Whisper Track

"Avant-garde" isn't the most appropriate label to place on eco new music percussionist Jeph Jerman and his approach to producing sound. Sure, his uniquely captured artistry — which doesn't rely upon popular time signatures, written notations, and detectable meter — can be placed in the, ahem, "acquired taste" category. But Jerman is ultimately capturing "found sound" that our ears can tune into each day if we are willing to slow down and really listen. The Cottonwood-based sound artist scavenges the Southwest for his organic instruments, including pinecones, rocks, feathers, twigs, and dirt, which he records with the aid of contact mics, sculpting meditative white noise collages that explore antediluvian principles. His exhaustive and impressive recorded output of solo and ensemble projects (check out www.jerman.littleenjoyer.com) demonstrates the artist's pensive view of life and music. From live tape, loop-based gigs and sonic imprints of droning telephone wires to the conceptual Animist Orchestra and a two-volume set about ghost towns and abandoned buildings, Jerman re-creates a prehistoric time when sound was pure and unclassified. His rare Phoenix appearance will feature the rustic playing (no amplification) of natural matter, thus providing an organic soundtrack for our lives that the playlist function on an iPod can never achieve.
Tue., May 26, 8 p.m., 2009