October 7, 2019
John Krausbauer and Tetuzi Akiyama
Set 1 John Krausbauer (violin, tapes) – solo // Tetuzi Akiyama (guitar) – solo
Set 2 John Krausbauer and Tetuzi Akiyama – duo

“Option is pleased to welcome Oakland based composer and multi – instrumentalist John Krausbauer in a duo setting with the legendary Japanese guitarist and violinist Tetuzi Akiyama.” – tim daisy/Option curator

John Krausbauer is a composer/multi-instrumentalist/improviser based in Oakland, CA and co-founder of the Los Angeles publishing label, Besom Presse.

A long time purveyor of the ur-drone and trance-psychedelia, his compositional work involves audio transmissions for TOTAL/immersive sensory experience. Transcendence through repetition, duration, alternate tunings, maximum volumes, and stroboscopic lighting. In recent years he has returned to improvisational playing and sought out particular collaborations to further explore his interest in improvisatory music making.

He’s performed and presented his music across N America, Europe, and Japan in a multitude of settings – from basements, sidewalks, and rock clubs to colleges, churches, and art museums. Over 20 recordings of his have been released on independent labels in the US, Europe, and Japan. His group and solo music can be found on Important, Beta-Lactam Ring, ANTS, Fabrica, Debacle, Autumn, Thin Wrist (upcoming), and a number of other international labels.

His current music projects include the Ecstatic Music Band (a 10+ member-collective of strings players); solo music for voice, violin, and synth; his collaboration with partner, Kaori Suzuki, with bells, voices, strings, tape; the Minimalist psych-punk group Night Collectors; his systems-based phase compositions; and ongoing duo collaborations with Kentuckian steel bodied resonator guitar player R. Keenan Lawler, NYC bagpipe player David Watson, and Tokyo based guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama.

Tetuzi Akiyama specializes in creating music with elements of both primitivism and realism by connecting his own aspirations, in a minimal and straightforward way, to the special instrumental qualities of the guitar. Sometimes delicately and sometimes boldly, he controls sound volumes ranging from micro to macro, in an attempt to convert the body into an electronic entity. Besides making variety of solo albums which covers from fingerpicking and slide acoustic guitar atonalism to noisy experimental drone to never ending boogie, Akiyama has made many albums in collaboration with highly praised artists such as Jozef Van Wissem, Donald McPherson, Greg Malcolm, Bruce Russell, Günter Müller, Jason Kahn, Michel Henritzi, Phantom Limb, Gul3, Tim Barnes, Oren Ambarchi, Martin Ng and Alan Licht, just to name a few. Akiyama is also a band member of “Koboku Senjû”, “Satanic Abandoned Rock & Roll Society” and “Hontatedori”. Akiyama has been frequently invited for international music festivals in Asia, East & West Europe, North & South America, Australia and New Zealand in recent years.

OPTION is a weekly music salon on Monday nights at Experimental Sound Studio. It’s programming explores contemporary perspectives on improvisation and composition in a ‘salon’ format, enabling local, national, and international artists to publicly discuss their practice and ideas as well as perform—all in the intimate environment of ESS’s Studio A. Organized by Chicago musicians Andrew Clinkman, Tim Daisy, and Ken Vandermark, the schedule of concerts represents an insider’s view of what is currently most exciting in music and the arts. Shows are professionally recorded by ESS staff, and are streamed live on YouTube. ess.org/option

Official Website

More events on this date

Tags: Chicago, Edgewater, Experimental Sound Studio, John Krausbauer, Option: John Krausbauer and Tetuzi Akiyama, Tetuzi Akiyama