Dominic Cramp, aka Lord Tang and Borful Tang, is a US West Coast experimental artist, known for the groups Evangelista, Vulcanus 68, and Qulfus.

-Squidco 11/5/2024

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"Palestinian-American musician Mike Khoury (1969) was raised in Mt. Pleasant, MI. He studied violin in the local school systems with instructors Kerry Goodwin and Nancy Smith. During his formative years, Khoury also played electric bass in several rock groups. Exposure to the visual arts, especially abstract expressionism, played a large role in Khoury's early years.An interest in alternative tunings and the desire to create sonically intense music reflective of his ethnic background and interest in psychedelia led Khoury to the Urban Farmers. With multiple shows under their belt, the all instrumental trio issued one full length CD and had several of their pieces issued on various compilations. Khoury was one part of the proprietorship that was Uprising Records with childhood friend and musician Greg Marten. Uprising Records issued records by many notable groups of the era.Upon migrating to the metro Detroit area, Khoury resumed his violin performance and private studies on the instrument with a focus on free improvisation. Studies with violinist/composer David Litven helped to shape his technique and approach. Performance and recording credits include those with Faruq Z. Bey, Luc Houtkamp, Le Quan Ninh, Maury Coles, Dennis Gonzalez, John Voigt, Gunda Gottschalk, John Butcher, Paul Lytton, and John Sinclair. In 1997, Khoury formed the Entropy Stereo Recordings music label where he documented new and archival works by improvisors. The label is still active today.In an effort to document his work on a personal level, Khoury formed the Detroit Improvisation label. Detroit Improvisation focused primarily on Khoury's journey as an improviser where his collaborations with other musicians were well documented including two DVDs of duets with dancer/choreographer Leyya Tawil. Khoury is a firm believer in learning the rules in order to break them, although the learning and breaking sometime happen simultaneously. His studies in improvisation parallel his work in studying traditional violin technique and music theory. He cites Halim El-Dabh, Lata Mangeshkar, Bill Dixon, Lucia Dlugoszewski, and Charlie Patton as influences. As a trained economist, Khoury's approach to improvisation and music theory is informed by his knowledge of statistics, mathematics and the behavioral sciences. Khoury has also curated a long standing Detroit creative music series and has composed or contributed to music for film, television and radioToday, Khoury conducts both ethnographical, sonic and historical research from his laboratory and studios in Redford, MI. He has authored a chapter on the composer Halim El-Dabh published in an anthology on the Arab Avant Garde by Wesleyan University Press. Khoury also divides his time between his improvisational work and the Redford Civic Symphony Orchestra of which he is a member of the first violin section. Current active projects include Inscribe (with members of Northwoods Improvisers and Wisaal), a duet with percussionist Ben Hall, a duet with dancer/choreographer Leyya Tawil, his work performing as an improvisational soloist and as the bass player for a garage rock band, the Confessions."-Mike Khoury Website (http://www.mikekhoury.com/bio.html)
11/5/2024

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"Since his emergence on the west coast in the late 1970s, Evander Music founder and saxophonist Phillip Greenlief has achieved international critical acclaim for his recordings and performances with musicians and composers in the post-jazz continuum as well as new music innovators and virtuosic improvisers. He has performed and recorded with Fred Frith, Meredith Monk, Nels Cline, and They Might Be Giants; albums include THAT OVERT DESIRE OF OBJECT with Joelle Leandre, and ALL AT ONCE with FPR (Frank Gratkowski, Jon Raskin, Phillip Greenlief). Recent residencies have included Headlands Center for the Arts and from 2012 to 2014 he was the curator at Berkeley Arts, a home for progressive music. He is the recipient of a San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award."

-Evander Music (http://www.evandermusic.com/artist_detail.asp?artist_id=117)
11/5/2024

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"Gino Robair has created music for dance, theater, radio, television, silent film, and gamelan orchestra, and his works have been performed throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. He was composer in residence with the California Shakespeare Festival for five seasons and served as music director for the CBS animated series The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. His commercial work includes themes for the MTV and Comedy Central cable networks.

Robair is also one of the "25 innovative percussionists" included in the book Percussion Profiles (SoundWorld, 2001). He has recorded with Tom Waits, Anthony Braxton, Terry Riley, Lou Harrison, John Butcher, Derek Bailey, Peter Kowald, Otomo Yoshihide, the ROVA Saxophone Quartet, and Eugene Chadbourne, among many others. In addition, Robair has performed with John Zorn, Nina Hagen, Fred Frith, Eddie Prevost, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Myra Melford, Wadada Leo Smith, and the Club Foot Orchestra.

Robair is a founding member of the Splatter Trio and the heavy-metal band, Pink Mountain. In addition, he runs Rastascan Records, a label devoted to creative music.

As a writer about music technology, Robair has contributed to Mix, Remix, Guitar Player, and Electronic Musician (EM) magazine, where he was an editor for 10 years. He is the author of two books, including The Ultimate Personal Recording Studio (Thompson; 2006)."

-Gino Robair Website (http://www.ginorobair.com/bio.html)
11/5/2024

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