Two of the concert performances mentioned in the interview with gregarious live electronic improviser Thomas Dimuzio (“Crashing by Design,” posted on Disquiet.com at the end of last month) are among those that Dimuzio has recently uploaded to his website, thomasdimuzio.com. The full sets are available for a fee, but lengthy sample stretches are free, including around 10 to 15 minutes of: (1) the 2004 show with Scott Arford (sampling and processing) and Chris Fitzpatrick (keyboard, processors, CD player, sequencers, voice), with which the interview begins (MP3), and (2) the duo with Michael Thomas Jackson (looping and processing, objects, shortwave, CD player, cassette) as part of the 2004 Activating the Medium Festival (MP3).
I attended both those shows, and it’s a testament to their level of abstraction how new the music sounds, even when hearing it a second time. The key item in Jackson’s list of tools is “objects.” He’s a homegrown minimalist, and the music may be at its best when his small sounds emerge from the noise. Likewise, despite the combined fire power of that trio, they spend much of the piece in a sustained lull.
Also recommended, (3) a collaboration with Elliott Sharp (fretless electroacoustic guitar, processing, microphone) dating from 2003 (MP3). His burbling strings ground Dimuzio’s more outward-bound tendencies.
The current downloads also feature Anla Courtis and Mitchell Brown. A second, forthcoming set of 10 additional shows will reportedly include work with Dan Burke, Due Process, Chris Cutler, Joseph Hammer and Kadet Kuhne.