∆ Donny Mahlmeister (donnymahlmeister.bandcamp)
is a Chicago/Oak Park based musician and designer with a focus on improvised music using modular synthesizers, guitar, lap steel and other electronic processing. His recent solo work encompasses elements of minimalist soundscapes intersected with abstract gestural movements. In addition to his solo work he currently collaborates with Jamie Levinson as Levinson/Mahlmeister (Trouble in Mind Records) and Theo Katsaounis (Joan Of Arc). Most recently he curated of series of improvised electro/acoustic performances at the Compound Yellow Gallery in Oak Park.  Prior to moving to Oak Park, Donny had been a long-standing member of the Chicago and Midwest rock and improvised scenes, working with A Tundra, Early Day Miners, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Tobin Summerfield, Ryan Packard, Jamie Branch, Catherine Young and Bill McKay.

∆ Todd Mattei (toddmattei.bandcamp / toddmatteiart.com)
has been in Joan of Arc, Male, Sharks and Seals, and other. He has also performed with the dance artist Victoria Bradford at museums and galleries in the US.
Todd is also a visual artist working particularly in animation presently.

∆ Bill Harris (billyharris.net) is a Chicago-based drummer and improviser working in areas of improvisation, noise, rock, and country. His work has been presented nationally and internationally at performance series, festivals, clubs, and art installations such as Elastic Arts, Constellation, ESS, The Empty Bottle, The Hideout, Evanston Space, Beat Kitchen, Spot Tavern, Lincoln Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, and The Chicago Museum Of Contemporary Art. In 2015 he started Amalgam, a 100% artist-run collective and label dedicated to showcasing works of improvised and experimental music in Chicago and elsewhere, with a bi-monthly series at Cafe Mustache. Bill is also an audio engineer working in both studio and live contexts, and operates an independent studio in Chicago with engineering, mixing, mastering, and production credits on labels such as Amalgam, Astral Spirits, No Index, 577 Records and Ears&Eyes. In 2020 he started and co-operates a recording studio called Marmalade.

∆ Ishmael Ali (ishmaelalimusic.com) is a dynamic cellist, guitarist, improviser, and composer based out of Chicago. His work centers on exploring sound through improvisation, experimentation, composition, and collaboration, focusing on a wide array of idiomatic approaches in an ever-changing, always-growing list of projects informed by diverse influences. Though varying drastically from group to group, a common thread in his work is the juxtaposition of seemingly disparate elements to create something new: both foreign and familiar. Ishmael is leader or co-leader of a plethora of working projects including the KAH trio, Hearsay, Je’raf, Akjai, Archipelago, and Oido. He has also performed or recorded with Kahil El Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Avreeayl Ra, Josh Berman, Jim Baker, Fred Jackson, Ed Wilkerson, Angel Bat Dawid, Jason Stein, and many more. In addition to performing, Mr. Ali is a part of the Chicago record label Amalgam Music, a co-curator of the Thursday night Improvised Music Series at Elastic Arts, and is a co-founder and audio engineer at Marmalade, a recording and rehearsal space in the West Loop.

Saturday, June 15, 2024
8p doors, 8:30 start
$10-15 suggested donation

Official Website

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Tags: Bill Harris, Chicago, Donny Mahlmeister, Ishmael Ali, Todd Mattei, Tritriangle, West Town