Lampo: Chris Madak

In his first Chicago performance since 2011, Chris Madak will present new algorithmic and systems-based pieces for synthesizer, computer, and solo improviser.

Chris Madak (b. 1983, Massilon, Ohio) is a musician and electroacoustic composer active in Cleveland and Philadelphia and best known for his work as Bee Mask. Based in private systems and oblique strategies, Madak’s work endeavors to preserve and extend the countercultural heritage of experimental music. Madak draws on a varied technical vocabulary within experimental music, including handmade electronics and percussion, analog synthesis, concrète manipulations on tape and samplers, prepared guitar and piano, and digital signal processing. Rooted in rituals of listening and the convivial experience of phonographic sound in space from hi-fi’s to sound systems, Madak is motivated by an idea of music as studio art—distinct from what he believes are the arid textual formulas of sound art. He approaches performance as an opening of the experimental space of the studio onto the world. Madak has released several LPs on the Spectrum Spools imprint of Editions Mego and has published editions of his and others' work through his own Deception Island (2005-2011) and Pear Growers Series (2013-present) labels. He has performed throughout North America, Australia, Europe, and Japan, and collaborated with artists including Donato Dozzy, Surgeon, Charles Cohen, Outer Space, Autre Ne Veut, Laraaji, and Oneohtrix Point Never.

This performance is presented in partnership with Lampo. Founded in 1997, Lampo is a non-profit organization for experimental music, sound art, and intermedia projects. Visit lampo.org.