Skull Defekt Nordwall (analog electronics) and London’s Wastell (32-inch tam-tam) pair up for their new drone project, Oceans of Silver & Blood.

Joachim Nordwall (b.1975, Karlskrona, Sweden) began experimenting in sound in 1987, when he formed noise-drone outfit Alvars Orkester with Jan Svensson in Johannishus, a small village in the south-east of Sweden. From 1998-2005, he was part of the avant punk rock trio Kid Commando. In 1998, he also founded iDEAL Recordings, which this year marks its tenth anniversary. He has collaborated with many artists, including Leif Elggren, Lasse Marhaug, Mika Vainio and Mats Gustafsson, and he is a founding member of experimental rock band the Skull Defekts (with Henrik Rylander). Recent curatorial projects include his 24 Hour Drone People, a marathon concert at Fylkingen in Stockholm that included Stephen O’Malley, Hild Sofie Tafjord, C. Spencer Yeh, CM von Hausswolff and BJ Nilsen, as well as Wastell, Vainio, Rylander and Nordwall himself, among others. He livesin Gothenburg.

Mark Wastell (b.1968, U.K.) investigates the possibilities of acoustic instruments with sound textures and space structured in an abstract way. Wastell has played a central role in the development of quiet improvisation, a new approach to spontaneous composition that has garnered considerable attention over the past few years. His primary instruments are cello and percussion, especially the tam-tam. In addition to his career as a musician, he actively works as the Sound 323 record store owner, concert promoter and publisher. Early 2006 saw the publication of Blocks of Consciousness and the Unbroken Continuum, a massive work on contemporary music he co-authored with Brian Marley. He lives in London.

Joachim Nordwall first appeared at Lampo in September 2006 with Henrik Rylander, when they presented The Sound of Defekt Skulls and Intense Cranium Contact. This concert is Mark Wastell’s first performance in Chicago.