ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Neutrals is a percussion duo based in Dayton, OH. Formed in 2016 by Evan Miller and Andrew Seivert, the duo combines their Rust Belt underground upbringings and classical training into a contemporary ensemble firmly grounded by their Midwestern roots. Equal parts written works and electroacoustic improvisation, Neutrals performs established percussion duo repertoire, drone/noise-based improvised music, and above all, commissioned works by living composers. Past and current collaborators include composers Rob Funkhouser, Nate May, Hugh Sheehan, and Brooks Frederickson, percussionist Aaron Michael Butler, Cincinnati experimental ensemble Knee Play. Recent performance venues include So Percussion’s Brooklyn Bound series, 2018 Nelsonville Music Festival and 2018 Athens International Film & Video Festival (as part of NOBROW.collective), WYSO’s Alpha Rhythms program, and various DIY spaces around the Midwest and east coast.
ABOUT THE IMPROV SESSION: Neutrals – Improvisation
Playing improvised music is a significant part of what we do as an ensemble (and one of the things that got us started outside of the chamber playing we were already doing in school), both as participants in the contemporary improviser community and the general Midwestern noise music scene, and a strong influence on our group aesthetic. Our first ever performance as Neutrals was a basement show sharing a bill with Aaron Levy and Jason Lescalleet, among others. The music we make takes elements and cues from acoustic percussion improv techniques (friction, aural phenomena, extended techniques, etc) as well as electronic and noise techniques (cassette manipulating, feedback, loops, amplified sound) to create music grounded in our classical training but more influenced by the underground scenes we more easily occupy. I feel that an improv music set would be a prime example of who we are/what we do as a group.