KREEPA
Encyclopedia
kREEPA are a group that perform electronic music
and musical improvisation
founded by John Richards
and Hilary Jeffery in 2000. The group performs a type of industrial jazz and electro-noise.
. These original recordings became part of two limited edition CD-R releases. During 2002, kREEPA collaborated with the American dancer, choreographer and designer Aurora Corsano.
This work included a residency at the Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music (STEIM
), which culminated in a performance at the Frascati Theatre in Amsterdam with Paul Dunmall. During their stay at STEIM, kREEPA helped initiate the OIK project that involved the hacking of commercially available hardware to create economic musical interfaces.
Richards developed the kreepback instrument that is an assemblage of do-it-yourself electronic devices and audio hardware patched together to create a feedback labyrinth. The first realisation of the kreepback instrument used purely a feedback network in the music software Max/MSP that was controlled by an automated interface. This instrument features on the album Document 1, Kraakgeluiden on the Unsounds label. He then turned to a more modular approach that included bespoke and appropriated hardware.
Jeffery’s tromboscillator combines and mutates the trombone with oscillators, ring modulators, filters and delay lines. Jeffery cites the piece Wind Shadows by Alvin Lucier
influencing the development of the instrument. The initial tromboscillator was developed in Max/MSP. In 2006, Jeffery moved to a discrete analogue tromboscillator built by Tom Bugs.
kREEPA have performed internationally with various line-ups. In 2004, the group took part in a concert funded by Arts Council England
and the Performing Rights Society Foundation with Walter Fabeck at Trinity Buoy Wharf
in London with a kRUISE taking the audience along the Thames to and from the venue. Other notable performances include the Logos Foundation
, kraakgeluiden, Supersonic, and Sónar
.
Since 2004, kREEPA have worked closely with Nicholas Bullen
(founder of Napalm Death
and Scorn
) and Bullen’s group Black Galaxy. kREEPA have also released material on Bullen’s label Monium. Other collaborations have been with Tom Bugs, whom Jeffery has also performed with as a duo. The pseudonym aka kREEPA has also been used by John Richards for his solo performances.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and musical improvisation
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
founded by John Richards
John Richards
John Richards may refer to:*John Richards , Irish judge*John Richards , Bishop of St David's*John Richards , Bishop of Ebbsfleet...
and Hilary Jeffery in 2000. The group performs a type of industrial jazz and electro-noise.
Career
The group began with recordings of extended instrumental improvisations with starkly contrasting electronic textures. In 2000, the contrabass recorder player Cesar Villavicencio joined the group after meeting Jeffery in the Meta Orchestra at Dartington International Summer School. Recordings continued throughout 2001 with Villavicencio and the British saxophonist Paul DunmallPaul Dunmall
Paul Dunmall is a British jazz saxophonist who plays tenor and soprano saxophone as well as the baritone and the more exotic Saxello and the Northumbrian pipes.He has a long discography on the Duns Limited Edition label....
. These original recordings became part of two limited edition CD-R releases. During 2002, kREEPA collaborated with the American dancer, choreographer and designer Aurora Corsano.
This work included a residency at the Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music (STEIM
STEIM
STEIM is a center for research and development of new musical instruments in the electronic performing arts, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Electronic music in STEIM's context is always strongly related to the physical and direct actions of a musician...
), which culminated in a performance at the Frascati Theatre in Amsterdam with Paul Dunmall. During their stay at STEIM, kREEPA helped initiate the OIK project that involved the hacking of commercially available hardware to create economic musical interfaces.
Richards developed the kreepback instrument that is an assemblage of do-it-yourself electronic devices and audio hardware patched together to create a feedback labyrinth. The first realisation of the kreepback instrument used purely a feedback network in the music software Max/MSP that was controlled by an automated interface. This instrument features on the album Document 1, Kraakgeluiden on the Unsounds label. He then turned to a more modular approach that included bespoke and appropriated hardware.
Jeffery’s tromboscillator combines and mutates the trombone with oscillators, ring modulators, filters and delay lines. Jeffery cites the piece Wind Shadows by Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
influencing the development of the instrument. The initial tromboscillator was developed in Max/MSP. In 2006, Jeffery moved to a discrete analogue tromboscillator built by Tom Bugs.
kREEPA have performed internationally with various line-ups. In 2004, the group took part in a concert funded by Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
and the Performing Rights Society Foundation with Walter Fabeck at Trinity Buoy Wharf
Trinity Buoy Wharf
Trinity Buoy Wharf, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, is the site of London's only lighthouse, by the confluence of the River Thames and Bow Creek, at Leamouth. The lighthouse no longer functions, and is the home of various art projects such as Longplayer...
in London with a kRUISE taking the audience along the Thames to and from the venue. Other notable performances include the Logos Foundation
Logos Foundation
The Logos Foundation is a professional organisation for the promotion of new musics and audio related arts by means of new music production, concerts, performances, composition, technological research projects and other contemporary music related activities....
, kraakgeluiden, Supersonic, and Sónar
Sónar
Sónar is an annual three-day music festival held in Barcelona, Spain. It is described officially as a festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art. Music is by far the main aspect of the festival....
.
Since 2004, kREEPA have worked closely with Nicholas Bullen
Nicholas Bullen
-Biography:He is one of the founding members - with Miles Ratledge - of Napalm Death, the band credited with creating the Grindcore genre.The duo had collaborated on fanzines and played together in a number of 'bedroom' bands from 1980 onwards and formed the first line-up of Napalm Death in May...
(founder of Napalm Death
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...
and Scorn
Scorn
Scorn is a feeling of contempt or disdain for something or somebody; to despise.Scorn may also refer to:Music* Scorn * Scorn of the Women, an album by Weddings Parties Anything* Scorn Defeat, an album by Sigh...
) and Bullen’s group Black Galaxy. kREEPA have also released material on Bullen’s label Monium. Other collaborations have been with Tom Bugs, whom Jeffery has also performed with as a duo. The pseudonym aka kREEPA has also been used by John Richards for his solo performances.
External links
- www.kreepa.com
- www.monium.org.uk
- www.subdist.com Distribution of music by kREEPA
- www.steim.org Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music, Amsterdam