Australian drummer and percussionist Will Guthrie showcases new material for Lampo with short, looped cells played without electronics. These cells shift in and out of pulse, creating intricate polymetric and polyrhythmic patterns, alongside his work with pitched percussion and resonant metals.

Will Guthrie (b.1977, Melbourne, Australia) plays solo using different combinations of drums, percussion, amplification and electronics, and leads the contemporary hybrid percussion and gamelan group Ensemble Nist-Nah.

In the crowded world of free jazz and improv percussion, Guthrie’s work is distinguished from the delicately pointillist approach of much European improvisation by its rhythmic sophistication, unashamed virtuosity, and undeniable physicality, touching on aspects of world musics from Javanese gamelan to South Indian Carnatic music. His influences are rich and varied, taking into account Roscoe Mitchell’s percussion works, Henry Threadgill’s multi-directional improvisatory music, as well as cross-cultural adventures from the likes of Trevor Watts, Michael Ranta, and Mike Cooper.

Regular collaborators include Oren Ambarchi, Container, Sarah Hennies, Mark Fell, Roscoe Mitchell, Ahmed Ag Kaedy, James Rushford, Ghassen Chiba, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Erell Latimier, Hong Chulki, Mark Simmonds, Jérôme Noetinger, Keith Rowe, David Maranha, Ava Mendoza, the filmmaker Lee Hangjun, and choreographer and dancer Mette Ingvartsen.

He has released over 50 albums, as both soloist and in collaboration, on labels such as Black Truffle, Editions Mego, Erstwhile, Clean Feed, Gaffer Records, Hasana Editions, 23five, iDEAL, and his own label Antboy Music. He has performed at countless venues and festivals all over the world including Lieu Unique, Nantes; Cafe Oto, London; Berghain, Berlin; Super Deluxe, Tokyo; SPRING Performing Arts Festival, Utrecht; Meta House, Phnom Penh; Mona Fona, Hobart; Suoni Per Il Popolo, Montreal; Lampo, Chicago; Oct-Loft Jazz Festival, Shenzhen; and the Geometry of Now, Moscow. He lives in Nantes, France.

Will Guthrie has presented his work twice before in the Lampo series. He performed solo in June 2015 and with Jérôme Noetinger and Jean-Luc Guionnet in May 2008.

Presented in partnership with Corbett vs. Dempsey