Ben Fleury-Steiner

“Fleury-Steiner’s ambience is evocative stuff in the best sense, great ringing droughts of sonic wash that reveal tonalities within tonalities, high-frequency drones that shimmer and vibrate like jeweled curtains that reflect piercing sunlight . . . Fundamentally, Fleury-Steiner’s sound is filled with contradicting emotions, denoting both introspection and excitation, pat “drone” music this is not, and the fact that it confounds any such glib categorical baggage makes it even more compelling.”

-Darren Bergstein, e|i Magazine

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Lillie Ruth Bussey

Philadelphia (for now) based singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, noise maker, thinker, artist and poet, Lillie Ruth Bussey is interested in... Finding out what it all is...Containing as much knowledege as possible, before the night is over....

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Gemini Wolf

Gemini Wolf's beastly grin only hints at the other world their music describes. Their debut album Josiah was released on earSnake in early 2008. The Philadelphia City Paper has declared Josiah has the makings of an epic...". Gemini Wolf's music is a thoughtfully composed maze of chaos and beauty. Tender one moment, scary the next, grooving without pretense, the full moon of Gemini Wolf beckons.

Founders, Mikronesia (Michael McDermott) and Pandar (Megan Cauley) have driven the band through various incarnations over the years. 2006-2007 saw Gemini Wolf grow to an eight person lineup featuring rock instrumentation and a string quartet.

They are currently slated to release a series of singles and remixes showcasing a new direction in the wolf sound. It's anyone's guess what the future of Gemini Wolf holds.

Photo: Evan Cairo

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Jalima Shani

Her style can be described as a unique blend of poetic lyrics, passionate delivery, and intelligent wordplay contained within a currant of constant positive energy. Having been a writer and a poet since the age of 10, it seems that her progression into the rhythmic world of hip-hop was inevitable. Growing up amid the culturally diverse artistic scenes of Philadelphia Pennsylvania her sound developed into a fluid combination of a deep respect for history and innovative style. Jalima was surrounded by an eclectic mix of musical styles ranging from jazz, hip-hop, rock to classical, and has been influenced by genres of sci-fi, philosophy and the traditionally great literary works. Although being deemed an emcee for lack of a better description anyone can tell by listening to Jalima that her musical explorations delve way beyond hip-hops norm.

Photo: James Saul

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Mikronesia

Mikronesia (Michael McDermott) is a composer and musician. For the past decade he has been performing as a multi-instrumentalist, electronic music and sound designer.

His main ensemble, Gemini Wolf, is an ever evolving electronic music group that was founded with Pandar (Megan Cauley). The lineup fluctuates from a duo to eight piece electronic/chamber/rock band for which Mikronesia plays keyboards, laptop and arranges strings.

Mikonesia is an original member of the multi-disciplinary improvisation music / dance ensemble Perpetual Mvmt< >Snd. He has also worked with modern classical music collectives like Arts in Motion and The Philadelphia Composers Forum. In April 2007, he was part of a deep listening ensemble with Pauline Oliveros who performed at the Annenberg Center for The Performing Arts in Sound Exchange 2007. Mikronesia has released two albums with Gears of Sand, kikapu and earSnake.

Currently Mikronesia is working on sound installations for November 2008 at Little Berlin Gallery, a flute quartet for Nexus Gallery and radio drama as a prelude to his media opera “Pangaea : When the Continents Were One” (2009/10).

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Carl Franke

A late bloomer with music, Carl Franke picked up piano by studying a guitar book in 1996 after graduating from Kutztown University and moving back into his high school bedroom in lovely Oreland, PA. From there, he eventually moved back out of his parents' house and joined several short-lived disastrous bands that went nowhere.

One thing that he continues at, though, are solo recordings utilizing various keyboards, household objects, drum machines, and borrowed percussion. He currently resides in the Fishtown part of Philadelphia.

Photo: Melissa Hassey.

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Zelda Pinwheel

Zelda Pinwheel plays something a person might describe as experimental rock if they were prone to such descriptions. The band weaves a variety of instruments, an eclectic scope of influence, and a healthy sense of absurdity into a lush tapestry of melodic noise. Various locales of Central Jersey and Philadelphia are their homes.

Formed before it was ready, Zelda Pinwheel have existed in a variety of forms and flavors over the past five years. After having recorded a number of demo collections in their early existence, they self-release their first true album, an epic collage of song and sound called "one tear to this fabric," in 2003. 2004 brought it's follow up: an a sprawling collection of dismantled and reassembled improvisations called with an unending string or patchwork.

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Perpetual Mvmt<>Snd

Since 2006, Perpetual Mvmt<>Snd has explored the intersection of various artistic media, the way these media inform and inspire one another in a perpetual loop, and the way this intersection creates a sensory state that impacts a part of us that can’t be reached by a single sensory stimulus. Inspired by research into memory, sensory experience, and culture, we seek to create work that illuminates humans' perception and use of our bodies.

Perpetual Mvmt<>Snd is directed by Emily Sweeney and Bilwa.

Photo: Bilwa

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