Trimpin is a sound sculptor, composer, engineer, and inventor. A specialist in interfacing computers with traditional instruments, he has developed ways of playing instruments ranging from giant marimbas to stacks of electric guitars via computer. His work integrates sculpture, sound, and live performance. Born in Germany, Trimpin spent several years living and studying in Berlin, working as a set designer and collaborating with artists from both Germany and the United States. He relocated to the United States in 1979. This year’s Other Minds Festival features the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Trimpin, The Cello Quartet. It features autonomous cellos, circus artists, percussive lamp shades, and more. In the interview, Joseph Bohigian talks with Trimpin about his custom-built cellos, collaborating with choreographer Margaret Fisher, and the influence of spatial music composer Henry Brant.

Music: Contraption No. 1 by Conlon Nancarrow performed by Trimpin, computer-controlled piano (Other Minds Festival 1)

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The Other Minds Podcast is hosted and edited by Joseph Bohigian. Outro music is “Kings: Atahualpa” by Brian Baumbusch (Other Minds Records).

IMA is the electro-percussion project of electronic sound artist Amma Ateria and percussionist Nava Dunkelman. The duo has been presented in residency at The Stone, San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, San Francisco Art Institute, and Stanford University and collaborated with Ikue Mori, Fred Frith, John Zorn, Matmos, and many others. IMA will perform The Flowers Die in Burning Fire on the final night of this year’s Other Minds Festival on September 28, 2024. In the interview, we talk about the duo’s early collaborations, perception of time in music, and the influence of Japanese poetry.

Music: “Meshes of the Afternoon” from The Flowers Die in Burning Fire by IMA (Buh Records); “Notion of Time” from The Flowers Die in Burning Fire by IMA (Buh Records); “Ende” from The Flowers Die in Burning Fire by IMA (Buh Records)

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The Other Minds Podcast is hosted and edited by Joseph Bohigian. Outro music is “Kings: Atahualpa” by Brian Baumbusch (Other Minds Records).

Jan Martin Smørdal is a Norwegian composer and performer of contemporary music. With a background in experimental bands and improvisation, he writes music often inspired by social phenomena: imitation and mimicry; swarms, flocks, and other collective behaviors; memory; and the unevenness inherent to being human. His music has been performed at festivals such as Ultima, ISCM, MATA, and Borealis and released on the labels LAWO, SOFA, and Aurora. Smørdal is also a co-founder and member of Ensemble neoN, an Oslo-based contemporary music collective. His piece Both sides. Now will be performed by Yarn/Wire at Other Minds Festival 28 on September 27, 2024, at the Brava Theater in San Francisco.

Music: My Favorite Thing 1 by Jan Martin Smørdal, performed by Pinquins (LAWO Classics); My Favorite Thing 3 “...something about a bird” by Jan Martin Smørdal, performed by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and conductor Kai Grinde Myrann (LAWO Classics); Kraftbalanse by Jan Martin Smørdal and Øystein Wyller Odden, performed by Vilde Sandve Alnæs, Miriam Bergset, Ragnhild Lien, Julija Morgan, Torunn Blåsmo-Falnes, Tove Bagge, Sverre Kyvik Bauge, and Inga Margrete Aas (Sofa Music); Both sides. Now by Jan Martin Smørdal, performed by Trond Schau, Helge Kjekshus, Andre Fjørtoft, and Åsmund Moen

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otherminds.org

Contact us at otherminds@otherminds.org.

The Other Minds Podcast is hosted and edited by Joseph Bohigian. Outro music is “Kings: Atahualpa” by Brian Baumbusch (Other Minds Records).