WEST OAKLAND SOUND SERIES a weekly new music and experimental sound series every sunday presented by new performance traditions and sfSound dresher ensemble studio :: 2201 poplar street, oakland california $10-$25 sliding scale (cash & venmo accepted at door - order advance here) ample parking! please park perpendicular when past the trees on poplar :: late arrivals follow instructions on door to get buzzed in :: sunday october 27, 2024 meerenai shim + diane grubbe / holly martins sunday november 3, 2024 ric louchard group / bjll dingalls sunday november 10, 2024 stinson trio / mitch stahlmann sunday november 17, 2024 arkin + goldberg / bruckmann + glenn + jessen + mezzacappa + rivero sunday november 24, 2024 danniel ribeiro + eda er / dan plonsey group sunday december 1, 2024 euphotic / thea farhadian + chris brown sunday december 8, 2024 robert blatt + manfred werder + kevin corcoran / giacomo fiore performance proposals sign up to our mailing list view previous concerts here |
OCTOBER 27 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
MEERENAI SHIM + DIANE GRUBBE THE HOLLY MARTINS (KASEY KNUDSEN + LORIN BENEDICT + ERIC VOGLER) Bay Area flutists DIANE GRUBBE and MEERENAI SHIM perform solo and duo works by Robert Dick, Mario Davidovsky, Dai Fujikura, Alyssa Aska, and The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker. THE HOLLY MARTINS is KASEY KNUDSEN (alto saxophone), LORIN BENEDICT (voice), and ERIC VOGLER (guitar). They have been playing in this configuration for over 15 years, during which time the group has explored a broad range of composed music (written by them and by others), improvised game pieces, and collective free improvisation. The nucleus of their approach is rooted in the jazz idiom, writ large, but the conspicuous absence of a "rhythm section" pushes the team in directions bordering on the altogether unfamiliar. |
NOVEMBER 3 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
RIC LOUCHARD (with LISA MEZZACAPPA + JORDAN GLENN + JOSHUA MARSHALL) BJLL DINGALLS (TOM DJLL + BILL HSU + MATT INGALLS) RIC LOUCHARD is a Bay Area composer, pianist, improviser, writer and story teller. His stories strive to find the universal in the very personal. His music is emotive and, well, romantic, or at least on the Dionysian side of the fence. It tends towards chromaticism, atonality or quirky tonality. Motivic with sometimes complex rhythms. His musical roots are European classical tradition, improvisation, and all the music we’ve all been hearing the last 70 years. Ric is delighted – really delighted - to be playing with LISA MEZZACAPPA, bass, JORDAN GLENN, drums, and JOSHUA MARSHALL, saxophones. Ric played these pieces with this same quartet 5 years ago and has always wanted to revisit the music, make some revisions, and play and record them again with these fantastic musicians. He is thrilled it is happening. In the blur between acoustic and amplified, synthetic and analog, "algo-rhythm" and improvisation, clarity is forged anew only if you look ahead. Swinging serious sonic sledgehammers for a threefold lifetime now, BJLL DINGALLS [TOM DJLL (trumpet & electronics) + BILL HSU (electronics) + MATT INGALLS (clarinet & electronics)] lay the railroad into terra incognita. |
NOVEMBER 10 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
THE STINSON TRIO MITCH STAHLMANN THE STINSON TRIO is the restless electric improvising union of drummer TIM BULKLEY, guitarist DAVID DVORIN, and reeds player RANDY MCKEAN. Using drum and cymbal, amps and effects, high and low saxes/clarinets, they fashion instant jigsaw superstructures from composite layers of sound and rhythm. The Stinson project came about after trombonist and fellow Flounder band member Cliff Childers’ unexpected death in 2023, which had a profound impact on the remaining members Bulkley, Dvorin, and McKean. Cancelling all upcoming engagements, they entered a period of soul-searching and reflection, ultimately spending a long weekend playing and recording in a cabin located in Marin County’s seaside community of Stinson Beach. The result is their collection Stinson, a creative meditation on folding grief into the joy of communion and connection. They create a world of eclectic improvisation, spontaneous composition, and thoughtful rumination, one in which clinks and clanks become swirls and sustenance, thud and bluster become howl and lament. Through the act of making music, the three reaffirm their collective bond, which shines and fuels their debut release. Stinson will be released by Cure-All Records in November 2024. MITCH STAHLMANN does play around. His often frenetic music embraces chaos, pulling radical joy out of the magician's hat. In his solo practice, Mitch primarily works with complex MIDI systems controlled by his adaptation of Michel Waisvisz's crackle box circuit design. Additionally, the flute is used as a vehicle for melodic and spiritual incantation through this fabric of noise. For this set at the West Oakland Sound Series, Mitch will be pulling both material from his debut solo album, Into the Wish, as well as new musical material. As a collaborator, Mitch's sound can also be heard in projects such as RISA and Signal Quest. |
NOVEMBER 17 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
JON ARKIN + BEN GOLDBERG BRUCKMANN + GLENN + JESSEN + MEZZACAPPA + RIVERO As a duo, JON ARKIN (drums, live processing) and BEN GOLDBERG (clarinet) bring together an unprecedented diversity of organic and synthetic elements, forming a truly unique musical amalgam. Arkin’s self-designed hybrid electro-acoustic setup acts as both a support and foil to Goldberg’s singular improvisational voice, within the contexts of traditional composition, spontaneous composition, and algorithmic indeterminacy. The evening also includes an improvisaiton by the super-group KYLE BRUCKMANN (oboe/electronics) + JORDAN GLENN (percussion) + DANA JESSEN (bassoon) + LISA MEZZACAPPA (bass) + DANISHTA RIVERO (voice/electronics). In this yet-to-be-cleverly-named electroacoustic quintet, the double reed faction of Splinter Reeds fills in a juicy slice of their Venn diagram overlap with Oakland's tireless Creative Music scene. Thorny compositions by Jessen and Bruckmann frame and catalyze jittery collective improvisations. Mazes will be precariously navigated and harmonic partials will be shamelessly excited. |
NOVEMBER 24 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
EDA ER + DANNIEL RIBEIRO DAN PLONSEY GROUP EDA ER and DANNIEL RIBEIRO debut their dynamic duo, blending vocals, electronics, electric guitar, and video. Their work incorporates transducers and extended techniques within a structured improvisation setting, highlighting their shared exploration of sound, collaboration, and multimedia expression. Eda Er is a composer, multimedia artist, and vocalist based in the Bay Area. Her work integrates electronic music, classical composition, installation art, and theater, often using storytelling to explore themes of belonging, memory, and generational trauma. Eda's practice bridges new media, improvisation, and sensors, with a focus on the interaction between sound, visuals, and space. She frequently collaborates with renowned ensembles and artists and is known for her interdisciplinary approach, combining performance art with cutting-edge technology to create immersive experiences. Danniel Ribeiro is a Brazilian composer based in the Bay Area. His work explores instrumental music through project-specific techniques, preparations, sculptural objects, amplification, and transduced electronics. Focusing primarily on the guitar, he expands its expressive range and investigates the instrument’s evolving stylistic devices. His performances span spontaneous composition, recorded and transformed performances, collaborative projects, and the exploration of augmented instrument capabilities. Danniel has studied composition in Brazil, Canada, France, and the USA, and has participated in various international festivals as a resident composer. DAN PLONSEY GROUP plays music. |
DECEMBER 1 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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DECEMBER 8 2024 7pm $10-$25 |
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PROPOSALS Our focus is on the bay area experimental and new music community, hopefully encouraging crossover among sub-scenes (composition and improvisation; established and emerging; institutional and underground; etc.) We strongly suggest local musicians attend concerts before requesting to perform on the series. Visiting aritsts are also welcome, ideally splitting a concert with local musicians. We are also seeking compositions (in all forms of notation) to be performed by the sfSoundGroup. We have a 92-key (down to a Low F!) 1953 Bösendorfer 7’4” Model 225 Piano (no sostenuto pedal; inside/prepared is OK). The venue hosts a Meyer Sound System, drum kit, additional piano, lighting, and projection equipment. Please send proposals to mattingalls@me.com. |
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