Event details

San Francisco electronic musicians John Bischoff and James Fei present an evening of live electronic music at the Lewis Arts Complex. The two artists spin parallel threads of electronic sound triggered by individual action, machine interjection, and event patterning culled from the instantaneous data flowing between their systems. John Bischoff (b. 1949, San Francisco) is a master composer/performer who explores boundaries and exchanges between analog and digital sound in real-time. The subtle interchange between these two realms is a form of musical alchemy, much in the tradition of the legendary composer/performer David Tudor. Bischoff’s circuit/laptop configurations create musical forms both spontaneously and algorithmically: a computer analyzes improvised analog sounds and creates musical structures based upon pre-conceived algorithms. He aptly describes this process as a “hybrid method that falls between traditional composition (invention ahead of time) and free improvisation (invention in the moment).” The conceptual basis underlying his music is rich; and the musical forms he creates are invariably elegant and coherent. That Bischoff creates his compositions live in performance attest to his artistic mastery. He is without doubt a leading composer/performer in the field of electronic music. James Fei (b.1974, Taipei, Taiwan) is an experimental musician whose work is characterized by a rigorously conceptual style. His work frequently employs improvisation, chance processes and electronics, and he often explores the extended techniques of the instruments he uses. Fei moved to the US in 1992 to study electrical engineering at Princeton University but lost his way in music, becoming a composer, saxophonist and live electronic musician.