Recorded at Marmalade, Ishmael Ali and Aaron Quinn convene just before a performance at Cafe Mustache in Chicago to document some new improvisational work combining their acoustic interplay, electronics, and a new audio-reactive pure data patch for SP-404 sampler.
Having worked together for over a decade, Ali and Quinn have explored a lot of different sonic territories. This recording is the first to put the two minds front and center as a duo. Influenced by cut-up techniques of Gysin, the absurdity of Die Antwoord’s MC Ninja, Noise and ASMR, the group focuses their love of “all things Gobbo” to summon and document some new work for Cello, Guitar, and Electronics: Premium Gobbo Content.
Ishmael Ali is a dynamic cellist, guitarist, improviser, and composer based out of Chicago. His work centers on exploring sound through improvisation, experimentation, composition, and collaboration, focusing on a wide array of idiomatic approaches in an ever-changing, always-growing list of projects informed by diverse influences.
Though varying drastically from group to group, a common thread in his work is the juxtaposition of seemingly disparate elements to create something new: both foreign and familiar.
Ishmael is leader or co-leader of a plethora of working projects including the KAH trio, Hearsay, Je’raf, Akjai, Archipelago, and Oido. He has also performed or recorded with Avreeayl Ra, Josh Berman, Jim Baker, Fred Jackson, Ed Wilkerson, Angel Bat Dawid, Jason Stein, and many more.
Aaron Quinn is a composer/performer living in Brooklyn, New York. As a performer, Aaron has given concerts internationally and has collaborated with a wide range of ensembles, including Realicide, Sunchoke, and Team Players and artists such as Wadada Leo Smith, Joe Chambers, and Miho Hazama. Notable performance and premiere locations for Aaron’s compositions include the Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution and The Manhattan School of Music.