Saturday, March 12th, 2016
Gallows Hill Theatre, Salem, MA
DAVID KONTAK (Concord, NH)
David Kontak is a performer who specializes in the development (and performance on) original, unique musical instruments. The strong visual components present during the performances allow the audience to clearly see a direct relationship between the movements and the sound that is produced, thus making the music accessible to people of all interests.
Kontak's exploration of unusual instruments began more than thirty years ago during his study toward a Master’s of Fine Arts Degree, and he has worked on them nearly every day since then. Besides hundreds of concerts, he has presented and given talks at educational conferences, many universities, schools, libraries, etc. In his own words: "I take my fun very seriously".
NH Chronicle feature:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HazcNGzCxX0
Concord Insider feature:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFRzYPrLQEM
NH Public Radio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDGHiLSIxmk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qO_fwl-G3c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upNb1ob166A
VARIANT STATE [TRIO] (Boston, MA)
Variant State [trio] is a project instigated by
Howard Martin (reeds), Jesse Kenas-Collins
(trumpet, reeds, feedback objects), and
Michael Rosenstein (amplified surfaces and
objects, modified field recordings, oscillators.)
The three explore the interstitial interactions of
acoustic instrumentation, electronics,
multiphonics, abraded recordings, and
feedback within performance spaces. Their
playing draws on composite aesthetics of
spontaneous interaction and collective
structures, reveling in the syntactical
alterations of open-form sonic investigation.
https://soundcloud.com/michael-rosenstein/variant-state-trio-firehouse-1-30-16
HEY EXIT (Brooklyn, NY)
Hey Exit is the primary music project of Brooklyn's Brendan Landis. Beginning in 2009 with a focus on electroacoustic improvisation, it has since morphed into something in between harsh noise and ambient music, with a focus on contrast and ambiguity.
Hey Exit will be performing pieces from Caudata, a new album inspired by various folklores and symbolisms surrounding the salamander and its relationship to fire.
STEPHANIE MARIE GERMAINE (Jamaica Plain, MA)
Originally from Massachusetts, Germaine spent two years living in the San Francisco Bay Area until she moved back to the Northeast in May 2014. Live sets are centered around sound collage, field recordings, restless electronics, tapes, objects, voice and video. Collaborator, improvisational performer and multi-instrumentalist who is an active multidisciplinary visual artist. As an artist, Stephanie is influenced by the natural world, a digital one and through video, paintings, sketchings and photos she captures, creates and designs interactions between the two."
