Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art 2006
February 22 - 26, 2006: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Featured Artist: Electropolis
Electropolis began in 2000, when drummer Steve Roehm wanted to see what would happen if he got 3 alpha males together to make music with no rules. That led to a series of sessions with Roehm (formerly with the Denton, TX funk rockers BILLY GOAT), trumpeter Kelly Rossum, and saxophonist Michael Ferrier. They played with a variety of bassists, eventually inviting longtime friend and bassist extraordinaire Michael O'Brien into the lion's den with them.
One of the main foundations of the group is the idea of experimentation, but with the particular perspective of the audience taken into consideration. So, copious electronic devices and free improvisation became the norm for their developing sound, but never at the expense of absolute fun. The pretension and navel-gazing of most music that is labeled "experimental" was out the window. That led to out-there sounds that you could still tap your toes to, and a decidedly pop sensibility permeates the otherwise free-form compositions.
In 2004 Electropolis began to explore multi-media presentation in earnest, most notably in their week-long Fringe Festival collaboration with VJ Neverwas improvising on video (aka Chris Cunningham of downtown NYC fame), and their live and in-person soundtrack to the silent masterpieces "METROPOLIS," and "THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI." The no-pretense-allowed approach to these works has served them well, and audiences have positively bubbled with glee at their interpretations and the sheer imagination they have brought to the performances.
In 2005 Electropolis decided to release a long-playing self-titled disc on Innova Recordings (http://www.innova.mu), to critical acclaim. 2005 also saw the departure of bassist Michael O'Brien to NYC (gigging with JAZZ MANDOLIN PROJECT, among others), and the arrival of bassist Brian Roessler (formerly of SPYMOB).
Spark Festival Performance
Electropolis will perform one of their free-wheeling, gravity-defying sets, and will also perform the soundtrack to the 1920 silent film by Robert Weine GENUINE: THE TALE OF A VAMPIRE. The soundtrack is a combination of collectively composed vignettes, and purely improvised expressionism. Michael Ferrier noted after a recent soundtrack performance, “One of the great things about doing the live soundtracks is that we’re there watching and experiencing the film right along with the audience, acting out the narrative right there with our instruments. It’s quite a trip!”
Personnel
Michael Ferrier: electrosax and electronics
Steve Roehm: drums and percussives
Brian Roessler: bass and electronics
Kelly Rossum: electrumpet and electronics
Visit the Electropolis website at: http://www.electropolis-net.com