"Jessica Pavone (composer, viola, violin, el.bass) has performed in countless improvisation, avant jazz, experimental, folk, soul, and chamber ensembles since moving to NYC in 2000. She currently plays with Normal Love, in a duo with guitarist Mary Halvorson, with Anthony Braxton's ensembles and as a solo violist. As a composer, The Wire magazine praised her "ability to transform a naked tonal gesture into something special," and The New York Times described her music as "distinct and beguiling...its core is steely, and its execution clear."

Pavone's recent works for solo viola and voice stem from years of concentrated long tone practice and an interest in repetition, song form, and sympathetic vibration. She combines her long tone rituals with delay, understated melodies and sparse lyrical content while continuously experimenting with new forms. She is interested in the physicality of performing her somewhat larger-than-comfortable instrument and believes that cultivating physical bodies as a strong container for her thoughts is part of the creative process.

As an instrumentalist, she has personally worked with and interpreted new music by; Aaron Seigel, Andrew Raffo Dewar, Elliott Sharp, Glenn Branca, Henry Threadgill, Leo Smith, Jason Ajemian, Jason Cady, Jeremiah Cymerman, John King, Matana Roberts, Matthew Welch, Tristan Perich, Tyondai Braxton and William Parker; and, has played strings in bands such as Christy and Emily, Pure Horsehair, White Blue Yellow and Clouds, Joy Mega, and The Artificials.

Pavone has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, performing in venues ranging from international music festivals, universities, and art galleries, to community centers and basements. Her music has premiered in venues in New York City such as, Roulette, Issue Project Room, and The Kitchen, and at the Klangbad Festival in Sheer, Germany. In 2011 she was featured in NPR's "The Mix: 100 Composers Under 40." She has received grants and commissions from the Aaron Copland Recording Fund, the American Music Center, New Music USA for her collaboration with choreographer, Anna Sperber, The Kitchen, MATA, The Jerome Foundation, The Tri-Centric Foundation, Experiments in Opera, and the chamber music collective, Till By Turning."

"Lukas König (*1988) studied at Gustav Mahler Konservatorium in Vienna, Anton-Bruckner University in Linz and HKB in Bern. He was given the "Hans Koller Price- New York Scolarship" in 2009, the Bremen Jazzpreis and Bawag P.S.K. Next Generation Award in 2014 (with Kompost3). Klangforum Wien premiered his composition Stereogram1 at Konzerthaus Vienna in 2018 and in 2021 he was chosen to be artist of the Shape Network. In addition to performances at festivals worldwide he collaborated with Reggie Washington, Malcolm Braff, Steven Bernstein, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Audrey Chen, Julien Desprez, Chris Pitsiokos, Moormother, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Briggan Krauss, Dorian Concept, Leo Riegler, Freya Edmondes, Peter Kutin, Nik Hummer, Michael Fischer, Shahzad Isamaily, Jorge Sánchez-Chiong, Elliott Sharp, Almog Sharvit, Brandon Seabrock, Adam O'Farrell, David Leon, MC Sensational, Elvin Brandhi, Petter Eldh, Otis Sandsjö, Klangforum Wien, Bilderbuch, Hoover Le, Martin Siewert, Franz Hautzinger, Maja Osojnik, Wolfgang Puschnig, Thomas Gansch, Andy Manndorff, David Murray, Die Strottern, Wolfgang Mitterer, Jon Sass, Otto Lechner, Patrice Heral, Guem , Raphael Preuschl, Paul Urbanek, Phil Yaeger, Wolfgang Schiftner, Martin Eberle, Sixtus Preiss, Manu Mayr, Clemens Salesny, Clemens Wenger, Jazzwerkstatt Wien, Greenwoman, Ensemble für neue Musik Zürich, Koenigleopold, Bilderbuch, 5KHD, Klangforum Wien and many more.

Austrian musician Lukas Koening is primarily a drummer. But there's a lot more than percussion happening on his latest solo album, Buffering Synapsis (opal tapes), from sputtering noise to fractured circuit breaking to creepy horror-soundtrack ambience. Using electronics and pedals along with his cymbal, Koening lets his imagination fly, leading to fascinating juxtapositions between tracks and sometimes even inside them. Despite the stylistic whiplash, Koening manages to instill his music with a sense of purpose, never blasting forward blindingly or tripping over himself to find a new sound. As a result, static churn, whirring spasms and terrifying echoes are like branches of the same highly-engaging musical tree.In recent years Koenig's solo work has repositioned itself toward a stuttering, data moshed version of the solo drummer. The imagery of brain tissues micro and macro being loaded, reloaded and exploded with data, time stamping and pure kinesis as conjured by the title of this album could not be more apt. With this recording an almost cartoon like level of intensity is sometimes reached through movement and movement alone. This is a music re-animating the "solo" drummers album while re-collecting it's history of new-complexity, lowercase, Bertoia-esque metal manipulations and all out free jazz fire music. Never drab or stuffy its cybernetic, hyper technical but above all; only accomplishable at the speed of thought. It's intrinsically human music. Deploying double kick drum played in stroboscopic clusters, hyper-tactile cymbal work, table top electronics and FX pedals to mute, melt and mutilate his flailing limbs and ocean like tam tam bathing. Buffering Synapsis is a tiny view into the creative world of an incredibly exciting and unique musician. (Texts by Opal Tapes + Marc Masters)

Performances at: Donaufestival Krems, Skanu Mesz Riga, Sajeta Festival, Bushfire Festival Swaziland, Jazz à Vienne (FR), Cully Jazzfestival, North Sea Jazzfestival, Jerusalem Festival, Skopje Jazzfestival, Fusion Berlin, Eurosonic Norderslaag, Goa Jazzfestival, 12 Points Dublin, Jazzfestival Saalfelden, Rock Am Ring, HighFields Festival, Jazzfest Wiesen, Jazzfest Wien, Beijing Ninegates Jazz Festival, DMX Festival Mexico City, Artist in Residence Schrattenberg, Bohemia Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, Fimav Victoriaville and many more."

"Matthew Mottel, is an internationally recognized musician and artist, performing most notably with Talibam! for the past seven years. His visage should be familiar to anyone who's been going to shows in NYC in the past ten years. He's been hanging around NYC clubs since he was like 16, and dropping electric mind bombs with his synthesizer in those clubs nearly as long with folks like Karole Armitage, Rhys Chatham, Awesome Color, Akron/Family, Jeffrey Lewis, Chris Taylor (Grizzly Bear), Kenny Wollesen, Chris Corsano, Ras Moshe, Cooper-Moore, Sean Meehan, and many others."