Press Kit
MUSIC:
Machine Descending a Staircase
“Tim Kaiser is well known in the atmospheric experimental music scene for his blending of acousto-electric contraptions and Frankenstein electronics to create ethereal, layered drones. His sonic landscapes have been called “experiments in adventurous art” and “eclectic genius” by the likes of Make Magazine, Wired, the New Art Examiner and the Associated Press. Mr. Kaiser was featured on the PBS program MakeTV and has headlined numerous experimental music festivals in the US.”
“Tim Kaiser is a sonic wizard exerting prowess over his hand-crafted instruments. A rig of Frankenstein objects create a wall of sound as they react to light, the flip of a switch, a shifted knob or the plucking of a steel rod. Growing out of this array are audible undulations, sheets of reverb and unknown timbre– all mutable, amorphous and evolving. Kaiser’s tableau of instruments resemble a scientific laboratory, a steampunk console, entertaining our imagination and questioning our definition of music…”
“My music is atmospheric- I’m not as concerned with melody or rhythm as I am with texture and feeling… …perhaps I’m creating a kind of folk music from the future.” – Theatre Intangible interview with Tony Youngblood
“Tim Kaiser would steal the show…”- Homegrown, Duluth News Tribune
“Tim Kaiser is one of the true mad scientists of experimental music. An endlessly imaginative instrument builder, Kaiser creates sound-making devices out of just about every object imaginable. Search ‘Tim Kaiser’ and ‘Make TV’ on YouTube to find a mind-blowing video of the man at work, demonstrating such devices as his ‘spring bass’ (made from a lamp, a gear from a snowmobile, curtain rod springs and a piano string) or his ‘chime escapement machine’ (made with parts from an old grandfather clock). He’s like a one-man sci-fi soundtrack, and seeing him in concert should be electrifying in more ways than one.”
-Critic’s Pick, Nashville Scene
“Tim Kaiser’s fabulously weird world of music…eclectic genius!” – Bend it Like Bach, Make Magazine
“His work can be viewed as an experiment to see whether adventurous art with its own voice can be conceived and delivered outside of the major art centers. The answer appears to be YES.” – New Art Examiner “…Tim Kaiser, who blew everyone away performing at the Blue Crab…” – Makers, AP “Kaiser has made more than 150 instruments…coaxes foreign sounds from far-fetched equipment made by hand…” – Made on Earth, Make Magazine “Minnesota’s raison d’être for musical exploration and all-around tinkering with instruments, Tim Kaiser commands his creations with simple sweeps of his hands, willing sounds into existence. He has scored films, been featured on PBS as well as in magazines, and has toured extensively. How he gets by airport security with his devices is anyone’s guess, but his hand-built instruments are as alluring as the sounds they make. Kaiser has been a founding contributor and champion of the Weirdo Industrial Complex for more than 30 years.”
Additional Resumé Crap
Tim Kaiser has been producing experimental art at various venues for the past 30 years. His video, installation and performance art projects have been presented in Germany, Brazil, Sweden, Hong Kong, Cuba, Canada, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago.Tim has toured his live musical performances throughout the US including New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Detroit, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Providence, Columbus, Portland, St. Louis, Nashville, Louisville, Orlando, etc….
He has received grants and awards from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, the Duluth Art Institute, the Tweed Museum of Art, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the McKnight Foundation, the Jerome Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tim has served on the boards of the Duluth Public Arts Commission, the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Zenith City Arts and the Duluth New Music Institute. He has been a panelist for the Minnesota State Arts Board film and video review panel and a volunteer consultant to many arts organizations.
Articles and Reviews of Tim’s work have appeared in Make Magazine, Wired, the Associated Press, Time Out NY, Nashville Scene, Wax Mountain, Duluth News-Tribune, Northland Reader, CityPages, ArtPaper, EnGadget, Vinyl, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Daily Collegian, the Smaland Posten, Synthtopia, GigantiCo, MNArtists, StreetTech, Sonic State, BoingBoing, and the New Art Examiner.
