For the opening event of 2020 Sound / Simulacra will present Improv with Soundwalks. John C.S. Keston and Cody McKinney will be improvising with recently recorded soundwalks of urban and natural environments. Using a multiple channel sound system, the artists will experiment with electronics to craft soundscapes that compliment and contrast the unaltered found-sound that they captured. Please join us at Jazz Central Studios on January 22, 2020 at 8:30pm.
On October 23rd, 2019 Sound / Simulacra featured multi-instrumentalist Tasha Baron at Jazz Central Studios, Minneapolis, MN. In the first set Tasha improvised two pieces playing piano, synthesizers sounds, and electronic percussion. The second set add Cody McKinney on bass / electronic and John Keston on Rhodes / Prophet REV2.
On September 25, 2019 Sound / Simulacra presented bassist, guitarist, and composer Erik Fratzke. Erik started off the evening with a fascinating series of bass improvisations along with samples from Hong Kong martial arts films, signal processing, and a bass duet with Cody McKinney. For the second set we performed two trio pieces.
On August 28, 2019, Sound / Simulacra presented violinist, Kip Jones of ETHEL Quartet at Jazz Central Studios. Kip started off the evening with a beautiful solo set of violin and voice. The second set includes the addition of Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics), and John C.S. Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics).
On July 24, 2019 Sound / Simulacra featured Terrell Woods AKA Carnage the Executioner at Jazz Central Studios. Carnage started off the evening with an amazing solo set of looped beat boxing and virtuosic rapping. Afterward we joined together and improvised for thirty minutes. Please enjoy the recordings of our trio set below!
On October 23rd, 2019 Sound / Simulacra will feature multi-instrumentalist Tasha Baron at Jazz Central Studios, Minneapolis, MN. Music starts at 8:30pm.
Tasha Baron plays and composes on keyboards, trombone, flute and computers in hopes of getting out what is inside her head for the enjoyment of others. She grew up playing classical piano, composing free improv music, playing flute in woodwind choir and trombone in jazz big bands. She continued her musical journey studying South African Township music, Afrobeat and salsa and experimental live dub music. She joined live hip hop band Heiruspecs and accompanied Atmosphere as well as playing with Jamaican reggae band Gullibanque and hip hop artist Toki Wright. She started her own collaborative vision with the band Black Blondie which went on to tour the country and chart on CMJ. Most recently she debuted singer Dizzy Fae with co-producer Marc Rice and released an album “Laughing at Ghosts” with Sarah White, as well as producing two film scores with Rice, one with over one million views on YouTube. Her vision and direction with music is all about artistic honesty, positive social change, community collaboration and pushing creative boundaries.
Set I – Tasha Baron (solo)
Set II – Tasha Baron (piano, keyboards, etc.) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics) + John Keston (Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics)
Sound / Simulacra featured electronic music artist Darwin Grosse on May 22, 2019. These recordings include a wonderful solo set followed by three trio pieces based on graphic scores by Darwin. These graphic scores were beautifully printed on laminated postcards as shown in the images below.
On December 27, 2017 Sound / Simulacra featured DeVon Russell Gray and Patrick Pegg. DeVon and Patrick started of the evening with an uninterrupted 38:10 minute set of acoustic piano and esoteric electronics. In the second set Cody McKinney (bass and electronics) and me (Rhodes and Moog Sub 37) joined the duo to perform a 34:09 minute piece followed by final 8:47 minute piece in closing.
This improvised performance from Bryan Nichols, Cory Healey, and Cody McKinney was recorded by Dave Kunath on Wednesday April 26th, 2017 at Jazz Central Studios during Sound / Simulacra.
Bryan Nichols is a pianist, composer, and educator based in Minneapolis. Often found playing jazz and improvised music, but at home in a variety of musical worlds, he leads and composes for his own trio, quintet, and nonet in addition to performing, recording, and touring with forward-thinking artists like Nicole Mitchell, Ron Miles, and Olga Bell, and groups like the Gang Font, Dead Man Winter, and Halloween, Alaska. He has taught jazz piano at MacPhail Center for Music, University of Minnesota – Morris, and University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, while presenting clinics and masterclasses at a variety of colleges and high schools around the midwest. www.bryannichols.org
Cory Healey’s unique drumming has led to collaborations with artists from many different genres. He has toured North America and Europe and had the privilege of performing with Kenny Wheeler, Dr Lonnie Smith, John Abercrombie, and David Berkman. While living in Chicago, he performed and recorded with Algernon, Fareed Haque’s Flat EarthEnsemble, W.W. Lowman, Ike Riley, and Scott Hesse. In 2013, Healey moved to the Minneapolis, where he’s worked with some of the Twin Cities’ most prominent artists including Dead Man Winter, Dosh, Marijuana Deathsquads, and Anthony Cox. www.coryhealeymusic.com
The series explores musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process bringing together some of the Twin Cities most unique voices to “recreate, distort, and create the hyperreal”. Please enjoy listening!
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!
