LEMUR: League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots is a Brooklyn-based group of artists and technologists who create robotic musical instruments. This January, LEMUR inaugurated “ReSiDeNt,” a new creator-in-residence series that invites three artists each month to create works employing LEMUR’s instruments and technology. In its first three months, ReSiDeNt has been so successful that we are already able to bring you “Best of ReSiDeNt.” This show features performances by Taylor Kuffner and Holland Hopson two of LEMUR’s favorite ReSiDeNtS from January through March.
Eric Singer is a musician, artist, engineer and programmer and the founder and Executive Director of LEMUR: League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon; a Diploma in Music Synthesis (Magna Cum Laude) from Berklee College of Music; and an MS in Computer Science from New York University. He has over 20 years of music and arts programming, engineering and performance experience in the areas of interactive music and graphics systems, alternative controllers, networked multimedia environments and robotics. He performs and lectures around the world with electronic musical instruments and teaches workshops on a range of art and technology subjects. He is known internationally for his software and hardware for interactive art and music creation.
Ben Neill is a composer, performer, and inventor of the mutantrumpet, a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument. His work frequently crosses the boundaries of acoustic/electronic, classical/popular, composition/improvisation, and audio/visual. He has recorded seven CDs of his music on the Verve/Universal, Astralwerks, Six Degrees, New Tone and Ear-Rational labels. Performances have included Etnafest Italy, Cite de la Musique Paris, Spoleto Festival Italy, Lincoln Center Scanners Festival, Umbria Jazz, Bang On A Can, ICA London, Istanbul Jazz Festival, House of Blues clubs throughout the US and Canada and the Edinburgh Festival. Neill was music curator of The Kitchen in New York City from 1992-98. He studied with minimalist La Monte Young and has worked closely with numerous other musicians and artists including Mimi Goese, David Behrman, Nicolas Collins, John Cage, John Cale, Coil, DJ Spooky, DJ Olive, Helmet’s Page Hamilton, and David Wojnarowicz. For this concert Neill will present solo works for the newly redesigned mutantrumpet and several pieces made in collaboration with LEMUR.