tonight at Polestar, Seattle....

[dkl37@xxxxxxxx]

Saturday, April 19, 8 PM, $8, All Ages

Daniel Menche (Portland)
Dale Lloyd (Seattle)
Matt Shoemaker (Seattle)

Polestar presents a special evening with three acclaimed
electronic/electroacoustic explorers.

Portland's Daniel Menche has established himself as a musician with a
sense of focus and determination uncharacteristic in a genre ("noise")
known for its randomness and chaotic structure. Rather than creating
noise, he strives for order and cohesiveness. His presentation of sonic
structures is similar to the way a writer depicts a story - each piece is
plotted with a beginning, a middle, and an end, and is meant to be read
as a text. In reading his pieces, an allegory seems to arise, which uses
confusion as a symbol for the imaginative process in its quest for
beauty; aural intensity is not a representation of confusion or the
chaotic, but a concerted effort to provoke the listeners imagination, to
stimulate thought, generate intensely powerful sounds, and to inspire
beauty. Attempting to avoid the theoretical aspects of music, Menche's
sonic constructions enhance the mystery of confusion (in its tonal form)
in an effort to stimulate the imagination. Menche's Polestar performance
will focus on organic sound sources, especially his own amplified heart,
skin, lungs, larynx.

Returning to perform in a rare solo appearance after a well attended and
subsequently well received Phonographers' Union 111002 performance with
other Seattle based members of the (otherwise international) field
recording interest group phonography.org, Dale Lloyd will not only work
with his various assortment of (often indiscernible) environmental
recordings, but also electroacoustic dronescapes, assorted found objects,
and/or concocted devices, all intuitively infused into his subtle and at
times mercurial sonic admixture.

For his Polestar show, Matt Shoemaker will be performing a composition
using his laptop computer. The composition will be mixed live in response
to the "vibe" felt in the "air" of the Polestar space. Improvisation will
be kept to a minimum in order to make sure that the compositional
continuity preserves it's subtly heartfelt, yet impersonal intent. Visual
stimulation for the audience will consist mostly of Matt sitting nearly
motionless in front of his computer for the duration of his performance.
The house lights will dimmed as much as possible with the hope of
directing the audience's attention towards...towards, whatever is of
interest.

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Daniel Menche (Portland)
Dale Lloyd (Seattle)
Matt Shoemaker (Seattle)

Daniel Menche
Sound of Vehemence
"It's very difficult to explain or interpret what my music conveys - so
that's why I work hard so that the music can speak for itself - no matter
how vague the message or imagery - the energy of what it's communicating
is what remains most evident."

Daniel Menche's work originates from the idea that music can be created
without traditional music instruments. Ideas, concepts, and focused
vision all serve as source ideas for materials - and there is no
restriction to the potential sound sources. Works stem from "somatic"
sounds, relying on the body - heart, skin, lungs, larynx - to natural
field recordings, relying on wind, animals, insects, water, fire, and
stones, etc; from crude, lo-fi, and primitive electronics, broken
microphones, damaged speakers, antique audio equipment, to, at times,
mangled drones from instruments such as accordions, melodicas, organs,
and bass guitars with heavy gauged strings. Although this is electronic
music, synthesizers have never played any part in his work. Here, the
living elements are foregrounded, not the technical or electronic
elements, that go into music making - organic sound sources are the main
emphasis in creating a living and emotional feeling to Daniel Menche's
form of electronic music.  Subtle and patient compositions rely on long,
dense layers of droning sounds, while abrasive pieces rely on sounds
amplified and processed to extreme levels, pushing the full spectrum of
frequencies to the most intense limits.  Other explorations could be
considered musique concrete, chaotic collages displayed gracefully
without ever being just "noise".  Daniel's work is always on a path to
explore new sound ideas for music.

Daniel Menche's craft straddles many hard-to-define boundaries and
genres; it is an effort to provoke confusion in order to enhance the
mystery of it; an effort to establish each release as a sonic identity.
This is not the music of the masses; rather, it is the music of
individuals who are adventurous in experiencing challenging music.
Indeed, Menche has amassed a sizable discography on some the most
discerning independent labels in the world; his catalog spans nearly 10
full length CD releases, 20 CD compilation tracks, several vinyl releases
and other eclectic recording projects on over 23 labels internationally.
Daniel has been a constant presence on the West Coast, performing
concerts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. He also
has found his strongest audience abroad, performing in Japan, France,
Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and Germany.  Live performances are intense and
powerful. Characterized as both extremely loud and patiently subtle,
Menche's live performance defines its own sonic presence,  an entity that
gives form to an emotional rawness with highly textural and dominating
sounds.

Daniel Menche's music is meant to express the undisciplined purity of
emotion. Characterized by forcefulness of sound, this is music that
strives for one goal: vehement beauty.

Dale Lloyd is a composer, producer and label owner who has been involved
with sound in some capacity for over ten years. Since 2001, he has been
running and/OAR, a recording label dedicated to field recording and
electroacoustic works, and producing the compilations for
phonography.org, an internet based interest group devoted to field
recording, as well as other kinds of sound recording that requires the
use of devices other than standard types of microphones (such as
hydrophones, piezo discs, geophones, etc) in order to capture specific
types of sounds not readily heard by the average human ear.
                                                                         
                                                                         
                    
Since 2000, Dale's sound work has gone from minimal yet overtly textural
pieces, mercurial electroacoustic works, amorphous soundscapes and
drones, moderately paced abstractions, to the more recent focus of more
quiet and subtle versions of all of the above. Aside from releasing his
own works on and/OAR, Dale has also had works issued through labels such
as Staalplaat/Open Circuit, S'agita Recordings. Bremsstrahlung
Recordings, Mu Label, and Throat, and has had pieces and field recordings
featured with those of other artists such as Matt Shoemaker, John Hudak,
*0, Kim Cascone, Bernhard Gunter, Richard Chartier, Merzbow, Aube,
Francisco Lopez, Reynols, Tetsu Inoue, Toshimaru Nakamura, Toy Bizarre,
Eric La Casa, among many others.                                         
    

Dale Lloyd:  http://www.and-oar.org/dalelloyd.html
and/OAR:  http://www.and-oar.org/
phonography.org:  http://www.phonography.org/

Matt Shoemaker
For over ten years now, utilizing sound and music as the medium of
choice, Seattleite Matt Shoemaker has been absorbed in the process of
defining diffused space, inexplicable memory, obscure context, and
disparate strata of time in a state of constant transformation. With a
variety of techniques employed (including, but not limited to: collage,
field recording, musique concréte, improvisation, tender acousmatic flux,
convulsive auditory deterritorialization, senseless textural
congregation, impulsive cultural appropriation, and fervent sonic
rumination), Matt attempts to create refined compositions of a uniquely
baffling and cryptic quality. The acclaimed German label Trente Oiseaux,
run by composer Bernhard Günter, has, to date, released two CDs by Matt:
"groundless" and "warung elusion."

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Polestar Music Gallery
Peggy Sartoris-Belaqua & Henry Hughes
1412 - 18th Avenue (at East Union)
Seattle, Washington  98122  USA
(206) 329-4224

On the web: http://www.polestarmusic.org

ABOUT POLESTAR...
Dedicated to presenting adventurous and experimental musics in a simple
recital hall setting, Polestar Music Gallery is a small, volunteer-run,
not-for-profit concert venue in a renovated storefront in Seattle's
Central District, just east of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. All ages,
no alcohol, no café. We present contemporary composition, electroacoustic
and electronic music, free improvisation, installations, noise, out jazz,
sound art, and more. The great majority of admission fees at the door go
to the performing musicians, the rest toward keeping that door open.
Polestar was launched May 15-19, 2002, with performers from Germany,
Chicago, Colorado, California, and the Seattle area.

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