ISSUE is pleased to present electronic artists Chris Madak (Bee Mask) and Fabric (Matthew Mullane), whose atmospheric synth compositions have emerged from corners of the midwest to international acclaim through many consistently auspicious, sculpted releases. Solo sets from each guarantee a night of hypnotic sounds with a contrarian bent.
Chris Madak is a musician and electroacoustic composer active in Cleveland and Philadelphia, best known for his work as Bee Mask (2004-present). Madak's work is grounded in private systems and oblique strategies and characterized by a contrarian emphasis on preserving and extending the countercultural and noninstitutional heritage of experimental music as well as by a nondogmatic embrace of its entire technical vocabulary, from handmade electronics and percussion to analog synthesis, concréte manipulations on tape and samplers, prepared guitar and piano, and digital signal processing. This is music rooted in rituals of listening and the convivial experience of phonographic sound in space, from hi-fis to sound systems, motivated by an idea of music as studio art distinct from the arid textual formulas of sound art and of performance as an opening of the experimental space of the studio onto the world.
Madak has released several acclaimed LPs on the Spectrum Spools imprint of Editions Mego and published editions of his and others' work through his own Deception Island (2005-2011) and Pear Growers Series (2013-present) labels, as well as performing throughout North America, Australia, Europe, and Japan at events including Unsound, The Bunker, Labyrinth, Optimo, and Suoni per el Popolo, completing commissioned works dedicated to John Cage and the Sonic Arts Union, and collaborating on studio, remix, and performance projects with artists including Donato Dozzy, Surgeon, Charles Cohen, Outer Space, Autre Ne Veut, Laraaji, and Oneohtrix Point Never.
Fabric is the electronic solo outfit of Chicago multi-instrumentalist Matthew Mullane. Following years of small editions and cassette releases, Fabric’s first album marked the launch of Editions Mego’s Spectrum Spools imprint with 2011’s A Sort of Radiance. This impressive debut is a series of hypnotic compositions notable for their sculptural attention to depth and astounding detail. Mullane has been performing in America and Japan for the past two years, developing a new body of material that augments these adjectives towards more actionist concrete experiments. New releases of this material are planned for 2014. Mullane also records and performs solo guitar music under his own name with VDSQ Records.