Travis Johns
(b. 1983) writes and performs music that he describes as an "abstraction of reality." Consisting primarily of processed field recordings, improvisations and amplified "small sounds," he attempts to weave a tapestry of experiences, gestures and thoughts into a singular, enveloping mass of sounds. Though often labeled as noise at first, a more concentrated listen will yield countless paths for the ear to follow, leading to listening experiences that he hopes will provide infinite possibilities for interpretation. His music has been performed extensively throughout the United States and abroad to a wide variety of audiences, ranging from galleries to anarchist warehouses to international music festivals. An avid performer and improviser on electric bass and electronics, he is a member of the Oakland, Ca. based quintet The Pink Canoes (with Noah Phillips, Ava Mendoza, Aram Shelton and Zachary Watkins), the improvisation trio Satellite (with Gudmundur Steinn Gunnarsson and Liz Meredith) and The Night, an award winning video and performance collective founded in Oberlin, Oh.
He holds a B.M. in Technology in Music and Related Arts from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studies conducted with Tom Lopez and Dr. Hye Kyung Lee and is currently enrolled at Mills College pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in Electronic Music and Recording Media, with studies conducted primarily with Chris Brown, John Bischoff and Maggi Payne. He has also participated in residencies at such places as the Atlantic Center for the Arts, is a frequent collaborator with Costa Rican visual artist Paulina Velazquez-Solis and is a founding member of the Thinktank Collective, an international arts collective focused on the interrelation of sound and image. More information on both Johns and Thinktank can be found at:
www.think-tankmedia.net