix, Citizen Sound, Pacifika, Baj Tajpan, Delhi 2 Dublin and Matisyahu. Dubtrak's music has been compared to The Orb, Underworld and Banco de Gaia.

As Art Sonic Richard released "Roadside Sketches" - an album of acoustic guitar folktronica with elements of ambient atmospheric Americana.

You can find out more about Richard on his website.


name: iNTROSPEKT
description: intelligent, varied, beat-driven electronica.
homepage: introspekt
photo: /artists/img/introspekt2.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: introspekt
bio:
Benny Earl Sanches (aka iNTROSPEKT) has been producing, remixing and creating original music compositions for over two decades.

Originally from Houston, Texas Benny began his career in 1990 while working for the infamous Enron Oil and Gas Corporation. Inspired by vinyl records and electronic music Benny financed his first sampler and synthesizer sequencer, the Ensoniq ASR 10 and Ensoniq SD1-32 respectively.

At some point during Benny's Enron stay, long time friend Steven Tune joined forces and the two discovered a symbiotic respect for collecting vinyl records and music technology. Strong influences for the two at that time included bands like Meat Beat Manifesto and Orbital. In the midst of collecting dance music records, exploring sampler / sequencer technology and working dead-end day jobs, their appreciation of electronic music and the quest for quality of life eventually clashed with Corporate America. In September of 1993 the two walked out on corporate ideas and moved to San Francisco, California to pursue their music careers - with sampler, synthesizer and record crates in hand.

Soon after arriving at San Francisco, a production team was defined by Benny and Steven called OUTRO. OUTRO's audio technique infused tight repetitive sequences with ambient melodies which resonated closely to their vinyl likes (Dead Can Dance, Meat Beat Manifesto, Ministry, Orbital, Baby Ford, Moby, Depeche Mode and Severed Heads). Then, in a synergistic chain of events, band mate Steven Tune crossed paths with Jim Siegal. Jim Siegel is a significant voice and spirit in the San Francisco music community. Because of OUTRO's respect for Jim's contributions to San Francisco society and Jim's insight and respect of OUTRO's music path, the trio laid a friendly foundation and began working together. Almost instantly OUTRO found what they were looking for and were catapulted into the SF Underground music scene. The duo then met Cabaret Voltaire and Cocteau Twins percussionist Dave "Polf" Palfreeman, and began to write songs together. The collaborative effort eventually produced a 3 song instrumental EP and to this day remains a pivotal and inspiring musical lesson and experience for life-long friends Benny and Steven.

After a few years of continued production and success, Jim Siegel made further investments in the SF Underground by purchasing a Victorian home at 606 Haight Street. OUTRO were invited to move into the mansion, set up production and invite other artists and inspirations to live there as an artistic commune. The mansion as a whole became a forceful music movement by its multi-talented residents DJ Steven Tune, UFO, Abstract, Sage, Markus Miller and Gabe Real to name a few. Sometime during the mid to late 90's, with 606 in full throttle production, OUTRO disbanded (Benny began writing under the moniker iNTROSPEKT while Steven moved on to DJ production and hosting parties and large dance music events). Inspired by the sounds of his resident surroundings iNTROSPEKT journeyed deeper into Drum-N-Bass, House, Electro, Ambient and every flavor in between.

Eventually, somewhere during the OUTRO transition, iNTROSPEKT crossed paths with Serge Durand, a seasoned world musician from France. Benny was a fresh new member working at the famous Haight-Ashbury Music Center - just a short distance up the street from 606, when a used Roland Jupiter 8 synthesizer arrived at the store and was placed on sale. Benny eventually sold the synth and little did he know the sale was to pay the way for Serge to move to San Francisco. Upon arrival the two immediately sparked a friendship and joined musical forces to create TANKA Productions. Most of TANKA's early days were spent constructing operational facilities. After a few months, unforeseen events forced a move a few miles across town to 606 Haight Street where Nova Productions was established and a fully functional recording studio was birthed. During the months of sonic exploration and hard work, artist Christophe Royer, also a native of France entered the picture. The trio continued construction while producing House and World music but after it was all said and done the effort was to send Serge Durand into a new and inspiring career path. Serge decided to move on. Benny, continuing as iNTROSPEKT at the time, finished construction of the studio and delivered several years of quality compositions, cross producing with Christophe when the vibe was right. Eventually the two broke into film and television scoring a video game commercial and working with Sony, MTV, and MGM/360 Productions to name a few.

By the year 2000 iNTROSPEKT had moved on from Haight-Ashbury Music Center and was working for the now somewhat dissolved Digidesign Corporation, makers of Pro Tools. In the midst of starting a family and a new job in the music software industry, Benny crossed paths with a long time influence Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto. Out of shear inspiration, Benny then fostered an idea to remix Meat Beat Manifesto tracks. Having befriended "The Zombie" list and having met Francesca online, Benny recreated several remixes while Francesca spear headed the effort to share it with the world. Although the resulting product could not be licensed and released legally it did generate remixes from talents Basin Gently, Without Breathing, Eight Frozen Modules, Exillon, Adrian Cabassa, Willie Lister, Line Noise, Disco Room, Hexane, Ron West and Topher. The end result is a culmination of inspiration and talent that can be heard here.

iNTROSPEKT continued producing and crafting his sound while working for Digidesign, and eventually crossed paths with singer, songwriter and percussionist Jorge Bermudez of The Bermudez Triangle. Jorge, a native Nicarguan, sports a hugely dynamic and successful music track record that includes having played with bands Crowded House, Jeffrey Osborne, Mickey Hart and Pablo Cruise to name a few. Benny and Jorge's mutual respect for each others' talents catapulted the two straight into the studio where they began infusing heavily percussive layers with catchy melodies surrounded by the energy of a techno groove. After many hours and months of studio production the two quickly landed hits in film and with local major television networks. Now over 10 years in the making the duo continue to cross pollinate by writing new and original tunes as well as remixing and bringing old but not forgotten hits back to life. Their latest big success is a remix / remake of Malo's "Suavecito".

In 2001 Benny could feel the desire to expand his production outfit and plans were developed to move to Los Angeles. Before iNTROSPEKT took a step towards Southern California he was suddenly commissioned to create a remix of Depeche Mode's song "I Feel Love" off the bands new "Exciter" album. This was yet another milestone in Benny's career path that fulfilled a long time dream of his, to be a part of the Depeche Mode legacy. After completing the remix, more projects and inspiration kept Benny in the San Francisco area for a few more years, and that momentum eventually launched him towards Los Angeles with experience, credits and inspiration in tow.

Soon after arriving in Los Angeles in 2005 Benny teamed up with Richard G. Jones, a prominent Dub Reggae DJ and musician from Miami, Florida. Together they quickly launched their record label New Blues Musik and developed a sound called Electro-Reggae-Blues under the moniker "Version". Production credits include the release of a full-length CD and a 12" EP titled Gardens of Utopia - featuring the talents of Mikey Dread (The Clash), Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound and Stand-Out Selecta (Independent Distribution Collective - SF). New Blues Musik also provided production assistance and collaborated with talents Shaunna Hall of 4 Non-Blondes / George Clinton and P-Funk and House Music outfit Soul Planet. After a few US concerts, a tour of Europe and a brief but productive 2 years, VERSION pulled the plug on its operations and Benny was back in solo production mode, searching for a new path and new beginnings.

Fast forward to 2010 and Benny started a new project, called "Cavalcade" with a new sound and some insprirational remixes, by Meat Beat Manifesto, George Cochrane (Weatherhouse / Black Flamingo), Velapene Screen and LoFeye.


name: Ion
description: clean, crystalline ambient
homepage: ion
photo: /artists/img/ion.jpg
society: PRS
page: ion
bio:
Ion is a new solo venture by established UK musician, David J. Hughes. Most people will know David as the founder member of T-Bass and the last man standing in the SkinMechanix collaboration. Both of these ventures typify the Hughes approach to making music. In other words, foot-on-the-floor, pedal-to-the-metal, full-on electronic power tracks with only an occasional nod towards slower, more romantic moods and feelings.

Ion, however, represents a musical tanent for Hughes-a back-to-basics approach with an emphasis on a more symphonic, relaxed sound.

Says David, "The Ion project came about more or less by accident. In the midst of testing our recently developed ZEIT Step Sequencer, someone forgot to hit the stop button on the recorder and found that we had accidentally recorded more than 20 minutes of random, sequenced noodling, which had no real structure and no real direction. However, rather than just delete the session, we decided to listen ... and came away with the feeling that the music had a raw and unprocessed feel, it was completely natural, unforced and unhurried, the sound of a musician happy to do nothing more than aimlessly wander down strange and previously unexplored pathways."

The end result was the track The Silent Scream, which was editted down from 20 minutes of ambient indulgence to just 5 minutes of actual music. The chords and the lead lines came a few minutes later, composed on the fly and in one pass, with successful takes simply cut and pasted together to build up the layers.

"We were stunned by the realisation that it was possible to write something that was just about halfway decent in such a short space of time, the music of Ion grew out of this new-found fascination for tightly controlled rhythmic patterns coupled with the joy of re-discoevering the lost art of improvised electronic music."

Listen to the music of Ion and simply enjoy. Sequencer music doesn't get any better than this.


name: Iordache
description: Free funk governed by the rules of chance
homepage: iordache
photo: /artists/img/iordache.jpg
society: UCMR-ADA
page: iordache
bio:
Saxophonist Mihai Iordache was born in 1967 in Bucharest, Romania. He began playing saxophone in the early 90's, having been fascinated with sound since childhood. (For example, he had invented the tape loop at 13, unaware that it had already been done). His first influences were Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz and Ornette Coleman.

His first break was playing a solo on a song by rock group Timpuri Noi. Then he played with other jazz and rock musicians and bands throughout the 90's, including pianist Harry Tavitian - with whom he recorded two albums, Axis Mundi and Balcaz - pianist Lucian Ban - before his departure for New York - guitarist Sorin Romanescu, bassist Vlaicu Golcea, trombonist Tom Smith and singer Marta Hristea, notably on the live album "11" by East Village Open Formula.

Since 2003 he has been leading his own band, Iordache, initially inspired by the Sun Ra Arkestra. He also took "Iordache" as a stage name, to create confusion. The band has recorded three studio albums: Friday - featuring Tom Smith (2003), Dissipatin'(2005) and One Life Left (2012). The latest has been released by Iordache's own label, Fiver House Records.

Iordache has played in most Romanian clubs and festivals, notably at Stufstock, Jazz and More, Green Hours International Jazz Fest and Garana Jazz Fest, and in a few other countries, including Hungary (with guitarist Eichinger Tibor as a guest), Belgium (with Eugene Chadbourne), Luxembourg and Israel. In 2012 Iordache opened for the Jack DeJohnette Group at Sala Radio (Radio Hall) in Bucharest.

Iordache describes his music as free funk, where compositions and improvisations are governed by the rules of chance.

The current line-up includes Iordache on saxophones and flute, Sebastian Burneci on trumpet, trombonist Florian Radu, guitarist Dan Alex Mitrofan, keyboardist Toni Kuhn, bassist Utu Pascu and drummer Tavi Scurtu.

Iordache has also played saxophone, flute and tambourine with indie rock band Kumm, since 2003.


name: Ireen Thomas
description: Lute sonatas from Mozart's time
homepage: ireen_thomas
photo: /artists/img/ireen_thomas1.jpg
society: BUMA
page: ireen_thomas
bio:
"Despite the large church building not a single nuance of her gentle meditative playing was lost to the audience."
- German critic, Wolfsburger Stadtblatt

"Subtle" and "with character"
- Dutch newspaper review, NRC Handelsblad

It all started at a young age with the guitar. But at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague (Netherlands) Ireen Thomas quickly switched to the lute studying with Toyohiko Satoh, with whom she later published a Catalogue of Contemporary Lute Music. Workshops and private lessons with Hopkinson Smith contributed to her refined manner of playing.

With the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the direction of Nicolaus Harnoncourt, Thomas performed several times in Bach's St. Johns Passion and with Edo de Waart as conductor, the operatic presentations of Wagner's Meistersinger von Nurnberg. With the Dutch Chamber Orchestra under Hartmuth Haenchen, she performed Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. During The Holland Festival of Early Music she performed Emilio Cavalieri's Rappresentatione di Anima e di Corpo under Frans Moonen as conductor.

In keeping with the lute, Thomas has extensively played chamber music, from very old to very contemporary. From the medieval period she played using her owl feather plectrum and with singer and musicologist Dr. Rebecca Stewart to Mauricio Kagel's Musik fur Renaissance Instrumente and the young Greek composer Calliope Tsoupaki.

About ten years ago Ireen's first love, the guitar, began to ogle her from the dusty corner in which it had been lying for 20 years. Since then it is particularly the romantic guitar which has inspired her to make several varied and unconventional programs such as:

From Weiss via Mozart to Sor
Mozart's music, forms an interesting connection between the baroque lute and the romantic guitar as transcriptions of his works exist for both instruments. In addition to Mozart the program includes excellent music by Weiss, Hagen, Paganini and Sor.

For the Czar and the Miss from Cornewalle
A contribution to the life and works of Fernando Sor.

Satie and Sor on Lute and Guitar
The audience is be 'taken' to Paris and hears the romantic flamboyant music of Fernando Sor in contrast with the charming and singular tones of Erik Satie.


name: Ishwish
description: transcendent ambient vibrations
homepage: ishwish
photo: /artists/img/ishwish1.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: ishwish
bio:
ishwish is Christopher Currell.

Christopher is no stranger to the electronic music medium. He has worked with many cutting edge artists such as Quincy Jones, Paul Simon, Stanley Clark, Allan Holdsworth and Stevie Wonder. Christopher's pioneering work with the Synclavier, a very sophisticated digital synthesis computer, culminated with his contribution to the multi-platinum album "Bad" by Michael Jackson. Christopher plays guitar, Ztar, keyboards, synthesizers and devices.

Christopher eventually gravitated away from pop music when his long time interest in the nature of the human mind and spirit became full time research. Based on new knowledge from research in quantum physics, Christopher's current work involves the creation of music and sound improvisations that can transport the listener to new realms of experience. Christopher sensed that high technology combined with knowledge of the human mind and spirit can potentially elevate the human consciousness.

ishwish utilizes advanced computer synthesis designed specifically to manipulate, and alter audio vibrations in real-time. Each ishwish performance becomes a unique and personal experience to each listener. An important factor in ishwish music is improvisation. When music is created in "present time", a special energy happens. That energy is unique because it remains long after the actual performance is finished, still influencing the people and the environment.

"It is crucial towards this goal, to create performances that are influenced first by the immediate environment, which then act as a departure point to transport the audience to another time and place," says Christopher.

"Sound is a vibration. Like sound, the universe is also vibration. If we look closer, there is information in the vibration. All knowledge we seek resides there. All we have to do is listen."

Christopher is joined on the "Remember" CD by world renowned vocalist Beth Quist, who recently finished a two year stint as the lead vocalist in the Cirque Du Soleil production of KA at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Beth is also a member of Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra project.

"May peace prevail on earth."


name: Ivan Ilic
description: dazzling classical pianist
homepage: ilic
photo: /artists/img/ilic2.jpg
society: NONE
page: ilic
bio:
"A pianist of real personality, his name is one to remember."
Le Monde de la Musique

"Spirited and yet very carefully distilled playing."
International Record Review

"Fidelity to what the score says is impeccable."
Classical Music Magazine

Recently praised by the New Yorker as an "adventurous pianist" who "likes his music on the brainy side," Ivan Ilic is rapidly gaining a strong international reputation. A disciple of the legendary Francois-Rene Duchable, Ivan has earned support from the American Foundation in Paris, the Karic Foundation in Belgrade, the University of Illinois, and the Nadia Boulanger Foundation in Paris. He recently completed a one-year residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts.

Ivan started music studies at age 6 and gave his recital debut at 11. He took degrees in music and mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley before moving to Paris on a fellowship from the University. Shortly afterwards Ivan was admitted to the esteemed Conservatoire Superieur de Paris, where he took a Premier Prix in piano performance. The City of Paris sponsored his first recording.

60 engagements in 2007 included recital debuts in Boston, Washington, Dublin, Bristol, Glasgow, and Cardiff. Current season highlights include recitals at Carnegie Hall (New York), Wigmore Hall (London), the National Concert Hall (Dublin), the Belgrade Philharmonic, and the Glenn Gould Studio (Toronto).

Ivan's first CD of music by Claude Debussy, lauded as "masterly" by Gramophone Magazine, recently received Mezzo Television's prestigious M Award in France. The disc is broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 Holland, Radio France, Public Radio in America, as well as major classical music stations in Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and South Africa.


name: Ivilion
description: massive tribal ambient compositions.
homepage: ivilion
photo: /artists/img/ivillion.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: ivilion
bio:
IVILION is a solo project of Michael Weeks, building massive tribal ambient compositions from alien sounds and driving acoustic and synthetic rhythms.

The process and sound pallette of composition is key: Michael finds and creates sounds as if they are created by natural instruments, yet defy traditional expectations of sound.

Using physical modelling and emulation, IVILION evokes otherworldly tribes rousing to a chorus.

Tribal drums distort and frenzy as the flutes and choir collide with ambient soundscapes, drawing the listener into a parallel reality.

Sartinal is the first proper album by IVILION - earlier work was done as a film soundtrack to the feature length film What I See In The Dark by Phobic Films. Sartinal is an introduction into the world of IVILION - setting the scene for future movements.

This music will appeal to fans of SPK/Graeme Revelle, and Cold Meat Industry recording artists Raison D'etre and Deutsch Nepal.

Other Michael Weeks projects include etherine and The Wretch.


name: J Nilsson Project
description: funky jazz in a live setting
homepage: j_nilsson_project
photo: /artists/img/j_nilsson.jpg
society: STIM
page: j_nilsson_project
bio:
Johan Nilsson is a guitarist from Stockholm, Sweden. After many years playing with different musicians and with many different groups (including Burnshee Thornside), he started to plan to make a dream come true.

The dream was to gather some of the finest musicians in Sweden and invite them to one of the most famous recording studios in Stockholm, "Atlantis" and then just play original compositions by the guitarist. An ego trip, yes. An ego boost, definitely!

The musicians who joined was long time friend Andre Ferrari on drums, who has played on hundreds of records in Sweden and toured with for instance George Wadenius. Another famous Swedish musician who joined was Joakim Milder, the saxophone player who is an international jazz celebrity in his own right with many solo-records under his belt. The bassist is Tomas Bergquist, who also is one of the most merited session-players in Stockholm. (He is also the guy who play drums and bass on all the Burnshee Thornside records.) Martin ostergren, the pianoplayer, is a fantastic player and arranger and plays with almost all the famous pop-stars and singers in Sweden. Finally but not least, the trumpet-player Jonas Lindeborg who tours and plays with jazzbands all over Europe.

What a fantastic mix! And they only met this one time, in Atlantis Studios, learned the songs and then played. 8 hour session is the result.


name: Jackal and Wolf
description: cunning & ferocious rock music
homepage: jackal_wolf
photo: /artists/img/jackal_wolf1.jpg
society: SAMRO
page: jackal_wolf
bio:
Commerce versus art; capital greed or creative freedom; the cathedral and the bazaar...inspired as much by philosophy as the need to make a very loud noise, Jackal+Wolf are not your run- of-the-mill rock band out looking for kicks, chicks and the mighty moolah.

Exploding on to the local rock scene, this new power-trio featuring Charlie Murder on vox and guitar, with brothers Morgan and Redge O'Kennedy on drums and bass, are more intent on creating great tunes and playing them live than topping the charts, a refreshing change from the hit-obsessed mentality that pervades modern music.

The band's intent is immediately obvious: not only is the title of their debut album, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, a tribute to the free music philosophy that inspires them, but the album is available for free download on the band's website and the band have already pressed 1000 discs to give away at their upcoming gigs. "The title of the album is originally from a book by open-source software exponent Eric Raymond," explains frontman Charlie Murder, "and it refers to the concept of the cathedral representing commercial, corporate interests while the bazaar represents complete creative freedom."

The trio's decision to remain independent and embrace the free music philosophy was sparked, in part, by their personal experiences in the industry: Charles and Morgan first met up as co-members of dark rock outfit Velve; the two brothers, meanwhile, had also teamed up previously in alt-rock outfit Ghost. Also providing inspiration are the writings of free music agitators such as Ram Samudrala and alternative music producer Steve Albini, along with the success of bands like Radiohead, Nince Inch Nails and Public Enemy who embrace the free music philosophy.

   Photo credit Melody Deas Watson
   

   
With influences that range from the classic sounds of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath to the metal power of Metallica and the informed vitriol of Rage Against the Machine, punters can expect a mighty show. In the meantime visit the band's den at www.jackalandwolf.com, catch up with the latest news and howl along with the rest of the band's committed pack.


name: Jackalopes
description: high energy Horror-Punk Rock and Roll
homepage: jackalopes
photo: /artists/img/jackalopes.jpg
society: NONE
page: jackalopes
bio:
The Jackalopes are a Hi-Energy, Horror, Occult and B-Movie inspired, Punk Rock and Roll band from Dayton, Ohio.

Fronted by published artist and writer Rev. Chad Wells, The Jackalopes have been together since 1999 and have toured and performed with countless bands all over the Midwest, the South and the East Coast.

The Jackalopes have shared stages and spots on releases with today's hottest bands as well as with many well known, legendary performers who have been big influences on the band. The Jackalopes have put out several recordings via their own Mosquito Hawk Records label as well as having appeared on comps and splits for several independent labels as well as major label distributed projects.

With influences ranging from 50's Rock and Roll, 60's Garage and Psychedelia, 70's Country, Southern Stoner, Acid Rock and Punk to 80's Deathrock, Goth, Industrial, Metal and New Wave to the 90's Noise and Alternative bands, and of course the Cult movies from all of the above eras, The Jackalopes blend it all into an invigorating stew of something old, something new.

The Jackalopes are:
Rev. Chad A. Wells: Lead Vox
Ronnie T: Guitar/Backing Vox
Kyle Thirteen: Drums/Backing Vox
Jay Jay Thunder: Bass/Backing Vox


name: Jacob Heringman
description: renaissance lute
homepage: heringman
photo: /artists/img/heringman1.jpg
society: PRS
page: heringman
bio:
The American-born lutenist Jacob Heringman studied with Jakob Lindberg at the Royal College of Music in London, and later with Pat O'Brien in New York. Based in England since 1987, he has established himself as one of the world's most respected and most innovative solo lute players, and as a much sought-after ensemble player performing regularly throughout Europe and North and South America, and making many CD and radio recordings of medieval and renaissance music with leading English ensembles, including The Rose Consort of Viols, Fretwork, Musicians of the Globe, The Kings Singers, The New London Consort, Virelai and The Dufay Collective.

As a continuo player, Jacob Heringman performed and recorded with The King's Consort, The English Baroque Soloists, The Parley of Instruments and The Taverner Consort, among others. In 1993, he left the continuo circuit to focus on renaissance solo and ensemble projects.

Jacob's playing is also to be heard on the soundtracks of many Hollywood films (including Harry Potter III , Kingdom of Heaven and Ridley Scott's Robin Hood), and occasionally on pop albums (most recently, Joni Mitchell's Travelogue).

Solo Discography

Holburns Passion
As a soloist, Jacob released his first CD, Holburns Passion: music for lute, cittern and bandora by Anthony Holborne, on the ASV label in 1998. This disc was chosen by Gramophone Magazine as one of the best CDs of 1999, and given a rosette and three stars in the Penguin CD guide. Early Music: "an unusual disc combining sparkling virtuosity with carefully paced musicianship".

Black Cow
Jacob's second album, Lute music by Valentin Bakfark and Matthaeus Waissel, was Jacob's first appearance on Robert Fripp's DGM label. Renaissance Magazine: "a dedicated, disciplined, and courageous talent".

Josquin Des Prez
His third album (again for DGM), the first lute CD ever to be devoted to the music of the great Josquin Des Prez, was released in the summer of 2000, and has received numerous superlative reviews, noteably in Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine. It had already attracted attention and a cover story in Early Music Today even before its release. Goldberg: "Heringman's playing, recorded with vivid immediacy, is both musically sensitive and technically highly accomplished. Strongly recommended."

Jane Pickeringe's Lute Book
Jacob's fourth solo CD is on the new AVIE label; entitled Jane Pickeringe's Lute Book, it was released in June of 2002, and has also been highly acclaimed in the music press. Music Week: "It is impossible not to marvel at the dexterity of Heringman's finger work and very easy to be convinced by his inspired phrasing and winning sense of spontaneity." The Independent: "Deliciously wanton yet sensitive playing".

The Art of the Lute Player
A fifth, entitled The Art of the Lute Player, was released in October 2002. This disc is a compilation of material from the first three solo CDs, plus solo tracks from the ASV Milan and Mudarra albums made with the singer Catherine King (see discography page). Gramophone: "The supple expressivity of the performances reflects Heringman's love of the music. What more is there to be said, other than to urge anyone with an interest in this small but very lush musical pasture to buy it without delay."

The Siena Lute Book
Jacob's sixth and latest solo CD is now out on AVIE (0036), released in the spring of 2004. The American Record Guide: "Heringman brings this music to life with wonderful playing that is intimate, playful, and bold by turns." Goldberg: "an important recital"

Blame Not My Lute
Recorded and engineered by Magnatune founder John Buckman, Blame Not My Lute perfectly captures the warm, natural tones and relaxed yet elegant playing of world-renowned lutenist Jacob Heringman. Fifty eight instrumental tracks are exceptionally soothing and are perfect for any time you'd like to bring a little peace into your day.

Hans Neusidler, Ein newes Lautenbuechlein
Recorded and engineered by Magnatune founder John Buckman, in this recording, Jacob presents a small selection of pieces from Neusidler's published books, with the intention of showing something of the variety of his musical output. His first work (Ein newgeordent kunstlich Lautenbuch, 1536) is represented by tracks 2, 8, 9, 14, 17, and 25. His second (Part 2 of the previous book, also 1536) is represented by tracks 1, 10, and 23. From Ein newes Lautenbuchlein (1540), I have included "Passa mesa" (Passamezzo), track 24. The remaining pieces are taken from Das erst Buch (1544).

Jacob has given solo recitals throughout Europe and in North America. In recent years, he made numerous tours of the USA and Canada performing both the Josquin and Pickeringe programmes.

As an accompanist, Jacob Heringman has performed and recorded lute songs with Michael Chance and Barbara Bonney, among others. He is also half of a duo with the mezzo-soprano Catherine King, with whom he has toured extensively and recorded four lute song discs for ASV and Linn, all of which have been greeted with high praise from reviewers. One of these, entitled Airs de Cour, for which the duo was joined by the tenor Charles Daniels, was voted one of the top CDs of 1999 by both Gramophone and the BBC Music Magazine.

In 1990, Jacob founded the group Virelai with viol player Susanna Pell, singer Catherine King, and flute-player William Lyons. Virelai specialises in music of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, with occasional forays into modern music. Virelai has made three CDs for Virgin, and a BBC Music Magazine cover CD. A CD of specially commissioned modern settings of renaissance love poetry, entitled Sad Steps, was released by Riverrun Records late in 2002.

Jacob teaches the lute at Trinity College of Music, London, and at York University. He is increasingly in demand as a teacher at various Lute Society and other early music summer schools, including the American Lute Society's courses in Vancouver, Cleveland and Amherst, the UK Lute Society's course at Hengrave Hall, and Musica Antiqua's course at the Cambridge Early Music Summer Schools.

The Alexander Technique is another important strand of Jacob's life and work. A year ago, he finished the three-year full-time Alexander Technique teacher training course at The Alexander Technique Studio in London, run by Karen Wentworth, and is now a qualified teacher of the Alexander Technique certified by the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT). Increasingly, Jacob has found principles of the Technique to be indispensible in his music-making and teaching, and he is teaching the Alexander Technique to increasing numbers of musicians and non-musicians alike.

Jacob is married to Susanna Pell, of Fretwork and The Dufay Collective, and they live on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales with their young daughter, Edie.


name: Jacob Heringman and Catherine King
description: renaissance songs
homepage: heringman_king
photo: /artists/img/heringman_king.jpg
society: PRS
page: heringman_king
bio:
Catherine King and Jacob Heringman have made numerous appearances and broadcasts together throughout Europe and America.

Their four duo CDs (on ASV and Linn) have all been met with critical acclaim. Their latest release, Madrigals by Verdelot, with tenor Charles Daniels, was launched with a concert at London's Wigmore Hall. Heringman is also a renowned soloist.

Catherine and Jacob have also recorded for Naxos (with The Rose Consort of Viols), Riverrun (with The Marini Consort) and for Virgin (with Virelai).

In addition to performing lute songs of the Renaissance and early Baroque periods, the duo has championed the cause of the contemporary lute song, attracting several new commissions by British and American composers, including Malcolm Bruno, Andrew Keeling and Peter Sinfield (of King Crimson).


name: Jake Bradford-Sharp
description: Experimental Nu Jazz that cannot be classified or categorized
homepage: jake_bradford
photo: /artists/img/jake_bradford.jpg
society: PRS
page: jake_bradford
bio:
English drummer, musician, composer and educator Jake Bradford-Sharp is a technically proficient artist working in many musical fields: tutoring drums and music in London, regular gigging, session work, and recording music for TV and film. Born in Enfield, London in 1992, Jake first began playing drums at the age of 8 and began formal lessons at the age of 10.

Jake fell in love with composing for TV, films and games and his ability to jump between styles and genres effortlessly, yet still bring a unique and recognizable sound to every project is creatively showcased in his showreels. This led Jake to working with independent filmmakers and composing for library music companies.

Over the years Jake has developed his own unique take on the Electro Swing genre; His first release of 'Nu-Jazz Experiments' fused older genres such as swing and gypsy jazz of the 30's and 40's with more modern electronica, EDM and dubstep of the 90's, 00's and 10's. Since then he has expanded his compositional skills into more bespoke orchestral works, his classical and synthwave-tinged release entitled Dark Future, and continuing to explore the Electro Swing genre that sparked his compositional journey into TV, film and game music.

Outside of performing drums and composing music, teaching is a big passion of Jakes and as such, he is a permanent tutor at Bang Drum School in London. He is working on a teaching method and drumming concept book entitled The Alphabet of Drums and releasing drum videos on YouTube to demonstrate what the method can do.

Jake is also an active session musician and as such, has been hired to work with many artists at some of the worlds' most prestigious recording studios in his hometown of London. He is available for session work and can be contacted directly at info@jakebradford-sharp.com.


name: Jambedaem
description: modern original jazz from Austria
homepage: jambedaem
photo: /artists/img/jambedaem.jpg
society: AKM
page: jambedaem
bio:
Jambedam, the freely invented fantasy name lacks of any meaning. Most likely it suggest "Jam", which means as much as improvising. The intention of the project is to make progress with a never ending process of finding out more and more about the nature of oneself and also of the collective. It is a constant search for the essence and development of the own musical identity. Every concert must be seen as a moments notice of the present state of musical results.

The band benefits from the succeeded compositions and the blending cast. The personal trust, understanding and friendship plays an important role for the musical comunication within the band.

Jambedam is stylistically rooted in Jazz but the band keeps open in all directions. In a natural way traditions are respected and bounds are broken. All the tunes are composed by the leader Michi Kross. The actual program consists of a selection of easy grooving tunes with the attemt to put the concept of post modern jazz in a rather relaxed and groovy, but still powerfull, context than a often heard higher faster louder competition. This concept fits the mood and mentality of the band and the desire for more relaxation and harmony in life (still in balance with energy and emotion).

The bass player Michael Kross is a freelance musician, bandleader and composer. His playing benefits from the interest and work in different styles like Jazz, Funk, Latin, classical music but also Middle-European folkmusic. He studied at the Konservatorium in Innsbruck, the University of New Orleans and the University for Music and Fine Arts in Graz. Michael Kross convinces with positive appeal and joyful playing.

Peter Kronreif, the drummer was born in 1982 in Salzburg and began to play the drums at an age of ten. He studied at the Music Highschool in Salzburg , the Kunstuniversitat Graz with Alex Deutsch, and at the Anton-Bruckner-Privatuniversitat with Doug Hammond, Jeff Bodreaux und Joris Dudli. When he travelled to New York several times he took lessons with Jonathan Blake, Jim Black and Gregory Hutchinson.

Patrik Lerchmuller, the Swiss born trombone player and composer works in a large spectrum from Jazz, contemporary and electronic music as well as free improvisation and film scoring. He studied at the Universitat fur Musik und darstellende Kunst in Graz/Austria and took composing lessons with Kenny Werner and Georg Friedrich Haas.

Romed Hopfgartner, saxophone, studied at the Landeskonservatorium in Innsbruck and at the University for Music and Fine Arts in Vienna. He won a price for the best solo at the Tyrolean Jazzcompetition 2000. Since 2007 he has taught at the Mozarteum in Innsbruck.

Nikola Stanosevic, piano, was born in 1980 in Belgrad and grew up in a musicians' family. He showed interest and talent for music early. He studied at the music school in Kragujevac, the Anton Bruckner Konservatorium in Linz and at the Universitat fur Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. The pianist has a big repertoire from Jazz, Pop and Rock to classical music.


name: James Akers
description: Lively, refined lute playing and questing musicianship
homepage: james_akers
photo: /artists/img/james_akers.jpg
society: NONE
page: james_akers
bio:
James Akers is a UK based performer on early plucked instruments including lute, guitar and theorbo. James was born in Scotland and began playing guitar at the age of 10.

Initially playing rock and blues then attempting to play jazz and finally settling on classical guitar, he was largely self-taught before having lessons with Robert Mackillop at Napier University, Edinburgh. Whilst at Napier he turned his attentions to playing the lute and pursued this, at the Royal College of Music, London, studying with Jakob Lindberg. Adding theorbo to his expanding instrument collection, James continued his studies at Trinity College of Music with Jacob Heringman and David Miller with additional lessons and advice from Paul O'Dette and Elizabeth Kenny.

Having settled on the period instrument path James continued accumulating instruments and exploring the music of the 16th to 19th centuries, with occasional forays into contemporary music.

Following a Junior Fellowship at Trinity College of Music James began pursuing a varied professional career. As a soloist he has performed mostly in the UK and Scandinavia giving recitals for The Yorke Music Trust, Ullapool Guitar Festival, Classical Guitar Retreat, Exeter Guitar Festival and the Copenhagen Renaissance Music Festival.

He has accompanied leading Early Music singers including Dame Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Michael Chance, Miriam Allan, Gabriela Di Laccio and Sam Bowden and performed with many early music ensembles such as I Fagiolini, Ex Cathedra, Fretwork, The Parley of Instruments, The Hanover Band, Sounds Baroque and the Dunedin Consort.

As a continuo player James has worked for major opera companies, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera North and Innsbruck Festival Opera and orchestras and chamber groups including The Scottish, Irish and English Chamber Orchestras, Northern Sinfonia, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, The Scottish Ensemble, with trumpeter Alison Balsom, and ventured into other styles with Damon Albarn, the Sonnets and the genre-hopping ensemble Il Festino.

James has performed on numerous recordings; a few film soundtracks, including Ridley Scott's Robin Hood and Justin and the Knights of Valour; several theatrical stages, including Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Barbican, and broadcast for the BBC, France Musique and RTE Lyric, Ireland.

James teaches early guitar, lute and theorbo at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow and is a visiting lecturer at Aberdeen University.

Although mostly concentrating on performing and teaching, James has occasionally indulged in research, exploring the domestic music making of Samuel Pepys and his 'musical secretary' Cesare Morelli, the polyphony of Scottish Renaissance composer David Peebles and, most recently, the Scottish influence on European guitarist composers at the beginning of the 19th century.

You can find out more about James on his website.


name: James Edwards
description: baroque guitar music
homepage: james_edwards
photo: /artists/img/james_edwards_wide.jpg
society: NONE
page: james_edwards
bio:
Classical guitarist James Edwards has been a performer, teacher, and recording artist for over 25 years. James plays contemporary guitars, as well as historical instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, such as the five-course guitar and ten course lute.

The five course guitar has 9 strings, as 4 of the "courses" are pairs of the same string, with the highest string being the only string that is not a doubled pair. The repertoire for the 5 course baroque guitar is quite different from the contemporary guitar repertoire, and has a closer parentage to 6 course lute and vihuela music.

James Edwards' has released ten CDs in his career, as well as several guitar music books published by Mel Bay Publishing.


name: Jami Sieber
description: enchanting cello compositions
homepage: sieber
photo: /artists/img/sieber_3.jpg
society: BMI
page: sieber
bio:
Every so often a musician emerges who manages to speak to the spirit by way of their instrument. Electric cellist and vocalist Jami Sieber reaches inside the soul with compositions that are contemporary, timeless, lush, and powerfully evocative. Her style of performance has been recognized internationally. She is a celebrated pioneer of her instrument and received the Northwest Area Music Association (NAMA) Award for Best Rock Instrumentalist, no easy feat for a cellist.

Jami's playing style grew out of her childhood classical training and has expanded over the years to embrace jazz, folk, rock, improvisational and avant garde music. She has guest artist in a variety of musical settings that have taken her to China, Russia, Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Italy, France and most recently to Thailand where while working on a film score she had the most enriching experience of improvising with the Elephant Orchestra outside of Lampang. She has toured internationally with Rhiannon (jazz vocalist), Jennifer Berezan (singer/songwriter), Ferron (singer/songwriter), Kim Rosen (poet).

Sieber's music is an atmospheric invitation to another world, a quality which lends itself to film (Climb Against The Odds, public television airing 1999, Jews and Buddhism, Chayes Productions 1998, Bond, Alice Ray director 1991); theater (T.S. Crossing, Allegro Series 1989,); and dance (Facing East Dance Collective, Berkeley, Ca 1998-99, Llory Wilson's Tallulah Dance Co.,Seattle, Jacobs Pillow 1994, Jeff Bickford, Seattle 1990).


name: Jamie Janover
description: innovative hammered dulcimer
homepage: janover
photo: /artists/img/janover1.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: janover
bio:
Jamie Janover is recognized as a true innovator on the hammered dulcimer. As the 2002 national hammered dulcimer champion, Jamie is reinventing the way hammered dulcimer used by being the leading purveyor of a new style called dulcitronica!

Intricately layered soundscapes evolve from dense textural grooves to spacious ethereal ambience using a custom hammered dulcimer, miniature drum kit and the magic of digital technology. Jamie brings new direction to the hammered dulcimer by applying diverse percussive techniques drawn from some of the other instruments he plays: drums, mini-kit, multi-percussion, tabla, congas, bongos, timbales, and udu. His background as a drummer gives him a totally different approach to the hammered dulcimer than traditional players. His style is characterized by a symbiotic interplay between rhythm and melody, laying down deep intricate grooves and not being afraid to take the listener into new realms of the timbral universe.

Since moving to Boulder, Colorado in 1995, Jamie has played with a diverse group of bands including, ZILLA, Zuvuya, The Motet, The Theory Of Everything, Vibe Squad, The Zambiland Orchestra, Chupacabra, and his own band, Jamie Janover and the Realms Ensemble, among many others.

Jamie is also a veteran of hundreds of live guest appearances having performed with Phish, Stanley Jordan, Bela Fleck, The String Cheese Incident , Leftover Salmon, Keller Williams, The Jazz Mandolin Project, Sector 9, The Slip, Govt Mule, Tony Furtado, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Warren Haynes, Sam Bush, Derrek Trucks, Future Man, Stanton Moore, members of the Rebirth Brass Band, The Dead, Big Head Todd and the Monsters and The Yonder Mountain String Band, among many others.

Jamie has appeared on over 30 commercial CD releases including recordings by The String Cheese Incident, G. Love and Special Sauce, Keller Williams, Garaj Mahal, Shanti Groove, Chupacabra and Stephen Halpern. He has performed at venues and festivals across the country including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, N.W. Festival of Jazz and Wine, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Tippitina's in New Orleans and The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

A world traveler, Jamie has played not just in the U.S. and Canada, but also in Africa (for the Masai of Kenya), India and Australia. His live performances have included everything from solo hammered dulcimer concerts, to playing in bands on drum kit, percussion, hammered dulcimer or didjeridoo. Jamie also does hammered dulcimer workshops, school assemblies, weddings and accompanies dance and theater performances.

Jamie Janover's music is diverse in scope and so have been the ways in which it has been used. Janover's music has been used for television and video soundtracks, theater and dance performances, meditation practices and massage videos. His work has been treated in several nationally circulated publications including Dirty Linen, Relix, Dulcimer Player News, and Mountain Freak and has been featured on the NPR radio programs "All Things Considered" and "New Sounds".

An incredible new step in Jamie's creative output was his invention of the "Realms Mobile", which is a musical vehicle! The "Realms Mobile" is a recumbent tricycle, attached to which is a mini-simulated drumkit. This enables Jamie to play drums with both hands and pedal around at the same time! He brings it out at large festivals including Burning Man.

With each new project, new album, new band, new instrument comes another step in the continued evolution of Jamie's creative process. He continues to cross-pollinate both genres and mediums in his continual exploration into the infinite realms of the creative process. Perhaps best known for his musical abilities, Jamie is also a professional photographer. Janover is a truly multi-talented and totally unique artist in the broadest sense of the term.


name: Jan Hanford
description: solo piano
homepage: jan_hanford
photo: /artists/img/jan_portfolio2.jpg
society: NONE
page: jan_hanford
bio:
Classically trained in piano and composition, Jan Hanford enjoys many styles of music but her first love is the piano.

Jan was born in Philadelphia, PA and currently lives in New York City. She started piano lessons at the age of 7. By high school she was composing solo piano music and then in college progressed to chamber music.

She says, "I like music to be intimate. Small ensembles and solo instruments really touch me the most. Music is my passion."

Jan also creates melodic electronica under the name Human Response.


name: Janine Johnson
description: Harpsichord and fortepiano classics
homepage: janine_johnson
photo: /artists/img/janine_johnson.jpg
society: NONE
page: janine_johnson
bio:
Known for the intricate artwork with which she adorns world-class harpsichords, the multitalented Janine Johnson is also a gifted harpsichordist and pianist in her own right. Her style of playing is elegant yet extremely agile, and she has performed extensively in the Bay Area and beyond.

Ms. Johnson began her musical studies on the modern piano and started playing the harpsichord as a teenager. She majored piano performance and two dimensional art at California State University, Northridge and began building and decorating harpsichords in earnest at this time. She has continued as an instrument maker ever since and is now working with renowned harpsichord builder John Phillips in Berkeley, California.


name: Jarkko Hietanen
description: cinematic composer with an electronic past
homepage: jarkko_hietanen
photo: /artists/img/jarkko_hietanen_new.jpg
society: BMI
page: jarkko_hietanen
bio:
Jarkko has been composing music electronically from early 1999. He has explored sounds from electronica to orchestral, from chill-out and down-tempo to game and cinematic music. The possibility to experience different genres and to try all sorts of new and old things in his music is too fascinating for him to pass, so it can't be said he'd have any certain favorite style of music he loves to compose. Some might still say Jarkko has a certain sound to him.

At one point Jarkko composed a lot of single demo songs to be released free online. During this time he founded his largest musical project, "Yasahi". As "Yasahi" or "Yasahimusic" the exploration of the realms of electronica, experimental and most importantly ambient became very important to him. And it so happened that electronic ambient was eventually the genre to push him towards more film and game-like sounds.

Later Jarkko applied to study sound in an academy focusing on TV and film, and took the chance to dedicate himself fully to sound and music. During these studies he received offers for short film and advertisement scoring. This had a huge influence in helping Jarkko realize this was the kind of thing he really wanted to do in his life. Since then he has been composing for variety of projects such as a feature film, short films, mini series, games, advertisements, corporate videos and trailers. He has also had the pleasure of working as a sound designer on various of such projects.

While continuing to experiment with new sounds in his music, he always actively seeks new projects to work on. Most recent events were the signing of various of his tracks to Magnatune and Bonaire Media as well as starting on the score of a feature film and two mini series.

You can find out more about Jarkko and his projects on his own website.


name: Jasmine Brunch
description: a secret garden of lucid musical dreams
homepage: jasmine_brunch
photo: /artists/img/jasmine_brunch.jpg
society: PRS
page: jasmine_brunch
bio:
Jasmine Brunch is a solo project of the award-winning composer Ben Rusch. The music is perhaps best described as cliche-free New Age instrumental music that lovers of piano sounds will find particularly interesting.

The albums are musical mosaics that cover a dazzling spectrum of sounds. From soothing ambient tracks that help you relax and unwind, all the way to virtuoso piano pieces that make you want to break into spontaneous applause.

As an additional treat to listeners, Jasmine Brunch music has an extremely high dynamic range and most tracks are mastered without any dynamic compression whatsoever. Each album, before its release, undergoes technical scrutiny in accordance with the technical standards of the Pleasurize Music Foundation. The aim of a high dynamic range is to prevent listener fatigue, protect your hearing, and to bring out the wonderful sonic depth that the music has to offer.

The music will especially appeal to fans of Raul Di Blasio, Philip Glass, Carl Doy and Michael Nyman.

Find out more about Jasmine Brunch at http://jasminebrunch.com.


name: JaxBros
description: A melodic blend of folk and pop
homepage: jaxbros
photo: /artists/img/jaxbros_new.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: jaxbros
bio:
JaxBros are Mark and Pierre, two brothers from Dallas Fort Worth who have been playing together since they were teenagers. After a six year hiatus from performing, Mark and Pierre recorded Elementary in 2012-2013, in an effort to pursue the only career their talents could offer them.

After thirteen years of teaching school, Mark had enough songs about his experience working with troubled youth to record a second album. He received his wife's blessing and he left his profession to enter the world of music with his brother. The JaxBros' music is honest, simple, and melodic. They value the rawness of acoustic shows, because the emotion of the songs takes on a different life.

You can find out more about Jaxbros on their .


name: Jay Kishor
description: Music without preservatives
homepage: jay_kishor
photo: /artists/img/jay_kishor_new.jpg
society: NONE
page: jay_kishor
bio:
Magnatune recording and performing artist, former Visiting Artist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, rostered artist for the Kennedy Center, and panel member for the development of the ethno-musicology program at Peabody Conservatory, sitar and surbahar virtuoso Jay Kishor brings to the art of the electric guitar an intense discipline in world music culminating from an intensive fifteen year period of study in India in the traditional "master-disciple" training from a number of renowned masters (Nabaganashyam Singh, John Bell, Dr. Allyn Miner, Manju Mehta, Brij Bhushan Kabra, Dr. Rajbhan Singh, Rooshikumar Pandya, Annapurna Devi) after having been awarded a Ford Fellowship.

Raised in America, Jay combines elements from world, European classical, jazz, Blues, country and rock music and deftly incorporates his extensive knowledge of Ragas (ancient Indian melodies) into his improvisations. Jay approaches the guitar as a storyteller in the language of music.

As a sitarist, he worked closely with guitarist Michael Hedges and toured and recorded with guitarist Stanley Jordan (Ragas, State of Nature), has released several classical sitar works as well as forming his band touchingGrace and recording "The Gandhi Memorial Concert" with his group, The Rajdhani Quartet. His debut solo guitar album, "Stories from My Grandfather's Village", and the album "Rare" from his duo thirty3 demonstrate a guitar style that reflects an intuitive ability to improvise melodic lines that capture the heart and transport the soul.

"My study of North Indian Classical music was in a discipline that is largely based on improvisation. This experience revealed to me that improvised music is the most honest expression of who I am at any given moment.

The question obviously arises as to why I switched from sitar to electric guitar. The simple answer is that I need to define my instrument, not have my instrument define me.

Keeping in mind that my aim, my ultimate purpose for music is to express myself honestly, I abandoned the idea of teaching myself the guitar via the paths of the overwhelming guitar pedagogy available. I spent a great deal of time studying masters of the instrument and translating technique developed over a 25 year relationship with the sitar and Indian classical music. More so than playing sitar on the guitar, my journey has been to express myself rather than to be an ambassador of some tradition, be it either western or eastern. I needed to express myself, my aesthetic.

The sitar has a unique and distinct voice, a voice that is inherently tied to the history and culture that is India, and irrespective of the musical context, this connection to all that is "India" will always be a dominating presence.

I needed an instrument that had an "open" tonal signature; one that was tonally versatile enough to allow me the capability of altering or affecting the tone so that it best serves whatever genre, whatever palette I wish to work in. The electric guitar also enables me to better realize my personal tonal aesthetic, what I think sounds beautiful. As a sitarist, I experimented with different kinds of wood, different thicknesses of wood, different string gauges, different string materials, and different tunings, all in an attempt to get away from that stereotypical sitar tone, what I called at the time "psychedelic-banjo". I later realized that all along I was trying to make my sitar sound closer to a guitar.

Indian classical music is predominantly a solo form of music. In a classical recital there are two parts: one solo and the other with rhythm accompaniment, and although the exchange between the soloist and the Indian drums (tabla) can be very lively and entertaining, the form is more of a "call and response" rather than being characterized by interaction and creativity. Duets (jugulbandhi) are a recent addition to Indian classical music, but these, too, are built more on "taking turns" rather than on a symbiotic approach to the music. The electric guitar gave me an opportunity to improvise at a high level with other musicians, within other styles, in the language of music. I have always approached music as a storyteller, intuitively recognizing it as a language. The sound of the electric guitar is better able to blend within the confines and contexts of various musical surroundings rather than drawing attention away because of an overtly distinctive tonal fingerprint.

Being a first generation Indo-American raised in a culturally traditional household but growing up in a culturally diverse environment made expressing who I am complex. I needed an instrument that was open enough to explore whichever form of music I chose to engage in, and the guitar was the instrument that I had wanted to play since childhood.

I aim to create and build an approach to music that has the power to heal, to edify and to transcend both listeners and the musicians who are its stewards. I want to create a form of music that is constantly growing and evolving - one which makes musicians grow and listeners evolve. Most importantly, I want this music to break the boundaries created by culture, religion and geography. Raga is the foundation of my methodology, which I am calling 'organic music'."

~ Jay Kishor

   Photo credit: Doug Miller


name: Jeff McAuley
description: explorations and compositions on the cello
homepage: jeff_mcauley
photo: /artists/img/jeff_mcauley.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: jeff_mcauley
bio:
Jeff C. McAuley was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on July 18, 1973. He grew up in Binghamton, New York, where he began a relationship with the cello at the age of 7. After winning numerous local awards, he went on to study cello performance at the Aaron Copland School of Music where his primary teachers were Stephen Kates and Barbara Stein Mallow. Before entering into graduate school, Jeff spent three oddly productive years in San Francisco, where he was able to explore more alternative forms of music outside the realm of his more traditional classical undergraduate training. It was during this period that Jeff first began composing. He later went on to recieve a M.M. degree from Northern Illinois University under the guidance of Marc Johnson and other members of the Vermeer String Quartet. After completing his graduate studies, Jeff moved to Istanbul, Turkey where he spent over ten years. He has been a faculty member in the music departments at Istanbul Bilgi University (2001-2005), and Halic University(2006-2010) both in Istanbul. Since then Jeff has moved back to the United States where he continues to teach privately, compose, and produce music for various media projects including for TV and film.

He has performed as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and/or orchestral musician in the United States, Europe, and Asia. His music has been broadcast on radio and television, used for dance and theatrical productions, and has been performed live in various venues throughout the world. Jeff currently resides in upstate NY, with his wife, son, and two spoiled cats.


name: Jeff Wahl
description: acoustic new age and jazz guitar.
homepage: jeff_wahl
photo: /artists/img/jeff_wahl_2.jpg
society: NONE
page: jeff_wahl
bio:
Upon first listen to a recording of Solo Acoustic Guitarist, Jeff Wahl, you might think that it's a recording of several guitarists playing together at once. However, it's all just one guitar with no overdubs. Audiences who see Jeff play live are also often surprised to see one guitarist sitting on stage yet hear what sounds like 2 or 3 guitarists playing together. Often compared to guitarists such as Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Joe Pass, and Will Ackerman, Jeff's style ultimately is a blend of many styles that defies categorization. Jeff's live repertoire encompasses the genres of Folk, Jazz, New Age, Classical and even Indian Ragas.

"For me, the guitar has always been my therapist and counselor. Playing the guitar and writing music came to me mainly I think because I've had to go through a lot of hard times in my life completely alone. The guitar has always been there for me through it all and I can't imagine how difficult my life would be without it. The inspiration for all of my songs is always a particular emotion I'm experiencing. I usually compose with the guitar in altered tunings so that I can't analyze the sounds through traditional music theory. Although I have a degree in music composition, I find it much more satisfying and authentic to compose through intuition rather than relying on rules of theory. Composing in this way keeps me humble to what the instrument wants to say and helps with keeping my ego out of the way when I write music."

Jeff's music has been featured often on local and national public radio programs during the last several years. Upon release of his first CD, Guitarscapes in 1999, Jeff was named one of America's best undiscovered guitarists by Guitar 9 Record's online guitar magazine.

Jeff grew up on a farm on the eastern plains of Colorado. He played the piano and trombone before discovering his connection with the guitar. He has degrees in music composition and music education. Jeff currently resides in the beautiful city of Fort Collins, Colorado.


name: Jeffrey Luck Lucas
description: darkly gorgeous, cinematic folk
homepage: luck_lucas
photo: /artists/img/luck_lucas2.jpg
society: BMI
page: luck_lucas
bio:
Born, raised, and "lowered" in Indiana, West Texas, and Los Angeles respectively, Jeffrely Luck Lucas is known as a "musician's musician" and one of San Francisco's best kept secrets.

In addition to recent dark folk albums such as What We Whisper and Hell Then Divine, Jeffrey Luck Lucas is a classically trained cellist and founding member of 80's garage band The Morlocks (Epitaph, Voxx, Midnight). He's shared bills with Alejandro Escovedo, Jolie Holland, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Ray Manzarek (The Doors), Maria McKee, and Eleni Mandell.

Lucas' longtime recording partner is producer and engineer Desmond Shea (Court & Spark, Neurosis, Dieselhed). Lucas and Shea are known for stellar arrangements and studio craft, and together the two attract a multitude of talent from the Bay Area indie music community including Janice Tanaka (L7, Pink), David Phillips (Tom Waits), Tim Mooney (American Music Club), Wendy Allen (The Court & Spark), and Sean Coleman (Kelley Stoltz, Sunshine Club).

Jeffrey has been featured on Tract Records' Eye of the Beholder compilation with his song "Her Pale Silver Eyes," as well as their Will Oldham tribute on which he covered "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow". His song, "Cascade" was featured on the covermount CD of issue #14 of the British music magazine Comes with a Smile. Another song "Whiteout" is featured on the Italian label Awful Bliss's upcoming "Songs for Another Place" compilation.


name: Jeni Melia
description: Elizabethan lute and folk song
homepage: melia
photo: /artists/img/melia.jpg
society: NONE
page: melia
bio:
Soprano Jeni Melia and lutenist Chris Goodwin are members of the English Ayres, a small circle of musicians dedicated to performing early music in an engaging way.

Jeni Melia has studied with Mary Bainbridge and Ruth Holton, and has participated in masterclasses with Emma Kirkby. She sings with the Concord Singers and has recently performed solos in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Faure's Requiem, Pergolesi's Salve Regina, Mozart's Laudate Dominum, Vivaldi's Gloria, Arne's Shakespeare Songs, Handel's Messiah, and a song cycle, Love's Bitter-Sweet, specially composed for her by Paul Edwards.

Recently discovering that she possesses an unusual natural gift for lute song, Melia gave her first full-length recital of lute songs in 2002. She has been recorded performing the music of Paul Edwards, on the CD No Small Wonder (Lammas Records), and has recently released her first full solo CD, The Last of Old England, a thoughtful exploration of the overlap between Elizabethan era lute song and folk song.

Chris Goodwin took up the lute at the age of 19, and for the last eight years has served as secretary of the Lute Society, as well as editor of both Lute News and The Lute. Goodwin has also edited and published collections of lute songs from their original manuscript sources. He has sung in numerous choirs since childhood and has played lute in a number of ensembles, including the progressive acoustic rock/folk/early music fusion band Andwella, and The Giltspur Singers.


name: Jennifer Lane
description: rare cantatas and arias by Handel
homepage: jennifer_lane
photo: /artists/img/jennifer_lane.jpg
society: NONE
page: jennifer_lane
bio:
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Lane is "a singer whose dark, bottomless voice is matched by her expressiveness and intelligence." The press has described her singing as "clear, rich, plangent," "compelling and dramatic," and possessing "agility and charisma," "awesome technique and gorgeous tone," praising her Apollo in Handel's Terpsicore as "a glowing god of music who dominated the stage." Ms. Lane is internationally recognized for her striking interpretations of repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to today's composers, and has made over fifty commercial CD recordings for Opus 111, Harmonia Mundi, Arabesque, Vox, Lyrachord, Naxos, Koch, Capriccio, Gaudeamus, and other labels, as well as two award-winning films: Dido & Aeneas with the Mark Morris Dance Group and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The Opera Lover, a romantic comedy. Her recording of Airs de Cour is cited in the Wikipedia article on Airs de Cour, and her recording of Schoenberg's Lied der Waldtaube and Book of the Hanging Gardens merited rave reviews, including two paragraphs of praise in the Sunday NY Times Arts & Leisure section.

Several of her recordings have won Gramophone, Diapasons d'or, and other awards, and her solo CD The Pleasures & Follies of Love has been chosen for honors by Germany's Musik Aktuell. Ms. Lane's operatic career has taken her to the Metropolitan, NY City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Palm Beach, Aix-en-Provence, Gottingen, Halle, Glasgow, Champs Elysees, Monte Carlo, and, in 2007-08, throughout Spain as Messaggiera/Speranza in Monteverdi's Orfeo, in celebration of the opera's 400th anniversary. She also recently created the role of Charmian London in Libby Larsen's acclaimed Everyman Jack, opposite Rod Gilfrey as author Jack London. Her career spans opera production and direction as well. She has produced and directed productions for Stanford University, University of Kentucky, Virginia's Blackfriars Theatre (like the Globe, a replica of Shakespeare's original), and at the Lake Placid Institute. She currently serves as Associate Professor of Voice at the University of North Texas, having previously held positions for nine years at Stanford University and for two years at the University of Kentucky. Students of hers have been prize-winners in several competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council, NATS, and Orpheus.

For more information please check her own website.

University of North Texas Early Music Program

With over 70 students participating every semester, UNT has one of the largest early music programs in North America. Regular ensembles include the UNT Baroque Orchestra and the Collegium Singers, the UNT Baroque Trumpet Ensemble as well as many chamber ensembles. Private instruction is offered on most period instruments. The instrument collection is large, numbering nearly 300, so that ensembles of nearly every era before 1800 can be assembled. Degrees in musicology with an emphasis in early music performance are offered at the masters and doctoral levels as well as a related field program for DMA and MM candidates. Ensembles have performed to critical acclaim at each of the Boston and Berkeley early music festivals since 2001 as well as in Texas and surrounding states. The group was chosen to perform at the Missiones de Chiquitos Festival in Bolivia, as well as in Peru, in spring 2008. Performances with other notable early music specialists have been a regular event, among them Richard Egarr, Jed Wentz, Monica Huggett, Bruce Dickey, John Thiessen, Colin Lawson, Paul O'Dette, Julianne Baird, Ellen Hargis and David Douglass among them. Major productions in recent years have involved performances under internationally known opera conductor Graeme Jenkins in collaboration with Fort Worth Early Music, Texas Choral Artists and Dallas Bach Society of Handel's Israel in Egypt, Jephtha, Samson, and Saul, as well as the North American premiere of Telemann's Der Tod Jesu. Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea was staged with UNT Opera in 2003 while Cavalli's L'Egisto was performed in 2007.

For biographical information on the players of the UNT please refer to the documentation that accompanies the album download.


name: Jeremy Moyer
description: Erhu music bridging Eastern, Western, Contemporary and Folk traditions
homepage: jeremy_moyer
photo: /artists/img/jeremy_moyer.jpg
society: SOCAN
page: jeremy_moyer
bio:
Jeremy Moyer (originally from Waterloo, Ontario Canada) is a Taiwan based composer, Erhu player and multi-instrumentalist whose work bridges Eastern, Western, Contemporary and Folk traditions. He has studied Cantonese music with Yeung-Yee Lee (Ĉ46;č54;ņ81;) in New York, Taiwanese folk tunes with Zhang Shi-dong (ó73;É81;Č47;) in Taichung, and Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo Music with Zhou Hao (Ø08;į55;) in Shanghai. He was previously active in the Canadian folk and world music milieu, recording and performing South American Music (with Huellas), Greek Rembetika Music (with George Sapounidis) and Punjabi Songs (with Galitcha). In Shanghai, he collaborated extensively with American pianist Steve Sweeting exploring Chinese music in a jazz improvisation framework and he developed concept works and improvisational performances with Qi Dance Project. From 2008 to 2010, Moyer was Musician in Residence at the Shanghai-Zhujiajiao Water Village Music Centre.

In addition to Solitary Bird (2011), a collaborative album with Steve Sweeting and singer Coco Zhao, Moyer has produced three albums where he arranges the music and mostly plays all the instruments himself:

A Discovery of Chinese Folk Tunes (1997) features the Taiwanese Coconut Shell Fiddle (ē80;é76;ó58;). The music is traditional - folk opera tunes, temple music and folk songs - learned by rote from Taichung musician Zhang Shi-dong (ó73;É81;Č47;) on hot summer afternoons in 1996. Zhang was from a generation that spoke Taiwanese dialect and Japanese; and Moyer, at this time, was a just a novice Mandarin speaker so the two could only communicate with music. With the aid of a tape recorder and occasional intervention from bystanders, an inspirational musical bond was formed. A Discovery of Chinese Folk Tunes is dedicated to the memory of Zhang Shi-dong. Taiwanese listeners will find this album to be a record of a local musical culture that has largely disappeared.

Mangoes: Musical Shorts Volume 1 (2009) features Guitar, Erhu (É08;ŉ93;), some vocals and a wide range Chinese and western percussion instruments. There are guest performances by Brazilian percussionist Leonardo Susi and Shanghai-Zhujiajiao singer Yang Guanghau (č54;Ð09;ő75;). With the exception of one traditional folk song, the music is all composed by Jeremy Moyer. It is a light-hearted eclectic mix of short acoustic instrumental pieces in a variety of styles. It is a reflection of the diversity of Moyer's musical inspiration and his joy of music making. Titles such as 'Workers Theme Song' make allusion to social realities observed in China at the time of the much-anticipated World Expo. The Bossa Nova song, 'Fishing Secrets' has become popular on Spotify with over 1 million listens.

Chinese Bicycle Stories (2018) prominently features the nowadays rarely played 'Qinqin' (ĸ06;ĩ48;): a 3-stringed "Chinese Banjo" which Moyer bought from a barber in Yunnan in 2009. The instrument has been custom fitted with a pentatonic fret set-up imposing a rich world of musical limitations. On this album Moyer also plays Guitar, Erhu (É08;ŉ93;), Gaohu (ƌ40;ŉ93;) Taiwanese Coconut Shell Fiddle (ē80;é76;ó58;), Cantonese Coconut Shell Fiddle (č28;ŉ93;)，Sanxian (Ç77;ó58;) and percussion. There are guest performances by Kevin Ramessar on Guitar and Shawn Mativetsky on Tabla. The music, all composed by Jeremy Moyer, is a highly personal rendering of folk and traditional musical elements, reflecting a musical life journey of diligent learning, intense spirituality and earthy passion. It is like coasting down a mountain through a bamboo forest on a bicycle in spring while wrestling with demons. Tracks like 'Snow Legend' and 'Spring on Wutai Mountain' have been praised by Chinese musicians for their poignancy and purity.

In addition to his life as a creative musician, Jeremy Moyer (M.Ed) is an enthusiastic and original school teacher and music educator. He is certified in both Orff Schulwerk and Kodály Method (music pedagogy approaches). From 2011 to 2018, he worked as a primary school Grade 5 classroom teacher and middle school music teacher at Lycée français de shanghai, a French international school. Since 2018, in Taichung, Taiwan, he has been teaching extra-curricular music classes in Primary schools and elective music classes in Middle Schools. In music education, Moyer focuses on bringing traditional musics into the classroom where students can experience first hand playing and singing in different styles, material from different traditions and in different languages. He also teaches/leads folk dances and musical creation/improvisation activities.


name: Jeromy Darling
description: Just a pile of dirt and memories
homepage: jeromy_darling
photo: /artists/img/jeromy_darling.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: jeromy_darling
bio:
This line, gently lifted from Jeromy's as-yet-to-be-recorded autobiographical song "The Mississippi", deftly depicts his childhood home - a trailer park in Ames, IA - demolished years ago to pave way for new condominiums.

Only fond memories fill the otherwise dreary surroundings of his childhood: feral cats, violent neighbors and a makeshift junkyard the kids used as a playground. Too young to understand poverty, but old enough to understand love, Jeromy would find safety and solace in the arms of his parents, Mark and Kathy Darling.

Fast forward some 25 years and things are much different: he's celebrating over 10 years of marriage to his high school sweetheart Gretchen and they're relishing the wonderful little gifts that their sons Wyatt (born Oct. '09) and Wilder ('12) continue to pour into their lives.

After witnessing his younger sister overcome a brutal illness that nearly took her life on 3 occasions between 2003 and 2009, Jeromy has a new lease on life, a stronger resolve and renewed faith.

"I was made for Jesus and Rock 'n Roll."


name: Jerry Berlongieri
description: slightly skewed techno and oddball trance
homepage: birdy
photo: /artists/img/birdy.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: birdy
bio:
Jerry Berlongieri , a 14-year veteran of the video game industry, has provided music, sound content and direction for a number of top franchises such as 'Spider-Man', 'Call of Duty' and 'James Bond'. He has worked on projects for a wide range of companies including Disney Interactive, Segasoft, Hasbro, Mattel, Scholastic, Interplay, THQ, and Activision.

Gamespot once described Jerry's music as "A mix of slightly skewed techno and oddball trance, virtually every track is memorable and strangely appropriate. This is the rare game that may inspire you to shut off the sound effects so that you can enjoy the music."

Stylistically, Jerry's music is a colorful excursion into modern electronic fugues. "Zany and complex" Harmonic motifs dance playfully with each other, with signature glissando's', multi-octave bends, dynamic rhythmic choreography, and flat-out atmospheric fun. His soundtracks for games such as 'DESCENT 3' and 'ALTER ECHO' conjure up images of dark and exotic sci-fi landscapes, while 'EVENINGS AT THE MICROSCOPE' evokes more instinctual imagery; accompaniment for bedroom programming, basement science fair projects, electro-mechanical diagnostic work, and coleco-vision on a 12 inch b/w television.


name: Jerry Palmer
description: ambient, rhythmic, moody and melodic guitar compositions
homepage: jerry_palmer
photo: /artists/img/jerry_palmer1.jpg
society: BMI
page: jerry_palmer
bio:
From one end of the U.S. to another, Jerry Palmer's music has touched and moved people.

Music first began for Jerry when he was a teen with keyboards and flute. He quickly took to exploring his artistic elements while playing in various rock and roll and rhythm bands. At the age of 23, he recorded his first album.

Originally from South Dakota, Jerry first moved to Fort Collins, Colorado an 1983. Jerry was greatly impacted in 1985 when he went to his first Michael Hedges performance. One week later he purchased a guitar. Jerry loves the guitar and it allows him the freedom he so desires as a performing soloist.

Ten years later, Jerry found himself onstage performing as the opening act for Michael Hedges. Since then Jerry has had the pleasure of performing with or opening in concert for musicians such as Peppino D'Agostino, Ed Gerhard, Nathan Cavaliri, Renee Heredia, Richard Gilewitz and the Harpist, Deborah Hensen.

Jerry has built a reputation as a guitarist with 7 recordings, in his catalog the seventh recording, "Cherry Picking" is being released with Magnatune.

Jerry is also one half of the Magnatune artists Hopkins and Palmer and you can find out more about Jerry on his website.


name: Jesse Manno
description: middle eastern/balkan music and new age
homepage: manno
photo: /artists/img/manno1.jpg
society: BMI
page: manno
bio:
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Manno was born into a performing arts family in New York City in 1966 and grew up in New York and Colorado. He received his first commission in 1982 and has since created over eighty original scores for dance, theatre, film and multimedia productions, including twenty evening length pieces. His work has been supported by Meet The Composer, Inc. (a division of the NEA), KRMA Denver PBS TV, The National Guild of Organists, Montgomery Watson Inc., Bates Dance Festival, and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, among others, and has been presented all across the USA, as well as in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, the U.K.,Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia.

Jesse received a B.A. in Asian Studies from The University of Colorado at Boulder, where he has been music director of the C.U. dance department since 1991. In 2002 he became a part time instructor, teaching one music course per semester. He loves working with many instruments and genres of music, and often incorporates interesting sound environments he has recorded during his travels into his work. He also composes and performs with The Buzz Band (new music on ancient instruments with a characteristic buzzing sound), and more often with 'Sherefe' Balkan/Middle Eastern Ensemble, performing regularly in Colorado, California, and New Mexico.

Recent projects include a stint at BAM Next Wave Festival in New York with David Dorfman Dance and composer Amy Denio, a percussive score created on a tower of used car parts for choreographer Gabriel Masson at the Bates Dance Festival, and a contemporary ballet soundtrack based on five of Colorado's native birds with Ballet Nouveau Colorado. He also recently created a new "underwater" section for David Taylor Dance Theatre's touring production "Rainforest". Several Cds of his work are available; Sea Spirits, Music from Theater of the Vampires, Lazer Vaudeville, Rainforest, and others.


name: Jesus in Japan
description: a reflective voice in a noisy world
homepage: jesus_in_japan
photo: /artists/img/jesus_in_japan.jpg
society: NONE
page: jesus_in_japan
bio:
Jesus in Japan is the creation of Brooklyn based soundscape artist Kevin Brooks. An experienced song writer and performer, Kevin started his musical career in the early 90's with the Pittsburgh band Big Bean Theory, where he began experimenting with effects and unorthodox use of his guitar to create new sounds during live performances.

When the band split in 1998, Kevin moved to New York to explore some fresh musical ideas. Intrigued by the challenge of communicating complex emotional states through seemingly simple musical compositions, Kevin honed his craft for the next 7 years through collaborations with theater groups, performance artists, and film makers in and around New York City. During this time, he also returned to the stage with the Brooklyn post rock ensemble Rahu-Ketu and started work on a solo project that would become Jesus in Japan.

In the midst of busy collaborations and the high energy environment of New York, Jesus in Japan was born out of a need to express something more personal, more reflective. Contemplative, and highly nuanced, the music of Jesus in Japan is refuge, a quiet place in a world spinning out of control, and an invitation to look inside.


name: Jive Ass Sleepers
description: chilled out grooves & uptempo funkathons
homepage: jiveasssleepers
photo: /artists/img/stuhead.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: jiveasssleepers
bio:
Jive Ass Sleepers is the music of Stuart Moore, a keyboard player/composer/producer based in Sacramento, CA. He developed a love of funk, jazz and dance music during the 90s upon hearing Jamiroquai's debut album 'Emergency On Planet Earth.' This led him to explore the roots of this style of music, discovering along the way - Herbie Hancock, Jeff Lorber, Roy Ayers, The Crusaders, Average White Band and many others.

Growing up in the UK he also had an interest in many forms of dance music, especially House, where he became influenced by Basement Jaxx, Masters at Work and Daft Punk. Stuart started writing music in the late 90s and quickly developed his own funky, laidback sound. 'Gettin Down To Business' is an album that draws from all of his influences fusing 70s jazz funk with modern drum programming and a twist of Latin on the side.


name: Joachim Heimbaecher
description: Mysterious, smooth and elegant piano
homepage: joachim_heimbaecher
photo: /artists/img/joachim_heimbaecher_low.jpg
society: NONE
page: joachim_heimbaecher
bio:
Joachim Heimbaecher was born in Wilhelmshaven in 1960, and received his first music lessons at 9 years of age on the electric organ and subsequently on the classical organ and piano.

After training in the retail sector, he started in 1981 in the Trossingen education sector as a music teacher, which he has continued ever since in Wilhelmshaven. Joachin bagan to compose background music from the age of 11 and was very influenced at a young age by the avant-garde.

He began to disqualify anything that would distract from a dialogue within a melody line. An example of this method of composition can be heard in the piece "Calmness". Later compositional attempts added serial computer music to achieve higher densities. For 15 years Joachim has composed conventionally and it is important to him to achieve an intense tension between harmony, melody and rhythm.


name: Joe Palese
description: New age guitar based jazz
homepage: joe_palese
photo: /artists/img/joe_palese_1.jpg
society: BMI
page: joe_palese
bio:
Joe Palese
From acoustic music to rock and jazz, Joe loves playing and improvising in many styles of music - and composing.

Joe grew up in New Jersey in the 60s and 70s, and even though it may have earned him an AARP card, it means he got to see guitar legends like Santana, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and Jeff Beck play live. Joe's playing and writing was also influenced by acoustic greats like Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Neil Young.

In the late 70's, he heard Wes Montgomery's album Bumpin' and was hooked. At 19, he started studying with jazz-legend Pat Martino in nearby Philadelphia until he couldn't resist the pull of the music scene in New York City.

New York provided hundreds of opportunities to play with a wide range of artists and study with interesting teachers. In the early 80's Joe played in the power samba group "Pe De Boi" put together by Brazilian percussionist Guilherme Franco. Since Franco was also in Keith Jarrett's American Band, many top players like Dave Liebman and Curtis Fuller sat in with the band frequently. They played NYC underground spots like SOB's and the Jazz Forum.

Joe also played in jazz duos and trios, with guitarists Leni Stern and Wayne Krantz in Village restaurants and clubs, and with bassist Jeff Andrews on the Upper West Side. He's also played with jazz bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz of the Charlie Mingus tribute band, the Mingus Dynasty. A highlight was playing Carnegie Hall in 1997 with Sting, and Kenny Kirkland on piano for an Elton John AIDS benefit.

After a good 20 years of city, Joe packed up his guitars and his two dogs and moved north to Woodstock NY for a little green. He formed a jazz trio, Less Deluxe, (including Steve Winwood drummer Eric Parker) and kept playing gigs in New York City. Joe met his lovely wife Jennifer when she took his NYC yoga class - they moved to Atlanta, where he has played in Kola Ogunkoya's Afro-beat Ensemble and is co-leader of a kirtan band, Dhvani. Joe and Jennifer live in Decatur, GA with their pets and their shining star, their baby son Jamie.


name: Joe Smith and the Spicy Pickles
description: Vintage Swing in the 21st Century
homepage: joe_smith_pickles
photo: /artists/img/joe_smith_pickles_small.jpg
society: BMI
page: joe_smith_pickles
bio:
Joe Smith and the Spicy Pickles Jazz Band is a Denver-based vintage jazz band devoted to revitalizing swing music and dance. This small group style swing band packs a punch of power, personality, and wit into each show, intriguing generations new and old with the beloved charm of big band swing from the 1920's, 30's and 40's.

The Pickles bring it all - high energy, quality musicianship, and an authentic big band sound and look that celebrates the unique American spirit of swing. The band fuses musical influences from the sounds of Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw with the showmanship of Louis Armstrong, Lucky Millinder, and Jimmy Lunceford.

With a smart respect for the preservation of vintage jazz music and entertainment, the Pickles are constantly adding new and original tunes to their repertoire. They bring a unique visual flair to each performance with gimmicks, tricks, horn movements, and hat work inspired to captivate audiences all night long.

Trumpet player and vocalist, Joe Smith, started the band in January of 2013 to give dancers something to swing out to. Since the bands' inception, the Pickles have held a special place in their heart for the swing dance community. The band travels from coast to coast playing their spicy tunes at swing dance events both large and small, inspiring dancers to fall in love with jazz over and over again.

The group is notorious for their spot on arrangements and electrifying energy during competitions. The band is known to regularly keep dancers on their feet truckin' until 4 in the morning. Recent dance events the Pickles have performed at include:

Beantown Camp (Boston)
Hawkeye Swing Festival (Iowa City)
Lindy on the Rocks (Denver)
SwingIN (Indianapolis)
Killer Diller Weekend (Seattle)
Cowtown Jamborama (Omaha)
Music City Exchange (Nashville)
Southern Fried Swing (Fort Smith, AR)
Rocky Mountain Girl Jam (Denver)

The Pickles pride themselves on being the most professional swing band in the business. They are easygoing, flexible, and open to collaborating with other musicians and entertainers. The band has taught master classes in music performance at the University of Iowa, and often invites students to sit in for a song or two during shows. All six members of the band are devoted to their craft, which ranges from playing, composing, and producing music, to teaching students, planning swing dance events, and restoring instruments.

In 2013 the group recorded a full-length self-titled album in Iowa. Since moving the band to Colorado, the Pickles have recorded 2 EP's: "Extra Spicy" in 2013, and "Rocky Mountain High" in 2014. Following the success of their albums, the band won first place in Seattle's Jazz Dance Film Festival with "Movin' Groovy", featuring original music by the band. In 2015 Joe Smith and The Spicy Pickles released a full length album, "High-Fidelity", featuring all original music written by members of the band.

You can catch Joe Smith and the Spicy Pickles Jazz Band playing live in downtown Denver as the house band at Baur's Restaurant and Listening Lounge on Tuesday nights.

You can find out more about the Pickles on their website.


name: Joel Bruce Wallach
description: magical, heart inspiring music
homepage: joel_bruce_wallach
photo: /artists/img/joelbrucewallach_1.jpg
society: BMI
page: joel_bruce_wallach
bio:
"Uplifting, inspiring and sublime. This is not just music, but a journey through sound into different times and spaces. Joel Bruce Wallach is so very masterful in weaving a sonic bridge between worlds. This music shares what Joel can uniquely access from deeper dimensions. Joel's music will take you on a healing journey deep into the sacred heart of your soul."
Christan H., spiritual teacher

Joel's inspiring, neo-classical solo piano music touches your heart, delights your mind, and inspires your soul. You rediscover something deep within you that is authentic and timeless - qualities so easily obscured amidst the bustle of daily life.

These evocative piano fantasies help create a harmonious aura that sets the mood for quiet magical moments. A subtle clarity emerges within you, and your heart experiences the peace it needs. You can relax, and breathe with ease as your energy comes into balance. These contemplative musical works help you rediscover a pleasing sense of poise, centeredness, and integration.

Joel's music is inspired by the same wellspring of spiritual consciousness that infuses his aura-healing inventions, the Powerforms Healing Tools. Joel is also the founder of Cosmic Living For Spiritual Empowerment, through which he offers metaphysical teachings and transformational consultations - expressions of his lifelong dedication to bringing higher consciousness to the planet.

"I love your music and play it often! It is so divine and I never get tired of listening to it, it flows so well. I leave it playing in my computer and click on a new selection as I work and before bed, it is heavenly! Thank you so much."
Toni C., energy healer

"Your music takes me to such a magical and transcendent space. It is so much fun to paint to your music."
Linda J., artist

"Your music is a chakra opener - especially the heart and higher spiritual centers."
Marla L., intuitive counselor


name: Joey Fehrenbach
description: gorgeously sculpted, uber-melodic downtempo
homepage: joey_fehrenbach
photo: /artists/img/joey_fehrenbach1.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: joey_fehrenbach
bio:
When Joey Fehrenbach was four years old, his mother played Frank Mills tunes on the piano for him each night to get him to go to bed. That was when he fell in love with music and understood melody as a powerful tool for expressing emotion. Now fast forward through a successful career as an electronic dance music artist to 2006 when he started writing song-based melodic Downtempo music.

His newest release, Don't Wake Me, features unique cuts full of texture and emotion and uses a myriad of sounds, from soothing keyboards to jazz flute. Growing up, he was influenced by 80's British pop like Depeche Mode and New Order; while you can hear the melodic elements of their work in his, he's gone in a whole different direction with this new chillout release. He thinks like a great cinematographer, with moving melodic lines and layers of innovative sounds presenting a vivid story. Sometimes the songs sound like a movie soundtrack.

Joey comes from a long line of professional musicians including aunts and uncles who played for everything from symphonies to commercial jingles. He's been writing music since he was thirteen and for the past twenty, he's produced electronic music, starting with an old Mac Plus and a few old analog keyboards and an 8-bit sampler. For nine years he recorded dance tracks under the name Dream Traveler. One of his songs," Time," appeared on Paul Oakenfold's Transport CD, one of the highest selling dance compilations of all time.

In 2006 he switched direction and started using his real name. "I wanted a more personal connection to the listener and the only name I could put on it was my own. Band names tend to mask the artist's identity. There's nothing more intrinsic than putting your real name on an album, and there's nothing more personal than writing the most emotional music you can to try to express to others who you really are." His goal was to eliminate boundaries and write emotionally charged, melodic music. He even self-released his first album on his own record label to avoid any outside influence.

His music has been used on TV shows like Steven Seagal: Lawman, History Detectives, and Earth 2100: ABC Special Report. Two of his songs, "Behold" and "Being Around You," were included on Nick Warren's Global Underground - Paris compilation.

His earlier release, Mellowdrama, topped Downtempo and Chillout radio charts and sold record numbers over the past four years. Before that, as Dream Traveler, he released numerous dance singles and remixes that became dance floor favorites, played by DJs including John Digweed, Sasha, Nick Warren, and Scott Stubbs. Joey's music has been enjoyed by thousands all over the globe. You may not be four but this is emotionally satisfying music you'll want to listen to every night.

You can find out more about Joey on his website.


name: John Fleagle
description: austere and beautiful medieval songs.
homepage: fleagle
photo: /artists/img/fleagle2.jpg
society: NONE
page: fleagle
bio:
Singer/instrumentalist John Fleagle created some of the most lyrical and inventive performances of medieval song. With a background in jazz and traditional singing, his voice captivated audiences at festivals around the world.

His contemporary style of interpretation breathed life into poems some seven or eight hundred years old--be they in Old French, Latin, Middle English or Gaelic. He fashioned compelling arrangements of his songs on beautiful reconstructions of medieval stringed instruments: lute, gothic harp and hurdy-gurdy, which he also designed and built.

Fleagle is well known to radio audiences here and abroad for his epic musical storytelling adventures, including the Voyage of Saint Brendan and the Roman de Silence. He can be heard, as well, on Erato, New Albion and BMG records.


name: John Holowach
description: clean, elemental electronic
homepage: holowach
photo: /artists/img/holowach.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: holowach
bio:
Filmmaker John Holowach's musical career unexpectedly began after first hearing Rob Dougan's Furious Angels. He immediately fell into remixing all the tracks for the pure pleasure of experimenting with music-an effort which eventually led to the writing and recording of his own original material. His first solo album, A Basement Of Broken Dreams was released digitally in January of 2005 and aired widely on podcasts and Internet radio. Holowach was also featured on Current TV and in several documentary and narrative films.

John is now immersed in writing original music, but still participates widely in remix culture. He's an active samplist, which means he takes clips from other tracks, songs, and sounds (mostly Creative Commons-licensed), and creates something new with them.

In addition to his solo work, John is also a founding member of the international Creative Commons band, Tryad. His influences range from DJ Shadow and Nine Inch Nails to Beethoven and The Beatles.


name: John Jackson
description: indie rock with a conscience
homepage: jjackson
photo: /artists/img/jjackson.jpg
society: PRS
page: jjackson
bio:
Former frontman and songwriter for the 90's Oxford based acoustic rock outfit Settlement, John Jackson began his solo career in London in 2001 and has since become one of the UK's most intriguing songwriters-an iconoclast and left-field rocker with stingingly beautiful lyrics and instantly classic melodies.

The release of his 2002 debut album, Strange Attractors was accompanied by extensive shows in and around London as well as comparisons to Morrissey and Radiohead. The album was carried by Radio Waves and was a finalist in the 2003 Unisong Songwriting Competition.

Jackson's follow up album, Bad Things Happen All The Time was released in 2004 featuring complex, highly memorable melodies, spiked with poignant, often political lyrics that fit the tunes like a glove. Violins, trumpets, radio samples, acoustic guitar, noisy funky guitars are scattered throughout, with the timeless finale "Through The Glass" sounding like a folky Lennon crossed with the Pogues: soulful and searing at once.


name: John Williams
description: bluesy and jazzy guitar
homepage: john_williams
photo: /artists/img/john_williams1.jpg
society: NONE
page: john_williams
bio:
I'm a guitar player, mostly electric, steel string acoustic too. I do session work, songwriting, and production projects. I have a well-outfitted home studio for songwriting and some production, and I also work with a nationally acclaimed pro studio here in Seattle. I cover country, country/rock, blues and jazz, both acoustic and electric, solo guitar and full-band arrangements.

I like working with songwriters and can take almost any songwriter's demo (even face-to-face), turn it into a full-blown arrangement suitable for any studio in Nashville, select and hire appropriate instrumentation, produce the project, assist with artwork and duplication, and assist with marketing. If you're interested, drop me some email.

I am a tone fanatic. I love Teles and Strats - have several. My main guitar is a late-model Telecaster that has been modified with a humbucker in the neck, a Duncan Nashville Strat pickup in the middle, and a Joe Barden Tele pickup in the bridge.

I'm also using a late-model Dobro (for slide and fretted), a Larrivee C-19, a Martin OM28V, a Music Man 6 string bass, an early '60s ES-175, a Music Man ASAT, a Deering 6 string banjo, a Ramirez classical, and a Tacoma Papoose. I have several other guitars but these are the ones that get used the most.

I own about 25 amps of both vintage and modern design. I frequently use a Groove Tubes Soul-O 75, 1x12 combo and an early '60s Fender Princeton Reverb. I'm pretty much a "straight into the amp" kinda guy (with high-quality cable, of course).

The studio is also equipped with many, high quality vintage and modern microphones.


name: Johnny House
description: Electronic Phantasmagoria, Salvation through Synthesis
homepage: johnny_house
photo: /artists/img/johnny_house.jpg
society: NONE
page: johnny_house
bio:
Johnny House the brainchild of a different musical mind. Incorporating his own blend of electronica, house and techno with some jazz, easy listening and rock influences, JH funnels his emotions and creativity into the song medium, striving to deliver something diverse and distinctive everytime.

Always interested in the videogame and demoscene subcultures, he started fiddling with computer music in the late 80's with his first SIEL midi keyboard connected to his dad's Commodore SX-64. He then switched to the PC realm in 1993, following the steadfast progression of its music tools up to the present day.

JH also likes to dance "like no other". His task is to translate the airwaves which set our eardrums in motion into something concrete, be it muscular or written art. And so he delights himself in commenting the latest and not so latest electronic tunes. Who knows, maybe you will stumble upon one of his weird reviews someday.

"A dancer is a muscular artist with a mission: filling the voids"

You can find out more about Johnny House on his MySpace page.


name: Jon Swift
description: northwest guitarist at large
homepage: jonathan_swift
photo: /artists/img/jonathan_swift.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: jonathan_swift
bio:
Composer and guitarist OreJon Swift studied composition at the University of Nebraska in prehistoric times.

Some of the more interesting places his music has been used are: a French TV show about mansions, a documentary on fly fishing, a promotional short about custom racing tandem bicycles and a youth theatre production of Gulliver's Travels.

His catalog includes everything from string quintets to psychotic electronica. He performs as a solo guitarist. Swift creates ad hoc instruments such as the "wrench and can harp" used on Travelog. Ding. Donk. Splee!

Now living in Oregon, he has paid rent and dues in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and Nashville.

You can find out more about OreJon on his website.


name: Jonathan Freeman-Attwood and Colm Carey
description: dazzling and luminous duo performances of Bach
homepage: freeman_attwood_carey
photo: /artists/img/freeman_attwood.jpg
society: NONE
page: freeman_attwood_carey
bio:
Jonathan Freeman-Attwood is a performer, writer, educator, recording producer and the 15th Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in London. He studied at the University of Toronto and subsequently engaged in research at Christ Church, Oxford. Soon after, he became Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the Academy, where he led a pioneering new degree course in performance studies under the aegis of King's College London. In 1997, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, in 2001 a personal chair in his conferment as a Professor of the University of London, and in 2009 he became a Fellow of King's College London.

As a trumpet player, Jonathan has performed and recorded both as a soloist and as a member of various ensembles. He has attracted plaudits from the press for his solo recordings, which includes a disc sonatas, suites and concertos with organist Iain Simcock (by Albinoni and his contemporaries), available from 2010 on Magnatune as 'Baroque Trumpet and Organ'. With John Wallace, in 2004, he released a disc of works by Rheinberger, Strauss and Elgar entitled 'The Trumpets that Time Forgot' (Linn Records), heralding a series of recordings exploring ways in which the trumpet can, retrospectively, be 'written into' established traditions of mainstream solo and chamber music. The success of 'La Trompette Retrouvee' - in which he plays his re-working of Faure's Violin Sonata No. 2 in E minor - led to the award-winning 'Trumpet Masque' of unusual 17th-century 're-imaginings', described in Metro as 'extraordinary playing switching between fizzy fireworks and tender pathos with ease' and BBC Music Magazine as 'a decidedly unconventional and intelligently produced recital representing modern trumpet-playing and programming at its best'.

His career also extends to recording producer for many independent labels. Several of his productions have won major awards, including six Gramophone Awards for Ockeghem's Requiem with the Clerk's Group (ASV), Purcell's Fantazias (Simax) and Gibbons' 6-part Fantasias (AVIE) with Phantasm as well as Vivaldi's 'La Stravaganza' Concertos with Rachel Podger and L'Arte di Suonatore (Channel Classics). He has recorded all Bach's unaccompanied violin music with Podger and the accompanied sonatas with Trevor Pinnock (Channel Classics), the large-scale works of Byrd, Gibbons, Lawes and Jenkins with Phantasm, chamber recordings with Podger, Pinnock and Jonathan Manson, Tallis and Byrd with The Cardinall's Music (Hyperion) and miscellaneous discs for Naxos, Chandos and BIS.

He continues to be active as a critic, lecturer and contributor to many publications (most recently, the new Cambridge University Press's 'Companion to Recorded Music'), as well as for The New Grove (2nd edition) and he broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio 3. He is an established authority on Bach interpretation, particularly as it challenges and refocuses historical perspectives on 'performance practices' and - in more pedagogical contexts - how recordings of the past can influence current priorities and tastes.

"outstanding playing which explores a dynamic range of lively dialogue and solo lyricism in virtuoso style" (Observer)

"playing notable for the beauty and freedom of line and lyrical phrasing, while the bravura is exhilarating" (Gramophone)

"Freeman-Attwood's masterful playing has been captured spectacularly" (Soundstage)

"Freeman-Attwood's tone is bright, clean and precise and he delivers performances of narrative elegance devoid of any in-your-face brassiness" (International Record Review)

"a project whose every facet declares itself handsomely devised and superbly realised" (BBC Music Magazine)

"a multi-talented trumpeter, academic and Renaissance Man exquisitely controlled trumpet sound" (BBC Music Magazine)

"Jonathan Freeman-Attwood is an uncommonly fine player the present disc can hardly be bettered" (Gramophone)

Jonathan also released Sonatas For Trumpet And Organ with Iain Simcock on Magnatune.

Colm Carey is one of a handful of distinctive concert organists who has set out to promote the instrument in a fresh way, widening its appeal through imaginative programming and stimulating outreach work. That he has emerged as a respected and acclaimed performer is testimony to his single-minded mission not only to champion the instrument's remarkable breadth of repertoire but also to devise performing and recording projects involving exciting collaborations with other musicians.

Born and brought up in Ireland, Colm Carey studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Conservatoire de Musique de Geneve. Winning top performing awards with distinction at both institutions, his numerous appearances, both live and recorded, in the UK and Ireland formed the strong foundations for his subsequent solo performances in Europe, Australia, Canada and the USA. Active as a recording artist, Colm Carey has produced a number of solo CDs, and most recently was the featured organist on Paul McCartney's latest classical album, Ecce Cor Meum, which premiered in the Albert Hall in London and the Carnegie Hall in New York.

In addition to his freelance career, Colm Carey combines the roles of Belfast City Organist and Master of Music at the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London.


name: Jonathan Freeman-Attwood and Iain Simcock
description: brilliant Baroque masterpieces in virtuoso style
homepage: freeman_attwood_simcock
photo: /artists/img/freeman_attwood.jpg
society: NONE
page: freeman_attwood_simcock
bio:
Jonathan Freeman-Attwood is a performer, writer, educator, recording producer and the 15th Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in London. He studied at the University of Toronto and subsequently engaged in research at Christ Church, Oxford. Soon after, he became Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the Academy, where he led a pioneering new degree course in performance studies under the aegis of King's College London. In 1997, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, in 2001 a personal chair in his conferment as a Professor of the University of London, and in 2009 he became a Fellow of King's College London.

As a trumpet player, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood has performed and recorded both as a soloist and as a member of various ensembles. He has attracted plaudits from the press for his solo recordings, which include discs of Baroque trumpet and organ music, sonatas, suites and concertos (by Albinoni and his contemporaries) and 'Bach Connections' - a trumpet and organ programme which 'threads' its way from Bach through to the late 20th century - both of which are found on Magnatune. With John Wallace, in 2004, he released a disc of works by Rheinberger, Strauss and Elgar entitled 'The Trumpets that Time Forgot' (Linn Records), heralding a series of recordings exploring ways in which the trumpet can, retrospectively, be 'written into' established traditions of mainstream solo and chamber music. The success of 'La Trompette Retrouvee' - in which he plays his re-working of Faure's Violin Sonata No. 2 in E minor - led to the award-winning 'Trumpet Masque' of unusual 17th-century 're-imaginings', described in Metro as 'extraordinary playing switching between fizzy fireworks and tender pathos with ease' and BBC Music Magazine as 'a decidedly unconventional and intelligently produced recital representing modern trumpet-playing and programming at its best'.

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood's career also extends to recording producer for many independent labels. Several of his productions have won major awards, including six Gramophone Awards for Ockeghem's Requiem with the Clerk's Group (ASV), Purcell's Fantazias (Simax) and Gibbons' 6-part Fantasias (AVIE) with Phantasm as well as Vivaldi's 'La Stravaganza' Concertos with Rachel Podger and L'Arte di Suonatore (Channel Classics). He has recorded all Bach's unaccompanied violin music with Podger and the accompanied sonatas with Trevor Pinnock (Channel Classics), the large-scale works of Byrd, Gibbons, Lawes and Jenkins with Phantasm, chamber recordings with Podger, Pinnock and Jonathan Manson, Tallis and Byrd with The Cardinall's Music (Hyperion) and miscellaneous discs for Naxos, Chandos and BIS.

He continues to be active as a critic, lecturer and contributor to many publications (most recently, the new Cambridge University Press's 'Companion to Recorded Music'), as well as for The New Grove (2nd edition) and he broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio 3. He is an established authority on Bach interpretation, particularly as it challenges and refocuses historical perspectives on 'performance practices' and - in more pedagogical contexts - how recordings of the past can influence current priorities and tastes.

"outstanding playing which explores a dynamic range of lively dialogue and solo lyricism in virtuoso style" (Observer)

"playing notable for the beauty and freedom of line and lyrical phrasing, while the bravura is exhilarating" (Gramophone)

"Freeman-Attwood's masterful playing has been captured spectacularly" (Soundstage)

"Freeman-Attwood's tone is bright, clean and precise and he delivers performances of narrative elegance devoid of any in-your-face brassiness", (International Record Review)

"a project whose every facet declares itself handsomely devised and superbly realised" (BBC Music Magazine)

"we can applaud his clean-cut rhythmicality, his fine legato line, his musicianly moulding of phrases and his brilliant virtuosity" (Gramophone)

Jonathan also released Bach connections with Colm Carey on Magnatune.

Iain Simcock was organ scholar at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and Christ Church, Oxford, before being appointed Sub-Organist at Westminster Abbey and, for seven years, Assistant Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral. He was the first British prize-winner in the Chartres International Organ Competition and studied with David Sanger in London and Jean Langlais in Paris.

He recorded several CDs for Hyperion Records with the choir of Westminster Cathedral as well as several solo organ recordings, including two Symphonies by Louis Vierne and notably the world premiere recording of Christus - A Passion Symphony for Organ by Francis Pott. During this period, recital tours took him all over Europe as well as to Australia. He also appeared regularly on BBC radio and television and played in two BBC Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. He gave many duo concerts during this time with Jonathan Freeman-Attwood (trumpet).

Since living in France, Iain has been professor of choral singing at the Conservatoire National in Angers and organist at the Abbey of Saint Pierre in Solesmes, whilst continuing his solo freelance career. He performed the complete organ works of Bach in Angers in 1996 recording a solo CD of highlights from the performances. He also performed all Bach's major harpsichord works including the Goldberg Variations on the famous Taskin harpsichord in the Russell collection at the Edinburgh Festival.

In 2000 Iain Simcock became Musical Director of the Maitrise de l'Academie Vocale de Paris, which he has built into the most ambitious choral project in France. The Maitrise travels increasingly, giving concerts of a vast repertoire of great choral music from Manchicourt to MacMillan. He also works with the opera houses in Nantes, Lyon and Bordeaux, preparing young singers for roles in Britten A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Turn of the Screw, Debussy Pelleas et Melisande, Berlioz Damnation of Faust, Mozart Magic Flute and as assistant to Jane Glover and harpsichordist for Handel Jephtha.


name: Joram
description: idm and minimalist electronica.
homepage: joram
photo: /artists/img/joram.jpg
society: NONE
page: joram
bio:
Michael Hovan (joram) is a native of Tallahassee, Florida. He began producing electronic music in 1999. He draws inspiration from a host of unlikely sources including: Stereolab, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, nobukazu takemura, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Plaid, The Descendants, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and Doudou N'Diaye Rose.

He is presently studying the humanities at Florida State University, and is pursuing a certificate in world music through the ethnomusicology department at the F.S.U. School of music. Some of his strongest musical inspiration is taken from the music he has performed in the various world music ensembles at F.S.U. (Brazilian Samba, Chinese, Balinese Gamelan, and the African ensemble.)

joram's music could be considered somewhat minimalist, and is created with the concept of musical texture in mind.


name: Joseph Nimoh
description: uplifting solo piano pieces with influences from classical, jazz and gospel music
homepage: joseph_nimoh
photo: /artists/img/joseph_nimoh.jpg
society: BMI
page: joseph_nimoh
bio:
Pianist and Composer Joseph Nimoh creates music that is delicately crafted to inspire hope and bring healing to his audience. Incorporating elements of several genres, including classical, jazz, and gospel music, it has been described as emotionally rich, soothing, and riveting. As one reviewer stated after listening to this music, "Joseph's ability to effortlessly blend gospel, classical and jazz idioms is extraordinary."

Born and raised in Ghana, Joseph began playing piano at age 11 at his mom's church. He later studied piano performance with Bob Christopherson at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. During his days there, Joseph served as pianist/music director for several churches in the New England area as well as an arranger/composer for several local artists. Primary among Joseph's influences are Oscar Peterson, George Duke, Keith Jarrett, Yellow Jackets, and Richard Smallwood. So far, Joseph has released three albums: "Quiet Time in His Presence", "Living Waters", and "Reflections". For his new album, he created a masterful set of unique pieces befitting a musician of such diverse background. Blending elements of classical, jazz, and contemporary music, "Reflections" is a stunning collection of solo piano melodies soaked in genuine emotion. This remarkable album highlights the power of the piano to evoke a spectrum of emotions. Gentle and meditative, the music presents a wealth of harmonic as well as melodic character and nuance. Joseph's music can be heard on Apple Music, Pandora, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify radio and many other digital outlets.


name: Juan Sanchez
description: Emotional, elegant instrumental piano compositions spanning Ambient to Neo-classicism
homepage: juan_sanchez
photo: /artists/img/juan_sanchez.jpg
society: NONE
page: juan_sanchez
bio:
Juan Sánchez is a spanish music producer, pianist and composer based in Barcelona.

He started taking piano lessons at the conservatoire when he was 14, and during the end of the 80's until the end of the 90's he played keyboards with different bands. From 1995 to 2000, Juan studied music and technology in London.

In 1999, Juan started making instrumental electronic music and has since been creating music for multimedia and sound libraries for music producers.

Juan has recently started a new project that consists of releasing a series of Neo-Classical, Ambient and New Age piano music tracks on all music streaming platforms. Each single has been recorded with a different piano and in a different recording studio, with other musicians collaborating to make sure that every single track sounds unique.

His first single, an Ambient Piano piece called "Rebirth" released in March 2019 is receiving good reviews from music bloggers and thousands of weekly streams on Spotify..


name: Judson Hurd
description: soft and relaxing ambient piano to soothe your mind
homepage: judson_hurd
photo: /artists/img/judson_hurd.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: judson_hurd
bio:
Judson Hurd grew up in the beautiful country of Paraguay, at an early age he was deeply influenced and mesmerized by this simple way of living. At the age four he stumbled across his mother's childhood piano. His first 'teacher' was an old instrumental piano cassette a missionary couple left after leaving the country. The expressive, folk, piano vibrations of Philip Aaberg (Judson's childhood idol) and the simple, romantic Latin culture had a creative impact on his music.

After years of being self taught and improvising smooth, cool grooves over Bach inventions his family moved to Ciudad Del Este where he began his formal studies at the Franz Schubert Conservatory. At the age of 12, Judson Hurd rose to be one of the prominent youth pianists of Paraguay. He went on to study music theory and composition at Young Harris College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music.

Judson now resides in Wilmington, North Carolina where he is still moving audiences through his music. His music has reached over 100,000 views on YouTube. He writes music for radio, TV, including companies Android, Jaguar, Land Rover, the Oprah Show, PBS, recorded countless session work, and has performed alongside Five For Fighting, Gavin Degraw, Fighting Instinct, Todd Agnew, pianist David Nevue, and many others.


name: Julia Findon
description: Delightful nostalgic melodies for Cornet solo
homepage: julia_findon
photo: /artists/img/julia_findon_small.jpg
society: PRS
page: julia_findon
bio:
Julia Findon is a London based cornet and trumpet player with a broad background of experience in the music industry.

She's involved herself in many genres of performance, including orchestras, dance bands, theatre productions, brass bands and solo recitals.


name: Julian Blackmore
description: Downbeat ambient electronica with a twist
homepage: julian_blackmore
photo: /artists/img/julian_blackmore.jpg
society: PRS
page: julian_blackmore
bio:
Julian Blackmore is a New York City-based composer and musician, where he writes, produces and performs music for film, tv, theatre and other media. His music has been performed live at Merkin Concert Hall (NYC), 54 Below (NYC), Barrington Stages (MA), and heard on MTV, E! Entertainment, Telemundo and the BBC.

Drawing from a rich variety of genres, his original music can be as driving and persuasive as it can lyrical and sensitive. Always fresh and exciting, he combines captivating harmonic progressions with strong melodic lines and sonic experimentation, giving rise to wildly different work from musical theatre to ambient and electronic.

His interests include yoga, travel, and jumping out of planes for no good reason.

You can find out more about Julion on his website.


name: Justin St-Pierre
description: Acoustic percusive guitar
homepage: justin_st_pierre
photo: /artists/img/justin_st_pierre_low.jpg
society: SOCAN
page: justin_st_pierre
bio:
Justin St-Pierre creates a contrast between the simplicity of the instrument and the complexity of the music that emerges, as well as a unique sound journey and an impressive visual performance.

His music makes us travel from places to places, from one emotion to an other. Each of his albums is a movie, a story, that formed in your head while the pieces are playing. Instrumental music is like a book. You are the one creating your own images.

In 2006, Justin St-Pierre won the "Frimat Festival" (Quebec) and launched his first so lo album Rafiot.

In 2011, his second album La Faille (The Fault) is a tribute to his natal land, as it refers to the depth of the gold diggings of his region. The album is a success and made him travel in many territories of Canada and in France.

After being a top finisher in several prestigious guitar competitions, Justin won in 2013 the first place of the Canadien Guitar Festival, making him one of the best fingerstyle players of his time.

His third album, L'insulaire (The Insular), inspired by the city of Montreal and the pacific island New Caledonia, was released in the fall of 2015 after 5 years of work.

Highly considered today by fingerstyle guitarists and the public, Justin St-Pierre was one of the judges this year at the Canadian Guitar Festival with Preston Read, Don Ross and Antoine Dufour.

You can find out more about Justin on his website.


name: Kaila Flexer
description: Original Compositions Inspired by Far-Flung Fiddle Traditions
homepage: kaila_flexer
photo: /artists/img/kaila_flexer_small.jpg
society: BMI
page: kaila_flexer
bio:
Kaila Flexer is a violinist, composer and music educator. In addition to performing and recording with Teslim, Flexer also performs with Shira Kammen and three other fiddlers in the Oakland Folkharmonic. Flexer founded and produced Klezmer Mania!, a much-loved annual Bay Area event for over 10 years (1989-2002) and currently produces Pomegranates and Figs: A Feast of Jewish Music. She has been at the helm of bands such as Third Ear, Next Village and Kaila Flexer's Fieldharmonik, ensembles that featured her original material.

She has performed both nationally internationally with her own ensembles as well as with groups including The Hollis Taylor-Kaila Flexer Duo, Club Foot Orchestra and KITKA Women's Vocal Ensemble. In addition Teslim's release, Kaila has recorded two CD's of original music for Compass Records (Nashville). Flexer has a thriving studio of students of all ages. She encourages folk musicians to read music, classical musicians to improvise and to play by ear and everyone to enjoy music and to find and appreciate their own voice.

You can find out more about Kaila on her website www.kailaflexer.com.


name: Kaissa
description: modern African music with elements of rhythm'n'blues, pop, and jazz
homepage: kaissa
photo: /artists/img/kaissa.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: kaissa
bio:
More than music. Delivering the magic of Kaissa's voice is only the start for this remarkable artist.

Hailing from the Republic of Cameroon and its vibrant culture, Kaissa has become an unmistakable representative of African music to the planet. An aural artisan whose music paints a lush, vivid picture of the ever-changing world around her, Kaissa's voice simultaneously showcases warmth, appreciation, struggle and resilience - delivered via striking performances that are full of light.

Kaissa's origins in an artistic land were reinforced by her equally artistic family. Her mother was a seamstress, her father was a writer, and her siblings could have banded themselves together with their talents on bass, guitar, vocals, dance and painting. In the 1970's, the arrest of Kaissa's father for having written a "subversive" book against the new Cameroonian government would prove pivotal, paving the way for her obsession with justice and an equal distaste for the political machine.

"My father's jailing was a life-changing experience," Kaissa recalls. "I felt the fragility of life itself. I understood that art is a healing thing, and that I have a responsibility to sing about all facets of life because all forms of injustice matter and we as artists can initiate the change."

Now, with the release of her first album, LOOKING THERE under her belt, the NYC-based Kaissa's upcoming record balances her humanitarian outlook with exuberant messages of joy, love, hope, optimism and celebration. Holding it all together is the emotional focus of her stunningly beautiful, powerful, yet silky voice.

"I realized a long time ago that my purpose in life is to use my talent for the struggle against racism, sexism, homophobia, poverty and all other forms of social and internalized oppressions," she says. "As a musician, I continuously strive to use my talents to not only entertain, but also educate and rejuvenate the community by bringing a message of love, peace and happiness to as many lives as I can through my words and music and my dedication to both."

The organizations she's joined up with take on some of the toughest problems on the planet: She is Action Against Hunger's Advisory Council member, one of her songs will be featured on the 2011 music CD compilation of WHOA on ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Kaissa is also a member of Artists for Freedom, a global alliance of artists fighting against global human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Finally, the Keep the World Foundation is also keeping Kaissa busy, as they work to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women.

Outside the studio, Kaissa's star keeps rising with appearances from Paris to Yaounde via Warsaw and back to NYC - all part of a rich career that has seen Kaissa collaborating or performing with the likes of Manu Dibango, Salif Keita, Jean-Michel Jarre, Cesaria Evora, Martha Wash, David Byrne, and Diana Ross.

Her performances were highlighted by a personal invitation from Paul Simon to sing his songs for his Brooklyn Academy of Music Love in Hard Times career retrospective - an honor she shared along with David Byrne, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, The Roches, Olu Dara, Josh Groban, Grizzly Bear, and others, accompanied by the Paul Simon Band and the master songwriter himself on guitar. "It was an unforgettable experience", Kaissa recalls.

With her music and a mindset that speaking out really does matter, Kaissa is on track to make a difference to people, in more ways than one. She explains simply: "I like to say this: The world is a village - our village - and we can better it. Together."

You can find out more about Kaissa on her website.


name: Kalyan and Sambodhi Prem
description: Celebrating the Sound of the Cello
homepage: kalyan_sambodhi
photo: /artists/img/kalyan_sambodhi.jpg
society: APRA
page: kalyan_sambodhi
bio:
Kalyan, originally from Switzerland, is a classically trained cellist and multi-instrumentalist, with skills on stringed and wind instruments.

With more than 25 years of experience in the musical field he is as acquainted in playing the western violoncello and guitar as he is with ethnical instruments from the East, like the Indian dilruba, the sarangi and the ancient rudraveena. For most of these instruments he has developed his own playing technique but his training in Western and Indian classical music has left its imprints on his musical expression.

During his seven years in India he was inspired by the mystic, Osho, who continues to inspire him. Osho is Kalyan's ultimate music teacher. He says: "Music is sound, but sound can be used in such a way that it creates silence; that is the whole art."

Kalyan also sings, he has developed a unique way of vocal and musical improvisation, based on listening and musical sensitivity and he has shared his talents in several recording projects in the area of meditative music. Today he lives as a recording artist in Canada, offering concerts and events known as 'Singing Celebrations'.

You can find out more about Kalyan on his website.

Sambodhi Prem's music touches the essence of meditation in sound. He gives the listener an almost tangible experience of being in the presence of silent naturalness.

About being a musician Sambodhi Prem says: "When one merges into stillness and sounds are stirred and sent away on journeys through the air - to create music like that - a pureness of heart is required. I set out on a journey to face myself and to learn the scope of my own being. Beautiful music has to come from a beautiful place in yourself. At a young age I decided to discover that place."

In his early twenties, through reading one of his books, Sambodhi became inspired by the enlightened mystic Osho. About music Osho has said: "Music helps you from the outside to fall in tune with the inner. Music is a device; it was invented by the buddhas. Listening to great music you suddenly become silent - with no effort. Falling in tune with the music you lose your ego with no effort. You become relaxed, you fall into a deep rest. You are alert, awake, and yet in a subtle way drunk."

Sambodhi Prem lives together with Deva Sandipa in Mount Franklin, Victoria, Australia, where the sounds of his studio resonate with the abundance of nature.

Find out more about Sambodhi's work via his Magnatune solo project, website and Sacred Concerts' site.


name: Kammen and Swan
description: a bright edge to traditional Celtic tunes
homepage: kammen_swan
photo: /artists/img/kammen_swan.jpg
society: NONE
page: kammen_swan
bio:
Pam Swan and Shira Kammen bring a bright edge to traditional Celtic tunes and songs from Scotland, Ireland, Galicia, Brittany, Cape Breton and beyond with this fiddle and piano album released in 2001.

Pam Swan has been a wildlife educator, field researcher, museum manager and media spokesperson for Marine World Africa, Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Cygnus Research and Education, and the California Academy of Sciences. Also an acclaimed pianist, singer, and percussionist, she has toured the U.S., Canada and the U.K., performing and teaching traditional Celtic music at festivals, concerts and workshops.

Pam and Shira Kammen have delighted in performing together as a duo in the US and Canada.


name: Kara Nomadica
description: a fresh new sound driven by traditional Arabic and Turkish rhythms
homepage: kara
photo: /artists/img/kara.jpg
society: BMI
page: kara
bio:
Kara Nomadica is a fusion of ancient and exotic instruments from the Middle-East, North Africa, Australia and modern western music. Kara Nomadica captures a fresh new sound that is driven by traditional Arabic and Turkish rhythms and maqamat (micro-tonal scales).

The members of Kara Nomadica play a vast array of traditional instruments, including oud, saz, darabuka, doumbek, riq, frame drum, dholla, davul, ney, and mizmar, and didjeridoo...all solidly anchored in the 21st century by the fretless bass guitar. These ancient, and not-so-ancient, instruments blend to give the band's original compositions a truly unique synergy, while breathing fresh life into their large repertoire of traditional songs from Turkey and the Arab world.

Kara Nomadica's goal is to bring its exotic Middle-Eastern fusion sound to a broad spectrum of music lovers, while specifically focusing on supporting the grace and beauty of the international bellydance community. To this end, Kara Nomadica has recently been inspiring thousands of dancers and listeners at numerous bellydance shows, haflas, arts festivals, World Music and Dance showcases, and charity benefits throughout Northern Colorado, garnering rave reviews.


name: Kat Webb
description: Smooth, sultry Rhythm and Blues from a Southern songstress
homepage: kat_webb
photo: /artists/img/kat_webb.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: kat_webb
bio:
Kat Webb is an Austin, TX-born soul singer, but confining genres definitely aren't her style. Since graduating Yale University in 2007 with a degree in English and substantial training with the Yale School of Music, Webb has resided in Brooklyn, NY, singing background for various NYC artists, writing for up-and-coming artists and interning in audio engineering at The Honablue Institute (formerly Royal Blue Studios).

In May 2011, she made her solo debut with "An Old Soul", a compilation of jazz standards and soul classics re-imagined for the modern listener, recorded entirely in analog with a live band to recreate the true vintage sound. Since then she's been performing in venues all along the East coast, including the legendary Lenox Lounge, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Bowery Poetry Club, Drom, and many more.

The release of her album, A Better Picture marks the first time Kat presents to her audience her own original music. It's sure to be memorable with co-producers Christian Ver Halen and Jesse Fischer on board, and Grammy-winners involved in its production. Big things are coming for this Southern Songbirg!

You can also find out about Kat on her website.


name: Kate Semmens and Steven Devine
description: a choice selection of exquisite music for soprano and harpsichord
homepage: semmens_devine
photo: /artists/img/kate_semmens.jpg
society: NONE
page: semmens_devine
bio:
Kate Semmens and Steven Devine perform intimate music in intimate venues exploring the wealth of music written during the Baroque and Early Classical Period for singer and keyboard.

Kate Semmens is a soloist with many leading groups and opera companies, and sings with some of the UK's finest choirs. Her opera performances have included Cupid (Venus and Adonis), Mycene (Isis), Suzanna (Le Nozze de Cherubino), and Mrs P (The Man who mistook his wife for a hat).

For New Chamber Opera, performances include Galatea (Acis and Galatea), Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas), Orgando (Amadigi), Atalanta (Xerxes) and Semira (Artaxerxes).

In 2011 she was Betty in their much acclaimed production of Salieri's Falstaff. She created the role of Euridice in Caldwells' The Story of Orpheus. Of her Ciro, in their production of Stradella's Il Trespolo Tutore, Opera Magazine wrote "the clarity and charm of Kate Semmens' soprano was disarming".

She sang the title role in the first modern performance of John Stanley's Teraminta for Opera Restor'd and recently completed performances of Cavalli's Erismena, from the original English edition bought by the Bodleian Library in 2009. She has sung under many conductors including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Paul McCreesh, Peter Holman, Professor John Butt, Peter Holman and composer, Eric Whitacre.

Kate has been particularly enjoying performing recitals of music from the pleasure gardens, and the recent anniversaries of Thomas Arne and William Boyce have given opportunities to explore the wealth of this music even further. This is her first solo recording.

Steven Devine enjoys a busy career as a music director and keyboard player working with some of the finest musicians.

He made his London conducting debut in 2002 at the Royal Albert Hall and is now a regular performer there - including making his Proms directing debut in August 2007 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has conducted the Mozart Festival Orchestra in every major concert hall in the UK and also across Switzerland. Steven is Music Director for New Chamber Opera in Oxford and with them has conducted performances of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Mozart's La Finta Semplice and Il Re Pastore, Stradella's Il Trespolo Tutore, Rossini's Le Comte Ory, Handel's Xerxes and Tamerlano, Arne's Artaxerxes, Galuppi's Il Mondo alla Roversa. He has directed the first performance of the newly-acquired score of Cavalli's Erismena and Sallieri's Falstaff with the same forces. For the Dartington Festival Opera he has conducted Handel's Orlando and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.

Since 2007 Steven has been the harpsichordist with London Baroque in addition to his position as Co-Principal keyboard player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He is also the principal keyboard player for The Gonzaga Band, Apollo and Pan, The Classical Opera Company and performs regularly with many other groups around Europe. He has recorded over thirty discs with other artists and ensembles and made three solo recordings. His latest recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations (Chandos Records) has been receiving critical acclaim - including Gramophone magazine describing it as "among the best". Another volume of Bach's harpsichord works is in preparation.

Steven is a regular member of the OAE education team, Professor of Harpsichord and Fortepiano at TrinityLaban Conservatoire of Music and a visiting teacher, adjudicator and examiner for many other institutions. He is also Director of Development for the Finchcocks Collection of historical keyboard instruments, Kent.

You can find his solo page on Magnatune here.


name: Katherine Roberts Perl
description: Bach on the harpsichord - poetic and expressive
homepage: kperl
photo: /artists/img/kperl.jpg
society: NONE
page: kperl
bio:
Katherine Roberts Perl began her harpsichord studies at the age of 14 and went on to study music at Los Angeles City College, Immaculate Heart College, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied intensively with Laurette Goldberg and received her Master's Degree harpsichord performance. Since that time Perl has developed both a unique teaching and playing style for which she has become well known-one that celebrates the dynamic and expressive aspects of the harpsichord and is influenced by the American idioms of blues and jazz.

While conventional ideas of the harpsichord hold that it does not allow for variation in volume, Perl's powerful playing overturns this perception, and mines the expressive capacity of the instrument. Her innovative approach has been termed "sound sculpture."

Ms. Perl's first recording, Pieces de Clavecin, Music of Louis Couperin was nominated for Best Baroque Recording of French music in 1993, in Paris. The second recording, Music of Jacques Duphly, was released in 1998 on the Dorian label and most recently Perl's independent recording of four of Bach's French Suites has been made available on Magnatune. Bach's classic composition for harpsichord, The Well-Tempered Clavier, has now become the center of Perl's artistic attention and future recordings and releases are in the works.

In addition to her performing, teaching, and recording activities, Katherine Roberts Perl is an esteemed harpsichord technician, serving the Bay Area. She and her husband Mark produce a concert series/salon in their home in San Francisco called Chattanooga Chamber Music, which consists of four live music performances every fall and spring.

"I consider myself extremely fortunate that my life thus far has been contemporary with many great masters," says Perl, "who have shown the way for practitioners of early music performance in my own generation and the next: musicians such as Gustav Leonhardt, the Kuijken brothers and Hopkinson Smith, to name a few." She adds, "My mission in life is to play the music of Bach, Couperin and others on the harpsichord with clarity and grace, and to teach others what it takes to do so. Meaningful expression is an elusive thing, and so wondrous when it is achieved."

Additional Praise for Katherine Roberts Perl:

"The key to Roberts' success is her fluent but precise rhythmic sense. She has a way of springing the rhythm, drawing out the line, waiting until the last possible moment before attacking a note without damaging the onward flow in the slightest. Strength and delicacy, nuance and bite seemed available in abundance...a fluent but precise rhythmic sense." -Charles Shere, Oakland Tribune

"She genuinely captured the essence of accurate, sensitive and stylistic French keyboard playing...the audience was enraptured...passion and fire." -Ruta Bloomfield, Iowa city


name: Katherine Shao
description: beautiful Bach on three different beautiful harpsichords
homepage: katherine_shao
photo: /artists/img/katherine_shao.jpg
society: NONE
page: katherine_shao
bio:
Katherine Shao, harpsichordist, has performed a variety of high end ensembles, including the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the San Francisco Symphony.

Katherine started out playing piano and reading music before she could read words, around the age of 4. After learning the standard classical repertoire, she became enamored with the music written before 1750 and the Baroque style in particular. At Indiana University she studied the great works and also the art of ensemble accompaniment, otherwise known as basso continuo, and mastered the principles of rendering figured bass into the fabric of every ensemble performance. Katherine's performances as a continuo player can be heard in the texture of many recordings with some of the finest artists in historical performance.

This improvisatory style is a joy to play and informs her performance of all the keyboard genres she plays. She also works frequently in the contemporary music realm, and has incorporated new music, jazz, and performance art elements in many of her endeavors as well as actively pursuing jazz piano, where she applies the foundation of basso continuo to the keyboard comping and soloing that's so integral to jazz performance.

In addition to her many endeavors as a performer, Katherine also works as a consultant for Forrester Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

You can find out more about Katherine on her Youtube page.


name: Kathleen McIntosh
description: delicious harpsichord rarities
homepage: kathleen_mcintosh
photo: /artists/img/kathleen_mcintosh2.jpg
society: NONE
page: kathleen_mcintosh
bio:
Padre Antonio Soler Sonatas
"This is probably the finest recording of selected sonatas of Soler that I have heard; indeed, I find it even more satisfying than the fine performances on a modern piano by the esteemed Alicia de Larrocha."
Victor Hill - The Diapason

Kathleen McIntosh plays Bach
"The playing is fresh and insightful, eager and probing; its artistic skies are sunny with discovery... The French Overture proceeds with perfect poise... while the Fantasy and Fugue in A minor is like listening to McIntosh build a palace of sound...Highly recommended."
Craig Smith - The Santa Fe New Mexican

Harpsichordist Kathleen McIntosh has traveled widely, performing with such groups as the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin in Moscow, the Vietnam National Symphony in Hanoi and the New American chamber orchestra in Spain. She has played in the Santa Fe Chamber Festival since 1996 and in the Bravo!Vail Valley Festival since 1999.

She appears frequently with chamber groups, chamber orchestras and as a soloist throughout the western United States. A resident of Santa Fe, she performs with Serenata de Santa Fe, Santa Fe Pro Musica and many other New Mexico based groups. She has been a featured artist in the Esteban Salas Festival in Havana, the Festival de Musica Antigua in Lima, the International All Round Music Festival in Tsuyama and the Deya' Festival in Mallorca.

An enthusiastic proponent of contemporary music, she is half of the McFish Duo, which commissions new works for viola and harpsichord. With her partner, Marlow Fisher, McFish has premiered works by Anna Rubin, Glen Roven, Will Averitt, John Steinmetz, Arni Egilsson, Beth Anderson and Nicholas Chase. Other works, such as the Melinda Wagner' "Concertino for harpsichord and strings" and Alex Shapiro's "Slip" were written expressly for her.

The Los Angeles Reader wrote of her performance of J.S.Bach's "Goldberg Variations" that "her nearly flawless technique" and "understated eloquence...produced revelatory results."

Of her recording of the complete keyboard works of Boismortier, Continuo magazine said "A breathtakingly beautiful performance."

Ms. McIntosh performs on instruments by John Phillips.


name: Kato Kahra
description: a world of independent music with electronic spice
homepage: kato_kahra
photo: /artists/img/kato_kahra.jpg
society: OSA
page: kato_kahra
bio:
Kato Kahra is an independent musical project which was formed in 2007 by two music producers, Tomas Hradec and Kamil Kavecka, who colaborate with various artists from all over the world. Kato Kahra mixes electronic music with any interesting live instruments and vocals.

Kamil Kavecka used to play an acoustic guitar when he was a child and started working with musical programs in 1999. Meeting Tomas Hradec in 2007 led to the foundation of the Kato Kahra project whose name consists of their acronyms.

Tomas Hradec was born in the Czech Republic / Liberec and started attending piano lessons at the age of six. At the age of twelve he switched to electronic keys which later became his great passion. With the flow of new information and the advent of modern technology Tomas started experimenting with musical instruments, predominantly synthesizers and specialized musical software that helps him create and combine his musical visions.

Guest artists

Kostas Trikalis (GR) : bouzuki, oud, tzouras.

Greek multiinstrumentalist who put his mind to music at the age of 10. Kostas has spent 18 years playing music in different bands. He specializes in traditional stringed instruments, guitars and violin. He has put his brain to composing his own music and cooperating with various artists lately. He is a member of a scholastic musical group in Heraklion and founder of a musical forum called Mastering.gr.
Credits on "One Music": Calcutta, See Ma Melody (Way)

www.myspace.com/trikalis

Blue Christal (DE/IN) : flute.

A great wind instruments player who spent his childhood in several countries. He travels a lot, mainly between Germany and India. His private collection consists of more than 40 kinds of wind instruments. Blue performs live together with various bands, he guests in many digital projects and is also into therapeutic uses of music.

Credits on new album: Flute Ornament

www.bluechristal.jimdo.com

Lukas Rufer (CZ) : electric bass and guitar.

A musician who started playing the acoustic guitar at the age of 17. Later on he joined an alternative band called "The Garden Is Opened" where he substituted the bassist. Five years later, he stops performing and leaves the band to focus on his own music. Lukas is a founder of Lunar 5 project which associates kindred individual musicians in order to record or perform live.

Credits on new album: See Ma Melody (Way), Your Face (Hong Kong)

www.bandzone.cz/lunar5

The Singers

Jitka Charvatova (CZ)

Jitka has played the piano since she was a child. She has started to compose her own songs and after meeting Dusan Vozary, she became interested in recording and recorded his solo album. Their cooperation grew into a Fiction project which later became a band and released 3 albums. For a long time, Jitka used to be a member of a succesful band called Skyline that she has left recently and now she is working on her first solo album.

Credits: Your Face (Hong Kong), Pop Poet, See Ma Melody, Journey, Kafute, Gloomy

www.jitkacharvatova.com

Hidey Blackmoon (JP)

A singer, DJ and producer who comes from Tokyo where she showed her talent in the field of dance music in the 80's. Her profesional career started in the 90's. After performing in San Francisco and Israel, Hideyo has settled down on a Spanish island in Mediterranean, on Ibiza, where she colaborates with various artists from all over the world, Kato Kahra included. Credits: Kotodama (Japan)

www.hideyo.jp

Iva Fruhlingova (CZ)

With a great succes In 2004 Iva came back to The Czech Republic from Paris where at first she worked as a model since she was 14. But as far as the music is concerned, she started singing in a band named "Turn Over". She signed a record deal for 4 albums after a major label had noticed her. The album didn't score only in France, but also in Czech music charts and went gold and platinum. In 2006 Iva won a newcomer of the year award at Czech Music Awards. Nowadays she performs with a band named No Panic. Credits: Dreamin
   www.ivaf.cz
   

   

   
Marketa Polakova (CZ)
   
A singer and musician who started performing in a choir as a child. Later on she has participated in many musical projects and bands where she has played the piano and sang. Marketa is now a "Moon and I" member and she composes music for her own project called "Confused". Credits: Still Alive
   
www.bandzone.cz/confused
   

   

   

   
Sonia Aimy (IT/NG)
   
Sonia is a singer, actress, choreographer and writer living in Torino, Italy but comes from Nigeria. As a child she fell in love with singing and thanks to an international program she started gaining experience in Europe, especially in Italy. She has performed in the national theater in Torino and Rome, in many TV programes and she has also acted in some Italian movies. She has also participated in many international programs for young people in many European countries. Sonia organizes musical festivals, writes books and creates her own scenic choreography.
   
Credits: Afrika Mwen, Chill and Believe
   
www.myspace.com/soniaaimy
   

   

   

   
Pavla Milcova (CZ)
   
Pavla Milcova
   
Pavla is a singer, songwriter and music composer who also writes poems and lyrics for top Czech artists. She also composes scenic music for theater, sings and plays in movies. Pavla has released 4 albums and founded her own record label named Lampion Records.
   
Credits: lnsalave
   
www.pavlamilcova.com


name: Katrina Wreede
description: From Fun and Jazzy to Moody and Melancholic
homepage: katrina_wreede
photo: /artists/img/katrina_wreede_small.jpg
society: BMI
page: katrina_wreede
bio:
Katrina Wreede, composer and violist, is a tireless proponent for strings in jazz and contemporary chamber music. In addition to creating new works and performance opportunities in unusual venues, like her Drive-By Violas inside a Boston fruit stand and bus kiosk, she has been a professional symphony musician, a member of the ground-breaking Turtle Island String Quartet, a concert soloist, a belly dancer, a police finger-printer, a strolling, rhinestone-studded "alto violinist" for royalty, a non-denominational wedding officiant, a student of Italian, Tango Nuevo, Persian, and Roma music and a composer and performer for chamber ensembles, orchestras, film, and dance. Jazz historian, Leonard Feather, credited her with having "extemporaneous mastery, rare, perhaps unique, in the annals of the viola."

Her compositions are performed and broadcast internationally including by the Ahn Trio, David Parsons Dance Troupe, the Omaha Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Tassajara Symphony, the Mill Valley Philharmonic, Orchestra Rosario in Argentina, Mexico's Ensamble de Violas, and durch Einsamkeiten in Germany. Vlazville Music publishes and distributes her sheet music and Add Viola and Stir, can be heard world-wide on radio and streaming sites.

In 2008, she founded Composing Together, an organization that brings professional composers and musicians into schools, creating and performing over 100 new works, collaborating with over 2000 Bay Area middle and high schoolers. There are currently 14 musicians and composers on the CT roster. She is a founding faculty member of the John Adams Young Composer Program at the Crowden School, designed and led Berkeley Symphony's Junior Composer Program, created and led the Berkeley Young Composers Ensemble, is a Certified Teaching Artist for the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, a member of the Teaching Artists Guild, and was a Composer in the Schools for the American Composers Forum-San Francisco Bay Area Chapter for nine years, including creating their handbook for composers working with teens. She has been on the Young Musicians Program faculty at the San Francisco Community Music Center for 8 years, where she started as a commissioned composer-in-residence, fell in love with their mission, and never left.

She conducts educational clinics around the country, including "My Goldfish Died-Blues for Strings". In 2009, her workshops served every string teacher in the state of Montana, helping to create blues and improvisation programs for their classrooms, and has provided in-service programs for American String Teachers Assoc, Music Teachers of America, San Francisco USD, Bronxville, New York USD, and Nevada County USD.

She is a contributing author of the American String Teachers Association book, Playing and Teaching the Viola and has contributed articles to the ASTA Journal, Journal of the American Viola Society, Strings Magazine, and many other music- oriented periodicals and newsletters.

You can find out more about Katrina on her website.


name: Kavanah
description: Eclectic Intense, Industrial Ethnic, Classical phrasing, Soundtrack, Cirque
homepage: kavanah
photo: /artists/img/kavanah_kate.jpg
society: BMI
page: kavanah
bio:
Kavanah is made up of Kate and Martin St-Pierre.

Kate St-Pierre is most recognized for her versatility, be it in her voice or her character work. Vocally she is renowned for her ethnic qualities, her throaty grunge-like belt into a pure operatic tone and her passionate phrasing.

Kate has recorded works for multiple film scores and soundtracks. Original show recordings include the soundtrack by Benoit Jutras (Cirque du Soleil, "Journey of Man") for Franco Dragone's (Cirque du Soleil, Celine's "New Day") show, "Le Reve" at the Wynn hotel; featured vocal soloist for the Middle Eastern and World Music group Solace 2006 release "Nagari" and 2005 release "Balance"; guest soloist on Jon Anderson's (Yes) highly anticipated album project, "In Elven Lands."

Kate's Balkan belting and Middle Eastern expressions have been used in multiple film scores and television projects and can also be heard on the soundtrack for acts of many former Cirque du Soleil artists.

Kate is the soloist for director Michael Manzanet's Cirque Montage score and original soundtrack. Kate's voice was also featured on the 2004 New York Drama Desk Award Nominated Music for the theatrical show, "Ramayana 2K3."

Kate has worked with many projects. Prominent groups are: Shamans Dream World Groove Ensemble, an eclectic group of world class musicians from diverse musical backgrounds; Cat on the Roof, Romany (Gypsy) jazz - violin, dijeridoo, percussion, and voice; Healer, heavy/industrial/tribal band with White Zombie drummer Ivan De Prune; The Los Angeles Opera as Assist. Director and Character / Singer for the 2004 - 2005 Outreach Program.

Kate has also coached character development to many professional actors, gymnasts, aerialists and dancers. While at "Le Reve" Kate developed a program to encourage new arriving artists to incorporate their vocal expression with their aerial, gymnastic and dance performance. Kate also developed a program for Cirque du Soleil to assist newly cast singers in their adapting to in-ear monitor use and finding their personal mixes.

Kate studied North Indian voice with Lakshmi Shankar, Opera Studies with Dr. Kevin St. Clair, USC and Joselyn Fleury, Concordia University, Montreal. Opera, Balkan, Tuvan and Tibetan Throat Chanting with Dennis Parnel. Acting and Improvisation Studies with Larry Pellegrini (Artificial Intelligence) and Jay Legget (I.O. and In Living Color). West African Dance with Nzingha Camara (Les Ballet Africains, Dance Collective, Le Ballet de Kouman Kele), Fire Dance and Poi with Indra Yoga and Dance, Cerceau with Marie-Therese (Trapezium).

After singing in Cirque Du Soleil's,"Ka" at the MGM in Las Vegas Kate performed with her band Kavanah at the Coachella Music Festival to 60,000 people and then went on to tour Europe with the band Solace. Kate recently recorded again for Benoit Jutras and often records for legendary film trailer composer Thomas J. Bergersen of Two Steps From Hell Productions (Avatar, Star Trek, Pirates of the Caribbean.) In June of 2011 Thomas Bergersen released his first solo work, Illusions, which immediately jumped to the #2 position on itunes' classical chart. Kate's voice can be heard on several tracks including the title, Illusions and Hurt. Kate is proud to be a licensed Music Together Teacher and loves working with children and their parents at City Lights Music Together.

After completing his North American Tour of "Quidam" in 1997, which he originated with Cirque du Soleil in 1996, Martin St-Pierre has continued to be recognized as a front man for improvised violin in the Classical, World Music, and Jazz communities. Martin has extensive knowledge of North Indian Classical Music and traditional Chinese Music. Martin collects and plays many Ethnic stringed instruments and his playing has been recorded for use in several sound libraries. Martin can also be regularly heard playing many of his ethnic instruments for the score to the new Sci-Fi series, "Battlestar Galactica."

Martin received his Bachelor and Master degrees in Music Performance from Montreal University. Martin is also a full scholarship Conducting Alumnus of the prestigious Pierre Monteux School for Orchestra Conducting in Maine. As a violinist, Martin has performed and recorded with multiple orchestras including the world renowned "Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne," "I Musici," and "The Hollywood Orchestra" for the film score, "Spiderman 3."

As a Composer and Orchestrator, Martin has a vast array of styles and influences that he draws upon for each of his projects. Cirque du Soleil commissioned Martin to orchestrate for full orchestra, a performance, which he then also conducted for Canada's prestigious Governor General's Awards. Martin worked on the Orchestral Programming and Additional Orchestration for the new multi-million dollar show, "Le Reve" at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, Dir. by Franco Dragone. Martin has assisted composer Christopher Young as an Arranger, Orchestrator and Score Coordinator on multiple projects including, "The Grudge," "Beauty Shop," "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," "The Grudge 2," "Ghost Rider" which Martin was also the score Co-Producer and most recently, "Spiderman 3."

Martin was selected for the 2006 Sundance Film Institute's Composer's Lab. While in Sundance Martin worked under the mentorship of composers Terence Blanchard, George S. Clinton, Laura Karpman, Thomas Newman and Alex Werman.

In 2006 Martin was sought out to arrange 6 songs specifically selected by and to be performed for Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. An all star band performed the pieces in a private performance for the legends. Soon after Trent Reznor asked Martin to arrange 8 of his NIN songs for an all-acoustic performance at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit Concerts, at which Martin also performed along side Trent. Neil Young and Trent were very impressed with Martin's arrangements and the performance. Trent then decided to bring Martin into the studio to record the whole project. In 2007 Martin was named Music Director for the Theatrical Vaudeville group, "LucEnt DosSieR." Martin composed 40 minutes of original music, which he then performed live with his group of notable musicians at Coachella. The music festival, which sold out at over 60,000 attendees that year included performers Bjork, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine.

Martin composed the score for Dir. Seth Resnik, 2005 Academy (AMPAS) Nicholl Fellowship's award recipient and nominee for 2006 Academy's Student Awards, latest film, "The Wish." In 2004 Martin St-Pierre was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Music, for the show, "Ramayana 2k3."

Martin composed the music score for director Michael Manzanet's beautiful Cirque Montage stage show, which is currently touring the US and often in Europe and Asia. He often works with dir. Michael Manzanet on his productions. Martin has also composed music for the largest permanent circus in the world in Guangzhou China. Currently Martin is Violinist and Assist Conductor at Cirque du Soleil's Mystere in Las Vegas.


name: Ken Bonfield
description: Calling Bonfield a guitarist is like calling Michelangelo a painter
homepage: ken_bonfield
photo: /artists/img/ken_bonfield_low.jpg
society: BMI
page: ken_bonfield
bio:
Fingerstyle Guitarist Ken Bonfield has performed throughout the United States for more than 20 years. Based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Bonfield is a regular at guitar festivals, concert series, and acoustic venues across North America, and has released seven albums. His latest, Legacy, is a solo effort that focuses on harp and baritone guitars, with several new arrangements of original tunes Bonfield recorded on earlier albums.

Although he came out of the 1960's folk tradition, Bonfield was closely associated with new-age music in the mid 90's. Today his sophisticated Americana compositions feature a solid dose of Celtic, jazz, and traditional folk influences that might best be described as American Baroque.

In his open-hearted, welcoming concerts, workshops and master classes, he shares new guitar dimensions and sonic explorations with his listeners. His compositions are performed with his unique "chamber ensemble " of handcrafted instruments ranging from baritone guitar to an 11-string harp guitar to a high-string guitar which Bonfield likens to a 6-string, Steel-String ukulele.

Bonfield has been a featured performer at some of the finest acoustic venues, coffee houses, music festivals, and guitar festivals in North America such as Club Passim, Eddie's Attic, Uncle Calvin's, Be Here Now, Acoustic Sounds Cafe, Kent State Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Montreal Guitar Festival, Newport Guitar Festival, Healdsburg Guitar Festival, Memphis Guitar Festival and Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration, appearing with a wide range of icons and contemporary artists ranging from Arlo Guthrie to John Mayer, including Canadian folk hero Garnet Rogers, and Pierce Pettis, Dee Carstensen, Cosy Sheridan. Bonfield has also shared the stage with guitar legends Larry Corryell, Adrian Legg, Ed Gerhard, Muriel Anderson, Stephen Bennett, Tim Sparks, Dakota Dave Hull, and countless others.

Bonfield's work is inspired by a deep love for the beauty, the sounds, and the craft of the acoustic guitar. Most of his compositions and arrangements utilize alternate tunings that extend the lower register of a standard guitar, and feature memorable melodies. Bonfield has the rare ability to compose new music that sounds like music we've heard many times before.

Accolades

"Everyone that attended last night's concert left with the sense they were receiving a perfect gem. It was intimate, remarkable musicianship. Ken's music is heart music, and our hearts all got bigger last night."
Laurie Low, Rising Star Mill.

"Ken Bonfield is a child of Leo Kottke.ÊHe shares Kottke's intricate finger picking techniques and casts them in an intimate setting that he calls, American Baroque."
John Diliberto, Host of PRI's Nationally Syndicated show Echoes.

"Ken Bonfield's instrumental guitar work patently avoids the incessant noodling...instead melody is king and Bonfield's gifted fingers flesh out a beautiful cavalcade of notes that are at times reminiscent of a human voice singing and often soaring."
Frank Rabey, Mountain Xpress.

"Ken Bonfield knocks me out. He plays with the two main ingredients I look for in a player; heart and passion. He's a player's player, and I'm a die hard fan."
John Beland, Flying Burrito Bros.

"Eddie's Attic is singer/songwriter heaven in the South East, but Ken Bonfield is so good he doesn't need to sing to be a hit here.ÊHe's the real deal!"
Eddie Owen, Eddie's Attic.


name: Kendra Springer
description: lyrical piano music to lift your spirits
homepage: kendra_springer
photo: /artists/img/kendra_springer.jpg
society: NONE
page: kendra_springer
bio:
"As an artist, my goal in making music is to create an ambiance of soothing relaxation through the healing power of music, to lift your spirits." ~ Kendra

Composer Kendra Springer plays solo piano music in the tradition of Jim Brickman. After releasing her first album "Hope" in December 2009, Kendra's music has received many rave reviews from around the world:

"Truly beautiful, romantic, emotional, inspiring piano music for quiet moments and special moods. Love your talents!"
Ocvirek, Croatia

Her music can be heard on the radio including Whisperings Radio, the #1 Solo Piano Broadcast on the internet.

She is the #1 most listened to artist on Jamendo, music platform and Creative Commons community, a site that features over 35,000 other albums.

Kendra's musical background has been influenced by many very diverse sounds; from the classic masters like Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, to Big Band sounds like Glenn Miller, and easy listening artists like Kenny G, pianists like Jim Brickman and Yanni, and composer/arrangers David Foster and Walter Afanasieff.

"Gorgeous, beautiful piano. Gentle and soulfully imparted from the heart. Kendra Springer has fluent fingers on those liquid keys. Such simple but delightful piano tunes... daydreaming and contemplating the wonders of life. What excellent, and inspiring music."

For more on Kendra please visit her website.


name: Kenji Williams
description: ambient/IDM with a dash of dub
homepage: kenji_williams
photo: /artists/img/kenji1.jpg
society: BMI
page: kenji_williams
bio:
Creative Director Kenji Williams is an award winning filmmaker, electronic music producer, theatrical show director, and classically-trained violinist. From the first ever Illusion music release-which in collaboration with top DJ John Digweed's Bedrock label reached a global audience of over 100,000-to the latest Death & Rain music video from the album Faces of Epiphany-rated #1 on Harmony Channel TV in 9 million homes-Kenji Williams is exposing his highly unique trademark of powerful cutting edge media to a mainstream audience. In addition to public and critical acclaim, Pioneer, Panasonic, and Sony corporations have all sponsored Kenji with technology & hardware to support his artistic vision. Combining unique skills in film and music, Williams has earned international film awards from the CSC to Sundance, garnered speaking invitations at media conferences such as GEMS in New York, and has been featured in the media from European publications and BBC radio, to mainstream Japanese press, to Wikipedia, Tricycle, NPR, AV Revolution, XLR8R, and Apple.com. Composer and producer of 6 music albums, Director of 15 films and music videos, 3 feature length projects, and 2 multimedia theatrical live shows, (WORLDSPIRIT & Tokyo Dream Theater), Kenji Williams is respected as pushing the boundaries of cutting edge audio visual art.

Born in 1974, and classically trained in Violin since the age of 7, Kenji Williams performs live ethereal-style violin, with a laptop and drum machine transmitting self-produced classics to the dance floor. Tracking Kenji's multimedia career, from classical violin training, to his early influences in Detroit and European techno, to a BFA in Film Production, and touring with Dub Hip Hop Reggae bands and trance group Medicine Drum, while simultaneously producing and directing films and music videos, the combination of ingredients that make Williams' art fuse into an exotic and tantalizing audio visual experience.

Booked from Europe to America to Japan, Kenji Williams performs at house, techno, trance, and ambient events, from intimate underground gatherings, to planetariums, to 30,000 person outdoor productions. Willams has collaborated with visionary artists as Alex Grey, with critical acclaim from highly respected evolutionary philosopher, Ken Wilber. Kenji Williams is creating the cutting edge of musical composition and performance, while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of film & visual communication. Collaborating with the most respected artists of our time, Kenji Williams is re-shaping the context of communication arts. Considered by many as the next level of multimedia art and performance, Kenji Williams delivers unique and un-matched audio visual talent to the audience, with a violin that shatters any stereotypes of cold electronica.

You can also check out Kenji Williams' ensemble project here on Magnatune.


name: Keri Newdigate
description: Evocative, atmospheric, soothing piano
homepage: keri_newdigate
photo: /artists/img/keri_newdigate.jpg
society: NONE
page: keri_newdigate
bio:
Keri Newdigate comes from a musical family in which everyone played an instrument and music was a very natural part of their lives. From an early age she played 2-piano music with her mother. She says "Music is a deep and integral part of my identity, and it is from this wellspring that my musical improvisations turned into compositions".

She studied music at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, then did a Masters in Music Therapy through City University, London, UK. Her post graduate training focussed on working with people with disabilities. In the first year she worked with children who were autistic, had Down's Syndrome, learning difficulties or were severely disabled and confined to wheelchairs.

In her second year of training, she worked with adults in palliative care and in neurological rehabilitation. Her dissertation was on a musician who had had a right hemisphere stroke, and examined how this had impacted on his life.

Keri lives in Cape Town, South Africa with her husband and 2 children, who bring sunshine, laughter and deep joy into her life. She writes "I consider myself extremely fortunately to be able to do two things that I love - be a musician and be a mother".


name: Kerry Politzer
description: Jazz pianist with Brazilian and classical influences
homepage: kerry_politzer
photo: /artists/img/kerry_politzer.jpg
society: SESAC
page: kerry_politzer
bio:
Kerry Politzer started picking out melodies on a toy piano at the age of three. The following year, she started playing the real thing. She studied classical piano for fourteen years, attending the North Carolina School of the Arts and summer programs at Tanglewood and Interlochen. She entered the New England Conservatory of Music with the intention of continuing her classical studies, but fell in love with jazz.

She studied with jazz guru Charlie Banacos, who inspired her to begin composing, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Piano Performance.

In 1996, Kerry was one of six finalists in the American Pianists Association's 3rd Biennial Jazz Piano Competition. Half of the contestants were from New York City, so she decided to try her luck there. She soon discovered a brand-new love, Brazilian music, which began to inform her jazz compositions. Her composition Rhodes Rage won Third Prize, Jazz Category in the 2005 International Songwriting Competition. Her composition Begin The Baiao won Third Prize, Jazz Category in the 2000 Mid-Atlantic Song Competition and an Honorable Mention in the 2000 John Lennon Songwriting Competition.

In 2003 and 2005, Kerry attended the Banff Jazz Workshop, performing original music in master classes, shows and concerts. Kerry's debut album, Yearning, which received four stars from All Music Guide. The title track, "Yearning," is also featured on Sax And The City: Musical Contributions From New York's Best Women Jazz Instrumentalists (Apria Records, 2004). Kerry released three more albums on her own Polisonic label: Watercolor (2002), Labyrinth (2005), and the singer-songwriter project You Took Me In (2007). Labyrinth was a finalist for Best Jazz Album in the 2007 Independent Music Awards. A track on You Took Me In, Love Is In The Atmosphere, won first prize, Jazz in the August 2008 Ourstage competition. She performed this song at the Songwriters Hall of Fame's 62nd New Writers Showcase.

Kerry recently recorded a new instrumental jazz album, Blue in Blue. She also appeared on three tracks of George Colligan's album Runaway (Sunnyside, 2008).

Some venues where Kerry has played include Wave Hill, The Blue Note, Birdland, The Cutting Room, the Queen Elizabeth 2, the Columbus Jazz & Ribs Festival, Jazz Improv Live, Rockwood Music Hall, and the Kitano.


name: Kettleblack
description: original, blues-based rock and roll
homepage: kettleblack
photo: /artists/img/kettleblack.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: kettleblack
bio:
Kettleblack is a Southern California - based blues/rock band that is on the rise, putting on great shows with an exhilarating mix of originals with choice covers, and have been playing around regularly.

Kettleblack has performed at the Orange County Fair, House of Blues Sunset, House of Blues Anaheim, Coach House, and many other clubs in the area such as Good Hurt, Detroit Bar, etc. The band is currently at work on its second album of original material.

Kettleblack has played on bills with the likes of Dave Mason, Cinderella, Eric Sardinas, Dick Dale, Dickey Betts, War, Wayward Sons, Lee Ving, and others. The band always receives an overwhelming response from the crowd.


name: Kim Ribeiro
description: brazilian contemporary and traditional flute
homepage: kim_ribeiro
photo: /artists/img/kim_ribeiro.jpg
society: ECAD
page: kim_ribeiro
bio:
In 1964, when Kim Ribeiro started to play his flute in public, the Bossa-Nova blew up in Rio de Janeiro; he participated of its unfolding in Juiz de Fora (MG) where he was born and raised. Five years later, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, in order to study polyphony, musical analysis and theory in the Pro Arte Seminaries of Music (Rio de Janeiro). His first job was in the State Firemen Corporation Band, as a piccolo player. This was not his only activity, since he started to play with singers and instrumentists like Baden Powell, Alaide Costa, Sergio Ricardo, Nelson Cavaquinho, Paulo Moura, among others exponents of the MPB (Brazilian Popular Music).

He founded his own instrumental group, "Quinteto Pixinguinha". Eclectic composer, he wrote for trios, duos and bigger groups, following and developing diverse styles, although major emphasis was placed on Brazilian rhythms, like 'choro' and 'samba'. So far, his compositions have been recorded by several artists, as the Grupo de Choro da Rocinha, Odette Ernest Dias, Monica Mendes, etc., although his own interpretation has a special flavor.

"Kim did not let himself be a servant of a genre. Theoretically, his music would be called "popular music", since he was not oriented to the vast structures of concert music. Nevertheless, in this universe, that imposes certain time or genre limits, how inspired, variegated and unexpected is his composition! Marks of talent are all over, in the purity of melodic lines, in counterpoint and, mostly, in a certain search of a new sound, whatever this might be."
- Luiz Paulo Horta, music critic for O Globo.


name: Kinky Atoms
description: blue tunes, with experimental electro-gloom
homepage: kinky_atoms
photo: /artists/img/kinky_atoms.jpg
society: SIAE
page: kinky_atoms
bio:
Kinky atoms. Lightrain. Chaos. No meditation. Metropolitan subways. Sitting on a meadow, waiting for the dawn.

Kinky atoms is a duo. The minds behind it are Fabio Properzi and Roberto Matarrese, both musicians and producers with a strong attitude to experimentation.

Their suitability to play several instruments brings them to play with sounds, diving them in computers or playing in their personal way.

Their idea of electronic music is that the sound source must belong to the human touch, as the instruments played.

Anyway they think computer has a soul, but this soul is too perfect. Just let it make mistakes from time to time...

Fabio Properzi plays piano, guitar and bass and is the voice of the project, Roberto plays guitar, bass, live electronics and he's a sound engineer too, and they both take care of the electronic production and the experimentation.

Fabio is the craziest part of the project, Roberto is the the rational one. They adore glitches, antiphase, the imperfections within an improvised recording session, 8-bit tones and analog electronic sounds.

They create their own soundbanks using everything surrounding them, even if it's an empty water tank struck with a drum stick.

Their attitude in livesets is to play all that is playable, creating shows that join live electronics and intruments such as piano and electric guitars.

Active on the italian music scene since 2006, already the mind and pen behind the band Ameba4, Fabio Properzi is a singer, musician, artistic- producer, arranger and song writer for some of the new emerging italian talents. He has worked as an author for Sugar Music from 2005 to 2012, being professionally mentored by Corrado Rustici. Inspired by the atmospheres of Nigel Godrich's music, Properzi's artistic production looks firmly at the future.

Ameba4 was the first project of Fabio Properzi, who also authored both lyrics and music production. During 2005 he begun a partnership with Ermal Meta and Roberto Matarrese, although the origins of the band date back as far as 1997. Ameba4 moved in the shadows for years, they composed and studied music thoroughly before bringing it to higher levels, such was the case with Festival of Sanremo in 2006, where the band competed in the "Young" category with the hit "Rido...forse mi sbaglio", Arezzo Wave Love Festival and M.E.I.

In the same year Sugar published the band's first album, a project that saw the cooperation of Giuliano Sangiorgi (Negramaro) who wrote the song "Strade da disegnare". The sounds of Ameba4 are a union of rock and electronic music, characterized by melodies "in crescendo", sometimes delicate, other times drammatic. The lyrics testify the raising consciousness about the lack of communication between people, the degeneration of which can lead to war, to the destruction of the environment and generally speaking, to the sense of estrangement of modern societies.

In 2007 Fabio Properzi cooperated with Corrado Rustici on the album 'Deconstruction of Postmodern Musician' for which he wrote and sung "Chiudi gli occhi".

Fabio has also recently undertaken a joint project with Giulia Riboli called Tears of Sirens, available on Magnatune.

Roberto Matarrese is active in the music field since he was a kid. Born in a family of musicians, he started to play keyboard and guitar at the age of 11.

In his teenage years, he played in several bands as guitarist. In the meanwhile, combining his two main interests, music and computers, he became interested in the world of electronic music. He started to produce electronic music in 1997, at the age of 15.

Immediately after taking his degree in computer science, he got interested sound engineering. In his career as a sound engineer and producer, he worked with many italian bands and artists, in studio as well as live, and worked on projects that have been produced by various Italian labels, like Universal Music Italy, Sugar Music, Carosello, Rai Trade, etc.

He's also active in contemporary arts. He participated as sound artist for many installations, including interactive ones. Roberto is also a sound engeneering researcher for the University of Architecture of Bari (Italy). His band, besides Kinky Atoms, is LogisticDubLab, an experimental music project combining live electronic music with drums and guitars.

Brains can be electronic, computer core can be human.


name: Kirsty Hawkshaw
description: ambient electronica
homepage: kirsty_hawkshaw
photo: /artists/img/kirsty.jpg
society: PRS
page: kirsty_hawkshaw
bio:
Kirsty Hawkshaw has a secret.

She is legendary as the singer of many dance music hits, including the classic "It's a Fine Day" and as guest vocalist for bands such as Delerium, Orbital, Hybrid, DJ Tiesto, and BT.

But while her voice continues to soar in many dance hits around the world, Kirsty has been creating a different kind of music in her home studio. Her style is ambient electronica with no or minimalist vocals, that is serene, innocent and sublime.

The ambient side of Kirsty started with "Pulusha," a collaboration with Global Communication's Mark Pritchard in the 1990's. Her extraordinary talent has evolved further over the years, enhanced by live performances, recording sessions, and solo studio excursions.

The legend continues with Kirsty Hawkshaw's exquisite electronica. Magnatune is delighted to introduce "The Ice Castle" to the world. Secret, no more.


name: Kitka
description: Eastern European women's vocal music
homepage: kitka
photo: /artists/img/kitka4.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: kitka
bio:
Kitka is a professional women's vocal ensemble dedicated to producing concerts, recordings, and educational programs that develop new audiences for music rooted in Eastern European women's vocal traditions. Kitka also strives to expand the boundaries of this music as an expressive art form. Kitka's mission is accomplished through a busy itinerary of live performances, including a San Francisco Bay Area home concert series; regional, national, and international touring programs; community service activities and workshops; in-school programs; radio, television and internet broadcasts; recording and music publication projects; master artist residencies; commissioning programs; and adventuresome collaborations.

History

Founded in 1979, Kitka began as a grassroots group of amateur singers from diverse backgrounds who met regularly to share their passion for the stunning dissonances, asymmetric rhythms, intricate ornamentation, lush harmonies, and resonant strength of Eastern European women's vocal music. Under the direction of Bon Singer from 1981 to 1996, Kitka blossomed into a refined professional ensemble earning international renown for its artistry, versatility, and mastery of the demanding techniques of traditional and contemporary Balkan, Slavic, and Caucasian vocal styling. Under the co-direction of Shira Cion, Juliana Graffagna, and Janet Kutulas since 1997, Kitka has grown to earn recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chorus America, and the American Choral Directors' Association as one of this country's premier touring vocal ensembles. In addition, many international musical authorities consider Kitka the foremost interpreter of Balkan and Slavic choral repertoire working in the United States.

Kitka has deep ties to Eastern Europe and has traveled there to perform and collect repertoire many times. In 2002, Kitka joined Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares as "international guests of honor" for this world-renowned choir's 50th Anniversary Gala at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2005, supported by a major grant from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, Kitka journeyed to Ukraine for a series of performances, international artist-exchange meetings, radio and television broadcasts, and research expeditions in rural villages. Kitka's singers regularly conduct fieldwork in ethnic communities throughout America as well as abroad. Individual Kitka members have researched and collected songs in Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Many of Kitka's singers are also talented composers and arrangers who create original settings of songs they have gathered in the field.

Kitka's unique sound and innovative sense of programming has led to dozens of other fruitful collaborations, ranging from a reconstruction of the medieval Carmina Burana pageant for CalPerformances, (Thomas Binkley, director), to work with Hollywood composers and independent film-makers on motion picture soundtracks including Braveheart, Jacob's Ladder, and Queen of the Damned. Other collaborations of note include creating the role of the Greek Chorus/Trojan Slave Women in the American Conservatory Theater's three critically-acclaimed performance runs of Hecuba (Carey Perloff, Director) for which Kitka received a Drama Critic's Circle Award nomination; the creation of Women in Black, a multi-disciplinary work inspired by the international Women in Black Against War Movement (Thais Mazur, choreographer; Katrina Wreede composer) for which Kitka received an Izzie award nomination for best musical contribution to a dance program; and Songs from Mama's Table, a celebration of the commonalties and contrasts between Balkan, Slavic and African American women's singing traditions with Grammy nominees Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. In March 2007, Kitka, in collaboration with composer Dan Cantrell, Yiddish folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and dancer Michael Alpert; Balkan Romani multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Rumen Sali Shopov; and stage director Aaron Davidman premiered Musical Fortunes, a new song cycle inspired by the intersection of Eastern European Jewish and Romani ("Gypsy") cultures.

In 2000, Kitka received major grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rockefeller Foundation's MAP Fund to launch the New Folksongs Commissioning Project, which engages some of the most exciting voices in contemporary music to write new works that utilize Kitka's wide-ranging sound palette. New Folksongs commissions premiered to date include compositions by Pauline Oliveros, Chen Yi, Dan Cantrell, Marcel Khalife, Janet Kutulas, David Lang, Linda Tillery, Sara Michael, Daniel Hoffman, Raif Hyseni, Thilo Reinhardt, Roy Whelden, Vladimir Zenevitch, Janika Vandervelde, and Richard Einhorn. In 2002, Kitka began work on it's most ambitious commissioning project to date: The Rusalka Cycle: Songs Between the Worlds, a new vocal-theater project directed by Ellen Sebastian Chang, with original music by Ukrainian composer and folk singer Mariana Sadovska. Weaving old Slavic mythology together with contemporary themes, The Rusalka Cycle's premiere performances took place to extraordinary public acclaim at Oakland's Malonga Center in November 2005. The Rusalka Cycle was revived in San Francisco in January 2008 and subsequently toured to the Revolutions International Theater Festival in Albuquerque, NM. A European tour of The Rusalka Cycle is slated for April 2009, with performances at major festivals and venues in Germany, Poland, and Ukraine. In February 2009, Kitka will premiere Richard Einhorn's The Origin, a new oratorio co-commissioned by ARTSwego at SUNY Oswego. Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Darwin's birth, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, The Origin will be scored for Kitka, symphony orchestra and chorus with film projections by award-winning video artist Bill Morrision.

Kitka has released ten critically acclaimed recordings, eight on its own Diaphonica label, most recently Sanctuary: A Cathedral Concert (2008). A new recording and companion songbook Cradlesongs, featuring original settings of traditional lullabies of Eastern Europe, is currently in production and slated for release in May 2009. Kitka's first songbook, a companion to the Wintersongs CD, is in its third pressing and continues to make a significant impact on the international choral music field.

A frequent guest on national radio shows, Kitka has been featured on nationally syndicated programs such as PRI's The World, A Prairie Home Companion, All Things Considered, On Point, The Story, West Coast Live and Performance Today. In January 2008, National Geographic produced a World Music Profile Podcast feature on Kitka's Rusalka Cycle project. In recent seasons, live Kitka concerts were also broadcast widely on the CBC (Radio Canada), and Ukrainian national radio and television. Since the winter of 2006-2007, the live performance film Kitka and Davka in Concert: Old and New World Jewish Music has been broadcast nationally on more than 80 public television stations and has been an award-winning selection at international and Jewish film festivals from Beijing to Toronto.

A frequently occurring symbolic word in Balkan women's folksong lyrics, Kitka means "bouquet" in Bulgarian and Macedonian.


name: Kiwi
description: world roots soul music
homepage: kiwi
photo: /artists/img/kiwi.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: kiwi
bio:
"Warm, summery and hypnotic like all the best roots reggae... [with] wise, slinky vocals."
-Lucidculture.com

Rooted in reggae rhythms and tropicalia-inspired melodies, Jersey City-based Kiwi dynamically blends jazz flourishes and soulful grooves into a uniquely uplifting sound.

After nearly a decade of entertaining audiences around the Northeastern US and Brazil, Kiwi has hit their stride with a new lineup featuring some of the New York City area's finest soul and funk musicians. The band, which includes Alex Tea (vocals, guitar), Ramsey Norman (drums), Steve Capecci (bass), Ben Guadalupe (percussion), Dave Stolarz (keys), Barami Waspe (tenor sax), Curtis Taylor (trumpet), and Rob Edwards (trombone), has been invited to share the stage with veteran reggae/ska acts including the Pietasters and John Brown's Body.

Much of Kiwi's pan-global approach to music is inspired by the time that songwriter Alex Tea spent in Brazil, beginning with a trip to the ocean-side city of Fortaleza over a decade ago. It was in Fortaleza that Tea first fell in love with the Portuguese language and capoeira, the Brazilian martial art that combines exuberant dancing and singing with powerful strikes and take-down maneuvers.

"What drew me into capoiera was the sense of community among everyone involved" says Tea. "Each roda [capoeira exhibition/match] had a live soundtrack that featured instruments, melodies, and cadences that I had never heard before, but seemed so familiar." It didn't take long for Tea, the grandson of a classical violinist, to incorporate Brazilian rhythms and instruments, as well as Portuguese lyrics, into Kiwi's music.

In addition to over a hundred club and dancehall performances, Kiwi has also performed at a variety of music festivals and community events in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. They are also proud to be an active and vibrant presence in their home base, the Jersey City arts scene. In addition to a burgeoning American following, Kiwi also has a growing fanbase in Brazil, where they have embarked on two short tours.

You can find out more about Kiwi on their website: www.kiwirootsmusic.com

Notable Performances:
25th Annual Bud Light Reggae Festival at Sugarloaf Mtn in Maine (2013)
Joe's Pub (headliner), New York, NY (2013)
w/ The Pietasters at The Irish in Kearny, NJ (2012)
The Bitter End (headliner), New York, NY (2011)
w/ Natiruts in Brazil (2011)
w/ John Brown's Body at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ (2011)
w/ Bushman at Sullivan Hall (2011)
w/ Ritchie Spice at The Haunt in Ithaca, NY (2007)
Headlining the Camp Reggae festival in Isabella, TN (2005-2007)
w/ Groundation in Brazil (2006)


name: Koshanin
description: Piano Tales, Ancient Dreams
homepage: koshanin
photo: /artists/img/koshanin.jpg
society: BMI
page: koshanin
bio:
Koshanin is a piano player, composer and a veteran on the music scene with his active music career stretching well over 20 years. His musical career started in Yugoslavia where he acquired his formal music education at the early age and joined the local music scene to play with numerous groups.

In the '90s, he eventually relocated to the USA and continued his musical journey. He has played extensively with various groups and could be seen in clubs, festivals and on stages throughout the USA and Canada.

After focusing on more private studies Koshanin developed an interest in reed instruments and gradually shifted to new directions, now working with several World Music groups performing Latin, African and Mediterranean music styles. He continued recording and performing live and by this time all the accumulated collaborations and side works in both Europe and USA amounted to over 30 albums.

Meanwhile Koshanin found himself returning to his first love in music - piano, and coupled with the revived fascination with Balkan folk music from his childhood, this laid the foundation for a new body of work. By blending the sounds of the Old World with the contemporary Western music, Koshanin transforms piano into a modern-day folk instrument with his unique interpretations of traditional Balkan folk songs and original, folk music inspired compositions.

Koshanin is currently based in Portland, Oregon. He performed at various venues throughout the Pacific Northwest including Seattle's Folklife Festival, Salem World Beat Festival, The Earth Day Conference and is also a resident artist at Portland International Airport's "Arts & Entertainment Program" where he performs regularly.

You can find out more about Koshanin on his website.


name: Kourosh Dini
description: minimalist piano with slashes of ambient electronics
homepage: kouroshdini
photo: /artists/img/kouroshdini_small.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: kouroshdini
bio:
Classically trained, Kourosh Dini explores new ground in the realms of piano and electronic music. His interest lies in the discovery of various emotions in phrases be they composed in the baroque era or in present day dance clubs. He has done scores for short films, both recorded and live.

Kourosh Dini is a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. He feels music to be an integral part of the development of cognitive and emotional health.


name: Kourosh Zolani
description: persian santour (hammer dulcimer)
homepage: kourosh_zolani
photo: /artists/img/kourosh_zolani.jpg
society: NONE
page: kourosh_zolani
bio:
Kourosh Zolani was born in a small village in Iran. He does not come from a background that encouraged him to become a musician; indeed, he comes from a small town where music is not a part of everyday life and is, in general, considered taboo.

Kourosh has received numerous awards for his performances and compositions.

He is the first musician to perform on the Chromatic Santour with a symphony orchestra, performing his original scores at venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and in the Roman city of Jerash in Jordan.

Kourosh invented a new method of tuning the Santour that revolutionized the ancient instrument by transforming it from an exclusively diatonic instrument to a chromatic one - in essence, allowing the Santour to participate in more complex music. Finally, Kourosh evolved his invention to the new levels designing a family of Chromatic Santours, which further expand the instrument's realms of timbre and range.


name: Kristian Taus
description: Collections of melancholic and minimalistic soundscapes
homepage: kristian_taus
photo: /artists/img/kristian_taus.jpg
society: KODA
page: kristian_taus
bio:
What started of as a project on the side, creating scores and background music for numerous TV programs, videos, movies and documentaries, was over the years getting more and more time and effort dedicated to it, until the emotional reflective portrait of the world around him had become his main project, and his electronical compositions was getting created on the sideline.

Since childhood Kristian Taus has been modding electronics and instruments, something that went on to play a major role in use for his musical creations. He has since then moved on to detuning and altering pianos and stringed instruments, in order to get them to fit the certain mood and enviroment of his tracks, something which is clearly heard in the soundscape and feel of his music. Recording is a slow process due to the countless hours that go into engineering pianos before recording, but over time a collection begin to take form.

Born in the Danish countryside in 1978, Kristian grew up with his parents and two sisters, and began early on to show an interest in music. Sharing a interest for New Age and Neo Classical music with his father, he was heavily inspired by the likes of Brian Eno, Philip Glass, La Monte Young, Harold Budd, Pierre Henry and the like, he took an early direction of recording and assembling sounds on tape cassette players and Amiga 500 computer using the recorded sound of everything from rolling pencils to recordings of the one stringed decorative guitar from the wall in his parents bedroom and creating manual multi track recordings by using several tape cassette players wired together while tapping on the needle of a record player with a broken motor, to make a beat. He also began developing an interest in computers and electronics, and the very structure of sound. An interest that grew over the years and started embracing "real" instruments and in the process search for the limits of how a given instrument could sound.

As a musical background, Kristian has spend most of his life composing music in countless genres and subgenres of the electronical music scene, and has released numerous singles, EP's and albums, as well as taken part in various projects over the years. Better known for his electronical compositions in aliases such as stilk, dunkelfelt, ukendt and heshan and kork, the albums available through Magnatune are his debut release within the minimalistic solo piano genre.

The mood and feel of the tracks range from the darkest despair to glimmers of hope, from solo piano pieces to pseudo ensemble compositions, from the raw sound of dark modded pianos to reverb covered guitars.


name: Kurt Hunter
description: If Jason Mraz wrote upbeat pop songs for James Taylor to sing
homepage: kurt_hunter
photo: /artists/img/kurt_hunter.jpg
society: ASCAP
page: kurt_hunter
bio:
Originally hailing from the New Orleans area, Kurt Hunter now resides in Southern California. Kurt has played music in over 35 states, internationally, and on one of the world's largest cruise ships The Norwegian Epic.

His songs have been featured in airplane radio, movie theaters, and national television. His most known appearance to date is an Esurance commercial where he got "animated" by the team at Esurance. Kurt has released two full length albums and countless singles and covers.

His music has also appeared on MTV's Teen Mom, Auction Kings, Delta Airlines, and Fox promotions. He describes his sound as a blend of Jason Mraz and James Taylor.

Kurt is known for his upbeat and quirky personality and dynamic shows. His songs are instantly singable, and will quickly make their way into your daily playlists.


name: Kyven
description: 80s Pop with Modern Chops
homepage: kyven
photo: /artists/img/kyven.jpg
society: BMI
page: kyven
bio:
Kyven is the pop music creation by Kyle Ewalt and Steven Shewbrooks. Rich velvet vocals swimming in a sea of synthesizers catapulted by driving electronic rhythms that'll take you up!

Kyle - the statuesque tenor from California and Steven - the energetic keyboard player from New England met while studying in Boston.

Their melodies are catchy and their messages are clear...hard hitting yet positive, recognizable yet uniquely crafted, universal yet personal...Kyven always leaves you wanting more.


name: L2A2
description: Emotional orchestral compositions for film,television or simply daydreaming
homepage: l2a2
photo: /artists/img/L2A2.jpg
society: NONE
page: l2a2
bio:
L2A2 is the composing name Gaz Keenan works under. He is an English music composer that has also played in many bands and worked in sound engineering/sound design, songwriting and arrangement. During his time, he has worked with some amazing composers, too.

Gaz is a multi instrumentalist but when he likes to be relaxed, he does have a soft spot for reverby delayed sweeping long electric guitar lines.

He takes his inspiration from emotion and the nature/seasons, well basically the planet we live on and sometimes beyond!

Gaz' style is mainly instrumental and can go from full on orchestral cinematic bombastic to cyberpunk/80's synthwave, all the way to ethereal siren-led viking chants from a distant longboat across an ancient body of water!

His goal is always to invite the listener in.

If he gets a musical idea or a visual inspiration in his head, he will go after it relentlessly and turn that idea/thought/feeling into music as he believes that is where all of our best original ideas come from.


