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Contributor Leah Ottman

On December 2, 2020 we lost our friend and local music fixture, Leah Ottman. Keston and I went back-and-forth on how to address this in this era of impersonal social media transactions. It’s still doesn’t totally feel right or in a weird way, even appropriate on this platform, but as we talked, our intention is to share a little bit of our personal interaction with Leah in the hopes of bringing peace and solace to those who knew her. This recording was centered around Leah and I preparing for a performance with the Merce Cunningham dance company at the Walker art center in 2017.

I was also able to spend some time with Leah on the road with rogue valley a number of times, as well as some shows with coloring time, and Leah’s improvisation series called Disco Nap. I always remember thinking, Leah is such a fun person to hang out with and also…where the hell is Leah, because of her tendency to just disappear for a bit.

Anyway, I have some very fond personal memories and a sad heart around what could’ve been, from this young and beautiful beautiful soul.

Much love to all who are mourning
Cody and Keston

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Kip Jones

August 2019, Sound / Simulacra presents special guest: violinist, Kip Jones of ETHEL Quartet.

Kip Jones is a violinist and composer from Duluth, Minnesota. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, he performs full-time in ETHEL, a modern string quartet based in New York City. His music, described by the New York Times as “buoyantly songful”, has been heard at BAM Harvey, Merkin Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Grand Canyon Music Festival, Chom Ong Tai cave (Laos), Tsetserleg valley (Mongolia), and the Jordan Nisja school of music (Albania). Acclaimed as “indefatigable and eclectic” (The New York Times), “vital and brilliant” (The New Yorker), and one of the most exciting quartets around (Strad Magazine), ETHEL invigorates the contemporary music scene with exuberance, intensity, imaginative programming, and exceptional artistry. ETHEL has collaborated with such luminaries as David Byrne, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kaki King, Todd Rundgren, Philip Glass, Julia Wolfe, Phil Kline, Svjetlana Bukvich, David Lang, John Zorn, Missy Mazzoli, Anna Clyne, Steve Reich and Terry Riley. Over the past five years, ETHEL has premiered 150+ new works, many of them commissioned by the quartet.

Set I- Kip Jones (solo violin)

Set II- Kip Jones (violin) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics) + John Keston (piano, rhodes, synthesizers, electronics)

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Zosha Warpeha Recordings

Please enjoy this recording of Sound / Simulacra featuring Zosha Warpeha on violin, voice, and electronics, John C.S. Keston on piano, Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics, and Cody McKinney on bass, voice, synthesizer, electronics. Recorded at Jazz Central Studios on Wednesday, June 27th, 2018.

Sound / Simulacra is a monthly series produced by John C.S. Keston and Cody McKinney which explores musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process. Sound / Simulacra brings together some of the Twin Cities most unique voices to “recreate, distort, and create the hyperreal.”

Zosha Warpeha is a genre-crossing violinist, vocalist, and composer from Minnesota, currently based in New York. Steeped in improvisation, her music draws inspiration from a wide range of folk traditions and contemporary music. Her approach to blending voice and five-string violin brings an unique dimension to her sound. She also performs regularly on the hardanger fiddle, a traditional instrument of Norway, fully embracing the resonance and shimmering qualities of its sympathetic strings. Current musical projects range from the contemporary chamber ensemble Stratus Quartet to the ambient electro-acoustic duo visible worlds. Recent multidisciplinary collaborations include improvisatory performances with the Joffrey Ballet School and the experimental theatre group Exquisite Corpse Company. She has performed in many musical contexts at festivals and venues across the US, as well as internationally at the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and has been a recipient of artistic awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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Leah Ottman (LOTT) Recordings

On March 22nd, 2017 Sound / Simulacra featured Leah Ottman aka LOTT. These recordings were captured by Dave Kunath during the second set and add John C.S. Keston on Rhodes / electronics and Cody McKinney on bass / electronics.

The core inspiration for LOTT’s compositions is the Romantic Period of classical music. The chordal structures, intervals, and melodies heard throughout her songs are reminiscent of those used by Antonin Dvorak, Alexander Borodin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, French Impressionist composer, Maurice Ravel, and then condensed into pop songs. She explores the range on her violin by utilizing a looping pedal and similar techniques employed by looping violinist pioneers, Andrew Bird, Kishi Bashi, and Owen Pallet.

LOTT has been likened to a modern day torch singer of indie music – both in her lyrical themes and vocal styling. She has been greatly influenced by Patsy Cline’s catalogue of songs about unrequited love and heartbreak.

LOTT was awarded “Best Vocalist” in 2016 and “Best Acoustic Performer” in City Pages Best Of the Twin Cities 2015.
“…With a looping pedal hooked up to her instrument, Ottman layers intricate melodies that combine classical beauty with an adventurous ear for contemporary experimentation not unlike Andrew Bird. Her voice, loaded with attitude and a penchant for flowing leaps, sweetens the deal…”