About
ABOUT RHYTHMPLEX.COM
Information is presented to us in many different forms. Generally, as we receive input, it goes through some process of internalization, and, in response, we create output that can range from “I don’t like how that sounds,” to “We need to design a better system,” to “I like how this feels.” But the process doesn’t have to end there. Details can be missed. Information can be biased. Therefore, input material can always be explored further, whether it’s a 78rpm record, the appearance of a room, a trip to Africa, the scent of an area, or a meeting at work. Our outputs can change based on the degree we explore input, and the internalization of that material. The more we understand something, the more evolved our output becomes. Exploring details coincides with asking questions, whether personal, subconscious, concrete, or public. It’s a process that happens constantly, and everyone has a unique experience with it.
I believe this process can be best described as listening. Listening is something done not just with ears, but it is indeed a process, and is crucial for making clearer decisions, thinking creatively, and producing better output. I started rhythmplex.com to share my own experience with exploring and understanding this process.
Much gratitude to Thomas Wincek, Andrew McKenzie, Sally Haldorson, Kat Berger, and Raymond Dijkstra for their help in making this what it is.
Thank you for visiting this site and helping it grow.
ABOUT JON MUELLER:
For the past ten years, I have been helping people–from music audiences to major medical companies to best-selling authors to elementary and University students–listen and communicate. The basis of my work is to listen, think about and discuss that information with others, and work collaboratively to create an output that will benefit others in some way; in other words, taking input and creating a positive output.
As an active drummer and percussionist over the past 25 years, I became increasingly focused on a physical dialog between situation and material, often bypassing standard approaches to percussion and considering the space in which that sound is presented in order to create a larger experience for those listening. My recordings have been featured in a variety of contexts, from cassette tape to MTV, and I’ve performed concerts throughout the U.S., Japan, and Europe. I have worked with members of the groups Swans, Wilco, Bon Iver, and Rhys Chatham’s Guitar Trio, as well as being a longtime member of the group Collections of Colonies of Bees, and more recently, Volcano Choir. I’ve also collaborated with artists such as James Plotkin, Marcus Schmickler, Dan Burke, Asmus Tietchens, Lionel Marchetti, Z’EV, Jason Kahn, Jack Wright, and many others. My complete recording discography can be viewed here. I was artist-in-residence in Nijmegen, Netherlands as part of the Brombron project, talked about my work at Weslyan University, composed music for film screenings, and held workshops for people about how to think differently about listening.
I formed the imprint Crouton in 1999, because of an interest in how people experience packaged sound and writing. Crouton published over 40 releases in deluxe presentations; each of them collaborative projects that required much listening, creative thinking, planning, discussion, organization, and hands-on implementation. Crouton also organized events in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas with artists from around the world. These were heavily documented by the press and even filmed as part of a PBS documentary. I stopped publishing via Crouton in 2009 to focus exclusively on rhythmplex.com.
In 2006 I began studying how people interact in systems, and how the design of those systems directly affects the output, receiving an MBA degree in 2008. I also host the Milwaukee franchise of Pecha Kucha, an event that began in Tokyo which creates a platform for people to present their idea while showing 20 slides that change automatically every 20 seconds.
Please visit the Contact page for info on getting in touch.
