Emra Grid [electronics] (Opal tapes)
Emra Grid destroyed back itself restored, first in 1986. He was mostly functional in the United States although he was originally manufactured in Spain. Emra Grid is currently in Berlin dealing with the complex issues of taking loops out of a grid to make sounds that could sound almost human. Aesthetically, the sound of Emra Grid experiments with the relationship between sound and empty space in order to accentuate the relationship between phrasing and dynamics. The result is a highly visual synthesis of soundscapes, drones and continuos permutations of bass frequencies, which gradually come together and slowly fall apart. "Occasionally scary but for the most part utterly beautiful, The Same Face is a staggering debut release for this mysterious artist." The Quietus Listen: opaltapes.com/album/emra-grid-the-same-face ---

Pedro Lopes [turntable percussion, cymbals and modified needles]
Pedro Lopes is a turntablist metamorphosed into a percussionist. When playing live he deconstructs his instrument, the turntables, into a vehicle of a rapid, post-scratch and post-jazz dialog of analog intonation and acoustic overtones. In Pedro's sound the needles do not merely amplify the vibrations stored in the grooves of the vinyl records. For him, the needles are microscopes that enable us to hear otherwise unheard micro-realities, such as the sound of a fingernail scratching a membrane, a coin revolving as it falls, a brush dragged across a plastic surface. Pedro has been collaborating with artists such as Carlos Zíngaro, Reinhold Friedl, DJ Sniff, Imre Thormann, amongst many others, in a life entangled deeply with his research on interfaces and performance arts. This led him to produce pieces for Transmediale, a Fundação de Serralves, Fylkingen, Ausland, and Goethe Institut. More info: website / Watch: https://vimeo.com/101165529