artists

Neither/Nor Records

Sean Ali

Bassist, composer, and improviser Sean Ali from Dayton, Ohio has been living in New York City since 2003, where he participates in the city’s vibrant experimental music scene both as a performer and curator. His current projects include: Fester with David Grollman (percussion), LathanFlin&Ali with Lathan Hardy (sax) and Flin Van Hemmen (drums), Natura Morta with Carlo Costa (percussion) and Frantz Loriot (viola), Hag with Brad Henkel (trumpet) and David Grollman (percussion), PascAli with Pascal Niggenkemper (bass), Mattrey.Bordreuil.Ali with Joanna Mattrey (viola) and Leila Bordreuil (cello), and large ensemble The Mudbath Orchestra. His solo performances center around text and sound-specific preparations for the bass. He is co-founder and member of the new music label Prom Night Records.
seanali.com

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Carlo Costa

Percussionist and composer Carlo Costa, was born and grew up in Rome, Italy. Since 2005 he has been living in New York City where works as a leader or sideman of various projects. He currently leads or co-leads Natura Morta (w/ bassist Sean Ali and violist Frantz Loriot), the Carlo Costa Quartet (w/ saxophonist Jonathan Moritz, trombonist Steve Swell and bassist Sean Ali), a duo with drummer Flin van Hemmen, Earth Tongues (w/ trumpeter Joe Moffett and tubist Dan Peck), a duo with guitarist Håvard Volden, Ancient Enemies (w/ saxophonist Nathaniel Morgan and violist Joanna Mattrey), the large ensemble Acustica and a solo percussion project.
www.carlocostamusic.com

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Michael Foster

Michael Foster is a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist working in the fields of free improvisation, noise, free jazz, graphic & video notation, performance art, and other forms of weird music.
Foster utilizes extensive preparations of his saxophone, augmenting it with amplification, objects, balloons, drum heads, vibrators, tapes, and samples as a method of subverting and queering the instrument’s history and traditional roles. Current ensembles include duos with Lydia Lunch, Leila Bordreuil, Ben Bennett, Ted Byrnes, Richard Kamerman (as The New York Review of Cocksucking), The Ghost, Barker Trio, While We Still Have Bodies, Weasel Walter Large Ensemble.
michaelfostermusic.com

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Ben Gerstein

Born in 1977 and raised in Santa Barbara, California, trombonist/multimedia artist Ben Gerstein has lived in New York City since 1995, a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in 1999. Over the years he has developed many different collaborations and projects devoted to exploring free-improvisation as means of composition, meditation, and integration with nature and art, as well as recording numerous solo recreations of works by classical and contemporary composers. He has also been a member of groups led by Henry Threadgill, Tyshawn Sorey, Tony Malaby, Dan Weiss, Ingrid Laubrock, Mat Maneri, and Michael Formanek, among many others.
www.bengerstein.com

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Jean-Brice Godet

French clarinetist Jean-Brice Godet is an active participant of the European creative music scene both as an improviser and composer. His current projects include the clarinet quartet Watt with Jean Dousteysier, Julien Pontvianne and Antonin-Tri Hoang; Mujô Quartet with Michaël Attias, Pascal Niggenkemper and Carlo Costa; Zaal33 with Richard Comte and Jean-Philippe Feiss; Capsul with Matthew Bourne and Tam De Villiers; Cuir with Jérôme Fouquet, Nicolas Souchal, Yoram Rosilio, John Cuny and Ground(s) with Mike Ladd, Joëlle Léandre, Benjamin Sanz. He has collaborated with Fred Frith, Walter Thompson and Anthony Braxton among many others.
www.jeanbricegodet.com

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Brad Henkel

Brad Henkel is a trumpeter and composer from the United States currently based in Berlin, Germany. With a primary focus on improvisation, using a broad color palette of pitched and unpitched sounds, he creates and participates in music which is rooted in the Jazz, Contemporary Classical, and Echtzeitmusik traditions. His current projects include: the electric guitar drums trio Henkel/Carlson/Hall (w/ Dustin Carslon and Samuel Hall), Money Friends (w/ Dan Peter Sundland on electric bass, vocals and Fabian Jung on drums, toys, vocals), the electro-acoustic duo Warble (w/ Miako Klein on recorders and amplifier), the trumpet duo Granular Epic (w/Pablo Giw), the experimental pop ambient duo Merry Peers (w/ Yoshiko Klein on synthesizer).
bradhenkel.com

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Carl Ludwig Hübsch

Cologne-based tuba player Carl Ludwig Hübsch’s work focusses mainly on a wide variety of Improvised Music and Composition for “active interpreters“. He is well known for his unique solo concerts and has performed with a wide range of musicians including Arthur Blythe, Anthony Braxton, Leste Bowie, Michel Doneda, Lê Quan Nihn and Mazen Kerbaj. Carl Ludwig’s current projects include: Universe (Gerry Hemingway, Mathias Schubert, Wolter Wierbros), a duo with Phil Minton, the ten piece band Artblau, the trio Hübsch/Martel/Zoubek (with Pierre-Yves Martel and Philip Zoubek), and Primordial Soup (Axel Dörner, Frank Gratkowsky, Michael Griener).
www.huebsch.me/index.php/en/

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Hans Koch

Hans Koch has quit his career as a recognized classical clarinetist to become one of the most innovative improvising reed-players in Europe. He has been working with everyone from Cecil Taylor to Fred Frith since the eighties. As a composer he has shaped the sound of Koch-Schütz-Studer since the beginning as well as working for radio-plays and film. Since the nineties he has been working with electronics as an extension of the saxes/clarinets as well as with sampling/sequencing/Laptop. As a reed-player he is always working on his very own vocabulary and sound, which makes him a very unique voice on the actual scene.
www.hansko.ch

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Jonas Kocher

Jonas Kocher is a Swiss sound artist and accordionist born in 1977. He has a strong interest in process oriented works, unstable situations and improvisation. Active in numerous artistic and social contexts, his regular collaborators are musicians such as Joke Lanz, Axel Dörner, Jacques Demierre, Hans Koch, Gaudenz Badrutt, Tomaž Grom, Radu Malfatti, Christof Kurzmann, Kai Fagaschinsky and many others. As sound artist and composer Jonas Kocher has realized works that are situated between composed theatre, installation and concert pieces. He has been invited to present his work as accordionist or composer by major festivals around the world.
www.jonaskocher.net

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Kyungmi Lee

Kyungmi Lee is a Korean-American flutist, pianist and performance artist. Her current projects include the band Guajira Deer Park (w/ Gary Heidt, Cassandra Victoria Chopourian, Clete de Beat, Ashley de Vries and Richard Gross), the Red Oak Contemporary Ensemble, and the theatre collective The Perceiver of Sound League. Her past projects include Kale Elk a duo with keyboardist and mask maker Liz Kosack, and Mariel Berger’s Four Flutes Ensemble with flutists Anna Webber, Martha Cargo and Roberts Michael, and Mariel Berger on piano and compositions. Lee lives in Jersey City.

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Raphael Loher

Raphael Loher is a Swiss pianist and composer working in various musical styles and interdisciplinary projects. Using preparations and extended techniques, he expands the sound of the piano and creates his personal and unique sound-world. His current projects include the trio KALI with Urs Mueller and Nicolas Stocker, Baumschule with Manuel Troller and Julian Sartorius, Diaphane with Frantz Loriot, Carl Ludwig Hübsch and Carlo Costa and a solo piano project. Raphael has toured across Europe and Russia and has performed at several major music festivals. He has been organizing concerts in Lucerne for over 10 years at Kulturbrauerei and Mullbau.
www.raphaelloher.com

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Frantz Loriot

French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot performs solo and is active in a number of international ensembles, mainly based on improvised music practices. He has contributed to interdisciplinary projects related to dance, image, theatre and poetry, and various installations. His current projects include duos with Christian Wolfath, Christoph Erb and Theresa Wong; the trios Natura Morta (w/ Carlo Costa and Sean Ali), Khan/Loriot/Wolfarth (w/ Jason Khan and Christian Wolfarth) and Badrutt/Guionnet/Loriot (w/ Gaudenz Badrutt and Jean-Luc Guionnet); and
the quartets Diaphane (w/ Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Raphael Loher and Carlo Costa) and Der Verboten (w/ Cédric Piromalli, Antoine Chessex, and Christian Wolfarth).
www.frantzloriot.com

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Joe Moffett

New York-based trumpeter, improviser, and composer Joe Moffett approaches his work with a keen interest in unconventional sounds and forms, collective composition, and the intersection of words and music. He is co-founder of a number of ensembles such as Earth Tongues, with percussionist Carlo Costa and tubist Dan Peck; the Kaplan/Merega/Moffett Trio, which released its debut, Crows and Motives, in 2014 on Underwolf Records; and Trismegistus with bassist Sean Ali, trombonist Ben Gerstein, percussionist Devin Gray. Moffett’s explorations into text and music are evident in his work with the experimental art song duo Twins of El Dorado, with vocalist Kristin Slipp. The ensemble’s debut, Portend the End, was released on Prom Night Records in 2013.
soundcloud.com/moffjazz

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Nathaniel Morgan

Originally from Ventura, California saxophonist and composer Nathaniel Morgan has been an active participant to New York City’s improvised music scene for almost a decade. His current projects include Darkminster (formally Buckminster) with saxophonist Peter Hanson and trumpeter Brad Henkle; Vavatican with Weston Minissali on synthesizer Owen Stewart-Robertson on guitar and Booker Startdrum on percussion, Jason Ajemian’s Folklords with Owen Stewart-Robertson on guitar, Jason Ajemian on double bass and Jason Nazary on drums; Yolt with Weston Minissali on synthesizer and David Grollman on prepared snare drum; and Dybbuk a duo with percussionist David Grollman. Nathaniel is co-founder and member of the new music label Prom Night Records.

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Jonathan Moritz

Saxophonist Jonathan Moritz was born in Tehran, Iran. At an early age he moved to California, and since 2000 he’s been living in Brooklyn, NY. He is active in the city’s musical scene both as a leader of the trio Secret Tempo, with bassist Shayna Dulberger and drummer/
percussionist Mike Pride (Hot Cup Records), as well as a sideman or collaborator in a variety of groups including The UP (w/ Ben Gerstein, Eivind Opsvik and John McLellan), Evil Eye (w/ Nate Wooley, Ken Filiano and Mike Pride.), Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys (w/ Jon Irabagon, Alexis Marcelo, Peter Bitenc) and Trio Caveat (w/ James Ilgenfritz and Chris Welcome).
jonathanmoritz.com

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Todd Neufeld

Todd Neufeld is an electric and acoustic guitarist, born in 1981 in Huntington, NY. He has performed and/or recorded as a member of the Lee Konitz Quartet, Masabumi Kikuchi's TPT Trio, Tyshawn Sorey's Koan, Oblique and other ensembles, Gerald Cleaver's NiMbNl, Dan Weiss Group, Tony Malaby Group, Samuel Blaser Quartet, Michael Adkins Quintet, Aaron Parks Quintet, Richie Barshay's RB3, Alexandra Grimal Quartet, Thomas Morgan Quartet, Rema Hasumi Quartet, Flin van Hemmen Trio and many others. He has performed at various venues, concert halls and festivals across New York, the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan.
www.toddneufeld.net

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Pascal Niggenkemper 
New York City-based German-French bassist, composer and improviser Pascal Niggenkemper is a performing and recording artist active on the creative music scene in the US and in Europe. His current projects include the collective trio Baloni with Joachim Badenhorst and Frantz Loriot; vision7 with Eve Risser, Christian Lillinger, Els Vandeweyer, Frantz Loriot, Emilie Lesbros and Frank Gratkowski; the bass duo PascAli with Sean Al; the double trio 7éme continent with Joris Rühl, Joachim Badenhorst, Philip Zoubek, Eve Risser, Juliàn Elvira; Upcoming Hurricane with Simon Nabatov and Gerald Cleaver, Wonderlust with Tatsuya Nakatani and Darius Jones and the solo bass project Look Within Thine Ears.
www.pascalniggenkemper.com

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Eivind Opsvik

Eivind Opsvik is a New York City-based bassist, composer, recording engineer and producer originally from Oslo, Norway. His music ranges from jazz to experimental pop. His main projects are Overseas (w/ saxophonist Tony Malaby, pianist Jacob Sacks, guitarist Brandon Seabrook and drummer Kenny Wollesen), Opsvik & Jennings (w/ Aaron Jennings) and A Thousand Ancestors a collaboration photographer Michelle Arcila which features his solo music. He also performs with Tony Malaby’s Paloma Recio, Anthony Braxton’s Tristano Project, Skuli Sverrison’s Seria, the Nate Wooley Quintet, Paul Motian, David Binney among many others.
www.eivindopsvik.com

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Dan Peck

Dan Peck is an experimental musician/tubist currently living in New York City. He is active as a sideman working regularly with projects led by Peter Evans, Tony Malaby, Anthony Braxton, Ingrid Laubrok, Nate Wooley, etc. He also performs contemporary music as a member of ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), is a member of the collective improvising trio Earth Tongues (w/ trumpeter Joe MOffett and percussionist Carlo Costa) and leads the doom jazz trio The Gate (w/ bassist Tom Blancarte and drummer Brian Osborne) as well as a solo tuba project. In 2012 Dan founded the record label Tubapede on which he released his debut solo recording Solo Lp.
danpeckmusic.com

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Miranda Sielaff

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, violist Miranda Sielaff pursues a rich and varied musical career in New York City. She regularly performs and tours with several ensembles, including The Knights, the Caravel Trio, String Orchestra of New York City, and the composers’ collective Wet Ink. She performed at Carnegie Hall’s Making Music series with Pierre Boulez and the Lucerne Festival Academy. She has also played with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, and appeared with The Knights and Itzhak Perlman at the 2012 Ravinia Festival. She can be heard with The Knights’ albums on the labels SONY Classical and Ancalagon Records.

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Jesse Stacken

A Minnesota native, pianist and composer Jesse Stacken has been a vital force on the New York City creative music scene for over a decade. He has led the Jesse Stacken Trio with bassist Eivind Opsvik and drummer Jeff Davis since 2005, releasing three albums on Fresh Sound and has a longtime duo project with the cornetist Kirk Knuffke which has released four albums on Steeplechase Records. Stacken’s new quartet includes Tony Malaby, Sean Conly, and Tom Rainey and is dedicated to playing several of his original compositions. He has toured North and South America, Europe, and Japan, including appearances at the North Sea Jazz Festival and Vancouver Jazz Festival. He has performed and/or recorded with Andrew D' Angelo, Donny McCaslin, Peter Van Huffel, Liam Sillery, Michael Blake, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, and Tyshawn Sorey.
www.jessestacken.com

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Steve Swell

A native of Newark, New Jersey trombonist Steve Swell has been part of New York City’s music community since 1975. He has toured and recorded with many artists in a wide variety of contexts, including projects lead by Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich, Anthony Braxton, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, William Parker, Joey Baron and Tim Berne. Steve has released over 40 recordings as a leader or co-leader and is featured on over 100 recordings as a sideman. At the moment Steve is working on a new quartet with Dave Burrell (piano), William Parker (bass) and Gerald Cleaver (drums).
www.steveswell.com

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Flin van Hemmen

Drummer and composer Flin van Hemmen was born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Since moving to New York City in 2008 he’s been active in the downtown and improvised music scenes. His current projects include LathanFlinAli (w/ saxophonist Lathan Hardy and bassist Sean Ali), the Flin van Hemmen Trio (w/ guitarist Todd Neufeld and bassist Eivind Opsvik), the Costa/vanHemmen duo (w/ drummer Carlo Costa), Narcissus (w/ pianist Jozef Dumoulin, saxophonist Robin Verheyen and bassist Clemens van der Feen), While We Still Have Bodies (w/ saxophonist Michael Foster, trombonist Ben Gerstein and bassist Sean Ali), Gestures (w/ pianist and poet Eliot Cardinaux), and a solo drums project.
www.flinvanhemmen.com

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Håvard Volden

Håvard Volden is a guitarist and electronic musician based in Oslo, Norway. In 2013 he released his ﬁrst solo album "Silence, But» on Meddle Records. The album consists of a collection of improvisations recorded over four years, edited and mixed into two longer tracks. Besides his solo performances, Volden has played an important role in the music scene in Oslo and has collaborated with improv legend Toshimaru Nakamura. Current projects include the noise rock band Moon Relay, the improv trio Muddersten (with Martin Taxt and Henrik Olsson), and Nude on Sand a duo project with singer Jenny Hval. Volden has also been performing and recording with Jenny Hval’s bands since 2008.