minimalism | Musicosity

minimalism

Dustin O'Halloran

A self-taught pianist from the age of 7, Dustin O'Halloran's personal histories give us some clue to the thickly-woven tapestries of his music: he has lived in LA (where he studied art at Santa Monica College and formed the much-adored Devics with Sara Lov), Italy (in the depths of rural Emilia Romagna) and Berlin. His arresting, heartbreaking music is as much an elegant exercise in nuance and grace as it is a pure, intuitive, personal expression – and here is where we see some explanation into Dustin's quiet rise to notoriety and his continued ascension.

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Monolake

Monolake was formed in 1995 as the duo of Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke, although on later albums the group consisted of Henke alone, with Behles focusing his time on running the Ableton software company. Their sound can generally be described as minimal techno filled with nice touch of fine tech dub, although the 1999 Gobi. The Desert EP, which contains a single 37-minute atmospheric piece, is a notable exception. Monolake first released an album and several 12"s on Berlin's Chain Reaction label, then on Monolake/Imbalance Computer Music, which is operated by Robert Henke.

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Dntel

Dntel is the solo project of Jimmy Tamborello. Dntel is known for mixing glitch and cut-up electronic techniques with instruments like acoustic guitars, accordions, and symphonic instruments. Dntel is also the project that spawned The Postal Service. He started working as Dntel, pronounced Din-tell, in 1994. A collection of tracks created between 1995-1997 (Early Works For Me If It Works For You) was released on the Phthalo label in 1999, followed by the release of an EP recorded in 1994 (Something Always Goes Wrong) in 2000.

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Mark Wastell

Mark Wastell is a British cellist and improvisationalist born in 1968. Much of Mark Wastell's relationship with his chosen instrument is concentrated on the tactile, textural and sonic possibilities of both violoncello and bow. He is increasingly interested in working with extreme elements drawn from frequency, timbre and pitch. His early activity was consciously and subconsciously influenced by a variety of improvising musicians including John Stevens, Barry Guy, Phil Durrant and John Russell. Subsequent exposure to contemporary composers lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of the works written for strings by Feldman, Cage, Nono, Lachenmann and Sciarrino. The use of live electronics and music concrete by Tudor, Parmegiani, Xenakis and others was another important early influence.

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Pascal Comelade

Pascal Paul Vincent Comelade (born June 30, 1955), is a French-Catalan minimalist. Comelade born was in Montpellier, France. After living for several years in Barcelona, he made his first album, Fluences, influenced by electronic music and by the group Heldon. Subsequently, his music has become more acoustic and is characterised by the sounds of toy instruments, used as solo-instruments and as an integral part of the sound of his group, the Bel Canto Orquestra.

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Jessica Rylan

Jessica Rylan is a sound artist and electronic musician who lives and performs in the Boston, United States area, where she grew up. The main focus of her work to date has been the design and construction modular synthesizers which use analog electronic circuits to create a diversity of sounds. She uses her synthesizers in installations at galleries and also in her high-energy, live musical performances.

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Charles Spearin

Charles Spearin, founding member of Do Make Say Think, Broken Social Scene and K.C. Accidental released his debut album, The Happiness Project, on Feb. 14, 2009. The Happiness Project mixes music with spoken interviews which Spearin conducted on persons living in his own neighborhood. A theme throughout each interview is the subject of happiness. According to the album's liner notes, after the interviews Spearin would listen to the playback "for moments that were interesting in both meaning and melody," Spearin wrote.

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