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Liz Draper

Sound / Simulacra is pleased to present Liz Draper at Jazz Central Studios on Wednesday, April 24, 2019.

Liz Draper performs and composes in an array of musical genres and ensembles, from jazz and classical to folk, chamber doom metal, improv-based new music, Americana and Balkan. Liz studied jazz and classical bass at the University of Minnesota where she studied with leading members of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra. Her improvising led her to The School For Improvised Music in Brooklyn, New York. She has performed with such groups as the Grammy Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers, Soul Asylum, Charlie Parr, The Rose Ensemble, Ben Weaver, Orkestar Bez Ime, Davina and the Vagabonds, The Wild Goose Chase Cloggers and Chama Devora, a duo with keyboardist/composer Crystal Myslajek. Liz loves exploring sonic textures and soundscapes. She is the Music Director for Cantata Learning which specializes in song-based educational e-books, and has taught privately since 1998.

Set I – Liz Draper (solo bass)
Set II – Liz Draper + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics), John Keston (piano, Rhodes, synth, electronics)

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Nils Westdal

Sound / Simulacra is pleased to present Nils Westdal at Jazz Central Studios in Minneapolis on February 28, 2018 at 8:30pm. Composer, musician, and producer, Nils Westdal finds a mainline output through his nom de plume ten72. In a time of ready-made beats and stock electronic samples being used on a daily basis as well as the typically recycled genres found in the media, ten72 offers up a distinctive quality and honesty within his compositions. After many years of performing, writing and producing with some of the best that this planet has produced, a refined version of past decades come to a meeting in every song.

Set 1: Nils Westdal (electric bass, processing)
Set 2: Nils Westdal + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics), John C.S. Keston (Rhodes, piano, synthesizers, electronics)

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Kindohm Recordings

This recording from August 23, 2017 at Jazz Central Studios was made during Sound / Simulacra: A monthly series that I do in conjunction with bassist/composer Cody McKinney. The intent is to explore musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process. On this occasion we featured Minneapolis-based Mike Hodnick, aka Kindohm.

…[Kindohm is] widely known for his live-coded dancefloor interruptions, wringing algorithmic rhythms and textures from a text editor using the open source software TidalCycles. Combining analog synthesizers and samples, Hodnick’s improvised performances encompass an array of styles from glitchy IDM to odd-time techno. In 2016, Kindohm released “RISC Chip”, an 8-track LP released on Conditional. Receiving positive criticism on Resident Advisor, Lisa Blanning writes: “Hodnick has a way of teasing inhuman funk out of his evolving patterns. RISC Chip succeeds in escaping its programmer’s niche, launching Kindohm’s work into the realm of music that exists for its own sake.” – www.residentadvisor.net/reviews/20249

Mike and I both played solo sets earlier in the evening, but for the finale we formed a trio with Cody McKinney on bass and electronics. My setup included acoustic piano, Rhodes, Novation Circuit, and various processors. Both Hodnick and McKinney are expert improvisors so participating in this performance was quite a pleasure. Please have a listen and let us know what you think!