Sound and Silence

Saxophonist, composer, and electro-acoustic musician Molly Jones joins the podcast. Topics include setting aside time for spiritual practices, freely improvised music, and making art in a way that sustains us.

Phosphenes by Molly Jones, Hunter Jones, and Ishmael Ali

Molly's Bandcamp page

Ann Arbor-based new music sextet FLYDLPHN joins the podcast as we jovially discuss their musical origins and where they might be swimming to.

FLYDLPHN is:

Lexi Eubanks - Flutes

Oliver Bishop - Clarinets

Bryce Richardson - Bassoon

Emani Barber - Double Bass

Olivia Cirisan - Percussion

Ancel Neeley - Percussion

Instagram: @flydlphn.sextet

Youtube

In this episode we have a conversation with three regular participants in Sound and Silence, reflecting on the past year and dreaming of what’s ahead.

Topics include the value of silent practice in a group setting, visual interpretations of silence, and ’being part of a big thing.’

Hana Ichikawa - Visual artist and curator - UofM ’26

Maddy RIngo - singer-songwtiter - UofM ’26

Diego Patino - Double Bass - UofM ’26

Jonah Parzen-Johnson makes music for baritone saxophone & flute that challenges listeners with experimental textures & forms while embracing them with warm approachable melodies. A Chicago native and longtime Brooklyn resident, Jonah has performed as a leader in more than a dozen countries across four continents. His performances are a deeply intimate experience in which he endeavors to share who he is, how he sees our world, and the temporary moments of community that we can all embrace together. For this event, he will be joined by Milwaukee basist Barry Paul Clark, to perform, “You’re Never Really Alone”, an emotionally evocative celebration of the precious relationship between improvisor and audience.

Saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson and bassist Barry Paul Clark join the podcast.

Topics include cultivating artistic freedom, making ‘bad art’ as a liberating experience, and Jonah’s new project ‘You’re Never Really Alone,’ an emotionally evocative celebration of the precious relationship between improvisor and audience. 

Ravish Momin started working under the moniker Sunken Cages in 2019, in order to showcase his unique production style which involves layering live-loops and manipulating them in real-time to blur the lines between composition and improvisation. While rooted in Indian folk and Black Music traditions, Momin is also influenced by the street sounds of South African G’com, Angolan Kuduro and Egyptian Mahraganat.

Recorded on April 13th, 2023 at Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, MI for the Sound and Silence performance series.

Drummer and electronic music producer Ravish Momin joins the podcast.  Topics include curating musical and community spaces across class barriers, beat-based experimental music, and how Ravish’s upbringing in an Indian family that includes Muslims, Hindus, and Christians influenced his spirituality and musical identity.

Learn more about Ravish and his solo electronic drum project, Sunken Cages, on his website.

An excerpt from an improvisation with a field recording that Alexis Lamb recorded at Zabalo River Quiet Park in Ecuador.

Recorded on January 26th, 2023 at Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, MI for the Sound and Silence performance series.

Percussionist, Composer and Educator Alexis Lamb joins the podcast (our very first one we recorded in January 2023!)

Topics include Internal and external listening practices, music in conversation with nature, Pauline Oliveros, and ‘The Church of Mountain of Plain.’

Percussionist, Composer, and Improviser Jonathan Barahal Taylor shares a new work for electro-acoustic drums and live electronics entitled Root Beneath Bones.

This excerpt of the 50 minute performance was Recorded live at Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 23rd, 2023 for the Sound and Silence Series.