James Schidlowsky

James Schidlowsky

composer, musician & photographer based in Montreal

Instruments: acoustic guitar, prepared electric guitar, radios, prepared zither, violin-uke, voice, electronics...

Biography

1979: Began playing acoustic steel string guitar, influenced by blues & folk & rock & jazz. Eventually, found own style, which was improvisational, rooted in the blues, a bit messed-up and sloppy, a bit funky and noisy and rhythmic but with a lack of serious timing. All this almost exclusively using alternate tunings.

1998: Began to make "experimental music" under the name "skycrow" with borrowed equipment, radios found in the trash, computer software and samples.

1999: Continuing investigations of abstract radio sounds, electromagnetic interference in the AM band. Also noisy stuff involving feedback and contact mics and floors. Treatments of phonographies (field recordings). First live performances backing up Matt Bain, providing noisescapes to his spoken-word "one-sentence stories" readings, under the name the Live Wires. These involved various setups such as manipulated & mangled cassettes, contact mic through effects, prepared electric guitar (mallet-style), and wires. Creation of faux genre & faux label Muzik Aktiv with Philippe Gibelin. First self-released solo CD-Rs.

2000: Abandoned "skycrow" name to work under own name. First solo shows with contact mic/effects or prepared electric guitar & radios. Provided some music for a Dummies Theatre production. Meeting of the No Type gang, which resulted in the formation of Yves Hudon Et Son Équipe, a free-jazz/noize-improv-meets-ambient project with members of Napalm Jazz. This provoked a rediscovery of electric guitar, through the use of various preparations. Also participated in informal outdoor guerilla concerts with Philippe Lambert (formerly monstre) and Jon Asencio. Finally purchased a mixer and a minidisc recorder, which opened up further possibilities.

2001: Further adventures with Yves Hudon and Philémon and A_Dontigny. Also various live collaborations with Magali Babin and others. Residence at Avatar studios in Quebec City to produce a piece based entirely on radio sounds and interference for the radio program Excavation sonore.

2002: Concerts with various people, in particular a duo with Jacques Gravel, and a duo with Nathalie Dion (alias Zazalie Z.). These involved playing prepared electric guitar, and sometimes prepared zither.

2003: Continuing live performances with the Jacques Gravel and Nathalie Dion (alias Zazalie Z.) duos (and sometimes combining those into a trio). Also played live on prepared zither in a duo with Alexandre St-Onge. Performed in a headphone concert in my backyard organised by the periphériques collective, in a duo with Alexis Bellavance. Performed in the duo Micro Désastre with A_Dontigny, using mangled cassettes and effects. Performed live on prepared electric guitar in a duo with Francis Arsenault.

2004: Liquidated all collaborations to concentrate on solo studio projects, only playing live with the Rivers and Mountains collective and the GlitterSoul Orchestra.

2005: Continuing solo studio projects, notably Ringen. Formation of the conceptual electronic duo Le Black Noise with Olivier Borzeix. 2 concerts & 2 CD-R releases then dissolved, forming instead an all-acoustic duo Heavy Eye of the Sun, recorded an album, released December 2005.

September 2005: Retired? Well, sortof. The occasional release with Heavy Eye of the Sun, a rare concert here & there....

Contact : skycrow At yahoo period com.

Other Projects (97% defunct)

44 Ensemble A.K.A. The Strings Are The Things Wherein We'll Catch The Conscience Of The King Of Drone 2008- [on violin-uke A.K.A. ukelin] Originally a 44-string string-drone quartet, now 48-string quintet formed with Leon Lo (violin), Will Eizlini (violin), Iain McMaster A.K.A. Kolumkilli (violin), and James Annett (viola).

Heavy Eye of the Sun 2005- An acoustic duo formed with Olivier Borzeix. psychedelic drone music featuring toy organ, prepared banjo, voice, black guitar, cymbals.

The Live Wires 1999- [on various stuff that make noise, with Matt Bain and Paul Berry (spoken word).]

Druid Style A.K.A. Los Druidos 2006 [on electric guitar] a stoner-rock jam-band formed with Francis Amireault (Cian Éthrie, Ste-Sophie, etc.) on drums and Jacob Chelkowski (Jerry Lopez, Ste-Sophie, Gin Gin Sussex) on electric guitar.
Le Black Noise 2005. a no-input electronics duo formed with Olivier Borzeix.
Micro désastre 2003 [electronic noise; a duo formed with a_dontigny]
Les 3 Nathalies 2003 [on prepared guitar; a trio formed with Nathalie Dion (alias Zazalie Z.) (voice) and Nathalie Derome (voice)]
[no name] 2001-2003 [on prepared guitar; a duo formed with Jacques Gravel (bass trombone) ]
[no name] 2000-2003 [on prepared zither; a duo formed with Nathalie Dion (alias Zazalie Z.) (voice) ]
Trio Saccacomie 2001-2002 [on radios & interference; a trio formed with Érick D'Orion (laptop PC, sampler) and Guillaume Théroux-Rancourt (tapes, equalisers) ]
Qui Joue Quoi? 2000-2001 [heavy minimal electronic drone duo formed with Magali Babin]
Yves Hudon Et Son Équipe 2000-2001 [free-jazz/noise meets ambient, with Napalm Jazz members a_dontigny and Philémon.]

Related Links

www.flickr.com

More of James' photos

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