2015: Machine Shop

Karen Stackpole: gongs
Drew Webster: live mixing, analog effects processing and electronics

Gongs. The original heavy metal. Now amplified for your pleasure. Machine Shop is a gong and electronics duo blazing new paths in sound and music. Constantly exploring the outer reaches of sonic possibilities and evolving, Machine Shop is about to release a new album and take the next step in enhanced collaborative sound creation.

Their repertoire is primarily composed, though the pieces have flexibility to breathe with the moment. At once visceral, muscular, musical, droning, soothing and surprising, Machine Shop takes the incredible sounds of vibrating metal that Stackpole conjures and then amplifies them. Webster captures some of the gong sounds and processes them in real time with subtle effects to be blended in against the sound of the unprocessed gongs. The results are truly unique, both sonically and visually. The live setup with Machine Shop ensures the audience is fully immersed in even the quietest of Stackpole’s gestures, revealing the tremendous sonic spectrum of gongs.

Artist (photo by Photographer)