MADE NOW MUSIC presents: downend Album Launch

Friday, November 22nd at The Sideshow - West End - Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry.

MADE NOW MUSIC are proud to launch the debut album of the powerhouse local duo downend! Support Jo Davie

// downend
The formation of downend sees this duo move away from standard jazz repertoire and into the unknown. Conor McDonald and Kayleigh Pincott have been making music in the formation of downend for the better half of a decade, inspired by artists such as Bjork, Bon Iver and Margaret Glaspy. The duo has spent their time writing and rehearsing original music, which utilises effects, improvisation and looping and have recently recorded their 8 track debut album with local Caleb Colledge.

// Jo Davie
Graced with jazz sensibilities, exceptional vocal technique and a four-octave range, singer-songwriter Jo Davie offers up genuine story-telling. Bursting onto the national scene as runner-up to the Folk Alliance Young Artist of the Year, she is winning audiences and accolades across Australia, with her unique vocal style and vibrant stage presence.
http://www.jodavie.com/

Yarns- Album Book Launch

Doors: 7:00pm
Music: 7:30pm
$15 entry
Upstairs at Newstead Brewing Co.

MADE NOW MUSIC is proud to present Caleb Colledge's album and accompanying book 'Yarns'. An evoking 8 track album featuring intimate spoken word recordings set to Caleb's compositions for octet performed upstairs at Newstead Brewing Co, Milton.

**THE BOOK**
The accompanying album book, a collaboration between Caleb and Brisbane based graphic design wiz-kid Rhys Ferguson delves deeper into the exploration and celebration of Australian identity. Featuring writings, photographs, score snippets and behind the scenes content of the album creation and capturing. A super limited run of books have been pressed for the event and will be available for purchase.

**THE MUSIC**
What started as a collection of stories from friends and a few mandolin folk tunes very quickly grew into a fully fledged 9 movement chamber work. At the heart, raw, unedited phone recordings nestled in Caleb’s heartfelt mix of folk infused, contemporary classical musical responses.

The night will begin with the world premiere of two new works by Caleb Colledge. 'Suburbs' a multi movement work for a-cappella vocal quartet and 'Coming Home' a collaboration between Caleb and Brisbane based dancer India Rose.

YARNS:
Flute: Georgia Maye Peace
Saxophones: Matt Luff
Piano: Cara Tran
Guitars: Joe Fallon
Violin: Rhiannon Fenn
Violoncello: Joshua Rivory
Contrabass: Liam Butler
Percussion/Mandolin: Caleb Colledge

SUBURBS
Jo Davie
Kayleigh Pincott
Megan Crocombe
Kieran Stevenson

COMING HOME
Dance: India Rose
Guitar: Elliot Thompson
Guitar/Voice/Electronics: Caleb Colledge

Hard copies of the book and album will be for sale on the night.

Yarns FB Page: Yarns- The Project

MNM presents: Luke Cuerel Orchestra

** ALBUM LAUNCH **
Supported by Andrew Tuttle

7pm, 14th September
The Ron Hurley Theatre, Seven Hills Hub.
** This is a dry venue, no alcohol permitted **

The Brisbane composer and musician is excited to announce a debut album and release show for his latest and most ambitious project, The Luke Cuerel Orchestra. Fusing jazz, classical and electronic influences, the album features a selection of Luke’s compositions for a large ensemble including strings, winds, brass, harp, drums, bass, keys and electronics. Composed from late 2017 to earlier this year, inspired by Luke’s friends, family and surroundings. The album is released through Made Now Music, Brisbane’s leading label for experimental music.

ReFlexions One
World premiere of Vistas Visceral – Mārga Four

** Concept, Performance Materials, & Images**
Phil Treloar

** Performance Composers **
Caleb Colledge - percussion
Brodie Mcallister - trombone
Loni Fitzpatrick - harp
Phil Treloar - percussion

MADE NOW MUSIC presents: MEATSHELL

Saturday, June 22nd at The Sideshow - West End - Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry.

// MEATSHELL
Meatshell is the experimental-folk duo of Helen Svoboda (contrabass/voice) and Andrew Saragossi (tenor saxophone). The name encompasses the physicality, intensity and vulnerability of playing with two. With a shared curiosity for the subtle beauty of things, the pair combines traditional song forms and unconventional instrumental techniques, emphasising the power of story-telling through sound. Infused with elements of minimalism, improvisation and contemporary jazz, the music is raw and exposed, yet full-bodied and perpetual, propelled by the momentum of the human heartbeat. //
Since meeting in their hometown of Brisbane, Australia, Svoboda & Saragossi have collaborated across a number of different projects including experimental-post-rock-band Jive Canyon and Martin Kay’s animal-inspired-jazz-septet Forage. Now based in Maastricht, Netherlands, their newfound duo direction demands a higher level of musical independence and intricacy through the challenged roles of both instruments; Svoboda explores the soloistic and melodic areas of her bass playing, while Saragossi utilises both traditional and extended techniques to create density and harmonic richness amidst unusual saxophonic grooves. The pulsating rhythms, expansive dynamic contour and the pure quality of Svoboda’s vocals caress and immerse the audience into an intimate and honest experience, shaped by deeply personal expression and narrative.
https://www.meatshellmusic.com/

// downend (solo)
Kayleigh Pincott is an Australian vocalist, composer and improviser based in Brisbane. Having released her debut jazz album ‘Solace’ in 2016, Kayleigh Pincott is quickly establishing herself as an important voice in the Australian jazz/experimental music scene. Downend (normally a duo with guitarist Conor McDonald) sees Kayleigh’s vocalisations music move away from standard jazz repertoire and into the unknown. Inspired by artists such as Bjork, Bon Iver, Ben Monder and Gian Slater, Conor and Kayleigh have been exploring freer and more abstract forms of expression under the moniker, Downend. The duo has spent the last few years writing and rehearsing their own original music, which utilises effects pedals, improvisation and looping.

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*********** SUPER SOUNDS BRISBANE 2019 ****************
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Saturday June 8th | Black Bear Lodge | $20 pre-sale | $25 door

Line-Up:
Rafiq Bhatia (NYC)
HRBRT
Waqef
L. Flora
Pending?
Andrew Ball (solo set)
Flying Nimbus

Welcome to the inaugural Super Sounds Brisbane 2019!
A new festival in Brisbane devoted to genre-bending music in the jazz sphere as well as young artists who are pushing jazz music into bold and unknown territory in 2019!

We are proud to announce this festival will be headlined by NYC based guitarist/composer Rafiq Bhatia. Bhatia is the first-generation American son of Muslim immigrant parents who trace their ancestry to India by way of East Africa. Early influences such as Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, and Madlib—as well as mentors and collaborators including Vijay Iyer and Billy Hart—prompted him to see music as a way to actively shape and represent his own identity, not limited by anyone else’s prescribed perspective. His latest album Breaking English (2018) ruptures the hermetic vernacular of ambient sculpturalism with the emotional intensity of avant-garde jazz, using the techniques of the former to achieve the feeling of the latter. Its language is centered on contrast, with opposing strains juxtaposed in order to throw each other into sharper relief—the organic feels more vibrant in the context of the mechanical, the otherworldly more ethereal in light of the ordinary.

Alongside Bhatia, Super Sounds Brisbane 2019 will also feature a plethora of local Brisbane talent with performances from experimental groovers HRBRT, the afro-beat inspired Waqef, neo-soul group L-Flora, experimental solo saxophonist Andrew Ball, jazz/prog/hip-hop hybrid Pending? and newcomers on the experimental jazz scene Flying Nimbus.

Super Sounds Brisbane 2019 is a joint initiative by Green Chimneys Records/SuperSonic , Art As Catharsis & MADE NOW MUSIC.

MNM presents: JUNCTURE

Saturday, May 18th at Glasshouse - Brisbane CBD- Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry.

// MONICA BROOKS
Monica Brooks has modeled sound works, compositions, and improvisations from piano, computer, field recordings, glasses, radio, and accordion. As a performer she has collaborated with various fabulous folks such as Jim Denley, Dale Gorfinkel, Herminone Johnson, Chris Abrahams, Robbie Avenaim, Kraig Grady, Richard Nuns, Eugene Chadbourne, and Joe Talia.

Long-term projects have toured nationally and internationally, including Great Waitress with legends Laura Altman & Magda Mayas (Konfrontationen 2011, Music Unlimited 2012, All Ears 2014); West Head Project, with Dale Gorfinkel, Anthony Magen & Jim Denley (MONA FOMA 2012), and Women’s Auxiliary Choir with Sonia Z, Loni Cooper, and Ces Hotbake (Various, King St, NSW 2011-2015). From one of her first group shows in 2007, Monica’s sound installation works are often heavily inspired by the technology and usage of radio transmission. Brooks also fronts the eight-piece ensemble, Electronic Resonance Korps, developing works for multiple mono computer performance. Other projects include currently undertaking a Masters (Hons) at University of Western Sydney (Penrith), and sounding like a goose while writing bios. Monica is currently recording a solo album for piano for RIP Society, due for release in 2015.https://soundcloud.com/monica_brooks

// LAURA ALTMAN
Laura Altman is a clarinetist, improviser and composer, born and based in Sydney. She has been an important voice on the Sydney improvised music scene since 2007, playing with groups such as The Splinter Orchestra and Prophets, and collaborating with many other Australian and international musicians. Laura has toured Australia and Europe with a range of projects including the internationally renowned trio ‘Great Waitress’, featuring Monica Brooks on accordion and Berlin-based pianist Magda Mayas, who also have several acclaimed CD and LP releases to their name.

Laura graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with a B.Mus Composition (Honours) in 2011, writing both instrumental and electro-acoustic music. She has had works commissioned and performed by Sydney Antiphony, Ensemble Offspring, North Sydney Girls High School and ACRONYM Orchestra and has developed exploratory pieces for primary school students. She has more recently been exploring sound installations.
Laura also plays clarinet in and composes for folk/balkan/jazz ensemble Chaika.

Laura was co-director and co-curator of the NOW now Series and Festival of Exploratory Music from 2010 until 2013, and continues to organise exploratory music events in Sydney. She has co-founded the Sydney exploratory music calendar www.emus.space.

As an educator, Laura has experience teaching private clarinet students, tutoring composition to senior high school music students, facilitating school workshops and also running early-childhood music classes with organisation Bluebell Music.
http://lauraaltman.net

// JIM DENLEY
Spontaneity, site-specificity and collaboration have been central to his work. He sees no clear distinctions between his roles as instrumentalist, improviser and composer.

In 1990 he joined Derek Bailey’s festival, ‘Company’ in London for a series of concerts. Over the decades he has played throughout Australia, Europe, The Americas, Lebanon and Japan.

With MURAL, (Kim Myhr and Ingar Zach) he performed in 2010 at the Rothko Chapel in Houston – a CD of that concert was released in 2011. In April 2013 they performed a 4 hr concert there, which as Tempo, was released as a 3 CD on Sofa in 2015. They performed in Europe, Canada and Mexico in 2016.

In Sydney his main activity is with the Splinter Orchestra, they released ‘MUNGO’, (splitrec 27) a 3 CD set early in 2017. He is intensely interested in unusual contexts – these CDs were recorded in a desert region in far-west NSW.

In 2018 he released a new solo on Sofa 557, ‘Cut Air’. It explores his new ideas of playing the percussive flute, inspired by his love of the flute music from the Solomon Islands.

MNM presents: Formations

Saturday, April 13th at Glasshouse - Brisbane CBD- Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry.

// SPIRAL
SPIRAL is a Sydney-based new music group of seven composer-performers, formed in 2016 by students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Over the last 3 years, they have been invited to perform in concerts including Vivid Sydney, Backstage Music, and regularly present shows at 107 Redfern. In 2018, SPIRAL were invited to participate in a workshop with renowned US ensemble, Bang On A Can All Stars. The group have commissioned many new works both by its members and upcoming local composers. Characterised by their energetic performances and minimalist textures, SPIRAL aims to invigorate new music and engage audiences in unique, accessible concerts.

Performing:
Iron Filings (2018) – Oscar Smith
Bixler 225 (2018) – Sarah Elise Thompson
Odd Logic (2018) – Angus Davis

// ZAC SAKREWSKI
Zac Sakrewski is an improviser, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and educator from the Sunshine Coast. With his strong desire to experiment and a love of electro-acoustics, Zac has developed a unique playing style, taking the traditional techniques of the Double Bass and using effect pedals to create soundscapes, completely contrary to what a listener would expect.
https://zacsakrewski.bandcamp.com/

// KIERAN WELCH
Kieran Welch (b. 1992) is an Australian violist, curator, event producer, DJ, educator and writer. He combines this diverse, yet complementary set of skills with a passion for presenting a wide range of musical genres to varied audiences, and a thorough training in classical viola performance.
https://www.kieranwelch.com/

MNM presents: SYNTHESIS

Saturday, March 16th at Glasshouse - Brisbane CBD- Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry.

// KRISTIN BERARDI
Berardi is one of the first calls in the Australian Jazz Scene. She has worked with such international greats such as Kenny Werner, Jim Pugh, Ingrid Jensen, Christine Jensen, Pascal Schumacher, Dan Weiss, Thomas Morgan, Gary Versace and such Australian Jazz greats as Julien Wilson, Sam Anning, Barney McAll, James Muller, Jamie Oehlers, Ben Vanderwal, Tony Gould amoungst others. She won the Montreux Jazz Festival's International Shure Voice competition in 2006 and the following year supported Al Jarreau and George Benson at the Montreux Jazz Festival. She won the National Jazz Awards for Voice 2012 at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival and has three Bell Awards for the Best Jazz Vocal Album of the year. Also, in 2010 she was awarded the Freedman Fellowship for Jazz in Australia, and is the only vocalist to ever win this prestigious award. Since 2013, Berardi has been on casual staff at the Brisbane Conservatorium of Music, and WAAPA from 2017. She also guest lectures around universities in Australia and New Zealand, and continues to tour and record albums. She has released ten albums to date.

// NONSEMBLE

Nonsemble inhabit a space between contemporary classical and adventurous pop music, resulting in a diverse output that ranges from sprawling and evocative modern compositions to meticulously crafted chamber-pop. Since forming in 2012, they’ve released two critically acclaimed albums and an EP, played alongside Sigur Ros and Beck at Harvest Festival, were invited to play and talk at TEDxBrisbane, and have toured across Australia, featuring performances at Tasmania’s MONA and Brisbane’s GoMA.

A septet consisting of piano, string quartet, drums and guitar (plus the occasional blast of electronics), the group’s musical backgrounds are as varied as their output: classically trained instrumentalists and seasoned rock players whose musical interests range from obscure electronica and instrumental math-rock to early baroque music. This unique setup and blend of influences provides for a wide palette of sounds. Olafur Arnalds-esque lushness meets Joanna Newsom jubilance, while the shimmering brightness of minimalist composers such as Steve Reich and John Adams rubs shoulders with the intensity of Godspeed You Black Emperor or 65daysofstatic. Nonsemble have a penchant for the rhythmically complex, but theirs is a music where the heart always wins—often in spite of heavy doses of heady conceptualism.

MNM presents: Stasis

Saturday, November 24th at The Sideshow - west end- Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry. BYO (No Glass)

// CAMERON BOWER
* world premiere of new quartet

Cam Bower is a composer, producer, songwriter and improvising musician working out of Brisbane. His production credits include work with Big Dead and Milk Buttons and since 2016 has composed music for new music/jazz ensemble Cowbird. As a composer he works within a world of improvised and composed forms, synthesising his tendency towards jazz and improvised music with the formal structures of contemporary classical idioms and techniques. As a producer he works in electronic/ambient and alternative rock contexts. The new quartet presented at Stasis is a work for Viola, Vibraphone, Piano and Electronics. It is influenced by the work of John Luther Adams and Erik Satie and explores improvised materials alongside composed passages of music. The musicians are asked to improvise and interpret both notated and described instructions.

‘Untitled Quartet' explores the compositional element of stasis. These pieces occupy a particular musical space and explore the concept of intentionally dwelling within them and resisting musical development to create tension, release and beauty.

Piano - Sarah Gall
Vibraphone - Caleb Colledge
Viola - Flora Wong
Electronics - Cam Bower

// ROSA GUITAR TRIO

The Rosa Guitar Trio is quickly becoming one of Australia’s most exciting young ensembles. Formed in 2011, the Trio has been encouraged and mentored by Karin Schaupp who describes their playing as “refined, highly engaging and deeply musical, with a masterful flexibility of rhythm which allows them to move as one through distinctive styles of music. They share a wonderful rapport amongst themselves and with their audiences."

The Rosa Guitar Trio is known for its energetic and joyful performances of diverse repertoire that spans centuries and genres. Prize-winners at numerous competitions, the trio has premiered new works written especially for them and performed at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival alongside internationally renowned artists Pepe Romero and Slava Grigoryan. In 2018 The Rosa Guitar Trio will release two debut recordings of contrasting styles – one of specially commissioned works by Australian and international composers, and one of all-Brazilian choro-inspired music.

www.rosaguitartrio.com

MADE NOW MUSIC presents: Scope

Friday, October 12th at The Sideshow - west end - Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry. BYO (No Glass)

JIM DENLEY & NOEL MEEK
Noel Meek is an improvising electronic musician from Wellington, New Zealand. His solo work has been described as “sheer joy . . . unexpectedly bottled in analogue gizmo rituals.” (The Wire), “chaotically playful noise music,” (The Quietus) and “pretty whacked,” by Byron Coley. He has played and recorded with the likes of Sun Araw, Lasse Marhaug, Richard Youngs, Mette Rasmussen, Neil Campbell, Alexander Tucker, Tetuzi Akiyama and Bruce Russell.
A trained ethnomusicologist, Meek contributes regularly to The Wire and other underground publications, focussing on experimental music from far flung parts of the world. Through his label, End of the Alphabet Records, he promotes underground music from New Zealand and other unusual parts of the world through tapes, lathes and musicians’ publications.

Jim Denley - Spontaneity, site-specificity and collaboration have been central to his work. He sees no clear distinctions between his roles as instrumentalist, improviser and composer.
Collaborations, his radio feature for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation won the Prix Italia in 1989. His Cd Through Fire, Crevice and the Hidden Valley, recorded in the Budawang Mountains, received an Honorary mention in the Digital Musics category of the Prix Ars Electronica 2008.
In the late 1980s he co-founded with the electro-acoustic text/music group Machine for Making Sense. In 1990 he was a member of Derek Bailey’s Company for a week of concerts in London.
He has played throughout Australia, Europe, The Americas, Lebanon and Japan with artists such as Maggie Nichols, Carolyn Connors, Kari Rønnekleiv, Sidsel Endresen, Satsuki Odamura, Thembi Soddell, Natasha Anderson, Monika Brooks, Clare Cooper, Ami Yoshida, Amanda Stewart, Ikue Mori, Satchiko M, Rosalind Hall, Laura Altman, Maria Moles and Annette Krebs.
He recently released a new solo record, Cut Air on Sofa records.


BAREGA SAX QUARTET
The Barega Saxophone Quartet was formed in 2007 and is one of Australia’s premier single reed ensembles, performing across the country and internationally. The group enjoys a versatile and wide-ranging programme of music from French and classical repertoire to minimalism and contemporary works, in addition to specializing in compositions of a crossover classical/jazz nature. A primary goal of the BSQ is to perform and promote original repertoire and Australian works; they have premiered new music composed by Michael Bakrnčev, Louise Denson, Thomas Green, Catherine Likhuta, Andrew Garton, Nathan Lam, Andrew Kennedy, and Andrew Ball, at events including ‘SaxOpen’, Strasbourg, 2015, the Australasian Saxophone and Clarinet Conference, Sydney, 2013; XVI World Saxophone Congress in St Andrews, Scotland, 2012; the Crossbows Festival, Brisbane, 2012; and the Australian Clarinet and Saxophone Festival, Melbourne, 2011. Barega’s debut album “Three Serpents” is the first volume in a series of recordings capturing their proud tradition of championing new music by Australian composers and arrangers.

MADE NOW MUSIC and Last Drinks presents: Lamplight

// The Stanthorpe Five
// Loni Fitzpatrick
// Kundu & Der Hase

Saturday, September 1st at The Sideshow - West End
Doors 6pm. Music from 6.30pm.

$15 entry. BYO!!

Last Drinks & Made Now Music cordially invite you to an evening of folk music, feelings, and fine whiskey, featuring:

<<< THE STANTHORPE FIVE >>>

Part band, part criminal gang, The Stanthorpe Five went down in history before they were even born. An assemblage of some of Brisbane’s finest singers, songwriters, and charlatans, drawn together by a shared enthusiasm for epic ballads and rare tunes, the Five will be celebrating the release on parole of their debut record, 'Lamplight’, before going on the run. Created over a week of heavy drinking on a winery in Stanthorpe, 'Lamplight' is a hazy memento to the simple joy of making music with friends.

The Stanthorpe Five were:

Gav Cook [SCOT] (Old Semeil; The Mouldy Lovers)
Declan Kenrick [MARS] (Two Rivers Blues)
Hannah Rae [VENUS]
Shane Sugrue [IRL] (Anúna; Sun Collective)
Josh Wilkinson [AUS] (Burrow Studios; Woodford Fire Event)

Performing with the friendliest string section this side of Boundary Street, and with special guests Rob 'Der Hase' Hase on drums, Joseph Burgess and Sophie Ellis on fiddles, this gig is already the stuff of legend...

So come along, bring a friend, drink some booze and slap your thighs for the first and last time.

<<< LONI FITZPATRICK >>>

Harpist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Loni Fitzpatrick introduces a new project. Using harp and electronics to create a rich aural landscape of layers and textures, Loni takes us on a journey to the edge of sound.

MADE NOW MUSIC presents: Grow

Saturday, August 18th at East Brisbane Bowls Club - East Brisbane - Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry.

Luke Cuerel Large Ensemble (debut performance)

The Luke Cuerel Orchestra is a 13 piece ensemble based in Brisbane, Australia featuring some of Brisbane’s most diverse new musicians. Fusing diverse approaches and instrumentation including string quartet, woodwinds, brass, harp, keyboard, drums and electronics, the Luke Cuerel Orchestra aims to combine highly composed music with large group improvisation.

This will be the debut performance of the Luke Cuerel Orchestra, and will feature compositions that the group will be going into the studio with later in the year for an album in 2019.

Luke Cuerel - Alto Sax/Compositions
Andrew Saragossi - Tenor Sax/Clarinets
Matt Luff - Baritone Sax
Daniel Grima - Trumpet
Brodie Mcallister - Trombone
Julianna Kim - Violin
Flora Wong - Viola
Simon Svoboda - Cello
Loni Fitzpatrick - Harp
Rohan Seekers - Piano/Keyboards
Helen Svoboda - Double Bass
Andrew Doo - Drum kit


Monique Clare (solo)

Dancing between intricate, rhythmic cello lines, compelling lyrics and heart-tugging harmonies, Monique Clare is a powerhouse in the contemporary folk scene. She draws on tradition while boldly marching towards the forefront of innovation. She’s played mountaintop sunrise concerts, taught cello in Afghanistan and travelled the world diving into folklore treasure troves. Described as “pure joy” to watch, she delivers a live set that’s more or less a one-woman variety show. As the 2017 Folk Alliance Australia Young Artist of the Year she broke out as a solo artist, released and toured her debut EP, and is now touring internationally as part of The Maes through 2018. She’s a skilled and versatile multi-genre cellist, having worked for bluegrass legend Darol Anger, Scottish fiddler Hanneke Cassel and opera-trained pop singer Kate Miller-Heidke.

Her debut solo EP, By The Stars was released in August 2017, backed by a Pledgemusic campaign that went beyond its target and drew supporters all the way from the USA, UK, Germany and Japan. She launched the EP in her hometown at The Restrung Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse, and went on to tour it across Australia, including performances at Woodford Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Blue Mountains Music Festival and Cygnet Folk Festival. Through 2018 she’s touring internationally as part of The Maes (formerly The Mae Trio).

https://moniqueclare.com/

MADE NOW MUSIC presents: Breathe

Friday, August 10th at The Sideshow - west end - West End - Doors at 7pm, Music from 7:30. $15 entry.

We Are Breathing (feat. Caleb Colledge)

Ben and Connor met in mid 2017 at Bang On A Can’s annual Summer Music Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art where the two were both artists-in-residence. After, the pair sought to collaborate on a project bringing together their various musical backgrounds spanning classical, folk and electronic music, their love of diverse musical styles from minimalism, electronica, alt-rock and jazz, and their passion and drive to create and engage in art that breaks down the barriers between genres and audiences.

The result is we are breathing, a new music duo creating raw, tender and emotional sounds straddling across musical worlds. With Ben on cello and Connor on synths and live electronics, their music fuses Connor’s unique post-minimal compositional voice, Ben’s virtuosic playing, both as a contemporary classical musician and a folk muso and improviser, with live signal processing and electronics creating complexly layered immersive experiences.

downend (solo)

Kayleigh Pincott is an Australian vocalist, composer and improviser based in Brisbane. Having just released her debut album Solace, Kayleigh Pincott is quickly establishing herself as an important voice in the Australian jazz/experimental music scene. Downend (normally a duo with guitarist Connor McDonald) sees the duo move away from standard jazz repertoire and into the unknown. Inspired by artists such as Bjork, Bon Iver, Ben Monder and Gian Slater, Conor and Kayleigh have been exploring freer and more abstract forms of expression under the moniker, Downend. The duo has spent the last few years writing and rehearsing their own original music, which utilises effects pedals, improvisation and looping.

MADE NOW MUSIC presents: GLINT

Performances by Isabelle Duthoit/Franz Hautzinger (France/Austria) and Samuel Pankhurst.

Thursday, February 8th at Jugglers Art Space - doors at 7, music from 7:30. $15 entry.

Isabelle Duthoit/Franz Hautzinger (France/Austria)

Isabelle Duthoit and Franz Hautzinger use breath as the medium behind their music, performing a nuanced and detailed exploration of texture and harmony that is filtered, shaped and amplified through trumpet, clarinet and voice. 
The two are virtuosos whose instrumental control navigates beauty through magnifying the minute. Their improvisations are patient and slow, allowing for a contemplative listen to these sound objects. Rather than focusing on counterpoint or rhythmic dialog, they work together blending layers into a singular sound phrase. What would seem quietly austere from other performers proves as powerfully expressive work from them.

Samuel Pankhurst (Australia)

Samuel Pankhurst is a bassist, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He is best known for his extensive work with the late Australian icon Allan Vincent Browne OAM, as well as trumpet iconoclast Scott Tinkler.

As a long time member of the Australian Art Orchestra he has premiered new commissioned works by Alvin Lucier, Erik Griswold, Peter Knight, and Nicole Lizée.

Currently Sam is busy with his experimental studio pop project Magic Person, celebrated improv piano trio The Wild with Erik Griswold and Richard Daniell, post-hardcore improv trio Porscha featuring Stefano Roselli, and a telepathic Vibraphone/Bass duo with Vanessa Tomlinson.

MADE NOW MUSIC presents three duos, working across various acoustic and electronic formats.

1. ZICLA

Zicla is a project by duo Cao Thanh Lan (Vietnam) – Gregor Siedl (Austria) with electro-acoustic compositions and composed improvisations for prepared zither, clarinet and electronics.

https://siedlcao.com/zicla/

2. Vanessa Tomlinson and John Ferguson

Vanessa Tomlinson is one of Australia's foremost percussionists, active in the fields of solo percussion, contemporary chamber music, improvisation, installation and composition.

http://www.vanessatomlinson.com/about.html

John Ferguson is a post-digital/electronic musician based in Brisbane Australia where he is Senior Lecturer and Head of Music Technology at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. Prior to this he was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Music Department at Brown University (USA), and before that a Lecturer in Music and Creative Music Technologies at Kingston University (UK).

http://www.johnrobertferguson.com/about/

3. Hannah Reardon-Smith and Brodie McAllister

Hannah Reardon-Smith (Australia/Belgium) is flutist and co-artistic director of Australian ensemble Kupka’s Piano. She is heavily involved with the creation of new music by emerging Australian, Asian, American and European composers, and with cross-continental performances and exchanges of these works. In addition, she is a keen improviser and composer, and a founding member of improvisation trio Rogue Three (Brisbane/Melbourne: flutes, trombone, and recorders) and the community improvisation and sonic nuisance collective Musicians for the Sonic Liberation of Brisbane.

https://hannahreardonsmith.com/

Brodie McAllister is an improviser, trombonist, composer, teacher and events organiser from Brisbane, Australia. His artistic practice is concerned with exploring improvisation, hyper-extended instrumental techniques, intensive performer-composer collaboration and community connections.

https://www.madenowmusic.com/artists/#/brodie-mcallister/