Asheville, NC - FRIEND LESS, Adam Lion, Bryce Franich's Trekchö Ensemble

FRIEND LESS is a project by Jon Mueller. Its two recent EPs, Energy Rippers and Logic of Relics (with Bundy K. Brown and James Plotkin) aim to provoke the heart, mind and body through an unorthodox approach to rhythmic patterns. In performance, the pieces from Energy Rippers lean on a system of AIR (Acoustic Improvised Rhythm) using drums and voice to achieve a similar effect. More information about the project can be found at rhythmplex.com.

Jon Mueller studied jazz drumming with Hal Russell at Columbia College in Chicago, and singing with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela at the Kirana Center for Indian Classical Music in New York. A prolific performer, he tours extensively and has appeared at festivals and venues throughout the United States, Canada, England, Europe and Japan.

In addition to his solo work, Mueller has collaborated and performed with groups such as Who is the Witness?, Mind Over Mirrors, Volcano Choir, Collections of Colonies of Bees, and Pele. He has also worked with artists including Olivia Block, Aaron Turner, Faith Coloccia, Timo van Luijk, Dawn Springer, Chris Hefner, Jason Kahn, Hal Rammel, Asmus Tietchens, Z’EV, Rhys Chatham, Jarboe, James Plotkin, Duane Pitre, and Raymond Dijkstra.

He has released music on renowned labels such as Room40, Astres d’Or, American Dreams, Table of the Elements, Type Recordings, Important Records, Taiga Records, SIGE Records, and his own imprint, Rhythmplex.

Adam Lion

Offering “a tone so pure it is almost a sine-wave” (The Wire), Adam Lion is a percussionist/vibraphonist investigating enabling constraint, acoustics, repetition, surprise, and coincidence. His experimental performances blur acoustic space, creating opportunities for new sonic frameworks to naturally emerge. Within this process, new realities grow, encouraging listeners to investigate the hidden potential of reimagined sound. Based in Los Angeles, his work has been featured in The New York Times, Pitchfork Media, Artforum Magazine, and Bandcamp Daily.

“When a Line Bends” is a vibraphone composition/improvisation performed by Adam Lion. This solo is an ever changing study of sound, material, performer, and space. As these subjects enmesh, relationships emerge dictating form and process, pushing the music with a sense of immediacy. Lion navigates these constraints through techniques developed during the spontaneity of live performance, an approach which openly embraces contingency as a powerful compositional tool.

Bryce Franich's Trekchö Ensemble

Bryce Franich is an Asheville-based musician whose work focuses on feedback, timbre, and texture.

His latest project, Trekchö Ensemble, is an improvisational group made up of musicians working in experimental, improvised, and jazz music. This performance features Shane McCord, Clay White, Landon George, Ashley Paul, and Tony Rolando, combining harmonium, strings, winds, guitar, gong, and modular synthesis. Trekchö Ensemble focuses on working with the physical properties of sound: overtone, resonance, and the shifting textures that emerge as those elements interact.