TONY CONRAD
AKI ONDA
MV CARBON
CHAW MANK (Brian Sullivan of Mouthus and Richard Hoffman of Sightings)

TONY CONRAD is one of the most compelling figures in 20th century music, a profoundly influential composer whose radical styles resist textbook definitions and challenge accepted notions of the minimalist canon.  At the core of Conrad's legend is his work as a violinist, in which primal, enveloping drones create an oscillating ritual theater. In 1962 he co-founded the groundbreaking ensemble known as the Dream Syndicate. Wielding a drone both aggressively confrontational and subtly mesmerizing, he and his collaborators -- including La Monte Young and future Velvet Underground co-founders John Cale and Angus MacLise -- created some of the most revolutionary music of that – or any -- decade. Utilizing long durations, precise pitch and blistering volume, Conrad and co. forged a "Dream Music" that articulated the Big Bang of "minimalism." Following the dissolution of the group in 1966, Conrad played a pivotal role in the formation of the Velvet Underground, then refocused his efforts on experimental film and video; his 1966 masterwork The Flicker is considered the cornerstone of the Structural Cinema movement. Musically, he resurfaced only briefly, to jam with German krautrock progenitors Faust on the 1972 LP Outside the Dream Syndicate, a work of explosive prophecy that to this day retains an undiminished power to startle and excite.  The present decade has seen a series of releases that confirm Conrad's indefatigable creative legacy. These include field recordings, piano compositions, film soundtracks, and electronic compositions, as well as his documentation of early, seminal efforts by John Cale (now a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and the late filmmaker and performance artist Jack Smith. Taken together, these comprise a remarkable body of work, and celebrate the wild breadth of a spectacular 40-year career.

AKI ONDA is an electronic musician, composer, and photographer. Onda was born in Japan and currently resides in New York. He is particularly known for his Cassette Memories project – works compiled from a “sound diary” of field-recordings collected by Onda over a span of two decades. Onda’s musical instrument of choice is the cassette Walkman. Not only does he capture field recordings with the Walkman, he also physically manipulates multiple Walkmans with electronics in his performances. In another of his projects, Cinemage, Onda produces slide projections of still photo images set to live guitar improvisation. Onda has collaborated with artists such as Michael Snow, Ken Jacobs, Alan Licht, Loren Connors, Oren Ambarchi, Noël Akchoté, Jac Berrocal, Linda Sharrock, and Shelley Hirsch.

MV CARBON uses fragmented field recordings, analog synthesizers, samplers, tape manipulations, and photosensitive oscillators to assimilate structural chaos and decomposition. She creates eerie and unsettling compositions using her voice as an instrument and processing it through tape machines. She plays cello through tape loops and guitar pedals and uses 16mm film imagery as a backdrop for her performances. She is interested in the structural decomposition and fragmentation that occurs within architecture, landscape, human physiology, and perception. She has collaborated with an array of amazing musicians and is a member of Metalux, Bad Faces, Foamula and the now defunct Bride of No No. She has work released on labels such as 5RC, Load, Hanson, Veglia, No Fun Productions, Nihilist, and Atavistic. Upcoming Release of her new solo album will be coming out on Ecstatic Peace this winter.

In the 90's, Mouthus guitar-killer Brian Sullivan started a band with Sightings' Hoffman called CHAW MANK and Mouthus' in-house CD-R label, Our Mouth, has just released a thatch of Chaw Mank material called Vol. I. I've only had this a couple days and can't do it justice, but rest assured it's all you'd expect and more: dense air-tearing noise, gut-level pounding, vocals flattened into electric sheen, and the kind of wide-ranging openness to all possible sounds that Mouthus has patented. - Marc Masters, Noiseweek