David Dove & Jawwaad Taylor / Megan Easely & Randi Long
minicine? welcomes you to two duo collaborations born from Houston’s unbridled and experimental musical no-zoning.
David Dove (Houston, TX) - trombone, electronics, subwoofers
Jawwaad Taylor (Jackson, MS) - trumpet, voice/rap, electronics
Megan Easely (New Orleans, LA) - amplified water, vessels, objects, shruti box, voice
Randi Long (Houston, TX) - sound sculptures
For over 15 years and three albums, David Dove and Jawwaad Taylor have been forging a unique brew of molten sub-bass drone, free-associative horns, live electronics, beat-making, and off-the-dome rap. They reunite as a duo for the first time in three years.
Two sound sculptors reconnect after a recent and momentous first-time duo. The precarious contraptions and rigged-up appliances of Randi Long teeter on danger as they raise hairs on end and tickle ears. Meanwhile, the fluidity of Megan Easely’s amplified water soothes the soul while recovering forgotten dreams.
Artist Bios:
David Dove (Houston, Texas)
trombone player, improviser, composer, workshop-facilitator
david.dove.bandcamp.com
namelesssound.org
A trombone player, composer, improviser, and workshop-facilitator, David Dove has given performances and workshops across the US and internationally.
As Founding Director of Nameless Sound (a non-profit organization in Houston, Texas), he curates/presents a concert series of international contemporary experimental music, and has developed a philosophy and practice for music workshops. Nameless Sound’s pedagogy identifies collaborative improvisation for its potential towards goals of knowledge exchange, creative work, healing, community building, and play. Nameless Sound serves hundreds of youth annually in Houston homeless shelters, community centers, public schools, and refugee communities. Dove has written on music pedagogy, including a chapter titled “The Music is the Pedagogy” that has been published in the collection “Beyond the Classroom” (Routledge).
Dove’s early musical background ranged from studies in jazz and symphonic music, to punk rock bands. As a creative artist, free improvisation has been his primary (but not exclusive) approach to performance and collaboration. In addition to collaborations with other musicians, Dove has made music for film, dance, theater, poetry and visual/installation work. He has focused on acoustic playing for most of his career, developing a style that draws influence from a range of sources including jazz, 20th century composed music, electronic music and free improvisation. He’s inspired by a diverse range of influences from outside of his form, including hardcore punk rock, visual/conceptual arts, modern/contemporary dance, and Houston mixtape visionary DJ Screw. The influence of DJ Screw was the catalyst for an electronics-based development in Dove’s music. In an attempt assimilate the effect of Screw’s extremely slow and low mixes (as a real time, improvisational music), Dove extends the trombone with the use of guitar pedals, pitch shifters, and (most importantly) sub-woofers. Another special interest is site-specific performance (especially when a special acoustic environment is available) and durational events (lasting for as long as 5-8 hours). Non-musical performative activity has also been explored in recent projects. Dove has collaborated with a wide range of local, national and international creative musicians. He performs in both set groups and ad hoc ensembles, as well as solo.
Jawwaad Taylor (Jackson, Mississippi)
JAWWAAD is a trumpeter, composer, producer, educator, and social activist. He is a founding member of the group, Shape of Broad Minds, whose critically acclaimed album, “Craft of the Lost Ark,” brought him international attention. As co-founder and producer of the band, The Young Mothers, he merges modern jazz, improvisation, hip hop, indie rock and afro-grooves. He recently began the work of focusing on the spaces where the visual and sonic worlds collide, using scientific and evidence-based techniques, his music explores the intersection of art and healing. JAWWAAD is a 2020 recipient of the Creative Capital Award.
Megan Easely (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Houston-born experimental sound artist Megan Easely draws inspiration from eternal fascinations with music and the natural world. Merging these fascinations into one creative practice, in 2008, Easely began exploring experimental sound using water percussively. Driven by curiosity, Easely continues to expand her repertoire through investigating the possibilities of water sounds.
Easely has been invited to perform by presenters and art spaces including Nameless Sound, Diverse Works, the New Orleans Museum of Art, El77 Centro Cultural Autogestivo (CDMX), and The Menil Collection’s Byzantine Fresco Chapel. She aspires to create an experience that speaks to both human and non-human audiences. Using water as an instrument, she seeks to give water a “voice” and hopes that those who listen will take away a deeper appreciation for our water, and all life forms that surround us.
Randi Long (Houston, Texas)
Randi Long is a creative based in Houston, Texas. She enjoys manipulating physical and non physical objects, performing sonic experiments, and enacting positive forms of mind control.
She is also qualified to administer a healthy dose of anarchy.
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