Join us for an evening of experimental music, text, and narrative at Disjecta. Sam Ashley (Berlin), in a rare US appearance, will be presenting new work while he embarks on a West Coast touring expedition with John Krausbauer (Los Angeles). Portland mavericks Jeff Witscher/(Rene Hell) and Seth Nehill will also be performing.

Sam Ashley has devoted his life to the development of an experimental, non-religious mysticism, one rooted in a “find out for yourself” attitude, an attitude that he advocates in direct opposition to so many traditions. He has been a modern-day witch-doctor for almost 48 years. For more than four decades Sam has been using this mysticism in the creation of music and art. His pieces are mostly about luck, hallucination and coincidence. Usually they include direct presentations of magic events, objects or phenomena. Sam’s performed pieces often feature the use of authentic spirit possession, something he has been working with for more than 30 years. One could say that Sam’s installation and sound art work is about finding ways to amplify imaginary sound. Almost all of what Sam does relates directly to trance. Sam Ashley offers simple windows onto things that occur in-between the “real world” and that which transcends it.

John Krausbauer is a music maker currently living in Los Angeles. He has performed his music in a multitude of settings – from basements and rock clubs to colleges and art galleries. Numerous recordings of his work have been released on independent labels in both the US and Europe. In recent years his focus has been on his solo work/compositions, Ecstatic Music Band, The Essentialists and most recently the formation of the Minimalist psych-punk group – Night Collectors. Trance-Psychedelia is the aim and goal.

Jeff Witscher was born in 1983 in Long Beach, California and is now a custodian at the Portland Art Museum. He has recorded under a few different names, Rene Hell perhaps being the most known. He enjoys playing chess & has started his own cleaning company called Vincent’s Expert Cleaners. He primarily works with the computer as well as recording of acoustic sounds. Recent solo recordings include Bifurcating a Resounding No!, 2014; Meclu, 2013; Vanilla Call Option, 2013

Seth Nehil is a sound and video artist. He has released over 15 albums of distinctive experimental music since 1998 and has been active in creating original scores for dance, theater and installation. He currently teaches in the Video & Sound Department at the Pacific NW College of Art among other schools.